CRF - Chronic Renal Failure:links and experiences with

I wish ask about it in syrup form.
Coco hates pills but is ok with liquid.

I can no longer edit my earlier post re slippery elm bark syrup, so will do this as a new message.

The information about it, what it may help with, is at the site I listed but of course, someone should check with their vet about using it, doseage and timing. I can say I have personally used it (with my vets approval) with mixed results, enough of a good opinion about it to suggest it be considered by others

I always ask the vet first before I use anything.
Coco is so allergic to everything.

Hello !

It's been a while since I write here...

Hija my CRF cat, she had her breakfast/lunch yesterday (100gr wet food)
since then she has not eaten anything and had nausea, she licked a little of a chicken sheba can (her favorite) yesterday and vomited immediately.
This morning she is still the same, I tried to force feed her a little of pate and she vomited again.
I gave her 1/4 of Famotadine a couple of min. ago. How to know if I have to give her agian in 12 hrs? I just give her and wait if she feels better?

She is 17.5 yrs old. She's just sleeping in her electric blanket

I do not want to hear that I have to go to the vet as is useless, no lab, no x-ray, no ultrasound, I am his second CRF cat and I trully do not think he can do something. I live in a greek island, weather is horrible, meaning there are no boats leaving for Athens, beside is X-mas ... Just like last year when my nightmare started with Gris...

I can ask my vet for an apetite stimulant injection, but would that be wise with her nausea? I do not know what to do !!

They do not sell gerber here....


Any other advice will be highly appreciated

I am really scared that this might be the end, she has been with me since I was a teenager

Thank you !

I would give it in 12 hours.
My 16.10 year old Crf cat has days were she throws up alot.
Some days she is ok and eats alot.
I do not know what to say because you are in the Greek Islands.

She can have another 1/4 tab of famotidine twelve hours after her first. You should call your vet and ask for a prescription for Reglan ( Metoclopramide)syrup. Reglan also helps with the nausea (but works in a different way than pepcid.) My CRF Angel Spooky got 1/4 cc of Reglan syrup about 1/2 hour before feeding. She was on it the entire last three years of her life. My parents' CRF cat, Samson. also had very good results with Reglan.

Cats also become nauseous because of not eating......then it becomes a vicious circle, not eating because of nausea, nauseous because of not eating. If your vet carries Hills a/d, get a couple of cans and liberally mix in some phosphorus binders. It is liquidy enough to put into a syringe to assist feed.

Periactin (cyproheptadine) comes in pill and liquid form. It has worked well as an appetite stimulant for all of the CRF cats that have been in my life. (I seem to be a CRF cat magnet!) 1/4 to 1/3 tablet works quite well for my cats. It can be dosed every 12 hours.

Call your vet and discuss everything I've mentioned. Somewhere, you should be able to get the treatment that Gris needs to get over this bump in the road.

You and your sweet kitties are in my prayers.
Have a happy Christmas!

~~Hugs~~
Kelli Jo & The Girls

I would just add to the responses you've already had, to consider learning how to assist-feed her - should be a link in the top message of this thread.

I sometimes would find this would jump start Patrick's appetite.

Make sure she stays hydrated - if you are set up for sub-q fluids - if she begins to show skin tenting etc., you could ask your vet if they agree that you could give her some fluids to rehydrate her. If you are not set up to do so, try to tempt her to drink by making some plain boiled chicken broth (no seasonings) for her to drink.

Def. good move trying the pepcid...hope she feels better soon..some days are just off days for kitties with crf.

Hello All ,

Thank you for your comments, sorry for not wishing a merry xmas but with all this I got a scare, not over yet though.

Today she ate a little boiled chicken, a little boiled beef, licked a little of the broth of the chicken, drank water and had a little of chicken ham ( I know is really not good but is something she loves and would eat) All of them were eaten while stroking her so she would feel better

I also gave her a little of Felovite (vitamins paste with taurine)
All her dishes with 5 diff. foods are set near her bed, I hope to see some empty tomorrow when I wake up.

Unfortunately there is no a/d at the vet, nor anything similar... and she does seems hydrated, about sub-q fluids, I do not think they are needed now, and I hope not to need them because the vet will go on holidays this friday till Jan 6th, and there will be no one here to help.

I also know and understand that she had quite a long life, and I just do not know how much to push it, like if she gets to the point where she would need the fluids and I have to force feed her, wont she be in pain then?
I always ask myself that question, would I let her go and not let her suffer or would I hold to the idea of having her with me so I would not loose her.
How would I know when the time is right? That I keep asking myself

Thank you !

Oh that is the hardest decision to make...the when is it time.

My experience with my kitties won't be the same, cause their personalities are just as varied as us humans

My experience - Patrick was still playing with toys, purring, sleeping with one paw on my shoulder after several years of sub-q fluids and as needed assist-feeding sessions. His eyes still smiled...

My decisions are always based on what can I fix or ease, what quality of life do they have, what are they telling me. I know my babies so well...we all do. Your kitty will tell you, truly.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Oh that is the hardest decision to make...the when is it time.

My experience with my kitties won't be the same, cause their personalities are just as varied as us humans

My experience - Patrick was still playing with toys, purring, sleeping with one paw on my shoulder after several years of sub-q fluids and as needed assist-feeding sessions. His eyes still smiled...

My decisions are always based on what can I fix or ease, what quality of life do they have, what are they telling me. I know my babies so well...we all do. Your kitty will tell you, truly.

Click to expand...

