My kitty just diagnosed w/ CRF - need advice & prayers

[Ladybug70]

Well, I did it! I was able to successfully administer sub-Qs today for the first time. The vet assistant at the clinic was amazing (the whole staff has been so great to us over the last 3 weeks). They let me set everything up from start to finish, and talked me through it all. I thought I would hesitate when pushing in the needle but I felt so calm and confident with their help. Everything went perfectly. Blackie was just amazing. He just sat there and purred. My fiancee, David, helped me hold him and memorized all the steps in the procedure (thank goodness cuz I was only focused on THE NEEDLE part). 10 minutes and 200 CCs later...yay! Blackie was so calm and was in a great mood when we got home. It was David's first time watching sub-Qs and he was amazed by how simple/fast the whole procedure was and feels confident he can do it too.

The vet sent us home with 2 weeks' worth of fluid, IV lines and needles. Only cost me $45 (including today's supervised lesson)...compared to $60 PER VISIT. Wow - should only be a $100/monthly cost. Even if we have to go to daily sub-Qs at some point, ~$200/month... totally manageable... and worth it for our fur-baby. I'll just stop by every 2 weeks (they're 2 blocks from my house - so convenient!) to get a new supply and drop off the used needles. We're going to set up everything on a table in our guest bedroom and make it comfortable/cozy for Blackie. Our first solo sub-Q will be Sunday night or Monday morning. Wish us luck!

Thanks again for all your encouragement! If it wasn't for you all, I'm not sure I would have had the confidence to even try this option. Thank you for helping Blackie.

Purrs,
Lisa

[Medusa]

We all knew you could do it!

[kb2yjx]

EXCELLENT!!!!!!!! I am just concerned about giving 200 cc's. That happened with Boo, the fluids flushed out all the " good " bugs in her bladder, and she developed a UTI. How often are you giving 200cc's?

[Ladybug70]

We've been doing 200 CCs every 2-3 days for the past 2 1/2 weeks. He's a bigger boy... ~14 pounds.

[Ladybug70]

So, I knew I spoke too soon! The true test is being able to administer the sub-Qs at home (as you all warned). We've failed twice. Try #2 was tonight and it was worse than Sunday. Ironically, I have no problem putting the needle in, but Blackie just doesn't want to sit still. He's so well-behaved at the vet, but at home he's more rambunctious. We even tried putting some of his favorite food on a little plate in front of him to distract him. That helped for about 30 seconds and then he bolted... with a needle spraying fluids everywhere.

Any suggestions on how to keep the cat calm... or at least sitting still? We have everything set up in the guest room. Door is shut (so his brother won't come in). It's quiet and we have a nice table with lots of soft blankets that he likes. But he's just not having it.

I'm pretty frustrated. I'm panicked that if we don't get the fluids in very soon, I'll have to make a last-minute (and costly) trip to the vet tomorrow morning to have the fluids injected for us.

Any suggestions/tricks that have worked for you? Thanks so much!

Purrs,
Lisa

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear this. I've been following this thread but haven't replied until now. When I've done this in the past and I was always by myself, I wrapped my cat in a towel and I put them in my small bathroom so they couldn't run away. I hung the IV bag over the bathroom door and I would then position my cat between my legs. Since I was by myself this was my only option. Hopefully you'll be able to work something out so that your cat will stay still long enough to have his fluids. Good luck.

Another option might be to buy a cat sack that you can zip the cat in and then you could just unzip the top part of the way to give him the fluids. I know that Drs. Fosters & Smith sells klaw kontrol bags which can be used to help medicate or trim a cats nails. I have a few of these. Some vet offices may even sell something similar. Here's a link: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=3159. Here's another link to the cat sack: http://www.fourflags.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.3950/.f.

[Medusa]

I had to give my Boo subQ's for a while and he just refused to sit down. It's tough even inserting the needle when he's standing but I managed. When Pidgie would fight me, I gently took her front legs and stretched them out and I pushed down on her back so that she could see how I wanted her to sit that usually did the trick. All the while I was softly talking to her and telling her that it was ok. Puddy put up a real fight in the beginning but I guess when she saw that I wasn't giving up, she relented and after a while, she just accepted it. Hope this helps.