Hi Jem,
Wow, kitty's potassium level is very low!!!!!!!!!!! It's no wonder kitty was (is) walking on her hocks.............potassium is related to muscle function and if very low potassium, the muscles are weak.
Did Vet not seem concerned about this? My old CRF kitty had an additional condition (rare, called hyperaldosteronism) that caused her to have chronically low potassium and high blood pressure .........and even then, the lowest was about 3.0 (she was on potassium supplementation). 2.8 is dangerously low. As potassium helps muscles function, the heart is a muscle and low potassium can obviously impact the heart, too.
Not only should Vet be wanting to investigate why potassium is soooo low, but starting kitty on immediate supplementation, wow.
BUN is elevated (on your list, it's referred to as UREA), that shows kidney function. I don't see the Creatinine level - was it done? It's possible that kitty has a high Creat level, therefore kidney issues.............and long term kidney issues can cause a real loss in potassium, too....because the kidneys have lost a lot of their ability to 'concentrate' the urine........they pee more and pee out more potassium.
Are you positive you typed the correct potassium level?
Low potassium is called "hypokalemia" and here are some articles for you to read on it:
http://www.bestfriendsvet.com/pdffil...emiaCatsWa.pdf
http://www.petplace.com/cats/hypokalemia/page1.aspx
Although the "normal range" for various lab tests can vary somewhat from lab to lab, they're generally consistent...............and the normal range for potassium in a cat is about 3.5 to 5.1........so you can see, 2.8 is horribly low.
When my old girl's potassium became low, due to the combination of her CRF and her Hyperaldosteronism, she'd have a lot of hindleg weakness, she'd walk on her hocks, she'd have trouble climbing into the litterbox, she'd have little energy, she'd get very constipated and she just didn't really want to be picked up (I'm sure all her muscles were sore!).
Is that ALL of the bloodwork your Vet had run? It's amazing a Creatinine level wasn't done.............that's a much more accurate indicator of kidney function than BUN (Urea)......I notice no liver enzymes were done, thyroid level not done.
Wow, kitty's potassium level is very low!!!!!!!!!!! It's no wonder kitty was (is) walking on her hocks.............potassium is related to muscle function and if very low potassium, the muscles are weak.
Did Vet not seem concerned about this? My old CRF kitty had an additional condition (rare, called hyperaldosteronism) that caused her to have chronically low potassium and high blood pressure .........and even then, the lowest was about 3.0 (she was on potassium supplementation). 2.8 is dangerously low. As potassium helps muscles function, the heart is a muscle and low potassium can obviously impact the heart, too.
Not only should Vet be wanting to investigate why potassium is soooo low, but starting kitty on immediate supplementation, wow.
BUN is elevated (on your list, it's referred to as UREA), that shows kidney function. I don't see the Creatinine level - was it done? It's possible that kitty has a high Creat level, therefore kidney issues.............and long term kidney issues can cause a real loss in potassium, too....because the kidneys have lost a lot of their ability to 'concentrate' the urine........they pee more and pee out more potassium.
Are you positive you typed the correct potassium level?
Low potassium is called "hypokalemia" and here are some articles for you to read on it:
http://www.bestfriendsvet.com/pdffil...emiaCatsWa.pdf
http://www.petplace.com/cats/hypokalemia/page1.aspx
Although the "normal range" for various lab tests can vary somewhat from lab to lab, they're generally consistent...............and the normal range for potassium in a cat is about 3.5 to 5.1........so you can see, 2.8 is horribly low.
When my old girl's potassium became low, due to the combination of her CRF and her Hyperaldosteronism, she'd have a lot of hindleg weakness, she'd walk on her hocks, she'd have trouble climbing into the litterbox, she'd have little energy, she'd get very constipated and she just didn't really want to be picked up (I'm sure all her muscles were sore!).
Is that ALL of the bloodwork your Vet had run? It's amazing a Creatinine level wasn't done.............that's a much more accurate indicator of kidney function than BUN (Urea)......I notice no liver enzymes were done, thyroid level not done.