Poor Onyx....Not good update

I took Onyx to the vet yesterday. He has lost some weight lately. I think he's been loosing for awhile, but it just hit that noticeable stage. He's double coated and long haired so he looks bigger than he is. Last time he was at the vet, Onyx weighed just over 18 pounds(that was quite awhile ago). Yesterday he weighed just over 11 pounds. So the vet, Dr. Helen, ran every blood test known to felines!

She just called with the results. Onyx's T-4 levels are borderline high and his one of kidney enzyemes are elevated. I have to drop him off tomorrow morning so they can run a urine test to see if his kidneys are concentrating properly. If they aren't, we'll run into the same problem I had with Beau--treat the hyper-t and make the kidneys worse; treat the kidneys and make the hyper-t worse. Fortunately(?), Onyx is only 6 so he's a much better candidate for any kind of treatment than ol' Beau. He would have to fly to Vancouver if he needs the radioactive iodine treatment.

Am sending prayers and vibes for Onyx. Hope is feels better soon!

Hi God ~

We need s'more help down here onna ole Durt Ball --- up inna Yukon fur Onyx da Kat ...

His Mom sez he's not eatin so gud - lost a buncha poundz.
Anna Vet Gurl sez his Kidney zymes are goofie.

When You finish *polishin* Filou's toofers; can You *zip* over to the White Coats' Lab
in Whitehorse, YT - an supervise Onyx's *pee* test?

We'll all be sendin up PT Purrayers that Onyx will be an easy fix - we'd rather not hafta
send him out fur da Glow-Kat treatment in Vancouver.

THANKS, God!
/s/ the Prayer Pups

My prays for Onyx and you.

Oh boy, sorry to hear this. Let's get this all straightened out so that Onyx doesn't need treatment for any of it. Miracles happen every day. Let's expect one. :)

The Found Cats, Porch Cats And All The Pet Angel Army Are Sending Prayers For Onyx, That He Will Start Eating Agan, And That The White Coats Can Help Him Regain His Health.
I Know What A Shock It Is When The Vet Gives You Bad News About Your Cat, Esecially When They Are Relatively Young Cats.

Prayers for Onyx from RI.

Prayers for Onyx to get through this and have many, many healthy and happy years. :)

Prayers for you and Onyx from the kittens and I.

I'm sorry to hear this.:( I hope that the treatment that he receives will help him. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

Onyx had another series of tests today to determine how his kidneys are functioning. Unfortunately, it's not good. His urine is not concentrated properly and his BUN/Creatine levels are elevated. He is in the early stages of kidney failure.

His T-4 levels are slightly elevated, just at the borderline level for hyperthyroidism. His vet, Dr. Helen, thinks that slight elevation is helping his kidney function and that if we treat the hyperthyroidism we will, and I quote her clinic terms "Fry his kidneys". She believes that will shorten his life span and his quality of life dramatically and quickly. He is not a candidate for the radioactive iodine treatment due to the reduced kidney function. His heart, liver, blood pressure and all that other stuff that hyperthyroidism can affect are normal right now.

So for now, all she wants to do is redo the bloodwork every six months and change his diet, if he'll co-operate to a low protein renal support food. Not sure how I'll do that with kibble since I can't change the kibble the others eat and scheduled feedings cause a major rebellion in my house! Onyx loves canned food so I think I can get him to eat that easy enough.

I'm so sad and angry for him. He just turned 6 in September. He's too young for this!!

I hate to hear that about Onyx . He IS to young for this to be happening to him. Lets keep our fingers, toes, paws and everything crossed that maybe a change in diet will help..

Prayers on the way for your Onyx boy

You're right; he is too young for all this. So we're going to pray that he'll eat his new food and perk right up.

My prays for Onyx that he takes to the new food well. Please give him some extra kisses for me and pets too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Glacier

He is in the early stages of kidney failure.

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Prayers this is early enough to slow it right down and he can still have a good happy comfortable life. Eat what Mom gives you, Onyx!

Tamara, I know your set up is quite different from mine. I converted from "free feeding" to scheduled meal times a bit over a year ago. My vet said "twice per day is plenty." Yeah, well, my CATS did not read THAT book! We do well with 3 meals per day: getting up in the AM, 4 PM and going to bed time. The AM feeding, they wake me up. The 4 PM if it is more than 15 mintues late they are "starving kitties!" The bed time on, they don't care if it is 8 PM or 10:30 PM, but once I start my going to bed routine, they are up and meaowing. It took about 2 weeks of me keeping strictly on schedule for them to come around.

POOR Onyx!!! :( :( It is so much harder to handle a bad diagnosis when the pet is so young. But supporting him in the best possile way is all you can do sometimes, and just cherish the love.

Praying for a miracle.

T:

When my RB Speckles was diagnosed with early stages of renal failure, she was immediately put on a low-protein diet. See if you can get Medi Cal Reduced Protein dry up there. It also comes in a can and if Onyx loves wet food, that might be the way to go.

When Max was 10 I automatically put him on reduced-protein dry and I would like to think that it's preventative maintenance. He will be 16 in July and so far (fingers crossed) very healthy.

Good luck with the feeding. I can only imagine what dinner time is like around your place.

Prayers for you and Onyx. Yes, he is too young for this but I know that he will get the best care ever.

The Pet Angel Are With Onyx To Help Him Rally , And So That He Can Spend More Time With His Meowmie Who Loves Him. It Was A Shock To Me Too When Almond Rocca Baton And Pouncer Left Early For The Bridge, And We Are Praying So Hard That Onyx Has The Years With His Family That They Deserve!!!

I hope Onyx will love the reduced protein canned food and flourish on it. Please give him a hug from me, kisses too.

Glacier - please check Barbara's thread in CH, especially #25.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...7&page=1&pp=15

{{{{hugs}}}}

I'm sorry to hear about his diagnosis and he sure is young to be going through all of this.:( I hope he'll love his new low protein food and will continue to thrive for many more years to come. He'll continue to remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Lots of prayers and good thoughts for Onyx and you. No one wants to hear news like that. Let's hope the new food does the trick............