Stage II Kidney Disease

Hi All,

I noticed my cat was losing some weight, so I took her to the vet.  He took some blood and she has stage II kidney disease.  So I switched her to k/d food a couple weeks ago.  She was doing well--loved the food and ate all of it.  Last week, she started vomiting.  At first, I thought it was just a hairball, but it was day after day.  I took her to the vet and they gave her something so she won't vomit.  It worked over the weekend but has since vomited twice.  I am now giving her a pill so she won't vomit but she hasn't eaten.  I'm a little worried, and the vet seems to think it's because of her kidney disease.  :/

My 15 year old cat was doing the same thing. She too has kidney disease. The problem turned out to be her thyroid. She is now on methimaxole 5 milligram but only 1/2 tablet daily as it can mask and complicate the kidney disease. I changed her foot to purina pro plan for senior cats. She has done well for the past year. Your vet can run bloodworm that can hopefully identify what is going on. Best Wishes.

With kidney disease, vomiting could be caused by so many things .  I, too, have a kidney cat, and I, too, spend way too much time cleaning up vomit.  My little old girl has problems not only with her kidneys, but with her liver, which causes her to vomit.  PLUS, because they tend not to eat enough, they often throw up due to too much stomach acid.  If she is throwing up what appears to be a clear frothy substance, that's usually indicative of stomach acid, which can sometimes be alleviated by feeding more often, or giving 1/4 of a Pepcid A/C twice a day, or both.  I try to feed my girl small meals throughout the day, and even give her little treats all thru the night.  I keep them under my pillow.  She wakes me up at least 3 times during the night for a few of them each time.  This normally keeps her from throwing up in the early a.m.  Even with all that, though, she will have days when she throws up more than just froth. 

Are you to the point of giving sub-q fluids yet.  They help clear away the toxins that start to build up in the kidneys, which also attribute to the vomiting and general ill feeling that kidney cats get (so my Vet says). 

Are you giving her any supplements other than feeding the kidney food?  And as to her not eating right now, that's a classic problem with kidney cats .   So far today with 3 meals under her belt, my girl has only consumed .75 ounces .  AND, she's on an appetite enhancer! 

Are you aware of this website:  http://www.felinecrf.org/index.htm   It is my bible when it comes to most things kidney related.  Even has a listing of optional food choices if your cat doesn't like prescription kidney foods.  It's a wonderful resource that really gets into details.  As I said, I refer to it quite often.

There are sections in it on vomiting and the what's and why on it if we haven't provided any useful information.  Hopefully she's just having a couple of bad days   Kidney disease is definitely a up and down disease.  I'm on my third cat with it

Thank you so much for all the information!  The website is awesome and I will be reading it all the time.  Thank you!

lstep05 said:

 
Thank you so much for all the information!  The website is awesome and I will be reading it all the time.  Thank you!

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Of course, WE'RE still here for you too .  That website is a great resource, but they don't do great at holding hands (so to speak), when you're having a bad day, or giving you moral support when you can't quite bring yourself to poke that needle in on your first sub-q fluid .  And sadly, there are MANY folks here on TCS who either currently have or have had kidney cats (and other similar diseases)

Thank you for the support!  I will need it.  I have a question--my kitty is on cerenia to help with the nausea and vomiting and she's been doing great with it, no vomit for 3 days.  Until this morning, I went downstairs and there was vomit.   

I am a little concerned that now it's the food the vet has her on.  We switched her to Hills Science Diet k/d and that's when the vomiting started.  I know that vomiting is a side effect of kidney disease, but for 5 days in a row? 

I did a little research and found that this was happening with other people's cats and dogs when they switched to this brand.  I'm going to put a call into the vet today, but do you think it could be the food she's eating?  I think she has had some kidney problems for awhile, I noticed weight loss, but she wasn't vomiting with her other food. 

What was she eating BEFORE she went on the K/D?  It's certainly possible it's the kidney food, but would be easier to assess knowing what she was eating prior.

Kibble,?  Canned?  Also, what brands, flavors?  And is the K/D kibble or canned?  BTW, as well as there being other prescription kidney foods, there are lots of other choices that are low in phosphorus, plus there are things called phosphorus binders that can be added to food if necessary.  But the most important thing is that they eat, and eat well!  We'll talk more on food once you let us know what she was eating prior (although I'm not going to be available too much today or tomorrow, but others may join in the conversation)

She was eating Blue Buffalo Chicken Flavor. I thought it was a pretty good food brand, but as I read the ingredients, there are things she doesn't need that are in it, like grains.   I am actually taking her to the vet this afternoon, so hopefully there will be some sort of answers. 

lstep05 said:

 
She was eating Blue Buffalo Chicken Flavor. I thought it was a pretty good food brand, but as I read the ingredients, there are things she doesn't need that are in it, like grains.   I am actually taking her to the vet this afternoon, so hopefully there will be some sort of answers. 

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I'm not sure WHICH Blue Buffalo Chicken to check the ingredients against which Hills K/D, but did you see this particular page in the website I sent you earlier on?  http://www.felinecrf.org/dry_food_usa.htm  You might find it extremely beneficial, even in your discussion with your Vet.  My Vet and I discuss our Callie's diet a LOT, and she understands that for Callie, a prescription diet isn't going to work, since she refuses to eat them .  So whenever I find a food that she WILL eat, we go over it and the Vet tells me if she has any concerns