Quote:
Originally Posted by phesina
Good girl, Priscilla! Kissies for a good and Happy New Year! ;)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phesina
Good girl, Priscilla! Kissies for a good and Happy New Year! ;)
Thank you, Kim. She's even eating some of the MaxCal wet food on her own, so I don't have to syringe-feed it all!
Happy New Year to you and yours, too!
Pat
All fingers and paws are crossed that this is a good indication that Priscilla is well on the road to recovery!!!!
Thanks, Sandra. I brought home some Fancy Feast Whitefish & Tuna Feast tonight. Boy, did she ever tear into that! (So did all the others, or I would have given her more! Back to the store to get more tomorrow.)
Yesterday she went to the vet's so they could collect a urine sample. They'll let me know the results when they get them - 5 to 7 working days. Meanwhile, we're to keep on as we have been.
Pat
Hi Pat!!
You know even though Fancy Feast is not the best for a kidney cat to eat, there are times when you just have to get them to eat again!!! Molly is like that. All the things I know about the protein go right out the window!! I am so happy to hear about Priscilla REALLY enjoying her Fancy Feasts!!!! O,O, I think Molly heard!!!! Take Care, Sandra
Hi Sandra!! I tried another Fancy Feast (chicken liver and something, I think) on her, but she was not interested. You'll be glad to know it did not go to waste, though, as the other cats made short work of it.
I haven't had a chance yet to pick up more of the Ocean Whitefish and Tuna Feast yet.. but this evening she ate a serving of the MaxCal on her own so I did not have to syringe-feed it.
She likes kibble too (KD! and now and then some Fancy Feast kibble), but I don't think she eats much of it. She looks like she's really working on it, and then I see she's still got quite a bit in her bowl.
I know Fancy Feast is not the greatest kidney-cat food in the world, but sometimes I just want her to eat something and really enjoy it!
Thanks again,
Priscilla and Pat and the gang
Continued HOORAYS for Priscilla!!! Eat, girlfriend!!! Molly just loves her Friskies! Wen I tell the vet what she eats, the vet cringes, but Molly IS eating, and at 13+ that is what we want.....Enjoy your food Priscilla!
I'm sorry to see what Priscilla has had to go through - and you too, but glad she's now eating on her own. :) You are such a good mommy.
It seems that some of the medicine has helped. I hope Priscilla will continue to feel perkier and have many years with you yet. :)
Sending positive thoughts to Priscilla, and you. Give her kisses and scritchies.
just reading this, your precious priscilla! I can relate you, my little star girl had CRF a couple years ago and it took her a while to perk back up! you can read more here.
I'm so sorry you're going through this with your baby, not a good feeling .. worried, worrying and stressful! I'm glad to read that she eats a lot (than what my star could ab ovo) better, you go girl! :)
when I learned that star wouldn't want to eat ANYTHING, the last suggestion I tried was a chunk of natural raw meat (best from fresh market or butcher anywhere) - she ate like she hadn't eaten in months! they had to be in SMALL portions, she can't eat too fast! :eek: after that, I feed all of my ark raw diet and never went back to kibbles ever again. except for recently because I was gone. my cats hardly get sick now.
maybe you could try that too, it'd be pretty hard when you have other cats to feed altogether. good luck and I hope cilla's appetite continues and her better in no time! (((hugs)))
..gina & the furrfelines
(zephyra, ocean, eclypse, clayton, shaddow, whispers, midnight, star, gus, echo and two guestkittens, tortie and apollo!) ;)
Thanks, Sandra and Randi and Gina, for all your encouragement and suggestions and good wishes.
Priscilla's appetite isn't as strong as a few days ago. She still eats some on her own but not as much. I got a couple more cans of the Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish and Tuna Feast, but she's NOT interested now. (Of course, most cats do that, eat some food like they can't get enough of it, and then after you buy a whole lot of it they no longer want it.) She still eats some kibble but not a lot, and I'm back to the syringe-feeding.
She wants to be closer to me than she has in the past. I'll pick her up and she'll hug me, her face to my chest or neck and her paws around my neck. She's sitting on my lap as I write this. She was never a lap cat or the real openly-affectionate type before; much more independent.
Gina, I read some of your thread about Star. I felt so bad for her, and then I was so happy to realize she made it through all that. How is she now? Once again I'm amazed when I learn about cats that come down with CRF and then pull through. Very encouraging and hopeful for Priscilla and me!
