Dillon update

cmo

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Dillon is doing OK since his time in the vet two weeks ago, apart from the clearout to make him go to the loo, he is not too bad. His blood test numbers were high but the blood pressure is down and the istin tablets are keeping him stable. The problem I still have is making sure he has bowel movements without giving him tummy ache. I increased his liquid paraffin (same stuff as lactulose I believe) to one and half tsp a day as he was starting to pass rocks! This got him going so he now does a small bumble 4 times a day but he is not happy. Everytime he goes he walks around for ages before going and drops it anywhere he can, I think that it must be giving him irritable bowel and I need to change again. Does anyone know of any catfood that has roughage in it, he is on the proper kidney food at the moment but I am past caring about that, it is quality of life that matters at the moment as he is 19, wobbly on his old legs and mostly sleeps and eats.
For years he went to loo only every 2nd or 3rd day, it was black but he seemed a lot happier with that!
Thanks for any advice.
Chris
 
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cmo

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Been feeding him wet pouches waltham which he likes, but there is no fibre in it, in between I give him other stuff, I eased off the liquid paraffin, but today he needed to go and we had the usual howling and straining even though the motion is not hard like before, I dont know whether to give him more or less! Today I had to pull the stuff off and wash him off again as he cant wash himself properly now, this is getting to be a major problem.
Thanks
Chris
 

cloud_shade

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I would call the vet--he may need to have his anal glands expressed. If they are enlarged, that could be contributing to his problems. Also, is he urinating normally?
 
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cmo

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He is urinating normally. I have asked my vet several times about his constipation and they just say "it is his kidneys" and leave me to it. I have tried the lactulose, pumpkin, oatbran, wheatbran etc. I am back giving him the phsyllium husk power mixed with water and a couple of tiny drops of the liquid paraffin. I found some higher fibre moist cat food in the shops yesterday so put that down for him last night. He seems happier doing a bit every second day!

Thanks
Chris
 

cloud_shade

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I just re-read your original message. I noticed you said he was "wobbly"--has he had his potassium levels checked? While that may not help with the consitpation, low potassium can make them feel rather crummy.
 

denice

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The only thing I know about kidney problems in cats is what I have read on this site but it seems really common for the older cats with CRF to be given sub-q fluids on a regular basis. Is he being given this?
 
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cmo

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I dont know, I have a list of stuff they tested for, what would be the wording for the potassium. The creatine was 522 (ref 27 to 186) and the bun was 40 (ref 4 to 11) but the phos was normal at 2.08 (ref 1.09 to 2.74). Would the pottasium be the NA or K?, theres a lot on the vetscan, then there is the hematology, the first lot are in the range, the bottom ones arent. The PLT is 42 (ref 120 to 500), the MPV is 9.7 (ref 4 to 7), the pct is 0.04% and PDW a question mark 0 (ref 9 to 12). I dont know how significant they are.
Thanks
Chris
 

rang_27

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Originally Posted by Denice

The only thing I know about kidney problems in cats is what I have read on this site but it seems really common for the older cats with CRF to be given sub-q fluids on a regular basis. Is he being given this?
Yes it sounds to me like if your not doing sub-q fluids, you should be. I did that for 2 years with my previous cat. I did it at home, the vet showed me how to. This will help him stay a little more hydrated & hopefully make it easier to have a BM.

Maybe I missed it, but are you adding water to his food? I've started doing that for Jordan hoping that it will help him pass his stool a little beter. Also, when Smokey had CRF she often wouldn't want to eat. So if I watered down her dry food (she refused to eat wet food) & put it in the microwave for just a few seconds (becareful not to get it too hot) then she would eat a little more.
 

cloud_shade

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Potassium is K, Sodium is Na. The potassium should be in the upper half of the normal range. If it's not, it may be time to supplement with potassium.
 
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cmo

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Then potassium is 4.1 (range 3.7 to 5.8) and sodium is 153 (range 142 to 164). At least these were normal even though the cre and bun were very high.
Thanks
Chris
 
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