***Cosmo Has Kidney Disease ***

[elizabethann]

Well I gave Cosmo his fluids last night and about a 1/2 hour ago. Some of it ended up all over the rug because he would get mad & walk away. I close the door to the bedroom & do it in there. Maxie, my other cat scratches the door and wants to be let in. My dog Fenway just lays on the couch looking scared.

Cosmo has been peeing, but he still hasn't pooped. He eats very little. I've given him tuna and K/D moist. But he just nibbles at it. I wish he would eat more.

He sleeps in the corner of the living room and he when he's up he cries and cries. It's just so sad. For some reason he is very affectionate now. He NEVER was affectionate. He sits on my lap and when I go to bed, he lays down on the pillow next to me. He never sleeps on me or near me, he just lays there. And he just stares at me. It breaks my heart. I don't know if he's telling me that he's hurting and wants to go. Or if he just can't see that well anymore so he just stares at me wondering who I am.

The vet said to give him fluids for 2 days but I think I'm going to continue until Monday. Then I need to call the vet on Monday and ask about giving him fluids the rest of the week.

I'm supposed to be leaving for a 3 night trip on Thursday and I thought if I could get him on fluids, my sister won't be so worried to watch him. I'm still not sure if I'll be canceling my trip. I was really looking forward to it. But I'm not sure I would enjoy myself becuase I'll be worried about Cosmo. If I cancel, it will cost me big bucks - I'll lose a huge deposit. I wish I could bring Cosmo with me but I know he wouldn't like the car ride.

Thanks for the advice everybody. I'm sure this isn't the last you'll be hearing from me. Please keep Cosmo in your thoughts.

P.S. Quick question - when you give your cats fluids, is it normal for some of it to come out in the area where you stuck the needle?

[Lizzie]

It's normal for some fluid to leak out, there's sometimes a little blood in it also, especially when you give a large amount. It's hard to do when they want to rush away from you after the fluids, but putting a little pressure on the needle hole can help reduce the amount leaking back out.

I also found that my cats became more affectionate and I put it down to their realizing that they needed me, found comfort from me, and that the treatment, while they hated it, was a bond between us. If all goes according to plan, in about a month you will be glad that you did give Cosmo a chance to enjoy more years of life.

[elizabethann]

Cosmo pooped! I've never been so happy about seeing poop before! It was one little poop, but he pooped nontheless. He ate breakfast this morning too - very little. But at least he had something.

I bought some new kibble. It's called Innova Lite. It has 26% protein. I hope he likes it (Maxie too). I also bought some lite soft food - can't remember the name of it. But it has 8% protein. Cosmo hasn't been eating the K/D. I had a sample of Fromms and he ate that up. But it has 32% protein so I didn't think it would be good for him as his regular meal.

[Lizzie]

Congratulations on the poop! Isn't it a relief when you now their system if functioning as it should.

My vet has always told me that when a cat is very sick and not or barely eating, it's far more important to get them to eat than trying to give them what they should eat, that can be adjusted when they are enjoying their food again. I was really shocked when he told me that, but it's worked out for me.

[elizabethann]

Okay, so Cosmo doesn't like the Innova Light. He would rather eat the Fromms. I'll have to go & buy some. I also picked up some Fancy Feast. It's a new kind of Fancy Feast. And he ate it when I got home tonight (about 1 tablespoon). And he had some Fromms (about 5 pieces of kibble).

I bought a Fresh Flow water fountain for him too. You plug it in and the water goes through a filter and the water is fresher and more oxygenated. He seems to like it. And Maxie & Fenway do too.

I have to give him some fluids tonight as well as his pill. I don't want to disturb him. He's sleeping right now.

[elizabethann]

Cosmo is doing a whole lot better. He's been eating & eating! He keeps wanting me to feed him. Of course I do. I didn't give him any fluids on Monday but I gave him 100 cc's yesterday. I will the do the same today. I'm leaving to go up North on Friday and will be back Sunday. We originally were going to be gone Thursday too but I cancelled that. I think 3 nights may set him back (stress him out). I think he can handle 2 nights without me. My sister will be feeding him. However, she can only come once on Saturday so I will ask my neighbor to feed him Saturday night. We'll see.

Thanks for the advice & encouragment. I really thought I was going to have to put him to sleep and he'd be gone by now. But I think he has some fight left in him.

Thanks again!

[TopCat3]

Hello there
I don't get on here to post much at the moment, but I always check the pets pictures every day. Today I had a quick look at Cat Health and saw your post.

