Giving Fluids at Home

Last year TED said Natasha (who will be 17 in April) was having kidney
trouble, but was given an all-clear 3 months ago as all urine/blood
values were within spec. Natasha had a check-up yesterday, and the BUN
and Creatinin values from the blood test were slightly out of spec
high again.

So... Natasha has been put back on Hill's K/D (which she'd been taken
off of in October because she'd refused to eat it any longer), and I
have to give her 100-150ml fluids by IV every day for the next week
(then take her back to see how things are).

It seems Tasha just doesn't drink enough water. Given that she has
always "drank" by sticking her feet into the water dish and then
licking off her feet, I can't imagine why she isn't getting enough
water into her system. g

TED showed me how to do the IV, and it seems simple enough (and
fortunately Tasha is not a wiggly cat), but there are always handy
tips about things to do and things to avoid. Does anyone have any
helpful hints for doing fluid by IV at home?



Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

http://www.jhedge.com

"Jeanne Hedge" wrote

TED showed me how to do the IV, and it seems simple enough (and
fortunately Tasha is not a wiggly cat), but there are always handy
tips about things to do and things to avoid. Does anyone have any
helpful hints for doing fluid by IV at home?

I don't have any tips, but we are sending lots of purrs and soothing vibes
for the daily IVs.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

Hi Jeanne,

Fuga get fluids once a week or when we sense that he is dehydrated. We have
a plant hook in our ceiling that is located over one of the desks in our
office from which we hang the bag of fluids. We had a home visit with the
vet for giving fluids and we learnt that the higher the fluids are the
quicker they flow. On my desk we place Fuga's donut bed. I put a heating
pad inside his bed so that he doesn't catch a chill from the fluids. Once
we have the fluids set up, air bubbles removed, and needle replaced with put
fuga in the bed and give him fluids. As a reward for the fluids, we give
him some regular science diet (turkey or chicken & liver). Fuga still hates
the fluids but he knows he will get treats and lots of pets while the fluid
is being injected in him.

The plant hook on the ceiling was left from the previous tenant and the vet
noticed it and said to use it. Now that we have been using it, I think I
would recommend it to everyone it is much easier than trying to hang it off
the door.

There is a K/D minced chicken food available in Canada and the US that is
much more palatable than the Hills K/D that is worth trying. As well there
is a food called g/d which is for beginning stages of renal failure. I
rotate fuga's diet between these two foods, sometimes I even mix them
together to give him variety. If I find he's getting finicky then I will
add a little bit of regular science diet in with this food because it's more
important that they eat.

http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_giving_set.htm

Here's a great link on food values.
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm The thing that is most
important is feeding cats food low in phosphorous, some think protein values
need to be lower and some don't -- there is mixed opinions on that.

We went out and bought a drinkwell fountain when Fuga was diagnosed to
stimulate him to drink more water.

Hope this makes sense. I hate this kidney failure.

hugs,

Fuga

along this thread...how do you put the intravenous needle into the cat? Does
it just go through the skin? This isn't intravenous then, is it? It's just
like an injection. I can't imagine Jazz would ever let me do this to him, he
would chomp my arm off.
Jazz's mama

--

Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time


"fuga =^o^=" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
Hi Jeanne,

Fuga get fluids once a week or when we sense that he is dehydrated. We
have
a plant hook in our ceiling that is located over one of the desks in our
office from which we hang the bag of fluids. We had a home visit with the
vet for giving fluids and we learnt that the higher the fluids are the
quicker they flow. On my desk we place Fuga's donut bed. I put a heating
pad inside his bed so that he doesn't catch a chill from the fluids. Once
we have the fluids set up, air bubbles removed, and needle replaced with
put
fuga in the bed and give him fluids. As a reward for the fluids, we give
him some regular science diet (turkey or chicken & liver). Fuga still
hates
the fluids but he knows he will get treats and lots of pets while the
fluid
is being injected in him.

The plant hook on the ceiling was left from the previous tenant and the
vet
noticed it and said to use it. Now that we have been using it, I think I
would recommend it to everyone it is much easier than trying to hang it
off
the door.

There is a K/D minced chicken food available in Canada and the US that is
much more palatable than the Hills K/D that is worth trying. As well
there
is a food called g/d which is for beginning stages of renal failure. I
rotate fuga's diet between these two foods, sometimes I even mix them
together to give him variety. If I find he's getting finicky then I will
add a little bit of regular science diet in with this food because it's
more
important that they eat.

http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_giving_set.htm

Here's a great link on food values.
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm The thing that is most
important is feeding cats food low in phosphorous, some think protein
values
need to be lower and some don't -- there is mixed opinions on that.

