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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / July 2004CRF cats.....
My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have lived with this condition and treatment? Thanks in advance. Gail > My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her > sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have > lived with this condition and treatment? Thanks in advance. > Gail There's a lot of variation. My cat lasted only 8 months after her diagnosis, despite treatment & keeping very close tabs on her. Otoh, she'd been chronically ill w/ liver diseases for over 4 years prior to the CRF showing up, so... that may possibly have played into it. At the other end of the spectrum I know of a cat who did really well: he lived another 5 years post-diagnosis. Do you know of this website? It's very good & helpful: http://www.felinecrf.org/tanya_and_thomas.htm Cathy Thanks, Cathy. Gail > > My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her > > sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Cathy circa Thu, 01 Jul 2004 02:13:00 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Gail (gmpg@earthlink.net) said, > My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her > sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have > lived with this condition and treatment? Thanks in advance. My cat is >2.5 years post-diagnosis right now, and his numbers are still early to mid-stage (or they were the last time they were checked; he has to go in in a week or so for his four-month bloodwork). He wasn't started on fluids until last November; all we did before that was to change his diet to K/D. He has done very, very well (knock on wood). Laura  SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde circa Thu, 01 Jul 2004 02:13:00 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Gail (gmpg@earthlink.net) said, > My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her > sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have > lived with this condition and treatment? Thanks in advance. P.S. check out http://www.felinecrf.org and http://www.felinecrf.com Both have good information and I know at least one of them has stories about survival times. There's also a mailing list on Yahoo (I believe at least the first site above gives you the link to it). HTH, Laura SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde You may want to join the Feline-CRF-Support group at groups.yahoo.com. Lots of people there going through the same thing you are. Lots of good info about treating CRF. My cat was diagnosed with renal insufficiency when he was 13 and he lived to be 20+. I didn't start giving him sub-qs until the last 2 years of his life. Every cat is different. Sue > My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her > sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have > lived with this condition and treatment? Thanks in advance. > Gail >"blkcatgal" blkcatgal@comcast.net writes: >My cat was diagnosed with renal insufficiency when he was 13 and he lived to >be 20+. I didn't start giving him sub-qs until the last 2 years of his >life. Every cat is different. That's interesting. My cat Priscilla was diagnosed over two years ago with numbers just barely outside the normal range. For three more sets of tests she was outside normal, but for the last 18 months she's been solidly back in the normal range with her BUN, creatine, and urinalysis. We still consider her a CRF cat, though. (I'm feeding her Wellness wet food and Royal Canin Senior 28 dry food.) Every 3-4 months, she'll go on a "drinking binge" and drink a lot of water for 2-5 days, then go back to normal. The vet doesn't have an explanation for that. Priss is 15 now and much more robust than my two previous cats at that age. (One of them passed to the Bridge 10 years ago last night, at age 15.) I'm hoping Priss makes it a few more years before we need fluids. | My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently | giving her sub Q fluids with a special diet. Canned food only, please. Hydration is very important. If your cat will eat the special diet, that's good. Otherwise, go for any high-quality food that the cat will eat - it's better that the cat eats something rather than not at all. High-quality food will have lower phosphorus content - the real big no-no to watch for - than the crappy supermarket stuff. Also, think about getting a baby scale to monitor your cat's weight regularly. As long as your cat maintains weight (and with it, appetite) that may be the best that can be done. | Any feedback on how long other cats have lived with this | condition and treatment? It varies with the cat. Age and general health otherwise also have a bearing. With my CRF cat, it has been over two years since diagnosis (and he almost certainly had the condition for a while before that.) His numbers are not good at all, but he's a very tough boy. Treat the cat, not the numbers, they say. In sum, diagnosis is no reason to lose hope, much less panic. With proper care, there should be plenty of quality time left. Bookmark this site, and read everything there: http://www.felinecrf.org/ > | My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently > | giving her sub Q fluids with a special diet. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > food will have lower phosphorus content - the real big no-no to > watch for - than the crappy supermarket stuff. Some caution here. It will depend upon your definition of "high quality" obviously, but many of the "high quality" foods I've seen recommended on this NG do NOT have low levels of phos by any means. Additionally reducing phos levels is a critical part of the therapy but not totally exclusive in nature. The reduction of calcium and sodium is also quite important and increasing N3 fatty acids is equally as critical. Some examples: canned food Phosphorus levels expresseed as % dry matter basis Prescription Diet Feline k/d 0.35% Prescription Diet Feline g/d 0.49% Science Diet Fleine Senior 7+ beef 0.52% Nature's Variety Prairie Lamb 1.19% Innova (dry food I think) 1.3% Nutro Natural Choice Turkey & Liver 1.57% A good site for phos values is http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm While I would agree that it is critical that the cat eat, that has to remain first and foremost. Simply feeding a "high quality" food will not provide the combination of low phosphorus, calcium and sodium and the increased levels of N3's that are best possible choice for renal failure. |> it's better that the cat eats something rather than not at all. |> High-quality food will have lower phosphorus content - the real [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] | seen recommended on this NG do NOT have low levels of phos by | any means. If I had used "should" instead of "will" when I brought up the caveat regarding phosphorus content, then would that have been clearer? | Additionally reducing phos levels is a critical part of the | therapy but not totally exclusive in nature. The reduction of | calcium and sodium is also quite important and increasing N3 | fatty acids is equally as critical. It's my understanding that serum phosphorus and calcium tend to maintain a ratio, and that as a result high phosphorus is bad because it pulls up the calcium level with it and leads to bony deposits in soft tissues (such as in the kidneys). Maintaining safe serum levels for the trace elements is a balancing act. I don't think there's a single