Please send some vibes Snowball's way

I just sent ya an IM..

Oh my gosh, poor Snowball! I really hope he is well soon. Wishing him a good recovery and prayers for comfort to the both of you...

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ TONS of healing vibes being sent Snowball's way }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Poor Snowball hope your handsome boy is feeling better soon

Lori,

Sending vibes your way...it could really be as simple as Snowball now needing a phosphorous binder because phos levels have gone up. If you want to pm me any time, Patrick and I have been dealing with this (including sub-q's and various meds) for over 3 years now, and my Tyler is in the very, very early stages of crf as well.

I am sending many good vibes to both you and Snowball!

Oh Lorie I hate it when i hear our members cats being sick

Sending Snowball (((((mega healing vibes))))) and i'll look out for updates

Good vibes and purrs from Spain

Good vibes to Snowball from myself and Reilly

Lorie, hang in there and try not to worry so much. Your vet can show you what is needed for Snowball's comfort, and I have every faith in you that you can come through this just fine.

I'm sending healing vibes Snowball's way, Lorie. Maybe it isn't as bad as you fear, and at any rate, I'm sure you'll be able to manage his care.

Lorie, sending prayers & thoughts for you and Snowball

Sending prayers for Snowball, and calming hugs to you

If you do have to give subq fluids, don't panic - it's actually a lot simpler than it sounds, once you get the hang of it. I gave my CRF girl subq fluids at home for a long time - it really seemed to help her feel better, and I think somehow she understood that so she didn't seem to mind it at all.

Sending vibes towards yours and snowballs way!

Sweet Snowball will be in my prayers tonight.

Sending lots of healthy vibes Snowball's way! Whatever is needed to keep him healthy, I know you will do whatever it takes. It sounds like your vet feels the same way.

Awww Snowball...you are such a sweet kitty.:
Snowball will remain in my thoughts & prayers Lorie.

Sending vibes and to both of you!

Lorie,
I am sorry, I have no time to read back over the thread, so I may be suggesting something not possible, but fwiw, Tyler's bun was just over 40, his creatine a low 3..with use of Calcitriol, it brought his creatinine to normal, and left his bun still slightly high. It is a liquid medication I get from a local compounding pharmacy..so long as his calcium is a normal level, it should be an option IF your vet is one that agrees with it's use (not all do and some are just not super aware of it.).

The website I love - www.felinecrf.org will explain calcitriol, plus normal ranges for bun and creatine...a 3.6 must be a 36 re the bun

wishing snowball all the best, and hoping this helps a bit,

You are going through a lot of worry and you don't need to be concerned about your vet too! Sodium bicarbonate is what we use sometimes in baking - it is an alkaline which will reduce acid levels in the urine. People take it for acidic stomach upsets too.

Hi Lori,

Go here and read the section on metabolic acidosis - sodium bicarbonate is used to treat this, even in mild form. Please don't be upset with your vet's office, you have so much else to focus on, don't waste that energy

So sorry to hear Snowball has got kidney disease. I've lived with kidney disease in my family for years. My 19 year old son (I know he's not a cat) had kidney failure at the age of 15. He was born with a hereditary kidney disease and is now on renal dialysis (we have the machine at home) awaiting a transplant but kidney disease is the same in cats as it is in humans.

My son has to be fairly careful with what he eats. We have to watch Potassium levels and Phosphate levels. As was mentioned in one of the threads above, you might at some point need to give phosphate binders (usually tablet form). You may also have to learn to inject your cat. Don't panic about this because the vet will teach you how. The kidneys control many things including blood pressure and the amount of haemoglobulin (red blood cells) in blood. Sometimes you have to inject (in humans anyway) a substance called EPO (epoetithyn - probably not spelled correctly) which boosts the red blood cells. My son has to do this every week. He does it himself and has done since he was 15 years old. Again, the vet will teach you if this becomes necessary. Without EPO, the patient would become anaemic, his immune system would weaken and he would be more susceptible to catching other illnesses. I presume the same would be for cats too.

I know it sounds very daunting, but it's surprising how quickly you adjust to having to do these things and they just become part of normal life. Hopefully, you won't have to do this, but if you do please don't get too worried about it because you'll manage just fine and I'm sure your cat will know you're trying to help him.

Just seeing this now, Lorie. I'm glad that this turn of events wasn't as serious as you feared. I hope Snowball continues to take his meds well. That is a neat trick for pilling! Not something I've had to do very often, but a great dodge to have up one's sleeve!

Lotsa vibes for Snowball, that his condition remains manageable, and for his Mum's peace of mind!

That pill trick is great, Lorie - I'll have to pass that along. Hopefully Snowball's problems will remain manageable.

I'm so sorry you're going through this, Lorie. Snowball, please be well, baby.