Kidney failure, anemia in 14 y/o

My 14 year old has kidney failure and anemia resulting from the kidney issue. She's otherwise healthy. Her vet seems to be taking the stance that it's over for her and says all we do now is to keep her comfortable. Are there options that I don't know about that would treat these issues, other than just letting her die?

First of all don't automatically believe your vet. So many vets tell people this about their cats in kidney failure and it's just not true. Here are some great starting places for you. Take some time an read through this site, which is basically the "bible" for CKD. Secondly, if you have a facebook join this group and post your recent labs. They are an amazing ground that has saved so many cats and they can guide you to some supplements and foods to help her live as long as possible.

http://www.felinecrf.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/felinecrf

Puddertatten said:

My 14 year old has kidney failure and anemia resulting from the kidney issue. She's otherwise healthy. Her vet seems to be taking the stance that it's over for her and says all we do now is to keep her comfortable. Are there options that I don't know about that would treat these issues, other than just letting her die?

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What's your cats behavior like?  Cats with end stage renal failure will appear very sick.  Are you giving sub Q fluids?  No cat with kidney disease should die without the life extending benefits of fluids given under the skin.  Easy to do at home.

I am a human doctor, not a vet, and any advice that I give should be checked by a vet. 

At the end of 2015  our Siamese, Rupert, rather quickly developed kidney failure with excessive drinking and urination.  His blood urea was elevated and he had developed high blood pressure.  Rupert was approaching end stage renal failure.

At our vet's suggestion we put Rupert on either Royal Canin kidney food or Hill's KD.  He rapidly improved, drank much less and passed less urine.  Rupert maintained this improvement for over six months when he then ceased to pass urine  We knew that the end had come and our vet performed a home visit to euthanise him, very gently, in his home environment.

My veterinarian recommended these foods and I pass them on to you. 

Rupert was 14 and we were very grateful for the extra time with him. However I understand that some cats can live for a year or more with renal failure, even longer with these commercial foods..

Incidentally the first kidney function to fail is the kidney's capacity to concentrate urine.  The only way for the body to maintain a normal internal environment, therefore, is for the kidney to pass a large amount of water and this increased flow  enables the kidney to flush out the nitrogenous waste products with the increased amount of dilute urine. 

The cat (or human) so afflicted starts to drink an increased amount of water - and this is why the first sign of kidney failure is excessive thirst and urination.   

When the kidney's capacity to dilute the urine is lost, the kidney fails to pass urine and the cat, (or human), goes into the final stage of kidney failure. 

Humans are much more tolerant of kidney failure compared to cats.  Humans have the same symptoms, but these are usually spread out over many of years.

With all best wishes,

Geoffrey

StephenQ said:

What's your cats behavior like?  Cats with end stage renal failure will appear very sick.  Are you giving sub Q fluids?  No cat with kidney disease should die without the life extending benefits of fluids given under the skin.  Easy to do at home.

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Her behavior is actually pretty par for the course- sleeps a lot, but eats fairly well and still scraps (lightly) with our other cat. Scratching the post. She doesn't run down the hall like she used to, but overall she looks pretty good. She's due for another blood test soon. She doesn't take well to being poked and prodded, so I haven't tried sub-q fluids yet. I thought it might stress her too much. She's due for another blood test in a couple of weeks. Thank you for your help.

Geoffrey said:

I am a human doctor, not a vet, and any advice that I give should be checked by a vet. 

At the end of 2015  our Siamese, Rupert, rather quickly developed kidney failure with excessive drinking and urination.  His blood urea was elevated and he had developed high blood pressure.  Rupert was approaching end stage renal failure.

At our vet's suggestion we put Rupert on either Royal Canin kidney food or Hill's KD.  He rapidly improved, drank much less and passed less urine.  Rupert maintained this improvement for over six months when he then ceased to pass urine  We knew that the end had come and our vet performed a home visit to euthanise him, very gently, in his home environment.

My veterinarian recommended these foods and I pass them on to you. 

Rupert was 14 and we were very grateful for the extra time with him. However I understand that some cats can live for a year or more with renal failure, even longer with these commercial foods..

Incidentally the first kidney function to fail is the kidney's capacity to concentrate urine.  The only way for the body to maintain a normal internal environment, therefore, is for the kidney to pass a large amount of water and this increased flow  enables the kidney to flush out the nitrogenous waste products with the increased amount of dilute urine. 

The cat (or human) so afflicted starts to drink an increased amount of water - and this is why the first sign of kidney failure is excessive thirst and urination.   

When the kidney's capacity to dilute the urine is lost, the kidney fails to pass urine and the cat, (or human), goes into the final stage of kidney failure. 

Humans are much more tolerant of kidney failure compared to cats.  Humans have the same symptoms, but these are usually spread out over many of years.