What do you mean by natural raw meat? Organic or additive-free or something like that? Sounds like something worth trying, if your cats are doing so well with it. Over the holidays I pet-sat a cat that is fed entirely on raw chicken liver, beef, and fish plus some Liv-a Littles Whole Chicken Treats. I thought that diet must be deficient in some of the nutrients that cats need. But then, I suppose that's what they eat in the wild, raw meat..
Thanks very much, everyone,
Pat and Priscilla
Just finished reading up on Priscilla. I hope she re-gains her appetite. Good thoughts headed your way.
Johanna
Have you tried any of the new Fancy Feast canned foods?? I know they are pricey, but my finicky guys eat it. I buy it as a treat mainly, but my newest cat in the family, who is FIV+ and about 12 or so, has practically no teeth and eats mainly wet food. He doesn't care for friskies, but loves Fancy Feast, and really enjoys the new stuff.
One of our cats at the shelter is on a raw food diet. I think the shelter mgr gets it freeze dried or something like that. They have a lot of it available on one site I checked out early this week http://www.onlynaturalpet.com
They deal in only holistic, natural foods for dogs and cats. If you haven't seen the site before, you might want to check it out. They have all kinds of foods, treats and things like that.
Good luck, and I hope your kitty starts to feel better, and eat more on her own shortly!
Please do talk to your vet about special diets for kidney compromised kitties. High protein is not good for them and makes the kidneys work harder, not something you want. Most of the prescription diets for kidney cats is low protein, but sufficient nutrition to keep them healthy. I do hope Phesina is feeling better.
Have you tried the wet K/D? Mishi LOVES it.
Thank you, Johanna, Jenn, and RedHedd for the encouraging words and good thoughts. Priscilla's appetite is still not quite what it should be. She eats some on her own but not a lot.
Jenn, I tried one of the new Fancy Feasts.. she wasn't interested (though the others loved it). I will try another one of the flavors. I took a quick look at the Only Natural site, and thank you. There are a couple of places not that far from here that carry some of those foods; I'll check them out too.
However, I wonder if, as RedHedd says, high protein is not good for kidney-compromised cats, and what I looked at about the raw foods says they are high in protein.. would this not be a good idea for Priscilla? I will ask the vet about it. Gina said her Star loves raw food and Star and her other cats do very well with it.
RedHedd, we have tried the wet K/D, both original and chicken flavors, and the Eukanuba and Purina canned prescription kidney foods.. sometimes she'll eat some, and sometimes she won't. I'll try giving her a little more later, and see if today is a Paws-Up or Paws-Down day.
Thanks very much, everyone, it really helps Priscilla and me to get all these suggestions and encouragement!
Pat
Hi, Pat - low protein is best for kidney problems, but check with your vet...if the most important thing is to get her eating right now, then I think a little leeway is okay. Check with your vet, though.
I think what Gina was suggesting was to get some beef, like stewing beef, and cut one piece up into little bits, and see if she likes that. The protein is high, but there is iron and other good things in it.
Just see how she likes it.
Also, if there is a wet food she likes, mix it with a bit of warm water, so she gets more liquid in her.
HUGS
hi! just am reading this .. I'm sorry I didn't warn you threads about my star would be pretty long! (four long threads altogether.) they can be a bit overwhelming, I know.
yes, raw meat gives high protein and good nutrients (unless you cook), that also is why star couldn't eat a lot at first. because your cat is failing one of most active organs - kidneys and weak kidneys will not handle high (enough) proteins at first. I began with very very little, like noahsmommy's cat, micah, (where I learned at first from her in the threads you read), little portions of beef chunks then chicken and carefully. it sure was a slooow progress but now she, with a permanent damaged stomach, is doing awesomely great! certainly worthed it. when noahsmommy at first told me about raw diet, (yes, organic) I talked with my vet, he reccomended me to not...even second opinion from my usual vet but that was last thing I could try little by little, she HAS to eat something!! she went right into them (plus, most importantly with a lot of subq-fluids) and gosh, look at her! it was a miracle progress as well, it now is impossible to tell she has abdominal problems. she would have still throw up and deal with more bad days by now.
maybe you could ask for noahsmommy's help too, she is great at this too. but of course, please do talk with your vet and more than a few opinions are always best too, see what they think, you never know what they or food could for your little dear one. also priscilla, don't give a second thought to PM star! ;)
gentle, very gentle hugs and stritches to your dear priscilla please and let us know!
I give Molly some Royal Canin Renal LP dry along with her Fiskies. I think my vet mentioned that they make wet food in pouches. Maybe you can get a sample or two from your vet. But then, Priscilla MAY like it, then you will order it and change her mind!!!
Just checking in to say HI! and how is Priscilla doing?
