 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / October 2003Phil, Helen, Someone....Please Help
My Kitty was diagnosed with kidney failure. Unsure if it's chronic or acute. Doesn't really matter as the vet says his numbers are extremely high and after 72 hours of IV hospitalization they got worse. Vet says he's going to die soon and let him live out his last couple of weeks at home. We're heartbroken and still want to fight it. We think our cat has some fight left in him as well. Here's a bit of a history: 6 days ago - noticed symptoms & brought him into vet 5 days ago - blood tests came back with BUN 41.1, Creatinine 709 and Phosphorus 2.50 Kept him hospitalized for 3.5 days on IV fluid and force fed low protein food -he will not eat on his own Brought him home from vet last night and waiting for 2nd blood test results. He was happy to be home, very tired but still didn't eat. Force fed him this morning. No vomitting. Gave 120 ml lactate ringers this morning. Vet called and said prognosis is very bad. His levels are up - BUN 47.7, Creatinine 927 and Phosphorus 3.09. Vet says keep doing what I'm doing, but he will die very soon. Did more reading on the internet and discovered phosphorus binders and appetite stimulants. Called vet back and said I wanted to try these on him. She agreed and wrote prescription. I just gave him his first dose of Periactin 2MG. I'm supposed to give him 5MG Novo-Famotidine every 24 hrs. I'm waiting to see if Periactin does anything for him. I'm just not ready to give up on this cat. He's only 5 years old. We will give up when he lets us know he's had enough. Before I went to pick up his prescriptions, thought I'd try some salmon. I sprinkled a bit of garlic powder on it and much to my surpise he sniffed, then had a couple of small nibbles. This felt so amazing as I had just finished drying my puffy, red eyes after hearing the vet's prognosis. What do you all think? Am I fighting a hopeless battle? Just this morning he was perched on his post excitedly watching the birds. Is there anything more I can do for him? What do you think of his levels and the fact they got worse after 3 days of IV? Broken-hearted >From: mavalon2003@yahoo.com (Mavalon) >I just gave him his first >dose of Periactin 2MG. I'm supposed to give him 5MG Novo-Famotidine >every 24 hrs. I'm waiting to see if Periactin does anything for him. > >I'm just not ready to give up on this cat. He's only 5 years old. I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. My last cat was given Periactin too and it did work for a while. But my cat was 17 years old. >Before I went to >pick up his prescriptions, thought I'd try some salmon. I sprinkled a >bit of garlic powder on it and much to my surpise he sniffed, then had >a couple of small nibbles. This felt so amazing as I had just finished >drying my puffy, red eyes after hearing the vet's prognosis. That's good! The smellier you can make the food, the better. You might want to try sprinkling some Parmesan cheese on the food. I know this worked with my cat. Best wishes for your kitty's recovery, 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 Mavalon said: > My Kitty was diagnosed with kidney failure. Unsure if it's chronic or > acute. Doesn't really matter as the vet says his numbers are [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Broken-hearted I don't have any advice other than offering my best wishes to you both, & to suggest that you post to alt.med.veterinary as well. rrb > My Kitty was diagnosed with kidney failure. Unsure if it's chronic or > acute. Doesn't really matter as the vet says his numbers are [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Broken-hearted Is he urinating? Did the vet check him for a urinary tract obstruction? A complete (or nearly complete): urinary tract obstruction produces a pathophysiologic state equivalent to oliguric acute renal failure. An obstruction will also cause the BUN/Cr to rise especially after fluid therapy. A obstruction can occur anywhere in the urinary tract. In male cats they occur most commonly in the urethra - where it narrows, almost like a funnel, right where it passes over the pelvis into the penis. I doubt your vet is equipped for contrast urethrography, however, most uroliths are radiodense and visible on x-rays -- although ultrasounds would be the ideal choice for locating an obstruction. If an obstruction is ruled out *definitively* and he's able to urinate adequately, diuretics (furosemide, a/k/a Lasix) are usually given to stimulate urinary output, which should help speed up the excretion of renal toxins and ezcessive electroltyes - especially potassium which can result in life-threatening hyperkalemia. . Intense diuresis maybe necessary. There's another alternative - but I don't know your vet's level of expertise. The alternative is a form of dialysis called peritoneal dialysis that can be used to clean the blood. Its not as bad as it sounds. In short, it involves placing a catheter in your cat's abdomen and filling the abdominal cavity with fluid and then draining it out after the waste products have filtered into the fluid. This technique can be quite effective and reverse a uremic crisis. The catheter can be left in and you can perform the procedure at home. My best advice would be to take your cat to the emergency room of a veterinary university hospital if there's one within range. They would be fully equipped to handle this crisis. If you don't live near a vet university, go to http://www.acvim.org/Kittleson/search.htm and do a search for an internal medicine Diplomate/Specialist in your area. American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Diplomates are about the best there is. If you can't find an ACVIM specialist in your area, my second choice would be an ABVP Diplomate/Feline Specialist (American Board of Veterinary Practitioners). Go to http://www.abvp.com/diplosearch1.htm http://www.abvp.com/ I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. I wish you the very best of luck. Phil. Check out felinecrf.com for some useful information. Also, you