Priscilla's failing kidneys

[phesina]

Hello, I just wanted to let you folks know that my sweet little fluffball Priscilla is in kidney failure.. Has been since around Thanksgiving..

She's only 7 years old!

I am giving her fluids twice a day and trying different foods to find things she'll like to eat. Sometimes she eats some on her own. Sometimes I put food on her tongue or syringe-feed her something. If any of you have any suggestions, please let me know, and please folks say prayers and send good wishes and energies for her.

Thank you so much,

Pat, and Peony, Sydney, Poppy, and Elmer, for Priscilla

[Catty1]

She's on a low-protein diet?

It seems from what I read here that many cats like Royal Canin food. They have a low-protein food, and it might be less expensive than some of the other vet foods.

With the right diet and fluids, Priscilla can have a good life for many more years. Did the vet have any suggestions?

I think someone here on PT posted a link to a site on cats with kidney problems.
Hopefully they will again.

Good luck with the little girl! Scritches and tummy rubs!

[RedHedd]

With the right diet and fluids, Priscilla can have a good life for many more years. Did the vet have any suggestions?

I totally agree with that. Mishi has failing kidneys and has "episodes" a few times a year when I have to rush him to the kitty ER. Aside from that he's living a (somewhat) normal life. He's on a prescription diet - right now it's Hill's X/D because he tends to get bladder stones. If I recall, K/D is the kidney diet and is available both in dry kibble and canned.

Prayers going out your way that Priscilla pulls through this period and gets to spend many more Christmases with you. She's beautiful!

[Laura's Babies]

I have no experience with this but just want you to know I am pulling for your baby to bounce right back!

[Barbara]

Filou who is only ten has kidney failure as well.
He lives with it for more than 1,5 years now- getting fluids every week and eating diet food.
He hated Hill's k/d but he loves Royal Canin Renal. It comes in little pouches which is good as the cans of Hill's were too much for him and once open he didn't like them
He likes the dry Royal Canin Renal even more. Even Tigris who is not on a diet goes crazy for these kibbles.

All the best for Priscilla.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear about Priscilla. I hope that she'll continue to thrive for many more years to come. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent her way.

[Kalei]

[Oh no that is so sad. I have no idea what to do with a cat that has kidney failure, but I will definately pray for the poor kitty.

[phesina]

Dear everybody, thank you so much for the encouraging words. I'm so glad to learn that kidney-challenged cats can keep going for a long time.

She'd been getting KD and Eukanuba Multi-Stage Renal kibble and wet food for quite a while but doesn't much like either. Then about a month ago she lost all interest in eating and was really weak and thin. I took her to the vet's. They kept her there for 3 days. Then I brought her home and have been giving her sub-Q fluids twice a day.

We've tried different medications. Her BUN and Creatinine (lab indicators of kidney function) have come down a lot (though they're still too high), but she is anemic too and her hematocrit (red cell count?) is still way down.

Since that bad state, the idea is more to get her to eat SOMETHING and I should give her anything she'd like, so I keep trying different wet and dry cat foods. (The other cats, environmentally conscious as they are, are all very happy to clean up the food she doesn't like so it doesn't go to waste!) What she likes one meal she may turn up her nose at the next, so it's a constant trial and error.

Since several of you have mentioned Royal Canin Renal, I will try to find that. Is that a prescription food that I'd have to get from a vet?

Candace, RedHedd, Laura, Barbara, KAK, and Kalei, thank you so much for your prayers and good wishes and kind thoughts and positive energies!

Pat and Priscilla

[catmandu]

We are praying hard for Priscilla , that you can find a dier that she likes.
Mr Scrappy lived with bad kidneys for three years with Vet Care and Medical Prescription.
He went when he was 15, but I did have those extra years with him, worth every penny.

[Freedom]

My boy Amber (Mr. Amber Cat) had kidney failure; it followed hyperthyroidism and fused vertebrae in his back. Vet said he "had bad genes," as he should never have had all these things so young.

Amber refused any of the specialty foods.

I did the ub q fluids for bout 7 months, starting once every other day and pogressing to 4 times per day. (His kidneys declined VERy quickly.)

Keep up with the fluids, as that is important. Good luck with finding foods, it can be tricky. Priscilla is so lovely in those photos you included. And yes, cats CAN pick up and go on for several years with the fluid therapy. Best wishes for both of you.

Sandra

[phesina]

Gary and Sandra, thank you so much. Yes, Priscilla's worth every penny, whatever it takes to keep her going as long as she wants to keep going.

She seems kind of feeble tonight. Tomorrow it's another call, and probably trip, to the vet's office.

Pat

[Catty1]

Royal Canin is a vet food. I have seen some varieties in good pet stores, but compare the labels.

It seems that a number of cats prefer RC to other brands (not a plug, just an observation! )

[kb2yjx]

I am so sorry to read about your dear Priscilla!!! I have 3 kidney cats right now. Nicholas is controlled by diet(Hills k/d). The girls, Molly Meu is over 13yrs old, gets sq fluids, 100cc's twice a week. Molly is a diet nightmare!!! She absolutely REFUSES to eat the kidney diet and is eating Friskies(I shudder at the 11% protein!!). However, her labs are very good and at this point I think it is more important to keep her eating or else her liver will go. She has been a kidney cat for about 4 years. Raven is 10 and eats(with gusto)her k/d and gets the fluids twice a week. Raven developed kidney disease when she was only 4 years old!!! Her last labs look like those of a healthy cat!!!
Although this is a British site, I find the information that is there, very helpful and realistic. www.felinecrf.org Another good site is www.felinecrf.com They both have lots of information about diet!!! Good luck with Priscilla and please keep us posted!! Sandra

[phesina]

I took Priscilla in today because she hadn't been eating much in the last few days and was quite listless. She vet took some blood and found a hematocrit reading of only 11.5, down from 14 a few days ago which was already too low. She said Priscilla's bone marrow is just not making new red blood cells. She'll call me tomorrow with the BUN and Creatinine results and what they might indicate.

I told her about the people here with cats that have been going along for years with kidney failure and asked her about the Royal Canin food (thanks, Candace). She said we're past that point where the kind of food can make a difference. Priscilla needs to get high caloric content into her, so the vet put her on Eukanuba Maximum Calorie food because that's the highest and told me to syringe-feed her 6 ml 3 times a day.

We're going to try something called Epogen, which will stimulate red cell growth... for a while. It is made for humans, and for a while it will work with cats but eventually the species difference catches up with it and makes it ineffective. She said it only comes in a human form and has not been made for cats yet. She ordered some, and it should arrive in a day or two.

She also said she would be glad to refer me to experts on kidney failure, e.g., at the veterinary college at Michigan State University or specialists in private practice, if I wanted to consult any of them. I might a bit later, but right now I just see how we'll do getting more nourishment into her and seeing how the Epogen does.

I took her home and managed to get 6 ml of the Max Cal into her. That's messy stuff! Kind of soupy and smelly. But if it does the trick, it's golden. Then I gave her her evening subQ fluids and her 2 quarter-tabs of something called Blood and Energy K9 which is also supposed to help stimulate the red cell growth (though it doesn't seem to be doing it yet).

Raven's Mother, thanks for the two web sites. I took a quick look, and they both look full of valuable information. That's great to hear how well your cats are doing!

Thanks so much, everyone, for your good wishes and suggestions and thoughts and hopes and prayers, and please keep them coming.

Pat and Priscilla

[Barbara]

My vet also says that the most important thing is they shouldn't lose weight- so it's better if they eat anything than not eating.
I hope that the process of producing the red cells can be stimulated.
All the best for Priscilla.