A cat forum. CatBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CatBanter forum » Cat Newsgroups » Cat health & behaviour
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

CRF in Alex



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old March 19th 07, 06:31 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cindys
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 592
Default CRF in Alex

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 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.


  #2  
Old March 19th 07, 06:57 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
sheelagh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,427
Default CRF in Alex

On 19 Mar, 17:31, "cindys" wrote:
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 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.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/felinekidney.htm

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/urinestainremoval.htm

http://www.felinecrf.org/related_diseases.htm

Hi Cindy,
I am so so sorry to hear your news about your baby.
I have added a link to site that tells me that you can reverse it. I
hope that it is of some use to you & gives you some of the information
that you are looking for too.

We had old Jasper who had CRF , but his condition had gone too far for
treatment to reverse it.
I think that there are others here who would be better qualified to
advise you than me.

Keep us up to date though, won't you?

I am glad that you have nipped it in the bud, & will continue to think
of you whilst you are going through this hard time

Best Wishes, & devoted Purrs of a soothing nature from them all & us
too of course!!
S;o)

  #3  
Old March 19th 07, 07:21 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
sheelagh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,427
Default CRF in Alex



Hi Cindy,
I am so so sorry to hear your news about your baby.
I have added a link to site that tells me that you can reverse it. I
hope that it is of some use to you & gives you some of the information
that you are looking for too.

We had old Jasper who had CRF , but his condition had gone too far for
treatment to reverse it.
I think that there are others here who would be better qualified to
advise you than me.

Keep us up to date though, won't you?

I am glad that you have nipped it in the bud, & will continue to think
of you whilst you are going through this hard time

Best Wishes, & devoted Purrs of a soothing nature from them all & us
too of course!!
S;o)


Sorry Cindy, I posted the wrong page to one of the links.
It should have been

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-kidney-disease.htm

http://www.felinecrf.org/related_diseases.htm

http://www.petshealth.com/dr_library/felrenfail.html

Aplogies,
S;o)

  #4  
Old March 20th 07, 03:01 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Phil P.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,027
Default CRF in Alex


"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.

Best of luck,

Phil


  #5  
Old March 20th 07, 03:38 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cindys
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 592
Default CRF in Alex


"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.


  #6  
Old March 20th 07, 04:36 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
22brix
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 506
Default CRF in Alex


"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


  #7  
Old March 20th 07, 04:50 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Phil P.
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,027
Default CRF in Alex


"cindys" wrote in message
...

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?


Protein shouldn't be restricted in cats until the BUN reaches 65-85 mg/dl,
and only to ameliorate clinical signs of uremia. The theory of restricting
protein to slow the progression of CRF was based on old studies in *rats*.
Later studies showed that mechanisms that can alter the progression of CRF
in the rat don't have the same effect in cats. In fact, protein restriction
can have deleterious effects in cats- e.g., impaired immunological response
and resistance to infection, reduced hemoglobin production and anemia,
decreased plasma protein levels, and muscle wasting. I've been feeding my
20-yearl old x/d- its almost identical to k/d- its an alkaline diet with
higher protein and a little more phosphorus. What you want to avoid are
acidified diets.



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?


Omega-3 fatty acids derived from menhadan fish- not flaxseed or any
plant-derived omega-3. Plant-derived omega-3s contain too much omega-6-
which are proinflammatory and contribute to the progression of CRF. Omega-3
fatty acids derived from fish down-regulate intrarenal inflammatory
responses and are thus renoprotective. A potassium supplement would be
beneficial also. You want to keep his K+ levels in the upper half of the
normal range.



(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.


As I said, I don't think you should feed a restricted protein diet yet. Just
don't let the normal cats eat x/d because it could predispose them to
struvite.

Best of luck,

Phil


  #8  
Old March 20th 07, 05:11 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cindys
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 592
Default CRF in Alex


"22brix" wrote in message
...
snip


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.


Several websites that I've read have said the same.

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.


