Rescued Cat with Kidney Disease

[RadKorrosive]

Hello All,


I joined this forum because like all of you, I love my cat and would do anything for her.

I found shadow in May 2020 hanging by my backyard fence, and my neighbour did mention we had a lot of feral cats in our area. We took her in, and she is the most lovable, sweet and affectionate cat.

We've never had any problems with her, and never exhibited any health issues. Our mistake was not bringing her to the vet right away to be checked out. We did not even know her gender until last week, imagine my surprise as I had been calling her my son lol.

So last week, Shadow started vomiting clear liquid. Initially I thought she was trying to yak hairballs like she did in the past. But that was not the case.

So after four days, we brought her to the vet. This was very traumatizing for Shadow as this was her first time being in my car and in a new unfamiliar surrounding.

They did some tests, which included blood, urine and giving her fluid support and anti-nausea medication.

When we brought her home, this is what happened:

- She became withdrawn, weak and hiding in the dark
- She started urinating less and had not even defecated normally to the best of my knowledge (she always urinated 4x a day before)

She was diagnosed with kidney disease stage 3. We also found out that she is approximately 8 years old (which I do not believe, by the way)


In the recent days, she is starting to become her normal self little by little. But she has not eaten like before nor was the same in her habits since coming from the vet.

Now they want me to bring her back and I know my cat. Making her go through that again will do her more damage than good!


It was recommended that she take the anti nausea medication (which we administer), coax drinking a lot of water and wet food, and the injectable fluid support.

Guys I am all for the rest of the recommendations, but injecting her with the fluid support is too much trauma for her.


I am asking you guys what I can do. I ordered Uromaxx off Amazon which I hope can help her as I saw the reviews and people swear by it.


Please offer guidance, as I want to provide Shadow with the best possible life, while minimizing the trauma of going to the vet.


Thank you.

 

[LTS3]

Here's a great web site to look through: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

I'll let others who have experience with kidney cats and giving fluids answer your questions.

 

[RadKorrosive]

Here's a great web site to look through: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

I'll let others who have experience with kidney cats and giving fluids answer your questions.

Thank you for the link. It is quite overwhelming to read at first but I will go through it and not make assumptions and panic.

My cat, although I noticed disorientation, only occurred after the vet visit, so I do not know if the symptoms of the kidney disease exacerbated it as she was perfectly normal in her habits and movements prior to the visit. The only reason we brought her in was because of the vomiting. Other than that she was energetic, had good appetite and drank lots of water.

That is the reason why we are freaking out. Why all of a sudden?

 

[fionasmom]

Some cats, especially those who were feral for most of their lives, do not take kindly to a vet appointment. Are you noticing any improvement as the time goes on today? While I am not suggesting that you ignore the fact that she may not be eating or eliminating, she might come around. Can you give her any special treats or food that might entice her?

Did the vet show you how to do subQ fluids?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Although, anything is possible, kidney disease is most traditionally an older cat's disease - so, 8-ish yo might be more accurate than you think. There are cats who are younger that experience kidney disease, so it can't be entirely ruled out as a possibility. Ask the vet how they assessed her as 8 just for your own sake. I would also consider having a retest of her blood work done in a month or so just to ensure the first results weren't a fluke - also not unheard of. This can be accomplished by a visiting vet who can draw blood in your home - much less trauma. Stage 3 CKD seems unusual given your overall described assessment of her.

Tanya's web site, that you were offered by another member above, is very overwhelming and requires multiple reads to even begin to digest any of it. But it is well worth it to read and read again, and especially when certain issues come up. I've read it dozens of times, and still need to go back and read various parts over and over, sort of as a 'refresher'.

The clear liquid vomiting may just be a coincidence and not necessarily directly connected to the kidney disease. However, there are some CKD cats, especially when they go too long without food, or don't eat often enough, have an over-production of acid that can cause the kind of vomiting you are talking about. This too can happen with cats that don't have CKD. So, once she gets more recovered from her 'adventure' (I believe she will!) think about how you might be able to feed her more frequently. Anti-nausea meds are usually needed with CKD cats at some point, but some of them also need acid-blockers as well.

If she is not on canned food, try some different foods for her - anything canned is better than dry for CKD. Tanya's web site has a chart of foods that are lower in phosphorus, which is one of the primary things to try to control with CKD cats.

As far as sub-Q fluids - also mentioned above - they can be done at home (if deemed necessary) - and you can actually do it yourself. This could also possibly be accomplished by a home vet/tech who could do it for you and show you how to do it eventually on your own.

Keep us posted. I am hoping to hear that she rebounds from her vet visit very soon!

 

[stephanietx]

My first cat developed kidney disease. She never liked being confined or held down. My husband and I knew that giving her fluids wasn't really an option for her because of the stress it would create for her. We decided to give her more wet food servings a day and add in water to make it the consistency of thick oatmeal to increase her water intake. We decreased her dry food intake because it's a strain on the kidneys.

Did they check her potassium level? It's important for her potassium to be at the upper end of the range given on the results. We gave our 2nd kitty a potassium supplement when she was diagnosed.

