DROOL! - sign of renal failure or something else?

[fionasmom]

Bring up the renal issue with the new vet. It may be exactly true that the readings of a few days ago do not put her in the "renal failure" category yet as those are fairly specific guidelines. The vet is probably using IRIS staging? As for the other episodes, it does sounds as if there is seizure activity again. Please let us know what you find out.

 

[BigBurgers]

The new vet(s) are aware of the CKD because of the bloodwork from last week. I like this clinic a lot, I've seen two different vets and spoken to a third on the phone and they all really took the time to listen to me and work out a possible solution. At her old clinic I always felt a bit rushed.

Anyways, the course of action right now is to give her 50-75ml sub-Q's daily for the next week or so and monitor for any improvement. She got 75 at the vet today and it perked her up some, though lately she's been very sleepy and not eating as much. Usually she's much more active in the morning, so we'll see how it goes. Correct, her numbers are very high but at the moment doesn't seem to have those other major symptoms of failure. The rest of her bloodwork was good, phosphorous normal, potassium good, so I suspect it's just her kidneys doing the talking right now. Frankly I feel like it's a tossup at the moment - either the consistent daily fluids, over time, might help her rebound a bit, or she's on her way out. Too early to say.

This has all happened very fast, to be honest. A month ago it was "things are good, keep it up!" And today it feels like I'm losing her. Just trying to make peace with it at the moment and prepare for either outcome.

 

[BigBurgers]

I spoke with an old co-worker today who lost his cat to CKD in January and it was nice to get some perspective. It will happen eventually, either soon or, well, not so soon. Again, just trying to make peace with it all and do all that I can do.

 

[fionasmom]

I have found in my cats, over the years, that kidney issues can take a quick downturn even when it seems that the cat is maintaining themselves, or their body is holding up more accurately. However, your cat may be a long way from anything like that, so keep doing what you can. If she will let you do subQ or, if you are able to bring her back and forth to the vet, that is a good strategy.

I am glad that you found some good vets. That makes these hard times a little more bearable if you feel that they support you and your cat.

 

[BigBurgers]

That's what my old co-worker told me yesterday about his CKD cat. It was doing great through the holidays last year, then out of nowhere his health took a turn for the worse.

One thing I failed to realize, probably just from the stress of all of this coupled with work stress, is that gabapentin is a bit of a sedative, especially for CKD cats. I remembered last night that a lot of this new lethargy hasn't started since after going on that first dose, which was hours after her seizure. She's always been small, right now 6.2 pounds (hoping to get her back to closer to 7), and I imagine that the drug hits her pretty hard and fast. So, she's been on fluids for three days straight now and she gets another round today. Today has been a good day, the fluids seem to be keeping her steady, but the real test will be once I take her off of the fluids and the gabapentin later next week. We'll also do another kidney panel then. Her eating and drinking is still strong and she's playful, and she greets myself and my mom in the morning when the house wakes up.

This past week has been rough, not gonna lie, but it also helped put a lot of it into perspective. The vets have helped as well. I have a long relationship with that past vet, but it's never been for anything too serious before (though she did have a bad UTI a couple years ago that they treated her for). Since all of this has been going down, I've always felt a bit rushed at that clinic. This new one is super busy, but I like how attentive the staff and doctors are.

 

[fionasmom]

My experience with dogs and cats has been that if there is any kidney or liver impairment (not saying your cat has anything going on with the liver) that any sedative type drug seems to take longer to clear from their system. It happened over fourth of July with my 100 lb GSD and acepromazine. You may notice more of an uptick once she is done with the meds.

 

[BigBurgers]

The fluids have certainly helped with keeping her at least more stable. On that note, her liver values were actually pretty good. A sliiiight elevation but nothing concerning, possibly lingering from her lack of appetite at the start of this whole ordeal. Her potassium, protein, and phosphorous were all good as well. Really we're just dealing with those elevated kidney values, and I'm convinced now that her elevated BUN caused the seizures. My best guess is that her bladder infection was festering for a bit, and by the time we discovered it it had spread to her kidneys, causing those massive spikes. It's entirely possible that these persistent fluids could help get those numbers down, or the damage will have been done but the fluids will keep her stable. All speculation of course, and too early to tell.