I remember how I felt a year ago when my Cleo was diagnosed with high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. In a word, devastated.

A lot of confusion and questions and reading and crying. I sense that you went through something similar, just from reading your posts, I thought I could sense that reaction - forgive me if I'm being presumptious.

Cleo started medication for the high BP and hyperthyroidism, it was then that the extent of the kidney problem was unmasked, once these conditions were under control. That's quite common. Cleo was nearly 17 at that time.

During the summer (Christmas and just after, here in Australia) she was really off her food and lost weight. The heat and humidity of the Sydney summer really affected her. She was not on fluids then. She started fluids around February, I think it was, once a week at the vet. I was going through some legal wrangles at the time and just couldn't cope with the thought of doing it myself, I was just so wrung out with everything it was a relief to have someone take over anything for me. In hindsight I realise my stressed state affected Cleo. So what I guess I'm saying here, is the more relaxed and steady you can be, the more routine and calm your life is, I think it will really help Cosmo. I really think Cleo was distressed at MY distress over her and everything else that was happening at the time.

Giving the tablets became a routine. We have a special song we sing when it's time (well, I sing it!) and she takes them like a good girl, just the occasional spit when I don't get it right on the back of the tongue. She also has Chinese herbs and potassium supplement and now I am mixing in a little Green Lipped Mussel extract into the liquid potassium supplement for arthritic joints as she is a little stiff after resting. I just tip her head back and squirt in 2ml with a syringe and hold her head back till I hear her gulp. She knows what she has to do, and just gazes into my eyes the whole time, trustingly and lovingly.

I learned to do the fluids myself after all my dramas were past and I could mentally take it on board. It was very scarey at first but I did it at the vets several times then at home. Cleo went up to fluids twice weekly, now she has them three times weekly, about 100ml at a time. She is eating really well and even eats the kidney diet biscuits with gusto, now. She is not fond of the wet kidney diet, as are most cats apparently, it is just so boring and tasteless, the vet tells me.

We do the fluids together now with much ease and confidence. She sits still and afterwards I brush and comb her once or twice a week. I figure that apart from keeping her coat nice, the gentle brushing acts like dry skin brushing does on us, helping to remove toxins. Also it will help the lymphatic drainage which will also help remove toxins.

She felt the cold badly in winter and hugged the heater a lot. I made her a little polar fleece coat. She eats really well and has put on weight. Cleo will be 18 in December and everyone is amazed at how young she looks and how well she is.

Please, if I may say so, don't give up on Cosmo. Kidney disease is usually quite far advanced in cats before it is detected (I'm sure you know this now from reading all the websites) so at first they do feel wretched - and so do we and they pick up on that. Once stabilised and into a routine of fluids plus any medication they might need to address concurrent conditions (quite common), they seem to recover well and become much more their old selves. This year has been very precious as Cleo and I have become even closer than we were and she has found a deeper level of love and utter trust in me. We will both know when it is time. When she no longer can eat or drink or toilet or if she ceases to respond to fluids and is just miserable, I will give her the most loving gift of all, release from misery. I lover her too deeply to let her suffer.

This has been such a poignant time for me I have felt unable to share it until I sensed what I believed was despair and confusion as to the best course of action, in your post.

I do hope things are going well now for you and Cosmo and your other cat and dog have become supportive. My other cat, Colette, cuddles up to Cleo and helps to groom her - she teases her too and makes her run for a bit of exercise!

Take care and thank you for reading our story and thank you for posting so that I felt able at last to share the preciousness of this year since Cleo was diagnosed. Sorry if I've rattled on a bit, I am not renowned for brevity!!

Here is a picture of Cleo at her trip to the vet when she weighed in a little heavier, she's wearing the coat I made her.

Good luck.
TopCat

[elizabethann]

TopCat,

Thank you so much. Your post was so thoughtful and encouraging. I really appreciate it. It sounds like Cleo is loved very much. I so love the picture with her little fleece coat - beautiful! I've been closing the windows now that the nights get to 50/60 just because I know Cosmo (who used to love sitting in the window) gets chilled a bit more these days. He's actually doing so well. When people come over, they can't believe he has kidney disease. He is skinnier but other than that, you would never know he has this issue. I've been giving him his fluids about once per week or once everyother week. I will finish the bag of fluids I have and then watch him ever so closely. He eats like a pig and that's a good sign. I love him dearly and will make him comfortable and give him extra kisses & love.

Thanks again for your post. I wish you & Cleo the best (Colette too).