Pedialite

Otis has poor kidney functioning and from time to time he gets really dehydrated. This past time he had me scared so I started up with giving him pedialite. Well come to find out, he loves the taste of pedialite... which is weird because I think it's disgusting! I'm thinking about keeping a dish of fresh pedialite around at all times for him. So my question is, can too much pedialite cause any harm?

Hmm.. I think it has some sugars in it. It is good for a boost when the body is down and needs hydration but I wouldn't like the extended use of sugars.

I really don't know much about it though. Hopefully someone else can give you more info.

good question!!! I have no idea... hopefully someone will answer this as I could use some advice myself.

With pedialyte you want to use it to boost them back up, feed every 30 mins as much as they well take (they will let you know when they dont want anymore) once it rehydrates them, switch to water or mush(wet food, moistened dry food). pedialyte is great for a boost but i dont recommend long term, you can use the pedialyte mixed with the food instead of water, but i would not leave a bowl of it out

I would double check this with your vet. In cats with renal failure excess sodium and potassium can cause an increased workload for the kidneys. Pedialyte does have sodium and potassium in it. Basically, it would depend on what stage renal disease your kitty is in.

It would be a good idea to check with the vet. Hope this helps.

Talk with the vet.. the sugar thing and the kidneys are both good size issues

Homemade pedialyte is

a cup of boiled then cooled water
two tsps sugar
a pinch of baking soda
a pinch of salt

My doc says essentially it is 7-UP.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm not sure what stage he's in or how large his kidneys are. Is there a way for me to feel them myself? I took him in to a new vet the other day and he didn't mention feeling enlarged kidneys. He seems to be almost back to normal now, very underweight though. What is an unsafe weight for a cat over a year old. He used to be 7.7 pounds in may and is now 6.3 pounds. I've been feeding him wet food as often as possible but I'm not sure if I've been able to get any weight back on him :-/