My poor cat

tk123

My cat was sick yesterday and today. I thought it was down to hair balls because I haven't been well enough to brush him for the last few weeks but brought him to the vets this evening to be safe. They took blood tests and called a while ago to say it's his kidneys Of course I went and googled it and now I feel awful because he's shown some of the symptoms for months (increased thirst & peeing). My poor little buddy It's completely taken me off guard. What makes it worse is that the couple before me went in with their dog and a few mins later we could hear the poor woman was sobbing because it had to be put down. Alll I can think of now is me being in that situation with my little guy

The Sweeper

Hey tk123

Kidney disease is not uncommon at all in cats and is becoming a major problem, so you and the little fuzzmonster aren't alone. There is a suggestion that it can be caused by the diet we feed our cats - which is a major issue, since nearly all of us trust the commercial petfood manufacturers and want to do what's best for our cats, so we feed commercial petfood.

Cats have a weak thirst drive because they're desert animals originally, used to getting all the moisture they need from their food. They also have quite specialised digestive systems. Their livers aren't as good at ridding their bodies of toxins as ours would be, or even a dog's would be. They actually have a fairly delicately balanced system, and are totally reliant on some substances that they can ONLY get through their food, and will sicken and even die without - like taurine, arginine and vitamin A. Cats apparently cannot metabolise vitamin A from things like the beta carotene in carrots, whereas people can. Cats need vitamin A in its direct form - they need to eat liver, but not too much liver.

All this adds up to one thing - in their efforts to create convenience cat food products that are easy to feed, palatable for the animal, affordable for people and nutritionally balanced for the cat, petfood companies appear to have tipped the balance of those delicate systems.

My personal theory is that cats have been such a 'disposable' pet for so long that most of us had our cats knocked down on the road, or killed by other animals, or they just disappeared, so we never had them long enough to see these problems set in. These days, more and more people are taking more and more responsibility for their cats - keeping them inside, or restricting their outside access - and the cats are lasting longer, plus the petfood industry is becoming more competitive. Lo and behold, chronic kidney disease in the domestic cat is becoming more and more common, and at younger and younger ages.

The good news is, depending how serious your cat's condition is (what did the vet say?) reduced renal function is very treatable with a change in diet and appropriate vetinary treatment, so it's not necessarily a death sentence for puss at all.

What age is your cat, and what has been his main diet up to now?

tk123

Thanks Majd. He's 6 and has been on Hills food up to now - he was a bit fat when he got his boosters this year so they put him on prescription food to help him lose some weight. We're just back from the vets now - they're keeping him in to give him fluids and do some more tests. My poor mum burst into tears when we had to leave him behind - then he started crying because he could see she was upset!:( The vet said from the results of the blood tests and level of toxins he's got about 90% damage and we're going to have to wait and see how he responds to treatment and what the other tests show - they can't say how long he has thou. If he responds he could have months or years but the results could show he's worse off than they think. He seemed a bit better today thou - he attacked the rubber ducks in the bath and stalked me on the stairs as part of his usual morning routine.

The Sweeper

Good to hear he was more chipper this morning!

tk123, I want you to google 'raw food' and 'feline renal failure' in the same search. A raw diet that is balanced to have lower protein and higher fat along with B vitamins is proven to be very beneficial to cats with renal failure, but you will need to work with your vet initially on the best food and treatment for the cat, because there are manufactured pet foods made specifically for cats with kidney problems and it wouldn't be a good idea for you to head out into the world of raw feeding with a cat who already has problems.

That, and your vet may crack it completely at the suggestion of a raw diet, depending on whether or not he or she is a supporter of such things, and while your cat is under the care of a vet it's very important to work with that vet, not against them.

Good luck to you with it, and I hope he comes around!

Munster Gal

I'm so sorry that your cat's not well. MAJD's advice is excellent and I just want to second the fact that reduced renal function is treatable and often cats make a good recovery from even very serious stages of renal failure. The main thing is you've started treatment and you can only wait and see. He sounds in good spirits so I'm sure he's a fighter. I only realised yesterday that one of my little furballs is pushing on a bit so I hugged him that bit tighter (which he doesn't appreciate!) Hugs and best wishes to your guy!!

tk123

Thanks guys. They called to say he's really comfortable and not stressed too much - he let them take bloods without going nuts and that he's also had a pee since going on the fluids which is good news. He hasn't gotten sick either. Now they're waiting now to see if he'll eat anything so hopefully he'll soon be doing his party piece of lifting his paw up (we call it the kitler salute )to tell them he's hungry.

Munster Gal

That's brilliant news! He's a tough little moggy !!

The Sweeper

Good on him!! I have to say when I got home from work yesterday midday I huggled all my moggies to the point of them becoming quite irritated by my clinginess.

