My 17 yr old cat is in kidney failure; how do I keep him comfy?

[hedgehog]

Understand, I'm not talking about drastic procedures, he's had a good run. His heart is also a bit iffy at this point. He's survived 2 encounters with cars (that I know of) and several encounters with mother deer (hoof print shaped bruises in his side in the early spring - he's always been an ambitious hunter and those fawns must look tasty)

He's used to sipping some skim milk in the morning; I'm guessing it might prolong his life a few weeks to cut him off but is it is it really worth it to deny him his treat? He was very enthusiastic about the special diet cat food this morning so i will definitely get more of that. What else should I do or expect?

[LaurenG]

1. Oh, I'm sorry

I wish I knew more but I wanted to wish you the best with your kitty.:hug: There will be lots of others along soon who know.

[arwalden]

2. Sorry To Hear That You're Having To Go Through This...

... it's heartbreaking to lose a furry friend and cherished family member.

I'd let him have exactly what he wants and make him as comfortable as possible. If it got to the point where his pain was too much for him to endure while waiting for the end, I'd have to consider making the ultimate and most difficult decision ever.

I've heard that some vets will make house-calls when it comes time to end an animal's suffering. That way the beloved pet can pass away in comfortable and familiar surroundings.

My heart goes out to you. Despite his troubled and adventurous life, it's clear to me that you love him very much and that whatever choices you make for him, it's done out of love and compassion.

Take care,
Allen

[ET Awful]

3. Try PM'ing Lorien and possibly posting in the Pets group

There are quite a few kitty "experts" running around DU.

I wish I could offer some advice, but I really don't know any answers :(

I'm sorry to hear he's so ill though :( Hopefully Lorien and others can provide some ideas on keeping him comfy and out of pain as much as possible.

[ThomCat]

4. That's a good long life for a cat.

I hope he goes peacefully. :hug:

T.

[Beausoir]

5. My cat was just diagnosed with it. Best wishes.

I guess I wouldn't deny that fella his little creature comforts at this stage in the game.

You can have the vet administer (or have the vet teach you how) a subcutaneous fluid injection. My cat had one when she was first diagnosed. She came home as round as a waterballoon. She was really sloshing and leaking alittle from the injection site, but within 12 hours, all that good hydration was absorbed and she really perked up. Course, with a bad ticker, that might just make your cat worse.

We switched to the Science Diet KD and I bought one of those kitty water fountains to make her more interested in drinking.

Sounds like that kitty has had quite an exciting life and you must be taking very good care of him for him to be 17. Still, we want them to stay forever.

Good luck.

[commander bunnypants]

10. sorry friend but I agree with this

It is very easy to do this trick and vets are happy to teach it

karma

CB

[flamingyouth]

6. I'm sorry to hear this.

It sounds like you're doing all the right things - keeping his favorite food/drink at hand for him. If he's interested, that's a good sign. 17 is a good long life and it sounds like he's been a lucky guy to have had you to be there for him. Take care. :hug:

[Lavender Brown]

7. I'm sorry hedgehog

My cat is also 17 and we're worrying about her too.

I wish I knew how to help or had advice. :hug:

[spinbaby]

8. We just went through this

Our cat had other health problems as well and we finally had her put down when she just looked too uncomfortable--it hit her fast and she was dead only a few months after she got sick in spite of special diet and IV fluids. On the other hand, we have another cat (17 like yours) who's had minor kidney disfunction for years now and manages to keep his weight up and stay otherwise healthy.

[hedgehog]

9. He's not acting sick now and is still pretty noisy when the

puppy gets in his way. I really didn't expect him to make it through the winter but still I was kind of surprised to find out that he actually has a diagnosable ailment aside from being an ancient cat.

[Orsino]

11. There is a Hill's k/d prescription food...

...that seemed to work well on a kitty I had. A (kidney) stone killed one of her kidneys, which we had removed. She perked right up for about two months, but the one kidney was not up to the task (she was at least fifteen years old).

I imagine the special diet can help your kitty's kidneys keep going longer, but your vet may be the best source of info. Best of luck in spoiling him for whatever time he has left!

[SOteric]

12. I'm so sorry. I lost a 19 year-old cat to kidney failure a while back,

the don't deal with proteins very well when their kidneys start to go. Romeo still enjoyed a splash of fish broth on his plate now and again, though. Just simmer off some pungent fish in a bit of water and then strain everything out of the liquid. (Fish only, no salt, no garlic, no onions...just fish and water).

