Esme scared me...(suggestions needed here)

[badgerpup]

:scared:...thought I was going to lose her.

Esme is a very responsive kitty (not to say a demanding pet-monster)...if there's the slightest chance of being petted she will arch herself into that oncoming hand. She's reasonable; she'll meet you MORE than half way. She'll also tell you she appreciates the attention- "Mmmrrraaaaow!"

When (two weeks ago Saturday) she not only did neither of these things, but was sitting crouched with her paws under her chest, I knew there was something very wrong.
Off to the Emergency Vet (my own Sainted Vet was closed). The trauma of being taken to the vet had her acting more like herself- she introduced herself to the vet tech, drank a LOT of water while we waited (and waited...and waited...) to see the vet.
They took some blood, ran the labs, and her numbers were NOT good...about 4X the upper limit of "we can deal with this."
Emergency Vet told me we were probably looking at the short road rather than the long one.:cry:
Well, it's part of the contract...but nothing says you're not allowed to try to postpone the inevitable as long as your furkid is on board with the program, right?

"Let's get her at least feeling better, and then if she wants to fight, she'll be able to do so. She'll let me know." Emergency Vet gave her an antibiotic since a LOT of bacteria ends up in the kidneys and about 200 ml Lactated Ringer's solution...and made sure I knew what I was doing there, since I wasn't really certain of myself on the sub-cu process.
The following Monday she saw the Sainted Vet (we'd had this appointment scheduled), and she was given another (different) antibiotic and a vitamin B-12 shot...and 200 ml normal saline (I'd been syringe-feeding her and had given her sub-cu Ringer's on Sunday).

Esme picked up. :woohoo:
She became her usual responsive lap-monster self, even going so far as to react to some catnip I'd put down and to express an interest in going outside for a few minutes. Later that week I caught her eating...:bounce:...not very much, but that was a very good sign. She's behaving like her normal self- even dropping food in the water dish again...although I'm not satisfied with how MUCH she's eating, so she's getting syringe feedings of baby food (I check the labels VERY carefully for onion powder!) and sub-cu fluids every other day, depending upon her hydration level (I'm using the skin-pinch test; if it snaps back immediately, she's OK. If it goes back into place slowly, she's dehydrated...and the slower it goes, the drier she is).

Now...here's the question. The dry Active Cat food isn't really good for her; too much protein. Per Sainted Vet's recommendation, I'm giving her baby food with lots of carbs...the turkey or chicken is the last thing on the list of ingredients.

What kind of wet cat food have y'all had good luck with?
She does NOT like the k/d...turns up her pretty little nose at it...and the stuff doesn't lend itself to syringe feeding.
Or should I just stick with the carrots/sweet potato/rice/'tater/barley/some kinda fruit + chicken/turkey baby food?

I'd like to find her something that she'll eat on her own...she dislikes the syringe feeding more than getting the sub-cu fluid.

Thanks, people...:hug:

Riktor (L) and Esme (R) sharing a bit of pillow talk...

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Whew! Glad that Esme is on the road to recovery....

I do not have any information to add.
I had thought that too much carbs was bad for kitties. Leads to diabetes...

I use Merrick BG dry food and either Grain free EVO or Health Extension canned food. Both are 10% protein. Perhaps too much for your sweet Esme.

Your kitties are gorgeous, and I hope that you find the answers you need to keep them all, and you, happy and healthy.

[ceile]

2. Oh goodness!

In the past my cats have REALLY liked Felidae canned food. Mixed with a little bit of water- and it's like caviar to them. It is pretty expensive, that's why I only give it to them when they're recovering from something. Are you looking to fatten her up a bit? You could also go with canned pumpkin mixed with wet food- that has been a winner in the past as well.
Good luck and keep us posted.
ETA: sorry replied to wrong post.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. I am glad to hear that Esme is recovering. Let's hope it continues.

I had a lot of problems with the kidney diets from all the sources, but Royal Canin dry was the only one that appealed at all to my kitty (now deceased). She refused to touch any of the others, and was not interested in the canned Royal Canin. I was frantic with trying to find a food she would eat, and she continued to lose weight. I finally gave up and started to feed her the usual foods she had always gotten, but part of that decision was based on her numbers continuing to climb even with the special diet. With the problems continuing to mount, I just determined that having her eating at all was most important. I had even spent the better part of a day reading every label in a pet food store for the lowest protein numbers, then using a supplement from the vet for the requirements of kidney kitties that are not in regular foods.

I hope that you have good luck with Esme. You are right, this is part of the contract---I never looked at it that way, but that is a good way to think about it.

[glinda]

4. Assuming kitty has kidney failure?????? as you did not tell me what is wrong but

Royal Canan (from the Vet) dry possibly sprinkled with a little water on it as well as well as their two versions of wet are what my cats like. I have five on kidney diets. they also like NF wet and they like their wet switched around too.
Evo has too much protein for a sick cat.
Pumkin should be given only in very small amounts.

You might inquire about subQ treatments at home as well as buy a water filter because water from the tap and in plastic bottles is harsh on their kidneys also. There is a great Group on Yahoo for CRF cats also. Very helpful.

[KC]

5. My

vet has always said to stay away from fish and stick to land animals. He feels the fish/seafood foods have way too
much minerals and mercury in it. Also, to only give filtered water to pets.