Acute Renal Failure

[Freedom]

Welcome to PT. Sorry that it is at such a stressful time for you.

When your cat had the initial diagnosis, the K/d prescripton food is FOR LIFE, to continue her good quality of life as long as possible. You really should have continued that.

So now she is in early stage CRF - chronic renal failure. Fluids will help her, and will prolong her life and slow the progress of the disease. This is not like a cold, that she will recover from. This is permanent, and progressive.

My cat, RB Mr. Amber Cat, had this and I did the subcutaneous fluids at home. We started at once every 3 days. By the end of 8 months, he was at 3 times per day and that wasn't enough. At 4 times a day I called a halt and had him PTS. At that point in time, he wasn't enjoying life. Amber was my first cat ever, so the disease was pretty far along by the time I realized there was an issue. Up to that point, he would ALWAYS be hungry, even learning to open the cupboards to help himself to food. He was liek a warm toasty oven next to me in bed at night. All these were early warning signs, but I didn't know that. It cost him quite a few years of his life.

Because the first problem he has was an over active thyroid. And leaving that untreated overworked his kidneys. It would have been so easy if I'd taken him in to the vet promptly at the first signs - a small pill once or twice per day to replace the hormone he wasn't getting, and all would have been well for several years.

Age 10 is young for a cat to develop kidney issues. Sometimes it is genetic. Other times, it is brought on by the food the cat lives on. Grocery store quality foods are horrible for pets, and for cats those sorts of foods overwork the kidneys daily, leading to kidney issues. I learned my lesson the hard way, and I now feed a high quality kibble with lots of added canned (also high quality) food. Cats are not used to drinking water from a bowl or stream in the wild; they rely on their prey to provide the fluids they need. So the house cat also needs to get their fluids with the meal.

High quality cat foods contain NO grains. Cats are obligate carnivores - they MUST eat "meat" to obtain the protein they require. Cat food also contains taurine, required for proper eye maintenance. Taurine occurs naturally in the liver of mice - a prime ingredient in a wild cat's diet. So again, a high quality cat food is necessary to have the nutrition a cat needs.

Getting your kitty back on the prescription food, and on the fluids, will help improve her current condition, and slow the progress of the disease. How long? There is no magic formula. The sooner the disease is caught and treatment starts, the longer the cat will live.

As Karen says, you can learn to do the fluids at home. Use a small "S" hook, and make a loop of string, and hang the IV bag from this. I used a kitchen cabinet, so I could have the cat up on the counter. It was easy this way. I left the "S" hook and string loop in place, just removing the IV bag until it was needed again.

The smaller the needle you use, the less "pinch" the cat feels - but this means a slow drip. A larger needle makes for a faster process, but the cat is definitely going to feel that! These are things you can discuss with your vet.

Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions, here AND at the vet!

[moosmom]

Great advice, Sandie!

[Honey]

Thank you for the reply, everyone.

I guess thinking back, Honey has eaten poor food. Most of her life she was on MeowMix. I had my cat since I was 8 years old, so obviously I didn't choose the food. About a year ago I started wanting to buy healthier food for my cat. I put her on Purina, and then I tried MaxCat Senior for older cats, but she hated it and wouldn't eat it so I just stuck with Purina.

My cat is now on a complete canned food diet. She has been for about three months. Hard food completely ruined her teeth and gums. When I took her to the vet actually, he checked her mouth and her gums were bloody, and inflamed. After the doctor let go of her mouth, her whole mouth started to bleed! It was absolutely terrible and put me in pain as well.
He gave her cortisone to reduce the swelling, and I had to give her medicine at home for two weeks. I notice her breath doesn't smell now, and she is always so hungry. She also seems happier though, as she used to never play (I just figured she never played because she got older). When I went back a month later, the doctor checked her gums and they're red, but they're not swollen and bloody. He said he can clean her teeth, but she has to be put on anesthesia, and it's going to cost $120. So I don't know when I will do that. But right now she's eating one 1/2 can of Purina Fancy Feast.


Regarding you post, Freedom, I don't think I can ever put a needle in my cat. When my cat had to get medicine for 2 weeks for her mouth, every time I try to give her it my heart would drop and I would get so anxious. I have a hard time handling her when she wants to be let go, because I feel bad and I want her to still love me so I always let go. Giving my cat a shot, oh my god, I just don't think I could do it.
You wrote saying it didn't help for your cat, so that really discourages me. I'm very sad about my kitty, because she still has half a life left and she has to have this curse. My poor baby.

[Taz_Zoee]

My kitty Taz, that I told you in your other thread looks like Honey, had CRF. His came on fast and furious. Although, he had some other kidney issues that I believe were related (even though the vet didn't think so). I had to do the sub-Q fluids. And after being here on Pet Talk and hearing others talk about it, I swore I'd NEVER be able to do that to my cat. But you know what....I did it! My boyfriend helped hold him and it was really very simple. The only time I missed was the very last time we did it. I began the drip and it went all over the place because I had stuck the needle all the way through.
He hardly flinched when I put the needle in (and they are not small).
It's amazing what you can do when it's necessary. Otherwise, you would need to pay the vet to have it done as often as she needs it, which would be expensive.