Take extra care about grooming him, he'll begin to decline more rapidly if he's not well groomed (it's a psychological thing, but it's true of humans and cats both). Hair balls will be rough on his heart and his kidneys both, so look into getting a good hairball medicine in addition to the grooming. VET Solutions makes a Tuna flavoured variety with a low melt-point, -older cats love it, - and it won't give him diarhea. You can probably find it on the internet if your local shops /Vet don't carry it.

I had a heating pad set on low for Romeo almost constantly so he could have a warm spot to cuddle up in even when I wasn't around.

:hug: Hang in there.

[Beausoir]

17. Interesting about the grooming. I could tell that my cat was feeling

better because she started grooming herself much more frequently.

I bought mine a little heating pad, too. She loves it on her very sore arthritic shoulder.

[In_The_Wind]

13. I'm sorry you've gotten bad news.

Keep him warm and have his favorite toys near the spot where he usually sleeps.

[Steph13]

14. I'm going through this too

..with my 17 year old cat. But I started giving her sub-q fluids last July 2005, and she's doing great still! She turns 18 in a month. :) This is one of my favorite sites to learn about sub-q's & such.

http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/weird/stuff/pets/cats/sophia/catjuice.html

My vet also doesn't want her on dry food just because they get dehydrated, and the dry food just adds to it. She's also diabetic, but been off insulin for a year now, as I switched her over to a low carb wet food (commercial brands) - if you look at the ingredients list & compare the prescription brands to the commercial brands, you'll come to hate the prescription brands as much as I do! They put NOTHING in there that a cat would naturally eat in the wild. Cats are carnivores, and dry food mostly has wheat gluten & other stuff that makes their system work overtime. (hence, the kidney failure)

Basically I stay away from foods with high phosphorus.. and fish flavors are the worst! Also, it's been studied that protein isn't hard on the kidneys if it's a GOOD source of protein (meats, etc.. and not gluten stuff).

Sorry to be long winded on this, but I can't stand the cat food companies out there that make it seem healthy to feed dry 'indoor' formulas & such. It's such a load of cr@p! Look at the ingredients. I don't even know what most of the stuff is that they use in there!

I hope whatever your decision, you & your kitty have a very peaceful goodbye, whenever that may be. (I know I dread it all the time.. had my kitty since I was 12) :/

[Strong Atheist]

15. That is terrible! Sorry to hear that.

:evilfrown:

Hang in there.:pals:

[vademocrat]

16. My cat lived for 3 years after the diagnosis of CKF -

she was diagnosed at age 15, treated with medication for about a year, then did the sub-q fluids for awhile - this became a bonding time although she wasn't happy about the needle! She seemed to know it helped. I stopped the sub-q when her skin became so fine & papery it was pretty impossible to keep a needle in. She lived another year - one day she looked at me & I knew it was time. I had a vet come to my house to put her down. She peacefully went to sleep on my lap. I'll never do it any other way again!

You can buy cat medications and sub-q fluid and supplies at www.costco.com - it saves LOTS of money - you need a prescription from your vet. Really cool system -


You'll do the right thing - whatever's right for you and your cat.

[Critters2]

18. My Ari had crf for 2 1/2 years

There's lots of info on the web. Ari wouldn't eat K/D so some people on a yahoo list suggested IVD Modified Diet, which he liked. We did sub-q's, and he was really good about letting me do 'em. Except for the initial symptoms, he did really well for most of the 2 1/2 years. At the end, he got an abscessed wound (the vet thought it was a scratch from my other cat), and fighting that infection was just too much for his little body. I had him put to sleep when his numbers were BUN 130 and creatinine 12.9 The numbers made it clear his kidneys were simply no longer functioning.

[hedgehog]

19. Update

We brought home samples of two different brands of special diet foods and he snarfed both of them up in no time flat. I feel so dumb - I think the dry food we feed all our animals is just too hard for him to chew anymore. So it's off to the store for more special diet. He's doing great even if his numbers are lousy - he has no problem jumping up on the buffet to get his special meal. Thanks for the advice.

[vademocrat]

20. Good to hear that he's still enthusiastic about eating!

I actually found out about my cat's kidney problem when bloodwork was done for a teeth cleaning (she was 15 and wasn't eating very well). She had a couple of teeth pulled and it made a huge difference!

Check with your vet about subcutaneous fluids - he/she will let you know if the time is right for it.