Tiger-CRF

Hello guys! I wrote earlier this month about how Tiger was diagnosed with CRF. We got him home and the past few weeks have been pretty uneventful up until yesterday..it appears that he's crashed again. It's no where near as severe as it was initially because we recognized the symptoms right away but I just have a few questions for those of you who have been through this with your kitties.

1) We've been giving him Sub-Q treatments for the past two days (yesterday was a bad day). We're giving him 150 fluids once a day. Tonight his coat looks a lot better than it did 3 days ago even. That was what the vet recommended to us after he left the vet. Now that he's in a crisis situation again, I'm wondering if upping it to 200 would be okay to try.

2) Yesterday he was having terrible problems with constipation. He couldn't get comfortable and would just squat anywhere trying to poop but nothing would come out. Today, while he's doing number 1 in the litterbox, he's still doing number two on the floor. I have no idea what to do to help him out here.

3) I'm giving him the 1/4 pepcid pill once a day. Yesterday when he was throwing up again though I noticed that he has A LOT of stomach acid. I want to give him 1/2 a pill to see if that helps get his appetite back up. Or maybe even 1/4 twice a day?

Any help is welcomed. If he doesn't improve over the next 48 hours we're definitely going to get him back to the vet.

CALL the local ER vet .... CRF cats are sensitive

Originally Posted by sharky

CALL the local ER vet .... CRF cats are sensitive

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One neighbor is out of town and the other is working until 6 am. I'm going to make sure we call the vet first thing in the morning when working neighbor gets home from work. Thank you for the quick reply.

Absolutely DO NOT incease the amount of sub-Q fluids without guidance from your vet. Too much fluid could cause your cat to go into congestive heart failure, and that could very well be lethal. Personally, unless Tiger is a pretty large cat, I think that 150 mls is a lot of fluid. I only give Cleo (and Sam, before he went to the Bridge) 100 mls/day.

To address the constipation, you can try adding canned pumpkin or babyfood peas to Tiger's food. Another thing you could do is add Metamucil (1/8 - 1/4 tsp) or Benefiber to his food. All of these add fiber to the diet, which in turn bring moisture and bulk into the stool. If none of these work, you can talk to your vet about getting a prescription for Lactulose.

To address the stomach acid issue.... The first line of treatment is usually 1/4 Pepcid/day. Once you've found out that it isn't working, some vets will recommend 1/4 Pepcid, every 12 hours (rather than 1/2 Pepcid once a day). This way, the likelyhood of overdosing is lessened. If the increase to twice a day doesn't control stomach acid, you should talk to your vet about some of the other H2 blockers (stomach acid blockers) on the market, such as Zantac or Tagamet. These are much more difficult to give, as Tagamet can have some serious side effects in cats, and Zantac is very small pills and the usual feline dose is 1/8 of a pill, NO MORE than once a day and sometimes only every other day, as it is very slowly metabolized by cats, so there is a chance to overdose.

Another drug that you could talk to your vet about for nausea/vomiting, is Reglan (metaclopromide) syrup. You will need a prescription for it, but it is effective for nausea that is caused by CRF. Sam was on 1/4 ml, three times a day, for the last four years of his life. It worked very well for him.

Please talk to your vet as soon as possible. My prayers are with you and Tiger!

Pookie-Poo covered what I would have said re increasing sub-q fluids and pepcid dose.

I just wanted to share how we are dealing with Tyler's constipation - he ended up on Miralax once a day (a dose that my vet prescribed), an over the counter for human's med, and I also give him either baby peas or baby squash with every meal (he is assist-fed 3x a day). This has kept him going finally.

Best wishes to your kitty,

Hey everyone. Thanks for your replies. I spoke with the vet this morning and she said that she is going to prescribe me an appetite stimulant for Tiger. First she said she would give us Reglan but them she said she was going to give us something different (begins with an M) that we would give him 1/4 of but he only needs to get it every 3 days.

She also said that we can give him Sub Q fluids twice a day @ 100. She said to continue the pepcid at 1/4 pill per day. She said that while we can keep him home for the weekend by doing this, we will need to figure out what we want to do by Monday. His gums are very dry and she said that with him being severely dehydrated (again) he'll need to be on IV for a few days again, which they will do for us if we want to do it, but that it's expensive (which we already know) and we should really consider the "other" option.

So, tomorrow we're going to make a decision about what to do. It's just so hard seeing him like this. Whatever happens, I am so grateful for the support I've received from all of you. I will definitely keep you updated. I am definitely going to mix a little benefiber in with his food today, too. I

I'm worried about giving Tiger so much fluid. Would it be possible to just split the 150 ml that you've been giving him into two 75 ml sessions every 12 hours and see how he does? Did your vet give you any signs to look for to know if he's going into congestive heart failure, or any Lasix to combat it if he does?

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT administer any more fluid if any of the previous fluid is unabsorbed.

Please, if you decide to go with 200 ml in a day....
Look for breathing problems, such as labored breathing, open mouthed breathing, or using accessory muscles to breathe. Also look for rapid heartbeat, lethargy and fatigue.

If any of the above symptoms appear, take him immediately to an emergency vet. Tigers life will depend on it.

She told me that giving him the fluids twice a day won't hurt him at all, but now you have me a bit worried. We just gave him 100 ml a little while ago. I won't give him any more today. It's looking like Monday is going to be his last day. I just want to keep him comfortable until then, you know what I mean?