Thanks, Candace and Gina and Sandra. Priscilla is doing about the same.. eats some but not much on her own, and I give her some MaxCal mixed with a little warm water, mostly from a syringe, and I give her her fluids twice a day. I spoke with Dr. Lewis a little this evening. I asked her about the raw meat, and she said that while high-calorie food is not the best in kidney cases, at this point you just want her to eat so I should try anything I think she might like.
I did try some more of the Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish and Tuna, but she still was not interested, and some of the Eukanuba Multi-Stage Renal wet food, but she voted Paws Down this time.
Dr. Lewis wants to check her hematocrit again and see if it is still holding steady at around 11 (or even improving), so I'm taking Priscilla over tomorrow afternoon for that blood test.
Thanks for the details of how you introduced Star to the raw-meat diet, Gina. I think I will give that a try when I can pick up a little raw organic meat, with luck tomorrow.
Thanks again, everyone, for all your thoughts and encouragement and prayers and good wishes.
Pat and Priscilla
I'm sorry to hear that there are still not many things Priscilla is interested in.
With Filou raw meat is always a favorite- he loves ground steak ;)
I am just seeing this thread about Priscilla for the first time today. I don't have any experience of this situation to share with you, but send my best wishes for Priscilla's blood test.
Best wishes and fervent prayers for Priscilla and you. I hope she keeps on eating!
We had that experience with some of our RB cats. We tried everything we could think of to get them to eat. It was like a cheering section when one would take a couple of bites!
Come on Priscilla, you can do it!!!
hi pat and priscilla, I had been thinking about you both, had to come and check on you, priscilla! I'm sad to hear you're still not eating... I wish you would tell us what you'd like! {{{gentle stritches}}} ..
pat, what your vet said were the same thing what mine said. but can you imagine a really, really small portion of a raw meat (baby red grape-size, maybe?) would kill priscilla instantly? "it can't be, it didn't killed me! it gave me a miracle..," said star. if priscilla loves it, try mix it with whatever other vet food she would try so she wouldn't get too much of "high-attackers". what's her BUN level? star had really high - highest probably - when she began eating raw meat. don't let this discourage you, it took star about a month and half to look a lot better, and perky, ...well worth it!!!
we all wish you a big luck that priscilla would eat something today! AND big desiring hope there would be no murphy's law today either! we love you, little one... please eat.
p.s. be careful with steak - chicken, than any other meat are always best to begin with for a start! gentle protein for now...
Cats sure can be frustrating!! BUT, at least Priscilla is eating, even though it be a little!! Boo did the same thing. I gave her baby food, canned tuna, even her ALL time favourite food, butter. ANYTHING to get her to eat....and eventually, she did eat... Sandra
Thanks for the good wishes and suggestions, Barbara, Karen, orangemm, Gina, and Sandra.
After I take Priscilla for her blood test (5:20pm), I will stop by Whole Foods and pick up a bit of raw organic beef. Should I just cut off a little tiny baby-grape-size chunk and offer it to her? Cut the little piece up into smaller bite-size pieces?
She didn't want to eat at all this morning. I syringe-fed her her 5cc of MaxCal. When I got here this afternoon, she wanted something to eat, so I gave her kibble, first KD and then Fancy Feast. She ate a little of both. I then tried one of those new Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys: White Meat Chicken Florentine in a Delicate Sauce With Garden Greens (who names these things?). She ate a little of the sauce off the top of her serving. The other cats took care of the rest. So then I syringe-fed her some more MaxCal.
Thanks, all, for the pep talk and the cheers.. I'm telling her too, You Go, Girl! (as well as how much I love her).
Pat
Pat
I thought for sure your cat would eat the Fancy Feast Medleys since that is the only thing Cosmo would eat after he was diagnosed with Kidney Disease. Have you tried just giving your kitty some tuna juice? Or putting some tuna juice on the cat food? Just a thought.Quote:
Originally Posted by phesina
yes, just one at a time.. see if she likes it. if she does - don't give her more than three chunks a day for about one or two weeks, it depends all on how she's looking, adjusting then you can increase little by little. along with, what she seemed to like, medley food too. remember, it's a SLOW progress and she needs it to be sure she's going on right path as far as can be. her mommy's heart will know. :)
anxiously waiting to hear the outcome, I hope anything you tried for her today will work!
thinking of you all..
Hope Priscilla ate a tiny bit of the raw meat and that her blood results are good!!!
Come one Priscilla, please start to eat a bit more. You HAVE to get better.
Prayers and positive thoughts on the way for your precious Priscilla.
Thanks, Elizabethann, Gina, Sandra, and Lorraine, for your suggestions and instructions and good energies.
