Ash not doing so well....

[carole]

As most of you know my Ash has CRF, it will be a year in july since he was first diagnosed and we have had him on two medications ever since, i have noticed a decline in his health the last few days, getting him to eat is getting more difficult, he is eating very little,despite being on daily steriods, which stimulate the appetite.

I am thinking my old boy might not have long left, please pray for the ole fella to pick up again,any suggestions on food i can try to offer him would be welcome , i have just about opened every can and tried every biscuit in the house, and i have a quite a variety, he often has bad days but picks up again and eats well the next day, but not this time, still i am not giving up hope that he will pick up again, but i am being realistic,it might not happen this time around, thanks for listening and your support.

[Medusa]

I'm sorry, Carole, I can't recall if you give him subq treatments. That always perked up my Puddy right away.

[carole]

I don't think much is going to work this time around, but i could well be wrong, if only i can get him to eat a bit more, i won't have him starve to death,i would help him to the RB rather than that,anyhow not giving up, tomorrow is another day and he might well pick up again, as CRF cats often do,fingers and all paws crossed for that eh?

[Medusa]

That's why I asked if you give him subq's regularly. It helped Puddy retain her appetite and when I injected the bag of fluids w/B vitamins, it made an amazing difference. I sure hope he perks up. :love:

[jenluckenbach]

Prayers for dear Ash. SubQ's are important, and (if I remember correctly) Pepsid to reduce stomach acid and keep up the appetite.

[Catty1]

Carole - as Medusa said, are you giving Ash his fluids?

Hope he is better soon - but the fluids are essential. You'll be amazed at the difference!

Have the vet show you how, and see if it makes a good change for Ash.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Hi God ~

It's us Prayer Pups onna KAT Line again ...

Wunna the Down Under Kats - lil Ash - is feelin poorly and needs
summa Your speschil Help to start feelin better.

Maybe You kuld send sum Flavour Enhancer down to *sprinkle* on his grub -
he's not got much appie-tite rite now.

And iffin You can spare a few {{{God'sHugs}}} fur Momma Carole,
they'd Help a lot, too.

THANKS, God!

/s/ the Prayer Pups

[Pinot's Mom]

Ditto...:love:


Hi God ~

It's us Prayer Pups onna KAT Line again ...

Wunna the Down Under Kats - lil Ash - is feelin poorly and needs
summa Your speschil Help to start feelin better.

Maybe You kuld send sum Flavour Enhancer down to *sprinkle* on his grub -
he's not got much appie-tite rite now.

And iffin You can spare a few {{{God'sHugs}}} fur Momma Carole,
they'd Help a lot, too.

THANKS, God!

/s/ the Prayer Pups

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear this.:( I hope he'll start eating again and perk up. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

[carole]

Thanks everyone, Ash ended up eating quite well in the end today, which is great as the last three he was not eating much at all,so hopefully he is picking up again, I have Ash under strict vet care and i follow everything my vet tells me too, so please do not worry, my vet is awesome and i trust him 100 per cent, what he say's goes as far as i am concerned,my methods may not be the same as your's but I have Ash's well being a top priority, i have put myself in debt to keep Ash alive, so rest assured he is in good hands here.

Fingers and all paws crossed he makes a swift turn around again,it really is a game of wait and see isn't it? he is a tough ole boy, so i think we will have him around a wee bit longer yet, i sure hope so.:love: anyhow here are two pics of him today enjoying the winter sun, he is very thin now to what he used to be, but he actually looks quite good in the pics, though the camera does lie, he does not look as good in real life,sadly.

[allmycats]

I'm so sorry to hear about sweet Ash, hope he does perk up. could a high calorie canned food help him not lose too much weight? I don't know, it was just a thought. prayers for your sweet boy to get better!

[carole]

will talk to the vet tonight , he is not too bad today, but i have seen him better, feeling the cold, but he can come and sit by the heater all day or sun himself on the verandah, cold day here but the sun is out,jack frost came last night and we went down to -2 degrees.

[Anikaca77]

I hope Ash is feeling better today.

Prays,

Melissa

[Pinot's Mom]

When Pinot was so sick and wouldn't eat my vet suggested baby food. It didn't work in her case, but you never know!

