"cindys" wrote in message
...

"Phil P." wrote in message
news:%fHLh.13310$O_5.7022@trnddc03...

"cindys" wrote in message
...
Well, I just got the bad news from the vet. Alex, who is 16 years old,
is
just beginning CRF. The vet told me in addition to switching his food to
NK,
I should begin weekly subcu fluids. She stated that by so doing, since
he
is
still in the very early stages of the disease process, it is actually
possible to reverse the situation and return him to relatively normal
kidney
function. Has anyone ever heard of this before (that beginning subcu
right
at the beginning of CRF can reverse the process?).

I'm sorry to hear about your cat- I'm going through the same thing with
my
20 year-old.

ARF (acute renal failure) is reversible in some cases but CRF is not. By
the time CRF shows up in the bloodwork (high BUN/creatinine 60-75% of
renal
function has already been irreversibly lost. The reason why CRF doesn't
show up in the bloodwork as its happening is because the feline kidneys'
have a huge nephron reserve, and 'glomerular hyperfiltration'-- the
indivudual intact nephrons increase their filtration rate to compensate
for
the lost and damaged nephrons.



I did successfully cure
him of diabetes with Lantus insulin, and I never would have thought that
would be possible. Now that he'll be eating NK, we are going to have to
keep
a very close watch on his blood glucose to ensure the diabetes doesn't
return. The doctor recommended that we repeat bloodwork to reassess
kidney
function in about three months. Does anyone have any thoughts on any of
this?
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

Fluid therapy should be administered *only* to correct or prevent
dehydration or short-term to augment GFR in a uremic crisis. Premature
or
unnecessary chronic fluid therapy can *promote* the progression of CRF
because it makes the kidney work harder. What is your cat's BUN and
creatinine concentrations and urine specific gravity?

I think you should seek a second opinion from a veterinary nephrologist
or a
vet who is experienced in treating feline CRF.

You might want to start thinking about giving your cat a potassium and
omega-3 supplement. Both will delay the downward spiral of CRF.
------------------
Thank you. I don't remember what the vet said the BUN and creatinine were,
but it would be easy enough to find out. She wants to put the cat on a
prescription low protein kidney diet. On one of the websites for which
Sheelagh provided a link, I read that this would actually be a bad idea
because there is no evidence that low protein diets delay progression and
in the meantime, the cat's body is not getting sufficient protein. Would
you agree or disagee with that? BTW, I have a feeling my other
approximately 15-year-old cat may be headed down the same path. His BUN
and creatinine are high normal. Do you have any thoughts on anything I can
be doing to prevent the development of CRF in him?

(The other problem is that I have several younger, presumably healthy
cats, and all my cats eat the same dry food. I also give them canned food,
so I could continue to give the young healthy cats the high protein canned
food, but one of my younger cats refuses the canned food and is only
willing to eat the dry. She does not need to be on a low protein diet,
which would be the net result if I switched over to the NK prescription
food.)
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.


Cindy,

I'm not an expert on this but I've read that finding a food low in
phosphorus is more important than a low protein diet. The bad part is that
higher protein foods are frequently high in phosphorus. The biggest problem
with the low protein, kidney diets is that they're not always that
palatable. You may want to play around with different kidney foods.

My CRF kitty was finally put on fluids last summer when she became
dehydrated after several years of high normal BUN and creatinine. I'm
currently giving her 100ml fluids every other day subQ. Molly's BUN and
creatinine levels are actually slightly better than they were in August.
I'm giving her omega-3 and potassium supplements. Molly has her good days
and her bad days. I cherish the good days--they still outweigh by far the
bad days.

I wish you the best.

Bonnie