We went out and bought a drinkwell fountain when Fuga was diagnosed to
stimulate him to drink more water.

Hope this makes sense. I hate this kidney failure.

hugs,

Fuga

On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 06:42:25 -0600, Jeanne Hedge
wrote:

Last year TED said Natasha (who will be 17 in April) was having kidney
trouble, but was given an all-clear 3 months ago as all urine/blood
values were within spec. Natasha had a check-up yesterday, and the BUN
and Creatinin values from the blood test were slightly out of spec
high again.

So... Natasha has been put back on Hill's K/D (which she'd been taken
off of in October because she'd refused to eat it any longer), and I
have to give her 100-150ml fluids by IV every day for the next week
(then take her back to see how things are).

It seems Tasha just doesn't drink enough water. Given that she has
always "drank" by sticking her feet into the water dish and then
licking off her feet, I can't imagine why she isn't getting enough
water into her system. g

TED showed me how to do the IV, and it seems simple enough (and
fortunately Tasha is not a wiggly cat), but there are always handy
tips about things to do and things to avoid. Does anyone have any
helpful hints for doing fluid by IV at home?



Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

http://www.jhedge.com

Jeanne, sorry to hear Natasha needs the fluids. Fuga gave you great
advice already. I would only add that, at first, accept that you
won't do it perfectly, but that's okay. And always remember to turn
off the little valve that lets the fluids flow before removing the
needle (she said from experience) -- lol! I'm sure you'll do just
fine. Purrs to you and Natasha.

Ginger-lyn

The fluids are the same as the ones used in IV's (a sterile saline
solution), but this just goes under the skin. We had to do this daily for
eight months for a CRF kitty (Ivy, who finally succumbed), and the fluid
forms a 'pocket' under the skin that is absorbed into the body. We used to
call it "Ivy's water boobie" because, even though we 'injected' it on her
back, it would flow around to her chest/stomach area before it got absorbed.

And it helps to warm the IV solution in a bowl (or sink or whatever) of warm
water until it is just warmer than luke-warm on your skin (remember that
cats' body temperatures are higher than humans') - that way the kitty
doesn't get a chill from the cold solution.

--
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde
in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
http://www.geocities.com/the_magic_mood_jeep/
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep


"lrulan" wrote in message
...
along this thread...how do you put the intravenous needle into the cat?
Does
it just go through the skin? This isn't intravenous then, is it? It's just
like an injection. I can't imagine Jazz would ever let me do this to him,
he
would chomp my arm off.
Jazz's mama

--

Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time


"fuga =^o^=" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
Hi Jeanne,

Fuga get fluids once a week or when we sense that he is dehydrated. We
have
a plant hook in our ceiling that is located over one of the desks in our
office from which we hang the bag of fluids. We had a home visit with
the
vet for giving fluids and we learnt that the higher the fluids are the
quicker they flow. On my desk we place Fuga's donut bed. I put a
heating
pad inside his bed so that he doesn't catch a chill from the fluids.
Once
we have the fluids set up, air bubbles removed, and needle replaced with
put
fuga in the bed and give him fluids. As a reward for the fluids, we
give
him some regular science diet (turkey or chicken & liver). Fuga still
hates
the fluids but he knows he will get treats and lots of pets while the
fluid
is being injected in him.

The plant hook on the ceiling was left from the previous tenant and the
vet
noticed it and said to use it. Now that we have been using it, I think
I
would recommend it to everyone it is much easier than trying to hang it
off
the door.

There is a K/D minced chicken food available in Canada and the US that
is
much more palatable than the Hills K/D that is worth trying. As well
there
is a food called g/d which is for beginning stages of renal failure. I
rotate fuga's diet between these two foods, sometimes I even mix them
together to give him variety. If I find he's getting finicky then I
will
add a little bit of regular science diet in with this food because it's
more
important that they eat.

http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_giving_set.htm

Here's a great link on food values.
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm The thing that is most
important is feeding cats food low in phosphorous, some think protein
values
need to be lower and some don't -- there is mixed opinions on that.

We went out and bought a drinkwell fountain when Fuga was diagnosed to
stimulate him to drink more water.

