Hi Lois
Pat has given you excellent advice. I absolutely concur with everything she's said. Especially about controlling the elevated phosphorus levels. From everything I've read, high serum phosphorus levels tend to hasten the disease. I purchase my aluminum hydroxide gel powder (phosphorus binder) in bulk from a place called Goolricks Pharmacy. You can get the contact info from this link, under "About Phosphorus Binders."
http://members.verizon.net/~vze2r6qt...es/compare.htm
My Cleo also gets Calcitriol and I've had nothing but positive experience with it. My vet also has her CRF cat on Calcitriol (she found out about it because of research that I had done and consulted with an Ohio State researcher, Dr. Nagode, who is a proponant of using Calcitriol in CRF.)
While your sweet Cammie does have high numbers, I have seen worse. It is very positive that she still seems to be playing and behaving well. You should ask your vet if you can give her something for the nausea. Most people on the Feline-CRF-Support site recommend 1/4 of a 10mg Pepcid tablet, once a day to control nausea. Another medication that we used for my parent's CRF kitty, Samson, was Reglan syrup 1/2 cc, two to three times a day. You can talk to your vet about getting some cyproheptadine (Periactin) tablets to use as an appetite stimulant. They worked well on both my Cleo and on Samson. The usual recommended dosage on the CRF site is 1/8 to 1/6 of a 4mg tablet every 12-24 hours, depending on the cat.
Talk to your vet about sub-Q fluids, as those are very helpful in keeping your kitty hydrated, and also helps to flush the toxins from the system (to some extent.) I've been doing fluids on Cleo for nearly 6 years, and I did them on Samson for over 4 years before he went to the Bridge at age 19+.
For your peace of mind, please know that renal failure, in itself, is not a painful condition. I'm a nurse, and I've talked to patients with renal failure. They feel crappy, but there's not really any pain involved. I have to assume that it is the same with our kitties. When they have the nausea, they don't want to eat, which makes them feel crummy. The thing that we have to worry about with our kitties, is hepatic lipidosis. They HAVE to eat, so we really need to force/assist feed them, regardless of how crummy they feel, because we don't want to have them go into HL.
Please feel free to PM me if there's anything I can help you with. As I said before, CRF is really my 'cause.' I've spent nearly 7 years now learning as much as I can about this disease, because Cleo was diagnosed with it so young. I also lost my soul-mate kitty, Spooky, to CRF at the age of 17 years. My sister lost her 18 year old kitty to it, and my parents lost Samson on Christmas Eve because of anemia that was caused by the CRF.
I will definitely keep you and Cammie close to my heart and in my prayers. Please don't hesitate to PM me if you need a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on. I'm here for you!
Kelli Jo (Pookie) & the girls
