Kidney Failure

[andrea1970]

I took my 19-year-old cat Gizmo to a new vet yesterday to get a 2nd opinion on removing the growth by her eye (full topic in Random Chatter).  They drew blood for pre-op yesterday and the vet just called me.  Apparently Gizmo has developed kidney failure.  Her BUN is 69 and the top of normal is 34.  Her creatinine is 4.1 and the top of normal is 2.3.    He said that by the time blood results are bad, they've lost 75% of their kidney function. 

He wants me to bring her in tomorrow and they'll extract a urine sample and teach me how to do sub Q fluids.  He said at first, she'll probably be fine on the fluids a couple times a week.  He also said the kidney diets are the one type of diet that has been tested and shown to extend life expectancy by an average of 2 years.  He said the usual he sees with cats at this stage is about 2 years, so he doesn't think it's a reason to not remove the growth.  He told me that although the lost kidney function can't be restored, from this point dehydration, infection, and protein are the only things that will make it worse.

Has anyone gone down the kitty kidney failure path before?  What can I reasonably expect to be able to do for her.  She doesn't seem to feel bad at all at this point, so I hate the idea of causing her suffering to prevent this getting worse if it's not causing her any problems right now.

How hard is it really for average owner to do sub Q?

Are there other low protein foods besides the prescription diets?  I've read that some cats won't eat them.

[Marybelle]

Sub Q isn't that difficult.  Try to make sure he gives you butterfly needles, if possible, as they seem to be easier on both of you, though it will slow down the amount of fluid you can put in, as they tend to be smaller needles. 

As for the prescription diets, all you can do is try.  If she won't eat them, then cross that bridge when you come to it.  It seems to me there are several different companies doing prescription diets now, so try whatever varieties you can get until you find one she likes. 

[Auntie Crazy]

Please research very carefully before you put your cat on a low-protein, high-carb prescription diet. And you might want to think about looking for a new vet - protein is not harmful to your cat's kidneys, that is old information based off studies done on other animals!!!!!!! Cats are obligate carnivores and NEED protein, preferably in it's freshest, easiest to digest form.

Also, if your cat is on kibble, get her off it immediately. It's a diet that leaves cats chronically mildly dehydrated, which badly stresses the kidneys (one of the potential causes of kidney disease in the first place) and no cat receiving sub-Q fluids should ever be fed such a diet.

Some information for you to read:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/kidney-disease-in-older-cats/

http://feline-nutrition.org/health/diet-kidney-disease-and-the-urinary-tract

http://catinfo.org/

(on hyper-T, but illustrates the importance of protein for a cat) http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/12/can-increasing-amount-of-fat-or.html

I'm so very sorry you're going through this, Andrea! God bless you and your sweet kitty!

[rapforjane]

Please research very carefully before you put your cat on a low-protein, high-carb prescription diet. And you might want to think about looking for a new vet - protein is not harmful to your cat's kidneys, that is old information based off studies done on other animals!!!!!!! Cats are obligate carnivores and NEED protein, preferably in it's freshest, easiest to digest form.

Also, if your cat is on kibble, get her off it immediately. It's a diet that leaves cats chronically mildly dehydrated, which badly stresses the kidneys (one of the potential causes of kidney disease in the first place) and no cat receiving sub-Q fluids should ever be fed such a diet.

Some information for you to read:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/kidney-disease-in-older-cats/

http://feline-nutrition.org/health/diet-kidney-disease-and-the-urinary-tract

http://catinfo.org/

(on hyper-T, but illustrates the importance of protein for a cat) http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/12/can-increasing-amount-of-fat-or.html

I'm so very sorry you're going through this, Andrea! God bless you and your sweet kitty!

This!

My 15y.o. kitty has CRF, as well. We do sub-q fluids a couple of times a week, she was diagnosed last summer. The vet said there is a lot of disagreement regarding a high carb/low protein v. low carb/high protein diets. We've stuck with our diet of Wellness wet food, the only thing we changed was feeding 3x a day instead of 2x, no kibbles.

Angel also has some pancreas issues, so we're also giving her Budesonide for that. My vet seems pretty satisfied with her numbers, so I'm just doing this every day and hoping for the best.

[CaitlynRae]

I totally agree with Auntie Crazy. DO NOT put her on a prescription diet, they're terrible. Putting her on an all wet, grain free diet is the best thing for her. You'll need to look at phosphorus levels too, as they need to be low for CRF cats.

Sub Q fluids are very easy to learn how to do, though it can be very stressful at first, for both of you. Does she like attention? When I was still having to give my diabetic girl insulin injections, the best way I found was to just talk to her like I normally would, give her some pets, distract her with a treat if needed, and then give her her shot. It was done in a few seconds and she hardly noticed. 

[erbusbee]

My oldest cat was diagnosed with CRF this week, so I wanted to thank you for posting and for the advice.