UTI/Dehydrated cat: how much water does she need?

My cat has been eating less and less over the past week or so. I thought it was a stomach upset, then noticed smaller clumps than normal in the litter box last night and saw her straining to pee today, so it's probably a UTI. This morning she ate the tiniest bit and then just threw up, so she's not really getting any liquids in. I'm hoping I can get an appointment at the vet tomorrow, but until then I wanted some advice.

What's the best way to make sure she stays hydrated until I can get her to a vet? I tried syringe feeding her some water, I got about 5 mL in before she was over it. How often should I syringe feed her water, and how much per sitting? Her neck flap is staying up a bit when I pinch it, so she's already pretty dehydrated. (It doesn't help that she likes sleeping on the radiator...) Should I syringe feed her some food too?

Someone on here once said she bathed her cat to force it to drink water (by cleaning it of itself) when it was dehydrated, does that sound like worth trying or like it could cause further stress to an already sick and unhappy cat?

She also has early stage CRF so I'm really worried that this might be her first "crash."

You know, I was going to ask you if she'd been tested for kidney disease, then saw your last sentence.

This probably will warrant a vet visit considering she does have CRF. Have you been giving her subqs? You may want to ask your vet about that if she's not drinking enough on her own. They will also tell you how much fluid they need to have per day. They take into account things like weight, etc. I've seen different amounts notated, but to be honest, I had to pay attention to how my kitty felt (he was getting subqs). He was prescribed 200ml/day, but by the third day it was obvious that that was too much. So we went to 100-150 ml per day.

Also, is she on any meds? She could very well be nauseous or have stomach acid. Is the vomit kinda foamy at all?

She's not getting sub-q's, the vet(s) I saw didn't think it was necessary yet (her creatine was slightly high, BUN normal), but that was about six months ago. She does vomit because of the CRF sometimes (clear foamy in the morning if not fed in time), but the last couple times it was brown and gross food paste-y. She normally yo-yo's a little with food, but this is more anorexic than normal....

But yes, she is definitely going to a vet tomorrow afternoon.

Tummy upset is par for the course with CKD babies. Vet may have you try Pepcid to help reduce stomach upset. If they don't, it wouldn't hurt to ask about it. I've discovered it's not uncommon for vets to not be familiar with every aspect of treating CKD. Plus, it doesn't hurt to be involved in the treatment. 

I had to ask my vet about anti-nausea meds in addition to the Pepcid. It is a huge part of treating CKD but for whatever reason, it wasn't brought up. So I did, and I'm glad I did.

Is difficulty peeing part of CKD or just added on bonus urinary tract problems?

I found some Fortiflora and got her to eat a teeny bit of food. Wooo 50 mL of water and a tablespoon of food! I got something in my cat!

samus said:

I found some Fortiflora and got her to eat a teeny bit of food. Wooo 50 mL of water and a tablespoon of food! I got something in my cat!

Click to expand...

I know that little victory dance all too well

I have heard of cats having difficulty peeing or UTIs, but not necessarily par for the course with CKD. If she's dehydrated I imagine that could cause problems. Usually, they drink a lot and pee a lot. But, if the tummy is upset, she probably wouldn't drink much.

My little Luckman drank like a champ, even the day I took him to the vet to have him put to sleep. He was Stage V by that point. And peed like a horse. I had no idea how much until after he was gone, and realized there was so much less to scoop. I seriously had no idea that was all him this whole time.