With all best wishes,
Geoffrey

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Thank you so much for the information. Unfortunately, we tried her on KD and she stopped eating. Part of the issue is that I have another senior cat with hyperthyroidism and a compromised liver. They eat together and I need a food they both like and will eat. The vet said at this point to just give her what she will eat. I'm going to review the information I've gotten here and see what he says.

There are treatments for CKD cats with anemia, such as Aranesp, Epogen (help build red blood cells) and even blood transfusions.  There is also Vitamin B injections and supplements containing iron to help.  It also depends on the type of anemia, regenerative or nonregenerative. 

Also, cats diagnosed with renal failure can live years.  My cat Sandra was diagnosed in 2013 at the age of 15.  I remember the vet was being very negative back then, telling me Sandra is old and I should eventually be ready to deal with letting her go.  She wasn't even showing symptoms!  It was only caught during her senior wellness exam.  She lived to almost 19.   She did excellent well most of the time.  It was only towards the end (the last 6 months) that she started having complications.  Sandra did develop anemia and because her red blood cell count got too low, she had to get a blood transfusion.  Once her numbers were back up, she was placed on Aranesp, given by injection.  Her anemia continued to improve with each injection.  However, in the end, she developed heart disease and we were no longer able to give her sub-Q fluids and she passed away soon after. 

Please do not give up.  If she is her normal self, there is much you can do.  You can give her sub-Q fluids.  Also, it's important to feed lower phosphorus foods.

Sending hugs and prayers to your baby.   

I've had thre kidney cats, and they all lived at least three years after being diagnosed!  Plus they were all seniors like yours when they were diagnosed.   And if your little girl is still eating well and acting pretty normal other than slowing down due to age, then I'd say it's definitely NOT time to throw in the towel.  I'm guessing you don't  live in the U.S.?  (I could be wrong, but in some countries they don't tend to treat kidney disease as aggressively as we do here...we're rather obsessed with our furkids    )

Anyway, I totally agree with what everyone else has said, especially that you can treat the Anemia with Vitamin B shots that she will barely feel.  We gave our las t kidney cat shorts almost daily because she was impossibe to pill, and my hubby would give them to her while he was giving her her daily "pets" and she seemed to never even realize what was happening.  Now getting her sub-qs was another story, but onthat website that missmimz provided, they even offer tips for making that easier, and we have many experienced people here who do it every day, so that may not be as hard as you think.  BUT, depending on what stage she is in, she may not even need them yet. 

As far as foods mine never liked the kidney diets either, but there are lots of foods out there that are still fairly low in phosphorus, perhaps  lower than what you are feeding her now.  This is where you may need to bite the bullet and  feed your two different foods, if possible.  The number one thing is that she eat, but it really is best if you can get her to eat as low a phosphorus food as possible.  If I know whether or not you are in the U.S. or Europe, and which you feed, dry or wet  food,  I can provide you with a listing of the best foods . 

Can you tell us what her BUN and Creatinine are from her last bloodtest?  I'm just wondering what stage she is in.  It makes a difference in some of the treatments.

I want to thank all of you for sharing your excellent ideas about Ashley. I'm definitely not going to give up now, thanks to your many hopeful replies. I'd completely forgotten that Ashley's numbers were holding stable on her last blood test. Sometimes I forget things in the moment; I can't understand why, but I tend to worry and go into a state of alarm quickly. So your hopeful posts really did help.

Sadly, the vet found a mass in my other senior kitty's abdomen last night in an emergency visit. She hasn't been eating, among other symptoms. He feels it is likely cancer, but it will be checked via testing.

Someone asked if I am in the US; I am.

Thank you again for giving me hope for Ashley. I am extremely sad about Emily (the other senior -15 years old). This whole thing has taken a toll on me, and every little bit of hope helps.

I'm so sorry about Emily.   Keeping my fingers crossed that it's NOT cancer

As to Ashley,  here's a food chart for low phosphorus food in the U.S.  Still not sure whether or not she eats wet or dry, but hoping it's wet.  (the more moisture she takes in, the better).  Anyway, this food chart is in order based on the amount of phosphorus in the food, with prescription foods listed first.  http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm#canned_usa

Sending lots of prayers and hugs to Emily.  Hopefully it turns out to be a treatable matter and not cancer. 

Please keep us updated.

Thank you all. Emily had stomach cancer and was euthanized yesterday. I'm sorry I have to abandon the thread. I will take careful note of all of your great ideas. Please wish me and Ashley well. She is very concerned that Emily is gone, and has already started mimicking her meow. [emoji]128550[/emoji]

I am sorry you lost Emily

I'm so very sorry about Emily

Run free at the bridge, sweet girl

I'm so sorry for your loss of Emily.

RIP little angel.