And right now, Alex is not eating an awful lot, and he has lost over a pound
since last May. This is the pattern I went through with Molly during the
last two years of her life. I've been feeding my cats Fancy Feast in the
morning. What happens is that Alex eats a little and then Bullwinkle ends up
polishing off the rest of Alex's portion (and Daisy's portion and Tux's
portion as well) in addition to his own. Despite his voracious appetite,
Bullwinkle has also lost weight. He was recently tested for thyroid problems
and that came back negative. All of my cats have been on OM prescription
food since Alex's diabetes diagnosis last spring. At any rate, Alex has not
seemed overly enthusiastic about eating. He's not starving himself, but he's
picking and eating small amounts. I'll give the kidney diet a try, but I can
pretty much guarantee already that he is not going to go for it. For the
last year of her life, Molly existed exclusively on human tuna. It was the
only thing she would eat other than deli meats or my home cooking (beef or
chicken). I supplemented her with feline vitamins.


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.


So your kitty has actually shown improvement! That's great! My Molly never
really went on subcu fluids. At the end, she did receive subcu fluids a few
times at the vet. I was going to initiate them at home, but she was already
close to the end of her life at that point and she was suffering, so I opted
to euthanize. Now, I feel sort of confused. Phil (whose opinion I respect a
great deal) is advising against the subcu fluids at this point because of
additional stress on the cat's kidneys. A website I just read is saying the
same thing as my vet (that the subcu fluids should be initiated early and
will prolong the cat's life). Your cat has been on them for seven months and
has shown improvement. And then, there's Bullwinkle whose lab values are
still within normal limits but high. Is there any way to diagnose impending
kidney disease before the BUN and creatinine are elevated (in an effort to
prevent it)? I am so confused and so upset. I intend to speak to my vet
tomorrow and follow Phil's advice to seek a second opinion from a
specialist. There is no veterinary nephrologist in my area, but there is a
veterinary specialist who completed a nephrology residency (currently
specializing in some other organ system).

I'm giving her omega-3 and potassium supplements. Molly has her good days
and her bad days.


I will absolutely give these supplements to Alex and Bullwinkle. I also gave
Alex 5 mg of Pepcid today. He has thrown up some clear liquid several times
(I know from experience this is due to nausea from kidney disease). His
nausea may also explain why he is less interested in food. It seemed like he
perked up a little bit after the Pepcid (I hope it wasn't wishful thinking
on my part), but I'll give it to him again tomorrow before breakfast and see
if his appetite improves. I will also begin offering him canned food
multiple times during the day.

I cherish the good days--they still outweigh by far the bad days.

I wish you the best.

Thank you so much.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.


  #9  
Old March 20th 07, 05:21 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cindys
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 592
Default CRF in Alex


"Phil P." wrote in message
news:VRILh.13331$O_5.1375@trnddc03...

"cindys" wrote in message
...

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?


Protein shouldn't be restricted in cats until the BUN reaches 65-85 mg/dl,
and only to ameliorate clinical signs of uremia. The theory of
restricting
protein to slow the progression of CRF was based on old studies in *rats*.
Later studies showed that mechanisms that can alter the progression of CRF
in the rat don't have the same effect in cats. In fact, protein
restriction
can have deleterious effects in cats- e.g., impaired immunological
response
and resistance to infection, reduced hemoglobin production and anemia,
decreased plasma protein levels, and muscle wasting. I've been feeding my
20-yearl old x/d- its almost identical to k/d- its an alkaline diet with
higher protein and a little more phosphorus. What you want to avoid are
acidified diets.


Now, I'm confused. Isn't the idea to lower phosphorous while keeping protein
the same? Won't an alkaline diet predispose him to crystal formation? Isn't
K/D a low protein diet? How does K/D differ from this NF that my vet wants
me to feed the cat? (I don't remember for sure what the lab values were, but
I'm pretty sure the BUN was lower than 65 mg/dl).



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?


Omega-3 fatty acids derived from menhadan fish- not flaxseed or any
plant-derived omega-3. Plant-derived omega-3s contain too much omega-6-
which are proinflammatory and contribute to the progression of CRF.
Omega-3
fatty acids derived from fish down-regulate intrarenal inflammatory
responses and are thus renoprotective. A potassium supplement would be
beneficial also. You want to keep his K+ levels in the upper half of the
normal range.


Thank you. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish and potassium. I can make that
happen tomorrow.



(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.


As I said, I don't think you should feed a restricted protein diet yet.


Okay.

Just
don't let the normal cats eat x/d because it could predispose them to
struvite.


Are cats with CRF less inclined to get struvite or is it simply a question
of the need for a more renoprotective alkaline diet needs to take priority
(and we cross our fingers that the cat doesn't develop struvite)?

Thank you again for all your advice.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.