 

[RadKorrosive]

Some cats, especially those who were feral for most of their lives, do not take kindly to a vet appointment. Are you noticing any improvement as the time goes on today? While I am not suggesting that you ignore the fact that she may not be eating or eliminating, she might come around. Can you give her any special treats or food that might entice her?

Did the vet show you how to do subQ fluids?

As of this message, we were shown how to administer the subq fluid support. We didn't think we could do it but my wife is a freakin' rockstar and she got it on the first try. All about teamwork.

She is slowly becoming more her normal self as the days go by, but boy did she let us know she is not forgiving us that soon after taking her to the vet! Thank you!

 

[RadKorrosive]

Hi. Although, anything is possible, kidney disease is most traditionally an older cat's disease - so, 8-ish yo might be more accurate than you think. There are cats who are younger that experience kidney disease, so it can't be entirely ruled out as a possibility. Ask the vet how they assessed her as 8 just for your own sake. I would also consider having a retest of her blood work done in a month or so just to ensure the first results weren't a fluke - also not unheard of. This can be accomplished by a visiting vet who can draw blood in your home - much less trauma. Stage 3 CKD seems unusual given your overall described assessment of her.

Tanya's web site, that you were offered by another member above, is very overwhelming and requires multiple reads to even begin to digest any of it. But it is well worth it to read and read again, and especially when certain issues come up. I've read it dozens of times, and still need to go back and read various parts over and over, sort of as a 'refresher'.

The clear liquid vomiting may just be a coincidence and not necessarily directly connected to the kidney disease. However, there are some CKD cats, especially when they go too long without food, or don't eat often enough, have an over-production of acid that can cause the kind of vomiting you are talking about. This too can happen with cats that don't have CKD. So, once she gets more recovered from her 'adventure' (I believe she will!) think about how you might be able to feed her more frequently. Anti-nausea meds are usually needed with CKD cats at some point, but some of them also need acid-blockers as well.

If she is not on canned food, try some different foods for her - anything canned is better than dry for CKD. Tanya's web site has a chart of foods that are lower in phosphorus, which is one of the primary things to try to control with CKD cats.

As far as sub-Q fluids - also mentioned above - they can be done at home (if deemed necessary) - and you can actually do it yourself. This could also possibly be accomplished by a home vet/tech who could do it for you and show you how to do it eventually on your own.

Keep us posted. I am hoping to hear that she rebounds from her vet visit very soon!

Thank you for your response. When I posted my original message, that was a cat dad being overwhelmed and not comprehending what is going on. Everything happened all of a sudden, and we freaked out. As per my reply to fionasmom , we were just shown today how to administer as well as the benefits of subq fluid support, and that everything else will be like a domino effect after the fact.


I am looking forward to seeing her response to the fluid therapy and hopefully not need the anti nausea meds she is on, which is a pain to have her consume.

Pretty picky eater for someone who slaughtered birds before for food, ain't she?

 

[RadKorrosive]

My first cat developed kidney disease. She never liked being confined or held down. My husband and I knew that giving her fluids wasn't really an option for her because of the stress it would create for her. We decided to give her more wet food servings a day and add in water to make it the consistency of thick oatmeal to increase her water intake. We decreased her dry food intake because it's a strain on the kidneys.

Did they check her potassium level? It's important for her potassium to be at the upper end of the range given on the results. We gave our 2nd kitty a potassium supplement when she was diagnosed.

They did the bloodwork and I paid for the additional tests, and to be honest, some of the terms used I did not understand. All we know for sure us that her kidneys are not infected, which is the silver lining.

Thank you for your insight regarding your experience. I will ask about the potassium levels and the need for a supplement, should there be a need.

 

[LTS3]

There are sub q fluid tips and resources here: Subcutaneous Fluids – IBDKitties

Is the anti nausea medicine a pill? You can hide pills in a Pill Pocket or something:

Pilling Cats: Must-know Tips For Hiding Pills – TheCatSite Articles
The Best Pill-taking Secret I Know...
Pilling Cats and Dogs Safely
How We Give Our Pill Hating Cat A Pill
Getting Cat To Take Pills... Post Tips Here.

For any medicine that is needed long term, compounding is something to look into. Many medicines can be made into cat-friendly options like a transdermal gel that is applied to the inside of the ear or flavored chew treats.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I will ask about the potassium levels and the need for a supplement, should there be a need.

Potassium is one of the standard part of a chemistry blood panel. If you don't have a copy of those results, please ask for them. You paid for them when you authorized the blood panel, those results are yours for free.

 

[RadKorrosive]

There are sub q fluid tips and resources here: Subcutaneous Fluids – IBDKitties

Is the anti nausea medicine a pill? You can hide pills in a Pill Pocket or something:

Pilling Cats: Must-know Tips For Hiding Pills – TheCatSite Articles
The Best Pill-taking Secret I Know...
Pilling Cats and Dogs Safely
How We Give Our Pill Hating Cat A Pill
Getting Cat To Take Pills... Post Tips Here.

For any medicine that is needed long term, compounding is something to look into. Many medicines can be made into cat-friendly options like a transdermal gel that is applied to the inside of the ear or flavored chew treats.

This is amazing thank you!!!