My old Ash has kidney failure...advice plse..

Carole, my RB Quasar had kidney failure, too. My vet told me to give her fluids three times a week and at first I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand to "hurt her" like that all the time.

But I did learn to do it because it made her feel so much better. And took it like a champ. But, Quasar had only one kidney from birth, so she did not last much longer even with the treatments. :(

Like Emeraldgreen said, if you use a very fine needle, I don't think it hurts much at all. In fact, it has to be very sharp, too. She never put up a fuss, which amazed me at first.

Good luck to you and Ash.

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Originally Posted by AbbyMom

Like Emeraldgreen said, if you use a very fine needle, I don't think it hurts much at all. In fact, it has to be very sharp, too. She never put up a fuss, which amazed me at first.

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I've chosen to use a heavy gauge needle. Yes, the initial prick hurts a little but the treatment itself lasts only 5 minutes or so as opposed to much longer if you use a very fine needle. I use a fresh needle each time, to make sure that it's really sharp and Puddy now takes her treatments like a champ. It would be much more stressful on her to have the treatments take up to possibly 30 minutes as opposed to 5 minutes. :)

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Originally Posted by Medusa

I've chosen to use a heavy gauge needle. Yes, the initial prick hurts a little but the treatment itself lasts only 5 minutes or so as opposed to much longer if you use a very fine needle. I use a fresh needle each time, to make sure that it's really sharp and Puddy now takes her treatments like a champ. It would be much more stressful on her to have the treatments take up to possibly 30 minutes as opposed to 5 minutes. :)

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In thinking back (this was 12 years ago), I believe you are right--the larger needle was best because it didn't take as long. But it did have to be sharp. I had forgotten that I started using a fresh one every day.

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Originally Posted by Medusa

I've chosen to use a heavy gauge needle. Yes, the initial prick hurts a little but the treatment itself lasts only 5 minutes or so as opposed to much longer if you use a very fine needle. I use a fresh needle each time, to make sure that it's really sharp and Puddy now takes her treatments like a champ. It would be much more stressful on her to have the treatments take up to possibly 30 minutes as opposed to 5 minutes. :)

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In thinking back (this was 12 years ago), I believe you are right--the larger needle was best because it didn't take as long. But it did have to be sharp. I had forgotten that I started using a fresh one every day.

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It is important that the needle be changed each time for comfort and for bacteria that can grow in the needle inbetween treatments.

The needle I used to use was a 20 gauged one I think and it was a pink colour. It didn't take that much longer for me to get 100 mls into her, maybe about 10 minute total. In the end, it was a better choice for both of us because I had a harder time pushing the larger needle in and then she in turn had a harder time. We did the treatments for years and the 10 minutes sessions turned into her massage time as well. I would hang on to her so she wouldn't take off and would massage her in different parts of her body to distract her from the fluids going in. She seemed to put up with it very well and after the 'bulge' of water disappeared in a few hours, LOOK OUT!! :) She was full of beans and would race up and down the stairs like a crazy cat. It was so great to see her feeling good at those times.

I have not made any decisions regarding sub Q's at this stage,(i also read some negative sides to Sub Q's which worried me as well) i will be seeing the vet on Wednesday for Ash's post dental check up, and will discuss it with her, i have the utmost faith in my Vet, so will be following her advice, however i am not opposed to other suggestions either, whatever works and is best for the old fella, having read about it online,it sounds like they really do not feel great most of the time, which is apparent in Ash at the moment, of course he is still on antibiotics and his new pill which may well indeed take some adjusting to, i know kitties can live a long time with this condition, but i have to ask is it really the ideal thing to do, please don't take this the wrong way, there is no way i want to put Ash to sleep, but i certainly don't want him miserable either.


In my opinion Ash has not really picked up much since we came home from his dental, he had a couple of days he seemed happier, but in general he does not seem himself, i do think his new pills are affecting him somewhat,he has been keeping his food down much better though, but i guess that will be temporary, i did give him a little treat today,and i think it was the wrong thing to do because he had his first vomit to my knowledge in a week, i felt bad afterwards and wish i had not given it to him.

The whole thing really concerns me and frightens me,even though you have all given me hope and advice, i cannot help but feel despondent about his condition,and extremely saddened by it as well.

Anesthesia is excreted out of the body via the kidneys. That might be a reason why Ash is not feeling up to snuff just yet. Can you please post on what you found out about the
" negatives " about sub q's. The only thing I can think of is giving too much fluids and resulting in congestive failure. BUT the vet is very specific when letting one know how much fluid to give. When our kidney cats have dentals, Dr. Deb wants them to have fluids several days before and after the dental procedure is done.

None of us want our cats to be sick/uncomfortable, we have the power to help them to have the very best quality of life that is possible. But, we also must realize that, as I told
my very first kidney cat, MissBooBoo kitty, I cannot cure you, you are not going to get better, and will not live forever. BUT, I promise you no pain, no suffering, and the BEST quality of life...Boo proceeded to live another three years!!! HANG IN THERE...

One other thing that I forgot to mention: when I was first told that Puddy needed to have subQ's administered, I was wary of it and discussed w/both Dr. Lee and my other vet if I should instead consider helping her to the Bridge. I was totally uneducated when it came to subQ's and I thought that Puddy would just be miserable, especially given her temperament at that time, which was Hell Cat on Wheels. Dr. Lee said point blank "You'll be selling Puddy short if you do that. She'll be fine once you get the hang of it." He was right. That was a couple of years ago and, yes, she does have her bad spells but don't we all? SubQ's have helped Puddy tremendously, she feels pretty good most of the time, she's purred more in the last couple of years than she did most of her life because she had been feeling so crummy all that time and, best of all, she's become a real lovebug, to me anyhow. LOL I can't imagine what the downside would be of giving subQ's. You'd have to give her an awful lot before you would do her any damage. Both of my vets told me "You can't hurt her". Keep the faith, Carole. :)