My cat is diagnosed with kidney failure

Remember Snowy, my white cat with UTI?

His condition didn't improve after we took him home from the vet 3 weeks ago. His flu continue for 3 weeks and he was very weakened. He gradually lost his appetite and started vomiting. We took him back to the vet and he was put on the drip.

3 days later after a blood and urine tests, the vet just called me up. They confirmed Snowy has renal failure He doesn't have much time to live.

I cried when I visited him last Thu night because I somehow instintictly knew inside he won't be around for long. The thing is I don't know how to break the news to my mom, who has a weak heart and a very soft spot for Snowy.

I found myself bargaining with God 2 weeks ago to give Snowy another 10 more good years when he didn't seem to get better. He just turned 8 this year.

I just burst out crying

I am so sorry, this is devastating news, I will pray for Snowy.

I am so very sorry. Our sweet girl died from renal failure a year and a half ago. She had just turned 15. We were very blessed that we caught her UTI early and she was given meds for kidney and fluids once a week. It's still very hard to deal with and to know what is coming. I always felt bad giving her the IV, but I knew it made her feel better. She lived for about 5 more months. It's true that each cat is different so there is no telling how long one cat will live compared to another in the same condition. Just enjoy the time you do have with Snowy. I understand what you are going through and know that you are not alone.
I hope that Snowy will come through or at least improve. Keep us posted please.

See your Im box

I am so sorry. I know how I felt the first time I heard that diagnosis with one of my cats. I just want to share that no one can tell you how much time Snowy has. My Patrick lived almost 4 years with renal failure after diagnosis, Tyler has had it for over 2 years, Frankie with over 1, and Tippy has a different issue that is causing renal failure.

I found a lot of helpful information that assisted me in care decisions at:
http://www.felinecrf.org

I made diet changes, used meds prescribed by my vet (pepcid, calcitriol, sub-q fluids for Patrick, and in Tyler's case tumil-k to keep his potassium levels up, both Tyler and Tippy are on medication for their high blood pressure caused by the renal failure)

It is true, once diagnosed a cat has already lost a great deal of kidney function, it is not true that this means they will die within a short time. Not necessarily.

Best advice I can give...treat the cat, not the numbers. Ignore the numbers except as a guide for how you tweak their treatment, but if they still have quality of life, that is what you pay attention to, not the bun/creatinine numbers.

Feel free to pm me any time. I wish your kitty to stabilize and respond well to treatment.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Wintervixen. I don't know anything about renal failure, but I can clearly imagine your anxiety and fear. I am praying for all of you and Snowy!

Pat has given some great advice. Chronic kidney disease is often a very manageable condition. With treatment, cats can have excellent quality of life for years. Ten years is probably more than can be expected but five years is not outside the realm of possibility.

The first thing is to schedule a consultation with a board certified internal medicine specialist to devise a treatment plan. It will probably involve subcutaneous fluids each day at home (this is easy to learn and only takes 5-10 minutes a day), medication that might include Pepcid and phosphate binders, and a special diet. All in all it's a commitment but it should only add about 15 minutes to your daily routine and the results are well worth it.

I am sorry to hear about Snowy. Did the vet say how advanced the kidney failure is? Did they give you any treatment options?
When my cat Sylvia was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure, the vet called us in right away to show us how to give her subcutaneous fluids. At first we were giving them twice daily. As time went on we worked on managing her condition nutritionally (by choosing a high-quality low protein/phosphorus food--we did a lot of research and worked to see what she'd actually eat, we ended up with Wellness Lite) and we reduced her fluids to once a day, and then every other day. There are also medications that can be given to help keep a cat with kidney failure comfortable and to support their systems.

Sylvia was about 12 or 13 when she was diagnosed. She passed away 2 1/2 years later from a completely unrelated illness (she developed mammary cancer, which metastatized) and was still doing ok with the kidney values at that time.

Our family cat ChiChi was diagnosed 3 years ago with CRF and she is still alive.
Read up on it and talk to your vet about the options, its is not always a death sentence.

All,

Thanks so much for your kind words and support. I'm feeling very low (& so is my mom) because the vet told me that chances of him surviving is very low.

I don't know how the vets work in the USA but I think vet care over there is of higher standard than that in Singapore. It's "easier" to put animals with chronic illness to sleep. I refuse to exercise that option for Snowy. If he should die, let it be the natural way. At least it's not cancer (which is a lot of pain).

I suspect his kidney failed about a week ago. That's when I noticed that his urine smell was very different from the usual. It stank very bad. He started vomiting gradually too. Today, he retched twice in 4 hours. Mainly fluids came out.

He's on medication for his flu, cold and kidney problem. He's not eating so they prescribed him a canned science diet vet prescription. With the constant vomiting, I wonder how much medication or food will be absorbed by his body. So, I question the treatment and feeding altogether.

What is this subcutaneous therapy I'm reading about? I was tempted to ask the vet to let me bring the IV home and plug him to it as it's the only way to keep him hydrated and nourished.

Blood test done on Feb 3rd, 2007.

Creatitine: 4.6mg/dl

BUN: 124mg/dl

Sub-q means the fluids are given under the skin, not into a vein. Many folks learn the technique for this, and give this to their cat in the amount and frequency prescribed by their vets. Usual fluid used is lactated ringers.

Please visit the website I listed in my earlier note to you in this thread. It was written by a european, but is useful no matter where one lives...it is well researched and accurate. If you would like, pm me for the address of a support group that has members world wide.

