8 week old kitten with acute kidney problems plz read :)

HI, well aweful owner (ive cried many days from guilt) my kitten had some "naproxen" which is an adult anti-inflammatory/pain relieve medication. didn't realise till that night when she did one vomit and then acted like a drugged/drunk person (shaking,mostly sleeping,huge pupils,stumbly etc) rang the vet who said it was to late to induce vomiting and to bring her in in the morning. so I called in the morning and vet nurse said cause she was perking up there wasn't an aweful lot they could do but treat her as problems arise. So that was Thursday night/Friday morning. I booked her in for vax for the following Monday and a check especially after such an ordeal. on Monday at the vet she was dehydrated so they took her in for two lots of fluids and checked her wee which ws NOT concerntrated. which means kidney damage. (I cryed again at this point). so this was Monday then I got to take her home that day, she was eating and drinking well , I changed to jellymeat style food and mixed in heeps of water so she has to drink fluid. and vet again Tuesday for more fluids ( this was xmas eve) then today Friday we've gone in for more fluids. and she seems very well. shes VERY playful and eating well. shes weeing a lot (not sure if this is from the huge amount of fluid shes drinking or if its a bad sign) . I just am trying to find information on what is GOOD signs that all is well. ?? the vet said they would check her urine again on Monday to see if its getting concerntrated (meaning kidneys are starting to work) from what they said to me originally... he said he didn't do bloods however today they seem to think he had done bloods (same vet practice, different vet..). I just am sooo hopeful but the vet wont say anything in regards to how shes doing , I guess not to get my hopes up. Can she die from other things even if shes able to stay hydrated? she had no IV fluids from Tuesday morning to Friday and seemed fine?any help anyone? I just want to know what the odds are and what are good signs that her kidneys are starting to work again, I read something on here about a kitten who was sezuiring due to kidney failure but ended up just fine with full healing in like a week? which sounds way to good to be true!

You are doing all that can be done.  The main thing is to keep her very well hydrated and only time will tell if her kidneys will recover.  I really don't know what the odds are you're vet will be able to tell from her labs if her kidneys are recovering.

I just don't even know if she could just die anyway? I was worried cause she's been sleeping on my knee for a while but now has got up had some food and is bouncing around the house again (might need to check my husband as he's asleep and she tends to purrrrrrr right up in your face when sleeping! hehe) Could she just pass away even with fluids on board from the vet? im not sure how it works.

It really depends on how damaged the kidneys were.  Do you know what her BUN and CREA blood test results were?  I have seen cats bounce back from nsaid kidney failure, but I have also seen them pass away from it.  It is really hard to say.  The important thing is to keep her kidneys flushed out (IV Fluids if you can). 

weve had fluids friday and back again tomorow for a wee sample to see if its concernrated.I dont think they did bloods im not sure.I think theyneed to put her under for that and the vet said frm the wee thry can tell she has damage so yea just wait and see... shes still happy and playful like any normal kitten.her poos getting quite soft which is worrying me.but only pooing 2/3 times a day so not quite diarrhea yet. im hoping its just due to the huge amount of fluids im making he drink

and they weighed her on our first visit on monday and she had gained weight by the friday.

They shouldn't need to put her under to draw blood.  I would ask them to draw blood, urine can only tell you if they are able to concentrate their urine or not.  It is not really a good indication of kidney values, although no concentration can indicate kidney issues, it can also indicate other problems as well.  I had a Golden Retriever who was unable to concentrate her urine and it had nothing to do with her kidneys, she had a condition called Diabetes Insipidus and had to have twice daily injections of Desmopressin.

Please keep in mind that as long as they are forcing fluids into her then her urine will be diluted. My guy is a renal failure cat (kidney failure) and he gets fluids injected into him everyday and his urine is just like water. The urine will only concentrate once the external fluids stop and her body doesn't have to work to get rid of the excess water. If she is doing well and seems to be getting better then chances are decent that she will be fine but only time will tell. Cats are like children and get into everything so don't beat yourself about this but make sure to keep everything out of reach of her. If she was doing fine without external injections then it looks really good for her otherwise they tend to go downhill fairly quickly.

Hi Joanne and welcome to the forum.

I have to tell you that, just from what you've written about this Vet clinic (what they've said, what they've done and what they haven't done) that it's not the best place to have her treated.

I suspect that it's a general practice clinic where they also see dogs and other animals, but mostly dogs.

When a cat has been poisoned by a drug like naproxen, the cat needs to be on continuous IV drip for a minimum of 4-5 days and likely requires fluid therapy for several weeks after that (owners can do this themselves).

They didn't do that, you weren't told that - that gets them a FAIL grade from me. And then, giving vaccines to such an ill cat??? That rates condemnation.

That type of drug stays in cats longer than in other animals and humans. It circulates in the bloodstream and gets filtered out by the kidneys. The problem is that it destroys kidney cells, specifically the parts of the kidneys that do the blood cleaning work - they are called nephrons.

The dead kidney cells do not recover - they are gone forever.

But - the kidneys "come" with many, many "extras" of these nephrons. When one dies, another one that's been "on standby" (previously unused) will 'step up to the plate' and take over from the dead one.