[smokey the elder]

Poor Ash. I have had good luck with deli turkey (regular roasted, no maple, smoke additives, etc.) I have found that when the kitty refused that, it was time. The last 2 days Moby wouldn't even touch turkey! Of course, Ash might prefer another delicacy.

[davidpizzica]

Oh,Sis! I'm very sorry to hear about Ash. I hope that he can rally for you again. Big {{{{HUGS}}}} to you and your family and Pittsburgh prayers go out to Ash so that he can stabilize for a little while.

[kb2yjx]

I, too, am so sorry to hear about your Ash...Like several of the above posters, I have had many kidney cats, and giving the sub q fluids REALLY helped!! Have you tried to feed Ash chicken BABY food? That still is the ultimate bribe food at our house, when one of the cats is not eating well. Good luck with your boy, I will light a candle for him....

[carole]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts, the ole boy picked up again, he had about four really bad days, and then one really good one, ate like a horse, i am wondering if he has been cunning enough to spit out some of his pills, although i check every time and watch him after pilling, and i have not found any pills lying around,but you never know,however with kidney cats it is quite normal to be up and down, i know that,he is eating reasonably well again,but of course i know that could all change again any time,he was at a very low point though and i was naturally concerned.

I found that he loves the vitapet cat milk, and the days he would not eat until afternoon , which is something he does from time to time as he often feels sick in the mornings,i gave him that and it helped a lot, better than no food at all, it is also full of good vitamins,magnesium,etc,and he is still liking it, mind you that might only last a week, one day he loves something , the next he won't touch it.

Anyhow happy to report Ash is still here with us,and continuing his fight for survival, along with his parents.,thanks again everyone.:love:

[phesina]

Prayers and a candle for Ash too: http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/message.cfm?l=eng&cid=8564467

Love from Pat and cats

[carole]

Thanks Pat you are very thoughtful and so sweet to do this for Ash and I, he is doing ok ,eating quite well,but not as good as yesterday, funny thing though he did not eat in the morning, but i saw him outside in the wind running like a kitten up the tree and down, and all over the section, it was good to see, still plenty of life left in the old guy yet, sometimes i think his steroids give him the get up and go.:)

[katladyd]

Go, Ash, go!

[kittykatharine]

I hope Ash is doing well - I am really hoping that his eating has improved. When my Sydney was going through her chemotherapy, she had a couple of bouts of not eating, where I too tried every kind of cat food available. Nothing seemed to work - then someone on the PetTalk thread suggested baby food. I went to the store and bought turkey and chicken flavors and she ended up liking it a lot. I know it is not much, but it is worth a try. You and Ash are in my thoughts and prayers!:love::love::love:

[carole]

Thanks, i will keep the baby food for the last resort, at the moment he is doing better, eating reasonably,he tends to eat more late afternoon and evening, and he is still loving that milk, just a question,if anyone can answer, he used to drink heaps of water, as kidney cats do, but since i have given him the milk, it has decreased a lot, now i am wondering is this a good thing or a bad thing, just wondering,?

[allmycats]

I'm so sorry about your sweet Ash. how is he doing today?

[carole]

Thank you for asking, Ash unfortunately had a terrible day yesterday, i was very concerned, he was vomiting up creamy phlegm type stuff and when eating he has been like choking most of the time lately,and having difficulty keeping it down, he looked very miserable yesterday, and i really had to question whether i was doing the right thing keeping him alive,but today he has picked up considerably and is doing much better, he ate and drank his milk, although his quantity of food is not much, at least he is eating.

I know kidney cats are up and down, but i was not prepared for it to be quite this bad, and i know his time is getting closer, i just have to cherish the time we have left together, i just don't know when to make the call, it is the hardest thing i have had to deal with in a long time, it is knowing when i guess,i don't want to keep him going and suffer, and it was obvious he was in discomfort yesterday and is on and off.

Well trying to think positive and hoping he will continue to keep on an even keel for now, and take no further nose dives as he did yesterday, very cold day here today, but he is up in his favourite spot on top of the carport roof, gets lovely and hot up there, and he would prefer that, than sitting by the heater, the sun is out.

Just hoping my old boy can hang on in there a little longer.:love: going to call Gabe my vet and have a wee chat about him.