Incessant Crying- Update and Question

bryan3021

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A few months ago I told you about my now 18 yr old
calico crying all the time. The advice most of you
gave was to take her to the vet. You were very right.
Her BUN was 53 and the vet put her on Waltham's Renal
Support. Her latest blood test was good news, bad news.
Her BUN dropped to 35 (borderline CRF) but the vet now
wants to put her on Hill's L/D because of liver problems.
Also he is recommending Sam-E (something that helps the
liver function better)I am getting both for her this weekend
and she'll get 50/50 Waltham's renal support and Hill's L/D.
The Sam-E is a tablet you can crush up and add to the Hill's
L/D (canned). He also has her on amoxicillin for 10 days
and she is now getting VAL syrup ( a vitamin supplement )
every day for the rest of her life.
I'm doing everything I can to keep her going short of a feeding
tube which she doesn't need yet and I personally don't believe
in at all. Another problem is her weight has dropped from 4 1/2
pounds to 3 1/2 pounds since I put her on Waltham's.
My question is does anyone know what you can feed a cat to increase
their weight that contains no or low protein and phosphorus?
So far noone has an answer to this - not even my vet.
Please help if you can.
Katy's Daddy
 

nora

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I don't really have any answers for you, but I will bump this so someone who has more knowledge than me can answer your question.
 

pat

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Hi,

I'm glad you found an answer to what was wrong, nothing is worse then never getting a clear diagnosis. The best website I can recommend overall, concerning Chronic Kidney Failure (CRF) is the Feline Crf website

For extensive listing of both wet and dry foods - a dry matter analysis of the protein, fat, phosphorous, sodium content, including the prescription foods including Walthams, go to:
Kat Karma Dry Food List and also Kat Karma Canned Foods List

The feline crf site will go over reasons for lack of appetite (sometimes it's mouth ulcers, sometimes its acid stomach), and things to check for, medications/tips for dealing with the various problems crf kitties will get. There are *excellent* wet foods out there for crf kitties...one big favorite is Neo Hi-Tor...very high in fat (in my observation) and tasty (or so Patrick thought).

My last suggestion, if you have the time, please join the yahoogroups list called Feline-Crf-Support. It is a superb list with folks who have incredible knowledge and there are great files for where to find supplies and meds at the best prices (including the prescription meds, you just get a script from your vet), and much, much more.

best wishes with your kitty...Patrick is now over 16 months out from his diagnosis, and any health problems he currently has are related to other new problems (sigh).
 

hissy

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i am so glad you listened to the advice and got your cat seen! And thanks Pat for the information you just gave as well.
 

pat

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Bit more (sorry, this is not an easy issue). For Patrick, to get weight back on him, I concentrated more on finding a food he would eat than the total protein/phos content, though I try to stay in the lower end of phos content as per the katkarma lists. It is a subject of debate as to how important low protein is, especially in early crf. More important, imo, is the phosphorous content.

I would give Patrick treats of baby food (no onion), put Kitty Kaviar or Rosie's Rosedust on his canned food to get him to eat more, often him a great variety (you know, the multi-can approach) in canned foods...and was fortunate that he was consistent in liking his prescription dry food (He likes Purina CNM NF).

I also give him 1/4 tab of pepcid ac daily to combat acid stomach, and this has stopped the occasional vomitting he was doing, and the nausea (a sign of which is frequent lip licking along with a look on their face that says...ugh...).

hth,
 

cat-tech

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Could you please state the type of liver problem your vet diagnosed? Is it hepatic lipidosis or other type (i.e., cholangiohepatitis, biliary obstruction, etc)?

The weight loss is concerning, but I'm assuming the recent fluctuation was due to the liver problem. In this case, your vet is taking a good approach with the L/D, but if your kitty is not eating sufficiently, you need to either force feed or opt for the parenteal feeding tube surgically placed. Despite your reservations on the parenteal tube, you must know that many lives have been saved because of it, it ensures vital nutritional support, and consistently, in order for the liver to regenerate itself, this also provides essential hydration support necessary for liver regeneration. Usually, a high calorie, high protein diet is used in initial liver crisis until the liver enzyme levels stabilize (then maintain with low-protein), but in view of the potential CRF, the L/D is still the way to go.

The key to getting her weight to increase is in her daily amounts fed. If she is only eating sporadically, you need to take an agressive approach with a feeding schedule, this may mean forced feeding via syringe, several times a day. Talk to your vet and ask for a feeding schedule that is appropriate to her condition and current weight, as well as based on her current liver enzyme levels. Stay consistent with this schedule and adjust it only on advice of your vet, he needs to keep a monitor on her weight, appetite, liver enzymes, response to other treatment. I must caution you that agressive means consistent, and not missing a single meal fed in her schedule. Many owners are seriously non-compliant when it comes to nutritional support, and this is the most important aspect of treating liver conditions.

If she is vomiting, nauseous, dehydrated, etc, your vet can prescribe temporary medications to alleviate these symptoms, as well as provide you sub-q fluids to administer her at home (which she is probably in dire need of at this point). Also, as Pat pointed out, it's important to rule out potential ulcers or diseased teeth that could be preventing her from eating sufficiently.

Lastly, if she is not eating the L/D or sporadically eating the Waltham's, there are various other veterinary diets to try, i.e. Purina Veterinary Management Diets, IVD, Eukanuba Recovery Diets, etc. that are formulated for CRF and liver disease conditions. The important thing is ensuring her nutrition and hydration, and taking an agressive approach.......................Traci
 
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bryan3021

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Thank you all for your concern for my Katy - I am
considering everything you have said and my viewpoint
is that I still prefer non-intrusive methods at this
point. My cat's quality of life is just as important
as her longevity and that is why I won't insert a feeding
tube in her body and even force-feeding would be a last
resort. I like the idea of baby food to help her gain
weight and I will try that along with looking into other
foods that are available for her condition.
I am constantly working on this with my vet and he has
mentioned sub-q fluids and I might pursue that also.
Every time she has a blood test I get a copy so I can
also monitor her progress and see what levels need to
be reduced.
The regimen she is on now appears to be working and the
weight loss is my main concern at this point.
The 50/50 Waltham's Renal Support and Hill's L/D along
with the Sam-E and VAL syrup sounds like a good plan
for now and that is what I will do. The Drinkwell fountain
has helped her to drink more water than she was before.
Again I want to thank you all for your concern and always
will consider your input on helping my cat to live a longer
and healthier life.
 
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