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Gail - 04 Jun 2004 01:48 GMT

My 15 year old cat was vomiting more frequently and losing weight. She is on
Tapazole for hyperthyroidism and recently had a full blood panel 2 months
ago. I took her to the vet today. He said she is uremic with a urea level of
129. Two months ago, this level was 43. He is keeping her overnight with IV
fluids, but he is not optimistic. Anyone have a similar situation? If so,
what was done? Thanks in advance.
Gail

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MacCandace - 04 Jun 2004 03:21 GMT

<< He is keeping her overnight with IV
fluids, but he is not optimistic. Anyone have a similar situation? If so,
what was done? Thanks in advance.
Gail >>

Oh, no, I'm very sorry and hope she turns around. I don't know anything about
this, though. Where's Phil et al?

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

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Laura R. - 04 Jun 2004 03:43 GMT

circa Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:48:35 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
Gail (gmpg@earthlink.net) said,

> My 15 year old cat was vomiting more frequently and losing weight. She is on
> Tapazole for hyperthyroidism and recently had a full blood panel 2 months
> ago. I took her to the vet today. He said she is uremic with a urea level of
> 129. Two months ago, this level was 43. He is keeping her overnight with IV
> fluids, but he is not optimistic. Anyone have a similar situation? If so,
> what was done? Thanks in advance.

Has anything been done besides tapazole? Has your cat been checked
for CRF? It sounds as though controlling the hyperthyroidism has
unmasked kidney problems, but you don't mention anything besides the
uremia. Can you provide more information about bloodwork she's had?

Thanks.

Laura

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Gail - 04 Jun 2004 14:17 GMT

Laura, I don't know what other blood work was done yesterday. She is in
kidney failure right now with the left kidney not working at all and the
right at around 10 to 15%, he said. I'm waiting for his call to see if the
IV fluids helped decrease the urea. What is shocking is that in April her
kidney function was "borderline." She has lost 2 pounds since April as a
result of the kidney failure.
Gail

> circa Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:48:35 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
> Gail (gmpg@earthlink.net) said,
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Laura

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Arjun Ray - 04 Jun 2004 04:51 GMT

| My 15 year old cat [...] is on Tapazole for hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is known to mask CRF. Your vet should have told
about this common complication, especially with older cats.

| I took her to the vet today. He said she is uremic with a urea
| level of 129. Two months ago, this level was 43.

There are two other diagnostic measures for CRF. One is an above
normal range Creatinine level in the blood panel. The other is
below normal range urine specific gravity (from urinalysis).

| He is keeping her overnight with IV fluids, but he is not
| optimistic.

If your cat is crashing (i.e. in uremic crisis), overnight IV
will not be enough. Three days or more is common to get the BUN
and Creatinine levels down. They may never come all the way down
to normal range, but that in itself is no reason whatsoever to
lose hope, much less panic. CRF is eminently treatable, even
with hyperthyroidism.

Please see: http://www.felinecrf.org/ and

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

| Anyone have a similar situation? If so, what was done?

My cat is not old, and he doesn't have a thyroid problem, but he
has pulled out of crashes (one serious, one mild) twice. Each
time he was on IV fluids for four days. He is on a regimen of
daily subQ fluids at home, with food supplements.

His first crash was very serious. I had made the mistake of
trusting the vet, only to find out almost too late that her heart
wasn't into treating CRF cats. That's right. Do *not* assume
that every vet knows how to treat CRF properly or even will want
to do so. I changed vets.

If your vet is not "optimistic", get a second opinion.

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Gail - 04 Jun 2004 14:17 GMT

Thank you!!
Gail

> | My 15 year old cat [...] is on Tapazole for hyperthyroidism
>
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
>
> If your vet is not "optimistic", get a second opinion.

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Yngver - 04 Jun 2004 17:06 GMT

I just want to add to this excellent advise that my friend's cat was vomiting
and losing weight after a few months of Tapazole so she had to be taken off it.
She began eating right away and promptly gained back a half a pound right away.
Some cats cannot tolerate Tapazole very well so that may also be part of the
problem. Good luck.

>Thank you!!
>Gail
[quoted text clipped - 39 lines]
>>
>> If your vet is not "optimistic", get a second opinion.

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