IV fluid therapy for Kidney failure

I'm new so not sure how to do this properly. I need advice about my cat's breathing if someone could direct me. It's Christmas Eve and my cat is breathing heavy. Need advice before calling my out of town vet into town at midnight.

I am also familiar with IVs for cats with kidney failure as I did this for 9 months with my 21 year old cat. It was overwhelming at first but it turned out it was a simple thing to do. It was also a special time with my cat. I will be happy to share my experience.

Hi I am so sorry to hear about your kitty and I completely empathize and understand what you're going through. In April of this year, I got up one morning to see that my beloved Tazzy, (17 1/2 years) did not have the strength to stand, let alone walk. I had a doctors appointment I had to be at in approximately an hour; I took her with me, dropped her off at the vet explained what was happening with her, asked them to do whatever was necessary.

I called as soon as I was finished with the doctor, she was receiving IV fluids and I was asked to come by at 6 o'clock so that she could receive as much fluids as possible.

When I brought her home she did seem better; at least she could walk and she wasn't falling all over herself. Over the following week, I think I brought her two or three times to receive fluids intravenously. I even spoke to the vet about giving her fluids myself as she too was in kidney failure.

I knew when she had her 17th birthday in September 2013 that she wouldn't see her next birthday in September 2014. Nevertheless I was still completely unprepared for that day and the following week which was pure torture for me and I am so sorry to say probably for her as well. I knew that the only humane thing to do for her was to let her go and be in peace. I could see in her eyes she just had nothing left she was tired and it was her time. Rather then put her through more add me and push fluids through her I did the only humane thing that I could do which was to letter go as difficult as it was; my last day with her I spent the whole day laying down with her as she was called up on my pillow by my head as she always did. Looking at her I felt horrible for being so selfish yet when we love our babies it's extremely hard to let them go.

I'm sure my story will not make your decision any easier but having gone through a very similar situation as yours I would ask you to really think about what is best for your cat. I can only suggest that you really look at your kitty; if you sense that he's merely existing then it's probably time to letter go with as much dignity as you can.

I can tell you it will not be any easier in one week two weeks or a month from now the time is never right however as their guardians it is our responsibility to take care of them and do so in a way that's in their best interests. If you feel that you would like to speak with someone I'm more than happy to speak with you. Whatever your decision is I will not judge you. Please let me know how everything is going

Heavy breathing can mean several things but sudden onset is often due to anemia.  We seem to see more and more of that here recently.  It is often both auto-immune and secondary to some type of infection rather than the result of internal bleeding.  If it is anemia and your kitty is at the point of heavy breathing then he could very well be in need of a transfusion.

It is sudden. He seems normal except for heavy breathing. He purrs. He was playing earlier. I'm hesitant to call my vet at 1:00 a.m. Christmas morning. She has young children but I'm very concerned. I don't know what to do! Is possible anemia a right now emergency?

My cat just start the iv therpy treatment this sat. And he is doing so much better he started to eat more and walk around so happy for him. They will have good day and bad day.

It a good ideal to see the vet every 3 to 6 month for blood work we have the vet do blood work to watch his anemia level

Hi !

 could you please explain to me how you gave personally an IV treatment to your cat? Were you using just subcutaneous injections or actually IV? Did your Vet install an IV tube for you to use at home? Our cats kidney problem came on us within maybe three weeks ,quite a supprse to us..He isn't eating much of anything now and not urinating hardly all and not dedicating now either.Vet did tests and urine factors were quite high...They did a set of sub Q injections but that was three days ago and now his is very lathargic again...Appreciate anything you can explain.I was a medic in the service so I have some med experience...

Oliver was on fluids once a day and then twice a day from February to August of last year. He was on Pepcid, potassium, and a phosphorus binder, and a pain killer. He was syringe-fed four times each day. Despite this, his quality of life was good. He came for cuddles, he played, he watched the birds, and was his usual self...Until the last day, when he just went downhill in a real hurry. There wasn't anything to do but put him down at that point, but it didn't make it easier. Going the distance for him did give him a good last few months. No regrets.

beyowulf said:

 
Hi !

 could you please explain to me how you gave personally an IV treatment to your cat? Were you using just subcutaneous injections or actually IV? Did your Vet install an IV tube for you to use at home? Our cats kidney problem came on us within maybe three weeks ,quite a supprse to us..He isn't eating much of anything now and not urinating hardly all and not dedicating now either.Vet did tests and urine factors were quite high...They did a set of sub Q injections but that was three days ago and now his is very lathargic again...Appreciate anything you can explain.I was a medic in the service so I have some med experience...

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I've never heard of anyone being able to give IV therapy at home.  My personal thinking is that the poster who said she was giving it at home MEANT she was giving sub-q fluids rather than IV therapy.  For the novice, it can be confusing.  BUT, if your cat's kidney values were quite high, he might NEED IV therapy, which normally requires a hospital stay for a couple of days. 

