Senior cat possible beginning kidney issues

chalupa

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Had some bloodwork done on recently adopted 9 year old and vet was concerned about her no t being able to concentrate her urine as well as she should. She's pretty good on her bloodwork but now I have to be more aware that her kidneys are not functioning as good as they should be. The vet said there is nothing we can do except keep an eye on it. How can I prevent further damage? or is it even possible to make her kidneys better if they are not too bad yet? Just really don't want to get to the point of sub q fluids. That's my biggest fear! I learned from my last cat that me, cats and needles are a bad combination. I'm way too nervous and live alone. My last cat was on steroids do maybe that didn't help( it was just a b12 shot weekly). This new cat does not trust me yet and I really hope we don't have to start dealing with something like that already. I actually have a copy of her bloodwork if anyone knows about this stuff.
 

betsygee

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Ask your vet about giving her Pedialyte to help keep her hydrated. I have a kitty who's got kidney disease and is getting subq fluids at home but he's VERY squirmy and I can't get in as much as he needs sometimes. I had read--I think here on TCS somewhere--that children's Pedialyte can help keep them hydrated so I asked my vet about it. She said of course it's no substitute for subq treatment, but that it could help with keeping Jake hydrated.

Hubby makes chicken broth from baked chickens, no salt or spices in it of course so I heat up some broth and mix it with Pedialyte (unflavored) and Jake licks it right up.

You can do a search here on TCS for Pedialyte--there are quite a few threads about it.

Best of luck keeping kitty healthy!
 
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stephanietx

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Add water to wet food to help keep her hydrated.  I add enough water to my cats' wet food to make it the consistency of runny oatmeal.
 
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chalupa

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Thank you so much betsygee betsygee , will get some unsalted broth/stock, think Swanson makes one with chicken only (but also the mysterious 'natural flavor'). Pedialyte, I'm very familiar with, used to give it to my last cat if she was throwing up. I will look up pedialyte use with kidney issues. I'm sure there's no harm either way. Thing is, used to have to syringe it to last cat. Don't have same relationship with this one. Wonder if pedialyte is mentioned in Tanya's crf site. Going to skip asking vet, between vets now, my regular one has illness and substitute is hard to communicate with. Taking loss of regular vet hard, really came to depend on her, she had my back! Thanks for taking the time. Wish you and Jake the best!
 
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kittymomma1122

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I would not use a store bought broth.  Some of the ingredients are questionable. I would think the flavoring could include onion powder.

This is what the website says in in low sodium Swansons Chicken Broth:

CHICKEN STOCK, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, YEAST EXTRACT, DEXTROSE, FLAVORING, CHICKEN FLAVOR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, CHICKEN FAT, SOY LECITHIN, DEHYDRATED CHICKEN BROTH.

My cats get unflavored Pediolyte in water dish when even they are sick or have diarrhea. They drink it with no flavorings.
 
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chalupa

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Hi @KittyMomma1122  what about this one, it's the one I was talking about http://swanson.campbellskitchen.com/SBOurProducts/ProductDetail?productId=121197  it says no salt or seasonings, just it's easy to find (watch now it's discontinued) and would only use it for flavor. The one I bought before did not have all those ingredients you mentioned and I would not use low sodium because would be afraid too much salt still. Do you think this is stock is better? These are the ingredients: Chicken Stock, Contains Less Than 2% of: Dehydrated Chicken, Flavoring, Chicken Fat. If anyone knows of a better brand to look for please let me know. I'm dumb about this stuff, not a chicken eater.

 I will see if she will drink Pedialyte just mixed with water. She does drink more than the other cat and my last cat. Also, @stephanietx  Thanks! I do already mix water with wet and raw food so maybe will also add pedialyte too. Just thought water alone might not be enough, but it sure does get them to drink more. I'm still learning about kidney disease, is just water not enough?

Thank you to everyone!
 

stephenq

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Depending on how it progresses there are various medications you can use to help before you get to the point of doing sub Q fluids, although many cats take fluids sub q very nicely.
 
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chalupa

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stephenq stephenq . Thank you for writing and nice to read from you again. Think you helped a lot with my last cat the Chalupa. It's true this cat may not react as badly as last to sub q. Will talk to a vet about meds, know nothing about when medication is necessary with kidney issue. thank you, hope that we can avoid needles! How is your cat that has small cell lymphoma was that what your cat was diagnosed with. I became friends with a woman who does TNr in my neighborhood and her cat has the small cell kind of lymphoma that was different from what my cat had. Her cat is doing very well, they got a little scare recently though because her cat developed pneumonia, but it cleared up with antibiotics. They are trying to deal with the weight gain which came with the pred. We has the same vet, and we both are upset that our vet became ill. When a cat becomes very sick, the vet becomes very important.
 
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chalupa

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betsygee betsygee you are very lucky to have a chicken making husband or your cat is at least! Pedialyte taste made my last cat vomit, but she was very sick. Really don't think stringing it should be an option unless there is absolutely no choice. Thanks, I think actually that Swanson broth might be discontinued but apparently there is only a box change. Will see if it has same ingredients . Hope you and Jake have some fun this weekend.
 
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