Advanced Kidney Disease - Stopped Eating

[libra4687]

My cat Waler is 15 years old and has advanced stage kidney disease. He was diagnosed around 7 months ago after dropping 3 pounds in 2 weeks. Before that we had absolutely no idea anything was wrong.

We have been working extremely hard and going beyond what friends and family say they would do. Many have admitted to us that they would have euthanized him already but we don't want to give up on him.

We currently do not leave Walter alone for more than 3 hours at a time. I work from home and spend about 3-4 hours every day just caring for him. I have only slept a full night once or twice since his diagnosis since he usually wakes me up for food or with vomiting. It took a lot of time and effort, drawing attention to food, coaxing him, offering him several different choices, etc but Walter was eating pretty well on his own up until a week ago. He actually gained weight and is almost back up to his healthy weight.

Last week he really slowed down on eating. He would still eat a small amount and also would eat tuna, but he wasn't eating nearly the amount he is supposed to in a day. We thought it was just a bad patch as we had been through them before but in the past the bad spots only lasted 2 days or so.

I started assist feeding him with a syringe but now I'm afraid that was a mistake. He will hardly eat on his own now even a week later. We have given him both cerenia and zofran because we thought it was nausea causing him not to eat but it hasn't helped. The only thing he will eat is his most favorite food that we give him in the middle of the night, and even then he will only eat about 1 oz of the 3 oz can.

I feel really selfish saying this since I should care about Walter's health above anything else, but I feel the assist feeding has destroyed our already fragile relationship. Since I am the one to care for Walter during the day, I'm the one to give him his meds and brush his teeth, and basically do all the stuff he doesn't like. Walter was starting to resent me and blame me for what he probably views as torture. He hates being stuck with needles and having pills and food shoved down his throat and I don't blame him! Walter will snub me for cuddles and go straight to my boyfriend and it hurts a lot. He used to curl up in my lap and at my side in bed and now wants nothing to do with me. He hides from me when he sees me coming and it breaks my heart. I just spent 20 minutes trying to coax him out of his litterbox for his next assist feeding since he hides from me there now.

I feel like I'm stuck in a vicious cycle. If I stop assist feeding him, he may not eat on his own and will lose weight and die. If I don't stop, he will probably never eat on his own again and I can't keep it up.

Any advice?

 

[babiesmom5]

Have you tried an appetite stimulant, or could you ask your vet about using one

I have a 17 year old Stage II CKD kitty with IBD. She is on 1/8 Mirtazapine every 72 hours. She also gets fluids weekly and Cerenia if needed.

I would first try the above, in consultation with your vet, to see if you can get your cat to eat on his own.

 

[stephanietx]

I was in the same spot you are in about 8 years ago. It was a rough time. My girl was about 14 and had lived with kidney disease for about 5 years. We did it all, sub-q fluids, daily appetite stimulant, daily dose of Pepcid, baby food, and on and on.

I think you need to look at his quality of life and what is best for him. It's a very difficult question to ask yourself, but you have to examine the motive behind your actions. Will assist feed him extend his life and return him to a better life, or are you doing it because you don't want to let him go? I realized after a week that I was doing it because I didn't want to let my girl go, but she was telling me it was time. She had stopped eating, stopped grooming herself and had begun trembling, which I found out meant that her kidneys were no longer able to filter toxins and all the toxins were running through her little body. As difficult as it is, you need to examine your motive, listen to your kitty, and do the most loving thing for him.

 

[betsygee]

You might also try giving him baby food to help supplement his diet. Gerber makes some that's just meat, water, and cornstarch. Make sure there are no other ingredients like onion or garlic.

I have had a few cats go through kidney disease--I know how hard it is to see them getting more frail. stephanietx has given some good advice at looking at quality of life issues, too.