Is your cat not drinking much?  That's very unusual for a kidney cat.  I ask this since you said his isn't urinating much.  Does he have chronic or acute kidney issues?  Many kidney cats don't feel like eating, but they drink lots and lots of water.  I've had 3 kidney cats (have one now), and they are usually lethargic, to which i attribute partly  to their lack of appetite. 

Did your Vet give you any instructions as to what to do next?  I'm not sure if you have any other questions or issues other than asking about the IV issues?  If you have other questions, why not start a new thread of your own and give us more information on your little one so we can try to help you.

An IV is when you inject the fluid straight into the cats veins and this is usually done when the dehydration is severe. If the dehydration is moderate then it is given in a sub-q which goes under the skin and can easily be given at home. My renal failure cat had 3 years of sub-q injections until he passed away at just about 20 of other issues but in the end he was getting 150ml a day and I had few issues. He was a really good guy and would hang out every day and rarely objected when I was giving him the sub-q. He always slept during or after the sub-q but he was also pretty old so he wasn't that active at the best of times.

If they are dehydrated then they are typically not hungry but as the hydration comes up they will start to eat more. If you are not already make sure you are feeding the animal wet food as this has a lot of water (about 80%) which is easier for them to digest and helps with the hydration. You should have full blood tests and make sure to check for B12 levels because renal failure can really make these drop which also makes them lethargic. If your cat is really mellow then you should be able to give a sub-q without any bother but it goes from cat to cat. If it is hard you can try wrapping the animal in a towel and if this fails you can put some clothes pins at the base of the neck to calm them. It is important they keep hydrated at all times especially if they have renal failure or IBD.

If your cat should be having a sub-q if it has renal failure and is dehydrating. Check the colour of the gums which should be pink and if they are white or close to it then there is dehydration happening. You can also put your finger in their cheek pouches and it should be moist just like your mouth. There is a skin test you can do but this never worked on mine because he was anemic and really old.

I actually have a miniature dachshund with kidney failure and am trying to determine which subq fluids might be best.  The first vet prescribed lactated ringer and 2nd was wondering which to prescribe and then prescribed sodium due to hypercalcemia.  Are there any drawback to straight sodium?  Has anyone had experience with both?  Also have you have details on which site to use for medications that would be great also.

My cat had creatinine off the charts at 13.1. IV fluid therapy brought him down to 6 and my sub Q fluids brought him down more. This can be very helpful and make your cat feel so much better and make them better physically. I don’t see any reason not to do it. Aside from having to stay at the vet and be hooked up to an IV the prize is the levels start to normalize. It’s like a mini dialysis. Hope this helps.

crazy4cats28 said:

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with their kitty receiving IV fluid therapy for severe kidney failure. What I'm wondering is if it helped the kitty's condition and quality of life. I know every cat is different and what works for one might not help another.

The reason I'm asking is my cat Patsy took a turn for the worse and I'm trying to decide what to do. I don't know if it would be fair to Patsy to put her through anymore or say good bye

. Her doctor said the chances are good that the IV fluids will help her feel better and extend her life. Even if they do work she will have to have sub-Q fluids twice a day at home (I'm already giving her fluids twice a week) plus a bunch of other meds. She is 15 yrs old.

I don't want to put her through any more than I absolutely have to but I don't want to lose her either. The doctor did say If I decide not to do the IV fluids I should start saying good bye right now. Right now I think it's worth trying one round of the IV fluids (3 days) then leaving it in gods hands. I have until tomorrow morning to decide. I think it is a little harder for me right now because I just lost my

Princess

2 months ago. Princess kind of made the decision for me so that was a little easier (well as easy as it can be)

PS - I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense or for any typos but my mind is going in a million directions at once right now

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crazy4cats28 said:

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with their kitty receiving IV fluid therapy for severe kidney failure. What I'm wondering is if it helped the kitty's condition and quality of life. I know every cat is different and what works for one might not help another.

The reason I'm asking is my cat Patsy took a turn for the worse and I'm trying to decide what to do. I don't know if it would be fair to Patsy to put her through anymore or say good bye

. Her doctor said the chances are good that the IV fluids will help her feel better and extend her life. Even if they do work she will have to have sub-Q fluids twice a day at home (I'm already giving her fluids twice a week) plus a bunch of other meds. She is 15 yrs old.

I don't want to put her through any more than I absolutely have to but I don't want to lose her either. The doctor did say If I decide not to do the IV fluids I should start saying good bye right now. Right now I think it's worth trying one round of the IV fluids (3 days) then leaving it in gods hands. I have until tomorrow morning to decide. I think it is a little harder for me right now because I just lost my

Princess

2 months ago. Princess kind of made the decision for me so that was a little easier (well as easy as it can be)

PS - I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense or for any typos but my mind is going in a million directions at once right now

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Hello whitehot77 and welcome to the site! That's very useful information you posted, but I wanted to point out this thread is 2-1/2 years old.

Lol I was all ready to reply with advice about SubQ fluids at home and when to know that its time to put the cat down and stop the fluids.... and then I saw the original post is from 2011 lolol.