We're back from the vet's now. AND GUESS WHAT: Priscilla has gained a bit of weight: from 5.0 to 5.3 pounds.. and her hematocrit has risen from 11 to 13. !!!!!!!! Hallelujah! !!!!!!!!
The vet said we should keep on doing what we're doing.
She also had some of the urinalysis results: it determined the type of kidney damage. One type involves damage to the cells that do the filtering; the other to the tubules that keep the liquids flowing. Priscilla's is the tubule damage, which is better because it means the sub-Q fluid helps with that. We should get the rest of the results this week.
I didn't get the meat yet.. it took a lot longer than I'd expected at the vet's. (Anyway, I wanted to see if there was anything else to keep in mind about what to get.) I'll pick some up tomorrow. Thanks for the detailed instructions on how much to give her, Gina.
I have another flavor of the Fancy Feast Medley to try on her tomorrow. I've given her tuna juice on occasion, but she's usually not interested (though sometimes she is). That's a good idea, Elizabethann, to put some on cat food. I'll give that one a try.
See, all the good advice and encouragement and prayers and love that Priscilla and I are getting from all you wonderful PT folks is really making a difference! We can't thank you enough.
Love,
Priscilla and Pat
Oh gosh, this is great news. :)
Come on pretty girl, keep up the good work and keep on eating sweetheart.
Prayers continuing for you to get well.
{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}} Pat.
That is wonderful news!!! Priscilla, do the best you can do!! (((hugs)))for Pat for all her hard work!!! Sandra
Thank you, Lorraine and Sandra, for the hugs and prayers and good wishes and encouragement.
Today I went to the meat counter at Whole Foods. I discovered that their organic meat is all prepackaged, such as a package of 4 ground-beef patties for $8-something and on up. The person behind the counter (I don't think she was a butcher) said all the meat is "natural" (that overused, meaningless word), pesticide-free, chemical-free, hormone-free, from free-range cattle, yadada, yadada, and I could get whatever amount I wanted. There were many different kinds and cuts of beef and other meats. I wound up getting a few chunks of stewing beef as a starter.
I brought it home for the Taste Test: I took a little chunk and tore it into tinier chunks and put it in a bowl before Priscilla. She sniffed it, moved away, sniffed it again, moved away again, did this a few times more, then finally settled down and ate them! So I brought some more over for her. She sniffed, then pulled back and just looked at it. I tore off tiny pieces and put them in her mouth. She ate them but was not interested in eating more on her own.
Meanwhile, the other cats are hovering around, homing right in on this. I finally served them each a small chunk in a bowl. Sydney and Poppy ate a little, testing it out to decide what it was and if they wanted to eat it. Elmer just vacuumed his up, then headed for the others' bowls and finished what they hadn't finished yet. I brought a bowl in to Peony in the bedroom. Later it was empty, but I don't know if she ate it or one of the others did.
About an hour later, Sydney threw up a small portion of beef along with a hairball. Maybe the stuff has sort of a Laxatone effect?
This afternoon Priscilla's appetite seems to have picked up in general. She ate a fair amount of KD kibble on her own, before the meat trial. After that, I gave her some wet Eukanuba Multi-Stage Renal food. Again, she sniffed, pulled away, sniffed and pulled away again, a few times more. I put a bit on her tongue a couple of times and she then ate the rest on her own.
So, I'm not sure whether to try another type of raw meat on Priscilla.. some real organic meat.. I'm sure in Ann Arbor there must be some place(s) much more organic and alternative and groovy and holistic and all that than Whole Foods.. or some other cut of beef, or some other type of meat..
It certainly made a big hit with Elmer, anyway! He thanks you all.
Priscilla and I do too.
Pat and Priscilla and Elmer (and Peony and Poppy and Sydney too, of course)
Priscilla, you are a hoot!!! Bound and determined to do it YOUR way!!!!
Oh I am so sorry to hear that your kitty is ill. We also had a cat our beautiful Cassiegirl that we lost on Nov 20th six years ago due to kidney failure. Our Cassiegirl was only 5 she was a beautiful calico we found at the ASPCA in Lorain, Ohio. I wish you all the luck and please know that just because our story did not turn our well doesn't mean your kitty will not be ok. Each case is different and special in treatment and outcome. My prayers are with you, chin up, stay positive.
hi, pat! (and elmer) :)
sorry sydney barfed out, I think that's normal when someone starts something new - it's common for cats to puke, and have diarrhea for first two weeks when they first switch over to raw diet. but stop if it doesn't get any better. you had seen, sydeny's hairball got out! probaby is why..
lol...meaningless word?? well, it's important!! so glad she's still eating! I remember star had to eat out of my hands for about two weeks too - when someone is SO sick, they wouldn't want to try, or do anything yet. after two weeks, she knows what she's getting! I also tried raw chicken, she liked it better than beef. maybe you could try that, with some flavored (tuna? salmon?) juice and meldeys/KDs.. I know $8 -- sounds miserable but you could give it to someone else, as I told you, being a multicat mother over this little chunk is pretty busy! :eek: ;)
I hope she's looking a bit perky, is she purring at all? at least a bit active since she had gained some weight? many hugs to you sweetie, I'll be waiting to hear how new you're doing..
and hugs to you too, great meowmie pat.