magic formula. | A good site for phos values is | http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm There's this also: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/jmpeerson/canfood.html | While I would agree that it is critical that the cat eat, that | has to remain first and foremost. I'm sorry, what has to remain first and foremost? | Simply feeding a "high quality" food will not provide the | combination of low phosphorus, calcium and sodium and the | increased levels of N3's that are best possible choice for | renal failure. All along, my CRF cat has had decent within-range levels despite bad (and, of late, rapidly deteriorating) BUN and Creatinine numbers. This could be because, apart from completely shot kidneys, he's not old, very solid and healthy otherwise. He won't touch special diets; the only supplement given so far has been for potassium. He likes Wellness, so that's what he gets. >From: "Gail" gmpg@earthlink.net >My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her >sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have >lived with this condition and treatment? Thanks in advance. >Gail How old is your cat? I had a 17 year old cat with CRF who I was giving SubQ's to. But by the time she was diagnosed, the damage was pretty much done and she was barely eating anything at all. Unfortunately, we only had a few months more with her, but those were very, very precious to us. Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm She is 15. She was tested in April and her kidneys were borderline functioning. In June, she was in full blown kidney failure with a urea of 129. She spent 5 days at the vet on IV fluids. Thanks to all who wrote. Unfortunately she hates the k/d diet. I am feeding her the Purina NF diet and high quality senior foods (lower in protein and phosperous)(all are canned foods). Thanks again for all of your support. I will do what I can for her and enjoy the time we have. Gail > >From: "Gail" gmpg@earthlink.net > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html > Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm > She is 15. She was tested in April and her kidneys were borderline > functioning. In June, she was in full blown kidney failure with a urea of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > for her and enjoy the time we have. > Gail Neither of my CRF cats (Sabina in '91 & then Debbie in '00 - '01) would eat k/d. Debbie the liked the nf for a while, before deciding that wasn't to her liking, either. As someone else mentioned, if they refuse the renal failure diets, then whatever food they'll eat is way preferable to not eating. If she'll eat a high quality senior food, then all the better. Good luck - I hope she'll do well for longer than you might imagine. That website (http://www.felinecrf.org/) that I & others posted is *very* helpful - easy to comprehend & use: practical. Cathy >From: "Gail" gmpg@earthlink.net >> >From: "Gail" gmpg@earthlink.net >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >> >> Lauren >She is 15. She was tested in April and her kidneys were borderline >functioning. In June, she was in full blown kidney failure with a urea of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >for her and enjoy the time we have. >Gail Best wishes for a long life for your kitty, Gail. It sounds like you're taking very good care of her. Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm I sub-q-ed my Blue for seven months before I decided his life had no quality to warrant the debilitation he was experiencing and had him gently euthanized in my arms three years ago Bless you for going through it with your kitty. I used to put Enya on my personal cd player and put the headphones not on but near his ears while he was receiving his fluids- he'd purr so sweetly...it surely could comfort your baby as well. This is one of the hardest things I've ever gone through,this slow death of my best buddy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Candy-now mommy of Angel and Shadow > >From: "Gail" gmpg@earthlink.net > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html > Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm >My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her >sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have >lived with this condition and treatment? Thanks in advance. >Gail My CRF cat, Cosmo, was diagnosed a little over five years ago. He is on a special diet, but has not yet needed fluids (my vet is a bit conservative, but he certainly does seem to be staying hydrated, and sometimes even runs around like a happy kitten!). He was on k/d, but got picky about eating it. A vet assistant friend gave me a copy of the Hill's manual that lists all the foods they manufacture and information about them -- the g/d seemed appropriate for Cosmo, and when my vet read it, he agreed to try that. He has been on that for maybe two years, and has done well. Getting a bit finicky again, so I may try back to k/d or another food when I take him in shortly for bloodwork. Others have recommended the excellent sites and groups out there. Best of luck with your kitty. Ginger-lyn > >My cat has been diagnosed with CRF (in June) and I am currently giving her > >sub Q fluids with a special diet. Any feedback on how long other cats have [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Ginger-lyn I'd forgotten about g/d - it was discussed a while ago here, & IIRC, the consensus was that it is a good alternative/option in this sort of scenario. (Thanks for reminding me, for possible future use.) Cathy circa Thu, 1 Jul 2004 14:51:20 -0400, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Cathy Friedmann (clfr@adelphia.net) said, > I'd forgotten about g/d - it was discussed a while ago here, & IIRC, the > consensus was that it is a good alternative/option in this sort of scenario. > (Thanks for reminding me, for possible future use.) For dry food, there are also a Eukanuba renal diet, Purina NF, Waltham's Renal Support and a couple of others. The Eukanuba has the advantage of being a little higher in calories than the Hill's, although it's also a bit higher in phosphorus. Purina NF has almost identical phosphorus to K/D, but higher protein and significantly lower calories (not always desirable in a cat that's already subject to wasting, but if calorie supplements are added, it's very comparable to K/D). Waltham's Renal Support is *very* low phosphorus and protein, but can be difficult to find. The canned foods made by these companies tend to be pretty similar in terms of highs and lows. I've been fortunate in that Jacob will eat darned near anything I put in front of him (except people food) and he loves the K/D minced, which has even lower phophorus than the regular K/D canned. Laura SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde << I'd forgotten about g/d - it was discussed a while ago here, & IIRC, the consensus was that it is a good alternative/option in this sort of scenario. (Thanks for reminding me, for possible future use.) Cathy >> That's what my late CRF cat, Cory, ate for the last 2 years of his life. He wouldn't touch k/d. It was Phil who suggested it. I can't recall the exact reason but he said when a cat's numbers aren't that bad yet, that g/d is better to use than k/d...I believe it had to do with the protein. It's best not to reduce the protein too drastically in early CRF, I think. 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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