Acute Renal Failure in 5yo

Well how is Spike doing? I know you don't go back to the vet until Tues., but I was just wondering how he is doing at home.

Good vibes coming your way,

Babz

Hi Babz -

Thanks for checking in. He's still doing really well (all things considered) - seems to be a little stronger and more like himself everyday. He's been eating normally, playing with my other cat Ned (who finally warmed back up), and loving all the extra attention he's gotten the past 6 days. Right now he's curled up beside me on the sofa, meowing at me because I stopped petting him to type.

Best wishes for your cat. I lost a cat due to renal failure, but he was 18 years old! I can't imagine having a 5 year old kitty go through this. The good thing is that your cat is young and maybe he can come through, and I hope he does. The thing with renal failure in cats is that it is a total roller coaster ride. Your cat will show good signs for a few days and you will be feeling good about things and then they will regress and your mood will go in the opposite direction. Again though, my experience is with a very elderly cat. All I can say is keep doing what you're doing and hopefully the little guy makes it through. Good job on not following through on the first vet's rash judgment to put him down and going ahead and getting a second opinion.

I hope things continue to improve......many, many vibes for you and your buddy.

Well, today has been a very interesting day.

I took Spike to the vet this morning (moved up appt), and they were all *really* surprised by how much better he seemed on physical exam and from what I was telling them. Temp, BP, etc. all normal. Kidneys didn't seem painful by feel anymore.

The vet did another ultrasound for no charge b/c he was curious to see what was going on under there. There’s still some inflammation and Spike's ureter openings were a little dialated (which the vet hadn't noticed the first time), but it had gone down quite a bit. They went ahead and drew blood and sent it off to have a full panel done.

So, about an hour and a half ago I answered a call from the vet - who's first words were "I have really, really, really good news for you". Spike's creatinine is now 2.7 and his BUN is 45. You read that right - 2.7!! Considering 2 weeks ago it was off the charts and even 6 days ago it was 10.6 and I was being told he likely wouldn't improve, I am ecstatic. I am so glad I didn't give up on him and had a vet who supported that.

The vet thinks it must have been a kidney infection that just wasn't showing up on the bloodwork - that would be consistent with the new ultrasound and the sudden drop. He's truely amazed by how much improvement there's been and how quickly though; he seemed as shocked as I was.

The plan is to keep Spike on antibiotics for several more weeks. We'll also continue subQs at 100mL 2x/day for now since he's handling those fine. Assuming everything continues to go well, I'll take him back in 2 weeks for a recheck and we can start backing off the fluids gradually.

So now I guess it's just a matter of holding my breath and hoping things either stay here or continue to improve. Even if they don't drop more, this is so much more manageable. I'm letting myself start to hope for months or years instead of days or weeks.

Spike and I thank you all again for the info and support. Best thoughts and good vibes go out to you and your cats who are also dealing with renal issues.

I can't add pictures to my profile yet since I'm new, but if anyone's curious who I'm talking about, here is Spike a few years ago and today showing off his shaved legs and belly.

I guess I'm too new to see the pictures, but I wish I could. I'm so happy to hear that Spike is doing so well. Keeping my fingers crossed that he continues to improves and becomes totally healthy before long!!!! Way to go, Spike... You're a great kitty parent...

Hi maxiecat - thanks! You must have caught me in the middle of fixing the pictures - they should show up now.

2.7! Whoot! Whoot! That's Wonderful!!

I'm soooo glad to hear this! Now, I'm still sending more vibes to you and Spike because they never hurt for the future!

Hurray!!!! Good news! I can feel your relief.

Hope everything continues to go good for Spike and you. Love B and W cats!!! I have 4!

Spike is such a handsome guy. I'm thrilled that his numbers are dropping to normal, sounds like he's going to beat this!

Keep us posted.

Spike

Quick update - figured I'd add one last one to this thread to kind of close it out.

Spike is still doing well, and just had a follow-up appointment Wednesday. Everything number-wise is pretty much the same as it was two weeks ago - which doesn't surprise me and which I'm okay with; I don't know why, I just had a feeling. He's back to his normal self in all other ways, and still loving the extra attention all of this is getting him.

His CREA is 2.8 (.1 increase but that's not clinically significant per vet), BUN 26 (so it's actually now in the middle of normal). I left the rest of his bloodwork at work, but everything else was within or very close to normal - electrolytes, phosphorus, PCV, etc. He had lost a little wieght (1/3 lb), so we're going to keep an eye on that. He's down to 11 from 13.5 before all of this - but TBH he was kinda of chub at 13.5 so as long as he doesn't keep losing, 11-12 is fine. I'm getting ready to order a baby scale off Amazon so I can track it at home.

He's finishing up the antibiotic in a couple of days (5 week course), and we're taking him off the Pepcid since his appetite seems to be fine. He will be very happy to be pill free for a while! He was super easy to pill at first, but had gotten fed up with it the last week or two.

We're also backing off the fluids to 100mL once per day. My Terumo needles came in today, so I'm hoping they'll be a little smoother. He's also switching from .9% sodium chloride to LRS (he seemed like the sodium chloride had been stinging and since his electrolytes are all normal the vet okay'd it). Walgreens + MedVet mean he's got 3 months worth of supplies for what both vets charge for 1 bag!

He goes back in in a month now assuming everything continues to go well, and we'll start possibly reducing the fluids more and then reducing the check-up frequency too.

So, all-in-all I really am considering this the best possible outcome. He's not 100% healthy, but he's alive and happy and at a point where it's controllable for a while (quite a while hopefully). I can deal with that. Honestly, the harder thing I'm working through mentally is my thoughts about euthanasia and the 'what-ifs' there. I know his case is not normal, and he shouldn't have recovered, and you have to make a judgement call, but it terrifies me to think I could have ended it too early. I'm not quite sure how to articulate that, but it's left me with a lot to think about.

As the vet commented: "Everytime I see him, I think 'Wow, that's the cat I didn't think would make it, and he looks great.'". Same here.