Chronic renal failure

My parents informed me that Matilda, my mother's Siamese, has been diagnosed with chronic renal failure. Matilda (whom we call Bat, because of the giant dark ears) is 15. It was discovered when they went in for routine vaccinations. Also, my husband and I, and my brother and his wife, were all visiting a few weeks ago and noticed that she had lost weight (she used to be plump, and is now almost "normal"). So, to the vet they went, and got the diagnosis. She is still quite active, plays with the other cat in the house (Orchid, purebred mutt ), but drinks a lot and doesn't eat as much. She has been switched to a low-protein food. The vet told my parents that she could last for weeks, months or years. It is a quality of life issue; one day she won't be happy anymore, from being too ill, and they'll need to euthanize her. My question is, has anyone else had a cat diagnosed with this? What happened? What symptoms of decline did you see? What helped? Etc?

It was very sad. She kept looking more and more skinny. We had to feed her can food mixed with water out of a syringe. Then she stopped being able to take that so we had to do infusions on her 3 times a day with saline water. At first she was okay with this then when she started to fight we stopped. She died that night in my arms at about 3 am. She mostly slept all day, she was very sick, she had no energy and could not walk from one room to the other the last couple of days. We should have put her down but it was a 3 day weekend and friday when the vets closed she was still doin okay on the infusions. By monday night she was gone. She went down hill VERY quickly. She went from healthy to passed on in about 2 1/2 weeks. It is going to be very hard on both you, your parents and the kitty. I suggest that when the cat starts to refuse food that they be put down, because once you get to the saline infusions, the cats quality of life has gone way down. It is hard, but its even harder to look in your kitty's eyes who is almost as old as you are and see pain. It is the one thing I regret most about ever having a cat, was letting her get to that point. So I guess the best advice I have is take pictures of the cat while it still appears healthy, spend as much time with it as possible, love on it, make it comfortable, and try to stay positive. Feel free to pm me if you want/need to talk. I hope the kitty lasts much longer than mine, and never gets to that point. Good vibes, and good luck.

I am sorry to hear about the diagnosis...and will be glad to share my experience to date. Patrick was diagnosed with crf 3 years ago, and just turned 18. He's been on an antacid, sub-q fluids (ringers lactate), and calcitriol, he has not been on a low protein diet, but rather a lower phosphorous diet and has done very well overall. He does now have moderate anemia, and I will be watching for when he no longer has that sparkle in his eye, when I no longer catch him playing with a catnip toy (he was giving a catnip lemon quite the bath last night), when he no longer responds to the word "treat!"...or when an additional issue comes up that we can not abate.

The best site, imo, on the internet for factual, detailed information is Feline Crf dot org

I also just had my going on 16 year old American Curl diagnosed with early crf, and he's responding well to being on calcitriol, is not yet on sub-q fluids or an antacid, is having his diet adjusted.

hth,

My Sheba had CRF diagnosed at age 15. She was put on a white fish/white chicken meat diet with lots of liquid - at that time there were no special cat foods available. She did fine for almost three years and then seemed suddenly to go downhill. The last stage lasted only a few weeks. Today, with even better medication and food, who knows?

My cat, Bones, was diagnosed early Dec. of last year. We do sub q fluids once a day at home which he does mind at all. He is usually eating a tasty chicken treat (with phosphorus binders) and doesn't even notice the needle. If you're cat loses its appetite, there are lots of things you can do. Do a search. There are a few yahoo support groups and the site that Pat listed is excellant. Another great site is: http://www.felinecrf.com/ Bones is eating, playing and enjoying life. We take it one day at a time here

Hi,
Sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I had a Persian, 14 yrs. old, Misty that had CRF. After she was diagnosed I decided to try and give her sub-q fluids at home. Her quality of life was so poor...she couldn't jump anymore...she just sat and let me stroke her...I did end-up putting her down.

It was all so quick. It seemed like one day she was fine and the next she had full blown CRF. She almost completely stopped eating and the fluid injection made her lopsided when she walked. It was very sad.

I had to make a decision that quality of life was greater than quantity of life (more time with her).

I wish the best for you and your fuzzy one.

I disagree that "once you get to the saline infusions, the cat's quality of life has gone way down". I think the problem is that too often, people WAIT too long before they start subcutaneous hydration (subQ fluids). By the time they start, the kidneys have deteriorated too greatly, and at that point, even the subQ can't help that much.

The key to kidney disease is to start subQ as soon as possible. My 17 year old sweetie was diagnosed over 3 years ago with CRF and the best piece of advice I got was NOT TO WAIT til the disease progressed, as my vet was willing to do. The earlier you start doing fluids, the sooner the kidneys get help doing their job, which is vital.

Like Pat & Alix's cat, my girl's on pepcid. A potassium supplement called Tumil-K helps keep her electrolytes balanced. She's eating a regular canned diet - thankfully she doesn't have phosphorus problems. Because the kidneys are the body's filter (along with the liver), try to feed the highest quality, purest food you can. Wet food is important - dry isn't advisable for kitties with kidney problems.

Cats with kidney disease sometimes develop inappetance;the pepcid helps, and so do B-12 shots or giving B-12 pills/caps at home.

Not all kidney problems are the same - some cats need additional meds as mentioned by a few members. Some are more severe than others.

It's been my experience that with a bit of effort and diligence, you can keep your cat comfortable and pretty healthy.

Good luck to your parents and Matilda. I hope they'll have more happy years together yet.

The key to kidney disease is to start subQ as soon as possible. My 17 year old sweetie was diagnosed over 3 years ago with CRF and the best piece of advice I got was NOT TO WAIT til the disease progressed, as my vet was willing to do. The earlier you start doing fluids, the sooner the kidneys get help doing their job, which is vital.

I am glad to hear you and your 17-year old have had positive reults with subQ fluids.
It definitely gives others hope to hear that a 17-year old can respond so well.

My Misty was only 14 and she just did not respond well at all to the fluids. She was diagnosed within 24 hours of me noticing her odd behavior and admitted. At the Vet's she was givien fluids along with monitoring her eating...etc, etc. We gave her the fluids at home for about 1 week with absolutely no improvement.

I miss her deeply...she was very special to me.

I do believe patience, a quick response to the disease and some good old fashioned love is vital.