piglet's most recent blood work (ckd/ckf kitty)

so, it's not great.  



first blood is the day they were first going to do surgery, second is after 3 weeks on modified, non-raw diet and lots of antibiotics.  third is pre-surgery after 20 hours on iv fluids.

the second and fourth are very similar which make me think that the most recent blood panel shows a pretty accurate picture of piglet's kidneys.  add in the fact that she is hiding while sleeping, isn't playing as much, and is losing weight (from 9.4lbs post-dental when she started eating again to 8.6lbs last week) and i am concerned about what to do.  i'm going to ask the acupuncturist if he'll treat piglet because i just think it's about getting subq in her and keeping her happy - once her quality of life starts to get worse, it's pts time...

Hi

I am sorry Piglet is ill.

The best treatment for renal disease is of course fluids. It is great if you can encourage her to drink more water. I know that is hard to do. The fountains help as does using bottled water. You can also leave small bowls of water around where she frequents. Just kind of make it so she never opts to continue sleeping as opposed to drinking some water because she doesn't want to make the trek over to where the water is.

Of course sub q fluids daily really help when you can't get them to drink enough. You just have to be careful that the fluids are absorbed from the previous time before giving more.

I know you know that eating is important. Just remember that it is better they eat the wrong food than not eat the right food.

The specialist where I worked along with Pepcid and other meds would give Azodyl and Epakatin with fairly good results and no issues.

Is it difficult to give her subQ fluids?

Just wanted pop in and say that my thoughts are with you as you go through this with Piglet. I can tell how much you love her just by seeing your detailed notes and your determination to help her.     I do hope that the acupuncturist (or some other vet) will agree to allow you to do sub-qs at home. It still unnerves me that your regular vet refused to approve that.

thanks y'all.  piglet's never had subq fluids.  but she stays still for her acupuncture and will let you do just about anything as long as she can be brushed, so i'm not too concerned about doing subqs.  

we have an acupuncture appointment next tuesday.  i plan to ask the vet if he'll send us home with subqs.  the old vet (the same one that wouldn't consider subqs for piglet) taught me how to administer subq fluids for my old ckd/ckf cat, so i'm familiar with the process.

Hi,

Yeah, sub q fluids will really help. She doesn't have any type of heart condition does she? I wonder why your vet wouldn't prescribe fluids for her. I would be doing them sooner than later. If they will write you an RX it is allot cheaper to get them through fosters and smith I think it is called. Also if you get the needles get the 20 gage size. Much easier to do and the drip line you want is a macro drip 15drops per ml.

@Quiet, no known heart conditions.  i don't know why my old vet was so hesitant.  at piglet's age i want to be proactive and assertive in treatment, and i haven't been able to find someone to work with me like that.  it's been frustrating and upsetting.