Gosh, Dez....I'm so sorry to read this. I'm not getting the feeling that the end is so near from everything that's been posted thus far. Is Tiger still eating and peeing? Does he play? Is he still engaged with everything that's going on around him? If nausea/vomiting or inappetence and dehydration are the only worrisome problems, those issues can still be addressed. Also, give him another 50 mls this evening (if the previous 100 is fully absorbed.) You already know that he tolerates 150 well, so there's no need to lower his daily total amount. Keeping him adequately hydrated (without overdoing it) will help the most in making him feel better. I will definitely be keeping Tiger in my prayers this weekend.

Originally Posted by Dez

She told me that giving him the fluids twice a day won't hurt him at all, but now you have me a bit worried. We just gave him 100 ml a little while ago. I won't give him any more today. It's looking like Monday is going to be his last day. I just want to keep him comfortable until then, you know what I mean?

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I am so sorry, I do know some of what this feels like from my past experiences with a crf kitty.

If you haven't done so yet, please so to www.felinecrf.org and read over their success stories (inc. of kitties with crashes and high intial numbers) and their "how to know when it is time" section.

sending hugs,

Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

Gosh, Dez....I'm so sorry to read this. I'm not getting the feeling that the end is so near from everything that's been posted thus far. Is Tiger still eating and peeing? Does he play? Is he still engaged with everything that's going on around him? If nausea/vomiting or inappetence and dehydration are the only worrisome problems, those issues can still be addressed. Also, give him another 50 mls this evening (if the previous 100 is fully absorbed.) You already know that he tolerates 150 well, so there's no need to lower his daily total amount. Keeping him adequately hydrated (without overdoing it) will help the most in making him feel better. I will definitely be keeping Tiger in my prayers this weekend.

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Tiger is still peeing. Peeing a lot, though the past two days. He is no longer defecating in his litter box, however. He's been going outside of the litter box but right next to it. His eyes aren't glazed over like they were before. He's sleeping a lot again, though and has a hard time getting comfortable so he shifts positions every 15 minutes or so. He hasn't been interested in playing the past two days, either (though Thursday night he was running all around and chasing a toy mouse).

I really, really, really appreciate your kind words and the helpful advice you have given me.

ETA: He hasn't been eating. And he's lost weight again.

Hello, just wanted to update you all.

Tiger has been getting 120 ml of fluids once a day, his pepcid and his appetite stimulant. He ate 3 times yesterday without vomiting and hasn't had any more accidents outside of his litterbox since Saturday night. He's much more comfortable (walking around, alert, clear eyes) and is jumping on the furniture and walking up/down stairs again with no problems.

We've talked about whether or not to being him to the vet today. We went back and forth about what the best thing for him to do is and since it seems like he's fighting his way through this we just can't bring ourselves to give up on him.

I would not. If his weight is good and all ... those CRF kitties can fight for a long time!

Hang in there, it is a roller coaster, but it could be for some time ...

Linda

Originally Posted by Dez

Hello, just wanted to update you all.

Tiger has been getting 120 ml of fluids once a day, his pepcid and his appetite stimulant. He ate 3 times yesterday without vomiting and hasn't had any more accidents outside of his litterbox since Saturday night. He's much more comfortable (walking around, alert, clear eyes) and is jumping on the furniture and walking up/down stairs again with no problems.

We've talked about whether or not to being him to the vet today. We went back and forth about what the best thing for him to do is and since it seems like he's fighting his way through this we just can't bring ourselves to give up on him.

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I am glad he is perking up ... CRF is as merry go round of a disease ...

I hope you have read the sticky at the top of the forum

I was taught to treat the cat, not the numbers. Looks like Tiger has given you a pretty clear message

I'm glad to find out that Tiger seems to be doing better. You guys have definitely been in my prayers. Hope things continue to go well for him.

Update on Tiger...

He's been receiving his sub-q fluids every other day along with his pepcid and his appetite stimulant and he's done very well though he seems to be getting very tired. He is such a brave kitty. It's obvious that little by little he's losing weight and getting weaker but he tries his hardest to not show it. He's always ready to be held and kissed on. He acts like running up and down the stairs is nothing but he needs to nap right afterwards. Eating has even become a bit difficult for him. We only feed him soft food now but he still has a hard time eating it...it seems like his throat is always dry. He watches me set up his sub-q therapy and he doesn't even flinch anymore or try to get away (only a week and a half ago he would see that bag and run for the hills!). Where it used to take 3 people to administer his treatments, I am now able to do it by myself. He seems to know that it will make him feel better. He still fights with me when I give him his pills (and I have the scratches to prove it!) but I take it as a good sign.

I'm feeling a bit sad tonight but I'm very thankful for this board and the resources it provides. Without it, I doubt my dear Tiger would have lasted this long.

A good update over all on your Tiger Any chance he's got mouth or throat ulcers? It's not uncommon with crf kitties...and it can be treated (if your vet prescribes it) with carafate or I believe slippery elm bark syrup (again, you'd want to run that by your vet - description of how to use this is on the felinecrf.org site under altnernative treatments - the syrup can be used for constipation or nausea also but you have to change timing of other meds - not sure it can be given at same time..again, consult a vet before use).

Well, he took a turn for the worse over the past 12 hours. He started having seizures early this morning. By the time 11 AM rolled around he would twitch for a full 30 minutes before he went into full body convulsions. He was unable to walk and his eyes were completely glazed over. We brought him to the vet and made the hard decision to have him put to sleep. He weighed 7.13 lbs when we took him in today, which is less than what he weighed after his first crash in August. He did go fast, though. He made a little growling noise when the vet started to inject him. I don't know if it was one of those involuntary things but I want to think he was saying good bye to us. The vet even said "You had to have the last word, didn't you?"

I'm absolutely devastated. I'll be making a post for him in the rainbow bridge forum later on today. Right now I just can't stop crying.

Thank you all for your support over the past two months. This board has been in invaluable resource.

I am so sorry for your loss.