may want to join the Feline CRF support group at groups.yahoo.com. Sue > My Kitty was diagnosed with kidney failure. Unsure if it's chronic or > acute. Doesn't really matter as the vet says his numbers are [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Broken-hearted > My Kitty was diagnosed with kidney failure. Unsure if it's chronic or > acute. Doesn't really matter as the vet says his numbers are [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Broken-hearted [I'm having trouble posting this, so I'm going to e-mail it too] I'm sorry to hear about your boy. The rise in numbers might be related to a blockage or stone of some kind, did the vet check for this at all? I'm also not sure whether this is acute or chronic renal failure. I cannot tell you whether your boy will make it. However, the fact that he is alert and interested in birds appears to me to be a good thing. His bloodwork is bad, but it's not as bad as my Thomas's was at diagnosis; in US values, your boy has BUN of 133, whereas my Thomas had BUN of 241. Thomas was on IV for four solid days and nights, yet after that his BUN was exactly the same, 241. I brought him home to die, but with sub-Qs we were able to gradually reduce his numbers and win back his quality of life for him. There is just no telling which cat will make it and which cat won't; but I think it is always worth trying treatments, because even if they don't prolong life, they should at least make the cat more comfortable; and it can help you to know you've tried everything you can. I would stop the garlic immediately. It belongs to the onion family, and onion causes Heinz body anaemia in cats. The jury is out on whether garlic does the same, but I wouldn't take the risk in a cat who is already sick. I also wouldn't be forcing the cat to eat prescription food. He feels bad, so I'd let him eat whatever he wants right now (giving him phosphorus binders if it's non-prescription food). You can try the prescription food later if he stabilises, but right now it's more important that he eats. The famotidine should help, though you appear to be giving a high dose. I'm not sure what novo-famotidine is, but the usual dose for famotidine in the form of Pepcid AC is 2.5 mg, once every other day to start with. But of course you should be guided by your vet on dosages (I'm assuming your vet suggested these treatments, BTW). Incidentally, you don't mention which phosphorus binder you are using, but famotidine is not a phosphorus binder. You should ask your vet about using an aluminium hydroxide based binder. I'd ask the vet if your boy is anaemic, and treat accordingly if he is. If possible, you also want his blood pressure checked, and his potassium levels. There is info on all these issues at http://www.felinecrf.org Finally, I'd suggest you join the CRF support list at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support HTH Helen Thanks so much everyone for responding. I truly appreciate the input. Kitty has been home for 2.5 days now. Though the vet's prognosis is bad, he finally starting eating a bit on his own. We're thrilled to death. He seems to be doing much better and we see glimpses of his old self. He's not eating the prescription food, but small amounts of Iams wet food. At this point I figure it's better than nothing at all. I'm also supplementing him with prescription food. Helen, the reason I was force feeding was that he was refusing to eat anything at all, and I figured if I had to force feed, it's better that he have the low protein, low phosphorus. He has lost quite a bit of weight, but now that he''s eating on his own, we're hoping he'll gain some back. He was always a strong, solid, muscular cat. It's heartbreaking to see him so thin. We're continuing with fluids, antibiotics, tonic-lax (for constipation), and famotidine. I asked the vet about the phosphorus binder and she wrote a prescription for Amphojel. We've been giving him 1 ml with his food. We've been dealing with a few different vets throughout his crisis, as they appear to work shifts. The vet on Saturday, told us it looks very bad, let him live out his last couple of weeks at home and don't bother bringing him back for blood tests. On Sunday, I spoke with the vet who initially admitted him. She was a bit more optimistic. She encouraged us to continue what we're doing and said that it was very good that he's starting to eat and that he's holding his food down. She wants us to bring him back in a couple of weeks for more blood work and she said she wants to check his blood pressure. I don't think she checked for a block or stone as she didn't mention anything about it. I will ask her though. I will not use garlic anymore. I had read that onion was bad, but I thought I'd try garlic just the one time to try to encourage him. It worked. He appears to be doing 100% better than he was when we first brought him home. He was scratching his post, joined me in the kitchen while I cooked supper last night, groomed his brother last night, (Couldn't believe it when I saw it! Here he is, fighting for his life and he's grooming his brother!), and though he's still a sick cat, we are praying that these are signs that he's pulling though. Phil, he's urinating no problem and always has been. Perhaps a bit too much. I'm going to keep the peritoneal dialysis in mind. His recent progress has made me reluctant to do much poking and prodding with him, and I'm scared that another trip to the vet's will put him over the edge. If we see any more signs of further deterioration, I may look at this option. Any idea what the costs are? Has anyone ever had their cat go through this? I gave him some small chucks of plain chicken breast last night which he gobbled down. Is this ok to do this with him? If anyone has advice for his diet, I'd love to hear. We're planning on moving in two weeks and and very concerned about the effect this will have on him if he's still around. We bought our first home and up until this crisis, we were busily packing and very excited about the move. However, kitty's illness has dramatically