Harley has kidney dysfunction

bonniecdoc

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​Hello, I am new to the site and am so grateful to have found others who are so passionate about caring for their cats.  My 17 year old cat "Harley" was diagnosed with kidney dysfunction 2 days ago.  He had begun drinking excessively and at times appeared disoriented ( for past week).  Harley has been treated for hyperthyroidism for the past year with good results from the Methimazole.  (when he was first diagnosed, our vet told me that some cats cannot tolerate the Methimazole and that if Harley began vomiting after taking the med, then he would be unable to take it).

Our vet did a comprehensive blood work-up during Harley's visit 2 days ago and found his creatinine to be very high although other kidney values were within normal range.  Harley also was very low on potassium. Our doc prescribed him a potassium supplement and a prescription food ( Harley is not sure he likes the new food).  The doc told me that with potassium deficiency a cat can experience a number of symptoms:  lethargy, decrease in appetite, disorientation that looks like "dementia", etc.  I am not sure if nausea could possibly be related to low potassium  

I have found that with a "senior" kitty, every day is a gift.

Bonniecdoc
 
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bonniecdoc

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I posted several days ago about my senior cat "Harley" who was diagnosed with kidney disease.  It has been a little over a week since he was prescribed a potassium supplement as well as a rx kidney diet         ( Hill's k/d).  For several days he ate the new diet and seemed to be maintaining a good appetite.  this morning, he completely refused to eat.  I bought some baby food ( chicken with chicken broth) and tonight he ate a little.  I am very worried about such a sudden appetite change.  Has anyone experienced this with the addition of a potassium supplement.  That is the only thing that I can think of that might be affecting Harley's appetite.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Bonniecdoc
 

stephanietx

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When you have a CKD kitty, getting them to eat anything is a plus. I had a CKD kitty, but she loved her food and I didn't have to supplement potassium. I know many CKD owners who feed Fancy Feast classic pate.  He needs to eat more than anything at this point.
 

carole001

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The game changer to get my twelve year old Gemma to start eating was 1mg of Mirtazapene along with 2.5 mg Famotidine (generic Pepcid). I cut a 15 mg Mirtazapene into about 12 crumbly pieces with a razor blade and drop it along with the Famotidine into a gel capsule. Pepcid addresses the build up of stomach acids which can be very nauseating. She gets a second Famotidine in the evening of 2.5 mg.

Gemma was diagnosed with stage 3 December 2012 and officially became stage 4 yesterday, 04-22-17. She continues to enjoy a quality life and more important, we have enjoyed her.
 
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