Hope this makes sense. I hate this kidney failure.

hugs,

Fuga

Jeanne, I've given lots of fluids in my day (almost 7 years daily between 2
cats) and I found that if I hung the bag on a coathanger and hung the
coathanger over the shower rod in the bathroom I could get a good flow rate
for the fluids. The higher the bag, the quicker the flow rate and the
sooner they're done with their dose. I liked giving the fluids in the
bathroom because I could close the door off from the other kitties in the
household. Hope this helps.
Christine
"fuga =^o^=" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
Hi Jeanne,

Fuga get fluids once a week or when we sense that he is dehydrated. We
have
a plant hook in our ceiling that is located over one of the desks in our
office from which we hang the bag of fluids. We had a home visit with the
vet for giving fluids and we learnt that the higher the fluids are the
quicker they flow. On my desk we place Fuga's donut bed. I put a heating
pad inside his bed so that he doesn't catch a chill from the fluids. Once
we have the fluids set up, air bubbles removed, and needle replaced with
put
fuga in the bed and give him fluids. As a reward for the fluids, we give
him some regular science diet (turkey or chicken & liver). Fuga still
hates
the fluids but he knows he will get treats and lots of pets while the
fluid
is being injected in him.

The plant hook on the ceiling was left from the previous tenant and the
vet
noticed it and said to use it. Now that we have been using it, I think I
would recommend it to everyone it is much easier than trying to hang it
off
the door.

There is a K/D minced chicken food available in Canada and the US that is
much more palatable than the Hills K/D that is worth trying. As well
there
is a food called g/d which is for beginning stages of renal failure. I
rotate fuga's diet between these two foods, sometimes I even mix them
together to give him variety. If I find he's getting finicky then I will
add a little bit of regular science diet in with this food because it's
more
important that they eat.

http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_giving_set.htm

Here's a great link on food values.
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm The thing that is most
important is feeding cats food low in phosphorous, some think protein
values
need to be lower and some don't -- there is mixed opinions on that.

We went out and bought a drinkwell fountain when Fuga was diagnosed to
stimulate him to drink more water.

Hope this makes sense. I hate this kidney failure.

hugs,

Fuga

On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 11:16:28 -0500, lrulan wrote:

along this thread...how do you put the intravenous needle into the cat? Does
it just go through the skin? This isn't intravenous then, is it? It's just
like an injection. I can't imagine Jazz would ever let me do this to him, he
would chomp my arm off.
Jazz's mama

It's actually done subcutaneously. Just pull up some loose skin from over
the shoulders, poke there, and turn on the fluid flow. Not too hard once
you get a little practice.

Dan

I had to do that whole number with the Ringer's Lactate fluids for Hopitus1
during his last days with us. He was battling pancreatitis (again), which
eventually sent him to the RB. I have relatives who've done the fluid drip
for their old cats with kidney failure. Like the insulin injection, the cats
don't seem to mind too much as needle is just under skin, not sticking in a
vein.


"Ginger-lyn Summer" wrote in message
...
: On Thu, 05 Feb 2004 06:42:25 -0600, Jeanne Hedge
: wrote:
:
: Last year TED said Natasha (who will be 17 in April) was having kidney
: trouble, but was given an all-clear 3 months ago as all urine/blood
: values were within spec. Natasha had a check-up yesterday, and the BUN
: and Creatinin values from the blood test were slightly out of spec
: high again.
:
: So... Natasha has been put back on Hill's K/D (which she'd been taken
: off of in October because she'd refused to eat it any longer), and I
: have to give her 100-150ml fluids by IV every day for the next week
: (then take her back to see how things are).
:
: It seems Tasha just doesn't drink enough water. Given that she has
: always "drank" by sticking her feet into the water dish and then
: licking off her feet, I can't imagine why she isn't getting enough
: water into her system. g
:
: TED showed me how to do the IV, and it seems simple enough (and
: fortunately Tasha is not a wiggly cat), but there are always handy
: tips about things to do and things to avoid. Does anyone have any
: helpful hints for doing fluid by IV at home?
:
:
:
: Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha
:
: http://www.jhedge.com
:
: Jeanne, sorry to hear Natasha needs the fluids. Fuga gave you great
: advice already. I would only add that, at first, accept that you
: won't do it perfectly, but that's okay. And always remember to turn
: off the little valve that lets the fluids flow before removing the
: needle (she said from experience) -- lol! I'm sure you'll do just
: fine. Purrs to you and Natasha.
:
: Ginger-lyn
:

No hints unfortunately, but lots of best wishes and purrs for you to have no
problems whatsoever doing fluid by IV at home,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"Jeanne Hedge" wrote in message
news snip Does anyone have any
helpful hints for doing fluid by IV at home?



Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

http://www.jhedge.com