Keep us updated on how he's going.

Also: pics?

tk123

He's home now. His test results have gotten worse after the fluids thou. The vet even did them twice to be sure because she couldn't believe it. They said they really saw an improvement in him himself - much more relaxed and brighter but he's still out of sorts to what we're used to seeing.

The Sweeper

Have the vets given you a plan of action?

tk123

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Have the vets given you a plan of action?

They said to get him to eat whatever he wants (I have to mix in this foam stuff called Renalzin) and he has to take pills aswell (fortekor). He had some chicken when he came home and a drink of water and he's been asleep since then. The fact that he's not on a special food and that he's just been sleeping isn't giving me any confidence that he's going to improve. I can't look at him now without my eyes filling up. I think they've let him home so we can say goodbye to him.

The Sweeper

tk123, renalzin reduces phosphates and the uptake of toxins and boosts kidney function. Studies on the drug test its effectiveness over two months, so it's not designed to be an instant fix-it - nothing is with kidney problems tbh.

Fortekor is designed to work more quickly, reducing the protein loss in the urine, lowering blood pressure and generally results in increased appetitie and quality of life.
Even if he's sleeping, make sure you wake him up for his meds.

I would completely eradicate dry food from his diet at the moment, and stick to a good quality wet food. (Actually, if he were my cat and in that condiiton, I'd go out and buy a piece of cheap steak and a fresh lamb's heart, cut them both up very small and see if he'd go a tablespoon of that at a time over the next few days - but this isn't advice, because I don't know for a fact if that would be the best thing. I would check it with the vet first, but my gut feeling is the fewer preservatives etc. that go into his system the better, so human-grade, totally fresh meat would be my first port of call.)

Fingers crossed for him - spend time with him and try to soothe him now, and remember that sleep is the best healer so as long as he isn't missing water and medication, sleep is good.

tk123

Thanks again Majd. I've been giving him chicken and tuna - he eats when I give it to him but he's not asking for food so I think this where I went wrong yesterday. It's been 6 years of FEEED MEEEEEEEE so i'm not use to telling him when to eat! I'm going to try him on some raw steak/liver (don't know if I can touch heart lol ) to treat him and see how he gets on.

The Sweeper

Cool. Cut out the tuna if it's human grade, and only a small amount of liver (a piece the size of your thumb is enough for one cat for a few days). Try plain old steak first.

tk123

No joy with the meat or anything else we try him with.

The Sweeper

Only other thing I can think of is very smelly food. How's he doing on water / being awake / taking meds / sleeping etc? Is he hanging on, or do you really feel he's drifting away?

tk123

It was breaking my heart to see him so miserable and I knew in my heart it would just get worse for him so I brought him to the vets this evening. RIP

x in the city

tk123 wrote: »

My cat was sick yesterday and today. I thought it was down to hair balls because I haven't been well enough to brush him for the last few weeks but brought him to the vets this evening to be safe. They took blood tests and called a while ago to say it's his kidneys Of course I went and googled it and now I feel awful because he's shown some of the symptoms for months (increased thirst & peeing). My poor little buddy It's completely taken me off guard. What makes it worse is that the couple before me went in with their dog and a few mins later we could hear the poor woman was sobbing because it had to be put down. Alll I can think of now is me being in that situation with my little guy

exactly the same thing happend our cat a while back sadly

Blueprint

I'm so sorry. I went through the same with my cat, I know how hard it is to see them so miserable. At least his suffering is over now...

The Sweeper

So sorry tk123 - that's a horrible thing to have to do. RIP kitty.

Adventure Pout

Very sorry to hear about your kitty. I might post this one a bit late, but yes kidney failure is a real problem with cats and we have to be careful.
I have done lots and lots of research about cats food, and I don't agree at all with all the dry foods that are out (prescriptions or commercial dry foods).
Cats are OBLIGATE carnivore, and their digestive system can't break down the carbs easily.
If in the future, you decide to adopt a new feline companion, I recommend you to feed him/her/them with only food high in meat (be careful on that one too..) Check this website:
http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/tipsforchoosing.htm

I mainly feed my kitty since he was 5months old, with raw meat, mixed with Instinct. He is neutered and indoor, and has no problem with weight gain or anything. I sometimes give him some pouch of Whiskas or Gourmet, as a treat. He is now 2years old and very healthy according to the vets.
for more info on raw meat, you can find lots of tips about feeding cats etc... on this website:
http://www.felinefuture.com/
Again this will be your choice, and all cat owners choice, but I think this is the right way to go...

Again, I am deeply sorry to read about your kitty, and I can feel the pain.. RIP to him..

tk123

Thanks guys. It's so weird not having him around!