Thank you, Sandra, Marigold, and Gina. Thanks for all the good wishes. Marigold, I am so sorry about your Cassiegirl. That's so sad to lose her so young. I've been learning since I posted Priscilla's story here that cats in kidney failure can sometimes keep on for quite a while, sometimes not. I hadn't known that before.
Priscilla had no interest in the raw stewing beef this evening. When I would put a small piece on her tongue, she would just let it fall out of her mouth. Elmer, Poppy, and Sydney all ate theirs and had seconds (and even thirds). Elmer would pick his piece up out of the bowl and drop it on the rug. Then he'd pick it up again and shake it around and work at it. I think he thought it was prey he'd just killed (not that he'd ever killed anything before). Peony again was not interested at all in it. Nobody has thrown up yet, but it hasn't been very long yet since they ate.
Then I got out the Fancy Feast Elegant Medley Yellowfin Tuna Florentine in a Delicate Sauce With Garden Greens. Priscilla tore right into her serving of that! I gave her a second helping, most of which she finished. The others all liked that too.
Priscilla had already had her day's quota of MaxCal and kibble and SubQ fluids and medications, so this was all extra for her.
Gina, she is quite perky, considering.. When I get out the bowls to start serving out the kibble, she zips right over. She purrs quite a bit, too. You're right, Sandra, Priscilla does it HER way!
I will maybe try some raw chicken next. They had chicken livers at Whole Foods; maybe I'll try a bit of that. Gina, do you think the ground organic beef might tempt her? I would buy the expensive stuff if I thought it would really make a difference. 4 patties is a lot, even for 5 cats, and I'd hate to see some go bad before it could be eaten.
Well, that is the latest, folks. Thanks again for all your suggestions and encouragement and love.
Pat and Priscilla and the gang
oh I forgot.. how cold do you give the chunk to her?? the more it is thawed, the more it will be smelly. different from dogs, most of my cats picked up the smell quicker than pulling them right out of freezidger.
hmm, you could try ground beef, I never tried it with star because of lovely chicken but I do feed it to my cats occassionally. well, it's more smelly/tasty, don't you think so?
don't do chicken livers (and any other livers, tongues, glizzards or hearts) yet, they would be too "richy" for precious fragile priscilla right now. they're better for stronger stomachs. go for a bit warmer stew or chicken or ground beef if she hardly eats anything else - sounds like she's doing pretty good. my star won't ever, ever zip into kitchen for about three weeks. :eek:
knowing she's purring makes me happy. and elmer is too cute. :) {{:D}} :) all of us, the ark & I are chimmining for you both! come back soon, with more food in your tummy I hope. (((hugs to all)))
(still praying for no more barfs!)
Hi Gina, I haven't frozen the meat, but usually it would not be long out of the refrigerator when I gave it to them. There's only a small piece left now. (Thanks for reminding me! I just took it out of the refrigerator and will let it warm up for a while before serving.)
I will try some chicken for the next time. Thanks for the heads-up about livers, Gina. I wouldn't have thought of that if you hadn't told me.
I don't think I can get some right away. They are talking about nasty ice-storm weather around here over the next day or two or three...
Today Priscilla had, besides her usual servings of MaxCal and KD kibble and subQ fluid and meds, a little more Fancy Feast Elegant Medley Yellowfin Tuna Florentine etc. etc. and a bit of 9 Lives Ocean Whitefish Dinner.
She often purrs for me, does headbumpies, will hug me with her paws on either side of my neck. She is a very sweet little girl. She is still light as a feather, but I hope she is putting on a bit more weight. (3/10 of a pound at her last vet visit!)
Thanks again everyone for all the encouragement and good wishes and love.
Love,
Priscilla and Pat and the gang
When my Cats wouldnt eat, I would give them the Royal Canin Baby Kitten Food with Whiskas Ultra Milk.
That worked although I often had to keep the Other Cats at bay.
We are praying for Your Priscilla.