  #10  
Old March 20th 07, 05:46 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
22brix
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 506
Default CRF in Alex


"cindys" wrote in message
...

"22brix" wrote in message
...
snip


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.


Several websites that I've read have said the same.

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.


And right now, Alex is not eating an awful lot, and he has lost over a
pound since last May. This is the pattern I went through with Molly during
the last two years of her life. I've been feeding my cats Fancy Feast in
the morning. What happens is that Alex eats a little and then Bullwinkle
ends up polishing off the rest of Alex's portion (and Daisy's portion and
Tux's portion as well) in addition to his own. Despite his voracious
appetite, Bullwinkle has also lost weight. He was recently tested for
thyroid problems and that came back negative. All of my cats have been on
OM prescription food since Alex's diabetes diagnosis last spring. At any
rate, Alex has not seemed overly enthusiastic about eating. He's not
starving himself, but he's picking and eating small amounts. I'll give the
kidney diet a try, but I can pretty much guarantee already that he is not
going to go for it. For the last year of her life, Molly existed
exclusively on human tuna. It was the only thing she would eat other than
deli meats or my home cooking (beef or chicken). I supplemented her with
feline vitamins.


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.


So your kitty has actually shown improvement! That's great! My Molly never
really went on subcu fluids. At the end, she did receive subcu fluids a
few times at the vet. I was going to initiate them at home, but she was
already close to the end of her life at that point and she was suffering,
so I opted to euthanize. Now, I feel sort of confused. Phil (whose
opinion I respect a great deal) is advising against the subcu fluids at
this point because of additional stress on the cat's kidneys. A website I
just read is saying the same thing as my vet (that the subcu fluids should
be initiated early and will prolong the cat's life). Your cat has been on
them for seven months and has shown improvement. And then, there's
Bullwinkle whose lab values are still within normal limits but high. Is
there any way to diagnose impending kidney disease before the BUN and
creatinine are elevated (in an effort to prevent it)? I am so confused
and so upset. I intend to speak to my vet tomorrow and follow Phil's
advice to seek a second opinion from a specialist. There is no veterinary
nephrologist in my area, but there is a veterinary specialist who
completed a nephrology residency (currently specializing in some other
organ system).

I'm giving her omega-3 and potassium supplements. Molly has her good
days and her bad days.


I will absolutely give these supplements to Alex and Bullwinkle. I also
gave Alex 5 mg of Pepcid today. He has thrown up some clear liquid several
times (I know from experience this is due to nausea from kidney disease).
His nausea may also explain why he is less interested in food. It seemed
like he perked up a little bit after the Pepcid (I hope it wasn't wishful
thinking on my part), but I'll give it to him again tomorrow before
breakfast and see if his appetite improves. I will also begin offering him
canned food multiple times during the day.

I cherish the good days--they still outweigh by far the bad days.

I wish you the best.

Thank you so much.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.


According to my vet, cats will do better long term on the kidney diets but
if they don't eat it, it won't help them! What I have been doing with Molly
is mixing her diet food with a really stinky cat tuna food. It's the one
thing she really likes. I wish she'd eat the kidney food alone but. . .I'm
opting for calories.

I'm not sure Molly has improved over all--her lab values are a little better
but we've had some crises along the way. She was diagnosed with high blood
pressure in February. As soon as we got that under control she had a raging
urinary tract infection. She's now been off antibiotics for a couple of
weeks and seems to be feeling pretty good. One endearing thing about her is
her purr--it's the loudest purr I've heard on a cat. I can hear her in the
next room when she's really going. She's been doing that a lot the past
couple of weeks and she only does that when she's feeling pretty good.

As far as the fluids my vet didn't put her on fluids initially; her kidney
values were borderline for several years--it wasn't until she got
dehydrated and was feeling punky that we started the fluids. As my vet
explained it to me, a high BUN makes the cat feel nauseated. The additional
fluids dilute the BUN and should help some with appetite. I know that once
Molly was on fluids, she perked up quite a bit. I, too, really respect
Phil's knowledge. He has a lot of good information regarding CRF. Getting
a second opinion is a very good idea.

There are a couple of crf support sites as well, a lot of information and
people who are going through the same thing.

Good luck with Alex and Bullwinkle, both. I love older cats but they bring
their own issues!

Bonnie




 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Vacation, Hurrican Alex and a beach cat polonca12000 Cat anecdotes 5 August 13th 04 12:21 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:34 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CatBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.