Don't be discouraged by the sub-Q fluids not working for someone else's cat. If you could see all the stories of kitties that it DID work for.....it's amazing. I know there are several people on here who had cats with Renal Failure who lived for several years. You just never know how quickly it can happen. And I know if either of my other two cats got it, I'd do whatever I had to in order to keep them comfortable and with me for as long as possible.

Good luck to you and Honey.

[Barbara]

With my Filou, kidney failure was diagnosed when he was 9. He went in to get sub-q fluids every week as I could not get him to hold still- he was such an active kitty. He survived the diagnosis for 5 years and in a very good life quality.

This
http://www.felinecrf.com/
is an excellent website about renal failure.

Don't give up- renal failure cannot be healed but the symptoms can be helped for a long time.

[Freedom]

Sorry, I tried to explain that the disease was well progressed by the time Amber was even diagnosed. Sub q fluids DO work and DO help - but you have to get on this, and not put it off and put it off.

I'd say the same thing for the dental cleaning. Inflamed gums, bleeding mouth, all suggest the gingivitis is advanced. Clearing it up and then not finishing the job, well, it will return and you will have to start over with the antibiotics and get the swelling down again before the dental will be able to happen. So you just make kitty suffer over and over, and spend more money on vetting which you could have avoided.

Meantime, something you CAN do is research and get educated! Here is a link to cat food ratings:
http://www.petfoodratings.net/cattable.html

Take a look around and start to learn what to look for in the labels. For example, the first one is 9Lives. Click on that. I mean the food name, under BRAND on the left most column. (not the website on the far right).

Read through that and you will learn a bit. Go back and click on another food, maybe a 3 or 4 star, to see what the different reviews look like. Poke through a few more and you start to learn what all those "ingredients" really are, and what you want to have, and what you want to avoid.

Just as for humans, spending a bit on good food can limit your medical expenses down the road. I think you will it interesting reading about the foods!

[Medusa]

Welcome to PT. Sorry that it is at such a stressful time for you.

When your cat had the initial diagnosis, the K/d prescripton food is FOR LIFE, to continue her good quality of life as long as possible. You really should have continued that.

So now she is in early stage CRF - chronic renal failure. Fluids will help her, and will prolong her life and slow the progress of the disease. This is not like a cold, that she will recover from. This is permanent, and progressive.

My cat, RB Mr. Amber Cat, had this and I did the subcutaneous fluids at home. We started at once every 3 days. By the end of 8 months, he was at 3 times per day and that wasn't enough. At 4 times a day I called a halt and had him PTS. At that point in time, he wasn't enjoying life. Amber was my first cat ever, so the disease was pretty far along by the time I realized there was an issue. Up to that point, he would ALWAYS be hungry, even learning to open the cupboards to help himself to food. He was liek a warm toasty oven next to me in bed at night. All these were early warning signs, but I didn't know that. It cost him quite a few years of his life.

Because the first problem he has was an over active thyroid. And leaving that untreated overworked his kidneys. It would have been so easy if I'd taken him in to the vet promptly at the first signs - a small pill once or twice per day to replace the hormone he wasn't getting, and all would have been well for several years.

Age 10 is young for a cat to develop kidney issues. Sometimes it is genetic. Other times, it is brought on by the food the cat lives on. Grocery store quality foods are horrible for pets, and for cats those sorts of foods overwork the kidneys daily, leading to kidney issues. I learned my lesson the hard way, and I now feed a high quality kibble with lots of added canned (also high quality) food. Cats are not used to drinking water from a bowl or stream in the wild; they rely on their prey to provide the fluids they need. So the house cat also needs to get their fluids with the meal.

High quality cat foods contain NO grains. Cats are obligate carnivores - they MUST eat "meat" to obtain the protein they require. Cat food also contains taurine, required for proper eye maintenance. Taurine occurs naturally in the liver of mice - a prime ingredient in a wild cat's diet. So again, a high quality cat food is necessary to have the nutrition a cat needs.

Getting your kitty back on the prescription food, and on the fluids, will help improve her current condition, and slow the progress of the disease. How long? There is no magic formula. The sooner the disease is caught and treatment starts, the longer the cat will live.

As Karen says, you can learn to do the fluids at home. Use a small "S" hook, and make a loop of string, and hang the IV bag from this. I used a kitchen cabinet, so I could have the cat up on the counter. It was easy this way. I left the "S" hook and string loop in place, just removing the IV bag until it was needed again.

The smaller the needle you use, the less "pinch" the cat feels - but this means a slow drip. A larger needle makes for a faster process, but the cat is definitely going to feel that! These are things you can discuss with your vet.

Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions, here AND at the vet!

Everything she said is right on the money, Honey. (little rhyme there) My cat Puddy had chronic renal failure and I administered subQ fluids to her off and on for 5 years. They feel so much better after a treatment. Acute renal failure means that it comes on suddenly and ferociously. Chronic renal failure is ongoing and a cat can live for many quality years w/the proper treatment. Your vet can show you how to administer the fluids. It's much less stressful on the cat and you and it saves a LOT of money. Good luck w/everything. I'm sure you'll do just fine and so will your kitty.