Kandie told us ... Ben ( not a cat ) told me by his actions .. on the other hand Gigi ( dog ) is still going but she also was more pliable to medicating and treating

Hi again,
Today's update-
She vomited once more either during the night or early in the morning, gave her the pill again, she actually ate since the afternoon almost one can of 85gr of Shesir tuna with aloe (tuna for cats) (grain free, tuna chunks, 50% tuna, 5% aloe and some vitamins

If this is the only thing she eats is fine with me as long as is fine with her. At least till she gets back to normal. She'll get another pill soon and I will leave some more food for her during the night

Is tuna for cats as bad as tuna for humans? Anyway, I will start mixing it with chicken so she wont get so much tuna, I do not give them that much fish flavor to my cats, I prefer chicken/turkey

Thanks for your support, things seems to be better and I hope it was just a scare.

I'm new to the joyous world of CRF, and am trying to work out a new diet for my picky little Diesel. He seems to be doing better in the kidney world, as our last check of his levels showed he was somewhere in the normal range as far as the BUN (I think it's called) and the other one.. But he's still fairly anemic. I'm talking to the vet tomorrow, as we're headed there for his Epogen shot, so professional advice is forthcoming, but I'm looking for some food advice that maybe you folks would know a little something about.

He's a picky eater, but a hungry one. He won't eat the goo-style canned food lump. He'll lick it a few times and look at me mournfully. He'll eat it off a spoon for me, but that's a big can and he's got a busy schedule. There are birds to watch and siblings to lick.

He'll eat chunky or shredded or sliced canned food like it's going out of style. Does anyone have any recommendations regarding CRF-friendly canned food of that style? My vet doesn't carry anything of that nature, nor do any of the local animal supply shops.

Alternately - Do any of you have experience with raw diets? He's a big fan of chicken bones (well, of dragging them out of the trash and leaving them, half-gnawed, in the middle of the bathroom floor) so I think it might be a good fit for him.

Thanks in advance for your help

My cat just gets the k/d and purina n/f.
I have no idea what food would work for your cat.
How old is your cat?
What are his numbers?

Originally Posted by mews2much

My cat just gets the k/d and purina n/f.
I have no idea what food would work for your cat.
How old is your cat?
What are his numbers?

Click to expand...

He's about nine, and as far as his numbers, I don't know them offhand, but at last check two weeks ago, he's in the normal range, just a little high. At our last vet trip on Friday they didn't check his kidney values, just took blood to check his red cell count.

Hi...there is a sticky note at the top of this forum on crf...first couple of messages give links - I'd go check out the one for jmpeerson's food lists. You can check the protein/carb/phos levels for many of the canned foods out there (prescription and non) and choose something of the texture your kitty likes, with numbers that your vet would like (run what you choose by your vet...bottom line is, you have to get him to eat and you can always ask about using a higher phos containing food, using a phos binder in the food to counter that).

How is his nausea? Is he on an antacid?

I second Pat's advice. If your cat won't eat the prescription renal diets, it might just be better to give him the foods that you know he will eat, and add phosphorus binders to it.

Welcome to our CRF club. It isn't a club that you'd voluntarily join, but you have lots of wonderful company in it! Please keep us posted on your sweet Diesel's progress! You are both in my prayers.

Thanks for your tips, guys!

Diesel has no nausea, no vomiting, no -anything- that would indicate that he's anything but healthy. He's finally grooming himself properly again, and is no longer a dandruffy mess. It's great to see him be BLACK again, 'cause he was awfully grungy for a while. He's off sub-q fluids right now, 'cause he's keeping hydrated on his own. He frolicks like a kitten and purrs like crazy - He's not a purr-er.

I learned a fun trick about his Kidney Goo food - Typically, we feed him in the bathroom to keep the other cats away from him. I learned that if I sit there with him and poke at the food every once in a while with a spoon, he'll gobble it up. He ate almost an entire can last night, which is wonderful - He's eating what he should eat for what he SHOULD weigh, not what he does. Maybe I don't need to change up his food - He just likes my company.

Hello again,

Now my CRF will not even eat the good quality food just the cans that I buy for a treat for the outside cats, KITEKAT chicken... and well... is not a good food...
the phos % looks low but then I do not know how to calculate it on the dry matter basis..

Moisture 82%, Fibre 0.3%, Protein 7.0%, Fat 5.0%, Carbohydrate 3.2%, Magnesium 0.02%, Sodium 0.2%, Calcium 0.32%, Phosphorous 0.35%

can anyone help? i'm terrible at math...

Originally Posted by ronit

Hello again,

Now my CRF will not even eat the good quality food just the cans that I buy for a treat for the outside cats, KITEKAT chicken... and well... is not a good food...
the phos % looks low but then I do not know how to calculate it on the dry matter basis..

Moisture 82%, Fibre 0.3%, Protein 7.0%, Fat 5.0%, Carbohydrate 3.2%, Magnesium 0.02%, Sodium 0.2%, Calcium 0.32%, Phosphorous 0.35%

can anyone help? i'm terrible at math...

Click to expand...

This is real general ... ie given to me by a conventional vet ...

7 protein roughly 28 -36% protein dry matter ( someone had posted a more accurate chart

5 fat would be approx 20-25%


Not a calculator ( searching )
but has alot of different foods already done
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canned.htm

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/CanFoodNew.html

http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html

very very simplistic ball park
http://www.youth.sg/content/view/441/29/1/5/

Thank you sharky... if I do it right then that can has a lot of phos... 1.94%
the lists you posted have great info, I've seen them my problem is my location and I do not have access to them...
Now that I think I know how to get the dry matter I will search within the brands we have here..