Some members are also in countries where the vets may not be as up on treating chronic renal failure as in other countries, but with what they learn and a willing vet, they manage to improve the care their cat is receiving.

Cats in renal failure have increased stomach acid, vomitting is not unusual, and it can be treated...they also lose their appetite...keeping them hydrated, keeping their phosphorous level down may help them regain appetite (part of the blood work your vet will have done should show your cats blood chemistry results as well as kidney values..so the labs should show a result for potassium level, phosphorous level, calcium level, glucose level as well as bun and creatinine - the last two being specific for kidney function).

Due to the volume of urination and the inability to concentrate the urine, kitties in kidney failure, many, have too low potassium levels (one can address this by the prescribed use of a supplement such as Tumil-K), and many have a too high phosphorous level which can be dealt with by using a phosphorous binder.

Truly...your cat may be able to feel better again, but you do need to know the results of the above labs, and if your vet is not being proactive, you need to educate yourself fast, and ask them to work with you.

Let me know if you want the address for this support list with worldwide members.

Originally Posted by wintervixen

Blood test done on Feb 3rd, 2007.

Creatitine: 4.6mg/dl

BUN: 124mg/dl

Click to expand...

Chichi had high levels like this when she was first diagnosed. I believe, even higher BUN at 160.
She received 3 days of IV treatment at the hospital and then was put on a special diet, medications, and subq fluids at home and she bounced back quite nicely.

Pat & Alix knows what she's talking about, please read up on her posts and good luck

I'm so sorry to read that Snowy has been diagnosed with CRF.

You've received some great advice so far. The felinecrf site that Pat has linked has a lot of good information that you should read.

I lost one of my cats, Midnight, to CRF last June. She lived well for a little over two years after being diagnosed with kidney failure. She was given a prescription diet (usually it was Purina N/F but sometimes it was the Hills k/d) and she was also given subQ fluids three times a week. Every other bag of fluid had potassium added to it by the vet.

CRF is terminal but the good news is that it can be managed for a time and that not all cats will go through this. Every situation is different and not all cats will respond the same way to treatment. Some cats have only lived for a short time after being diagnosed but others have lived for years with this condition. I would read up as much you can on this and don't hesitate to ask your vet any questions that come to mind. Be aggressive with your vet in managing this.

Administering SubQ fluids:
http://www.felinecrf.com/managh.htm

Good luck and best wishes to you and Snowy.

All, after reading your replies, I'm no longer feel helpless for Snowy. At least, I know now that there's a chance to see that he may live longer.

I'll read up on the feline crt support website as posted by Pat & Alix (tx u) and also will check out all of the vet clinics in Singapore tomorrow to find out if one of the vets here will help me. I've also registered as a member of the support group and no awaiting reply from the moderator.

I'm no longer crying or feeling so sad/helpless anymore

Big hugs to all of you,
Nita

i am sorry to hear about Snowy, but am so pleased that things are seeming more hopeful for you, and I do hope you can get your vet to agree to try some things. If not, or if he does and things dont get better, please do consider euthanasia as an option, not letting him go naturally - it isn't pleasant in cats with kidney failure, I had to watch my neighbours cat go downhill due to her owner not believing in it 18 months ago, and you wouldnt' want to put a cat you love dearly through that, believe me. It might not be pain like cancer, but there is suffering involved.

Originally Posted by wintervixen

Blood test done on Feb 3rd, 2007.

Creatitine: 4.6mg/dl

BUN: 124mg/dl

Click to expand...

Those numbers are high but not insurmountable. I would recommend keeping him in the hospital for a few more days to see if you can get the numbers to go down at all. Then with treatment you can keep them stable. If you can keep the creatinine close to 3, you'll be looking at a condition that can be managed for a long time.

The most common medicines for CRF are actually very common human medicines so you should be able to obtain them easily. Pepcid (generic name famotidine) is a common antacid. One common phosphate blocker is aluminum hydroxide, which in the US is sold under the trade name Maalox and is available in any drugstore. All you need is for a vet to work with you to determine the dose.

Honey, I can't offer any medical advice, but I do want to say that I'm so sorry you have to go through this...hopefully something can be done to extend the life of your precious kitty.

Pat gave you a great resource ...

I am sending both of you

All,

Posting here keeps me sane.

My mom and I are now emotionally stabilized by the ordeal. I read the website to find out more info and yes, it helps (tx again, P .

A good news is I found a vet here which prescribed subcutaneous therapy to CRT patients. I just called my vet to get hold his medical records a,d they offered instead to write a general report than the precise one. I insisted on a precise one, which they said was too much to write (?). So, they suggested that the new vet called them up so that they "can talk over the phone" (whatever that means). I told them I'll get back to them.

So, I called up the new vet (haven't visit them yet) and told them exactly what my vet said. The guy there (not sure if he's the vet) said he'll call up the clinic and talk to them. I told him I wasn't judging my vet (no good since no more treatment etc.) and I wouldn't know what will transpire between these 2 vets (Singapore is such a tiny country you never know who walks in that door ...) but I wanted to get a second opinion. I wanted the new vet to start on a clean slate about my cat and forming judgments on SNowy's condition based on what the current vet has to say.

I said the same thing to my vet ie. I wanted to get a second opinion in terms of follow-up treatment from another practitioner.

I'm waiting for the new clinic's call.