So, the chances are good that, over time, she will "recover"........because, being so young, she most likely had a full normal set of kidneys with lots and lots of standby nephrons.

What you need to realize is that all these extra nephrons are in there for a purpose: during a cat's lifetime (and a human's too) kidney cells will die off naturally and new ones must replace them.....they are designed to last the full course of a full lifetime.

She has now lost some of that supply - how many lost and how many remaining are impossible to tell.

It will be up to you to keep her safe from further kidney injuries like this for the rest of her life. Here are some things you can do:

• There are some Veterinary drugs of the same type as naproxen....they are all called NSAIDs, short for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories. There are several (liquid ones too) that Vets (foolishly) use with cats. You have to make sure that no NSAID is ever given to her - many people insist that this message is written on their cat's veterinary file: "NO NSAIDs". And, even with that, always ask when you are given a prescription for her.
• She should be on an all-wet food diet from here on in. Dry food wreaks havoc on the kidneys (and causes other severe health problems for cats as well). One of the major causes of later life kidney failure is believed to be a lifetime of dehydration from eating dry foods. (Think about it: cats evolved in desert conditions eating small animals...they got their hydration INSIDE their foods.)
• Consider going the 'no more vaccines' route, after she has had her full series of kitten shots (full first year)
• Keep her indoors unless she's walked on a leash/confined within an anclosure
• Find yourself a cat-only Vet clinic.....cat-ONLY, not 'cat-friendly' (post back if you need help) THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD DO NOW because of what these people have and haven't done.

It may take quite a while for her test results to return to normal....don't make any rash decisions before at least asking on here....find a competent Vet and discuss about giving her fluids at home.

thank you. to clarify I had booked her in for vax but when I got to the vet we didnt do any vax and she went straight onto fluid.so shes not vax yet at all.shes currently indoors only so when or if she recovers I will discuss best vax options with my vet. ive now been flee combing her twice a day as im not risking flee treatment at this point.im crossing my fingers. from my veiw the fact that she had 40 ml fluid friday and only 40 mls tuesday. yes I understand now wasnt the best treatment however she well hydrated still and im hoping its cause shes been processing fluid that shes drinking.

and yes im pretty sure theyre doing bloodtests tomorow. il keep u posted! Im in nz. possibly they do treatnents differently here. ? they did offer immediate fluid therapy when I called originally however he said as long as shes drinking and not vomiting or diarrhea it should be ok till morning. I think there possibly just more cost aware in new zealand ? I then probibly didnt get the right information from the nurse esp since I said she seemed fine the next day. the nurse also said the kitten milk isnt best and that water is better so I cut thr kitty milk which would have contributed to the inicial dihydration.

so I just want to update anyone who is reading this, I took her in on Monday like requested by the vet, expecting fluid therapy again and to do a wee sample... he tells me "he doesn't like hurting her" without seeing how her urine comes up.. so I am sent home with some pebbles to put in the litter tray and collect a wee sample... So I did, and dropped it off. he later calls me and tells me its not as concerntrated as he was hoping. but basically to wait and see?! and to call him on Friday (not an appointment...just a call! ) so I'm a bit confused, im thinking that he's hoping she will go one way or the other because there probably well aware of the $$ I've been payin or this little kitten. anyway so its Friday tomorrow, and she is still bouncing off the walls! she has good sleeps and great play times. even managed to need rescuing from our huge tree! (last time shes allowed outside till shes a big girl!)... So who knows! I'm thankful that shes  doing well, and I'm glad ive been the one researching and making sure shes drinking/eating and toileting ok. I feel like the vet doesn't think its worth giving her a huge amount of treatment, I understand that. just frustrating he cant tell me either way how shes actually doing. I just have to base it off how she is at home.

now I need to vaccinate her and currently still going with the flee comb but I'm really worried for the vaccinations. I might try the holistic vet across town.

I've attached a photo of my baby girl Lollypop

Awww, she is beautiful.  It is frustrating when the vet only wants to do minimal care.  I would try to find out how her kidneys are doing for sure before you vaccinate her.  It's never a good idea to vaccinate a cat who is dealing with an illness.  Glad to hear she is active though.

What are her bloodwork values? That is so important in determining what level of kidney failure she is in and in determining how well she is recovering.

Call and ask for her most recent bloodwork values. Bloodwork needs to be consistently monitored with something like this.

no blood work has ever been taken. weve now done her vax. she still wees quite a bit, new vet today with her vax and I told him shes been great! been a while and been managing her fine with jellymeat soup for breaky lunch n dina. I did a little test and cut back the fluid intact for one day and she definetly weed alot less.so vet has finally surgested we try her on regular diet and in 2 weeks will get a kidney functiom blood test hooray! its great to know ive been managimg it. but she might have recovered quite well so lets hope! the fact that her wee reduces when I reduce fluid is good. mean that she isnt over weeing... she does take a whole day to recover from the vaxs so that tells me she mite not be 100% but im confident for now she is living a happy n healthy life.I think she mite have eveb just ate a slug. her mouth was covered in goo...extremely hard to wash off.smelt like fishbate or something. shes trouble!!