changed our enthusiasm. Our first priority is getting this guy better so that he can enjoy our new home with us. Does anyone have any thoughts on the move and how we might make it more tolerable for him? Will keep everyone posted on kitty's progress, and thanks so much for the support. > Thanks so much everyone for responding. I truly appreciate the input. > Kitty has been home for 2.5 days now. Though the vet's prognosis is [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > very bad, let him live out his last couple of weeks at home and don't > bother bringing him back for blood tests. Delete that vet... Your cat doesn't need a pessimistic quitter. Attitudes like that are often a cover for the lack of expertise. On Sunday, I spoke with the > vet who initially admitted him. She was a bit more optimistic. She > encouraged us to continue what we're doing and said that it was very > good that he's starting to eat and that he's holding his food down. > She wants us to bring him back in a couple of weeks for more blood > work and she said she wants to check his blood pressure. Now that vet is on the ball! Hypertension is a very serious complication of CRF and among other things, can lead to blindness. You want a vet who will fight as hard as you and cat. I don't > think she checked for a block or stone as she didn't mention anything > about it. I will ask her though. If he's urinating ok, he's not blocked. I will not use garlic anymore. I > had read that onion was bad, but I thought I'd try garlic just the one > time to try to encourage him. It worked. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > grooming his brother!), and though he's still a sick cat, we are > praying that these are signs that he's pulling though. They are. > Phil, he's urinating no problem and always has been. Perhaps a bit > too much. A bit too much is actually "good" right now and probably largely a result of the fluid therapy. That means diuresis has begun and he's excreting some of the uremic toxins. That's probably why he's feeling better. The build up of uremic toxins make a cat feel sick and not feel like eating. As the BUN/Cr come down, his appetite should improve. Diuresis can lower BUN/Cr rapidly because it improves GFR. Just remember that fluid therapy to promote diuresis should be used only on a short term basis because it creates an increased workload on the kidneys which can lead to the progression of CRF. Long term fluid therapy should only be used to correct or prevent dehydration. A lot of people seem to think diuresis can be used as a simple dialysis -- They're dead wrong. I'm going to keep the peritoneal dialysis in mind. His > recent progress has made me reluctant to do much poking and prodding > with him, and I'm scared that another trip to the vet's will put him > over the edge. Since he's improving, PD probably isn't necessary -- or even a good idea. PD is good for removing uremic toxins and lowering the BUN when nothing else works. If we see any more signs of further deterioration, I > may look at this option. Any idea what the costs are? The cost vary with vets. The fee can be as low as $200 or as high as $600 or even higher - It all depends on the vet. Has anyone > ever had their cat go through this? > > I gave him some small chucks of plain chicken breast last night which > he gobbled down. Is this ok to do this with him? Absolutely! The most important issue is that he eats! It doesn't matter how perfectly formulated a renal diet is if the cat won't eat it. Speak to your vet about supplementing his energy needs with non-protein calories. Leave the skin on the chicken breast - its a good source of fat and non-protein calories. If anyone has > advice for his diet, I'd love to hear. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > so that he can enjoy our new home with us. Does anyone have any > thoughts on the move and how we might make it more tolerable for him? I don't know how well your cat reacts or adapts to changes in his environment - especially drastic ones. I would delay the move until he's stabilized - but that's just me. > Will keep everyone posted on kitty's progress, and thanks so much for > the support. Although CRF can occur at almost any age, but since he's only 5 years old, my gut feeling is acute renal failure which is *reversible*. I get the impression that the onset of his symptoms was sudden rather than a gradual build up to a uremic crisis. Don't let anyone talk you into doing anything drastic based on numbers alone - go by the *cat* only. Many cats make a dramatic comeback after a uremic crisis - which your cat seems to be doing. My best advice is go the distance! I wish you the very best of luck. Phil. > Diuresis can lower BUN/Cr rapidly because it improves GFR. Just remember > that fluid therapy to promote diuresis should be used only on a short term > basis because it creates an increased workload on the kidneys which can lead > to the progression of CRF. Long term fluid therapy should only be used to > correct or prevent dehydration. A lot of people seem to think diuresis can > be used as a simple dialysis -- They're dead wrong. What would be short term? Days, weeks, months? If he continues to improve as he has been, when do I know it's ok to take him off? > I don't know how well your cat reacts or adapts to changes in his > environment - especially drastic ones. I would delay the move until he's > stabilized - but that's just me. Unfortunately, delaying the move is not an option. We have to be out of our condo on the 30th. I'm unsure whether I should take #1 (yes, that's his name & we have a #2 as well), back for bloodwork before or after the move. I want to get an accurate reading and I understand stress can affect his numbers. > Although CRF can occur at almost any age, but since he's only 5 years old, > my gut feeling is acute renal failure which is *reversible*. I get the > impression that the onset of his symptoms was sudden rather than a gradual > build up to a uremic crisis. Phil, I'm completely with you on this one. His symptoms came on extremely sudden and were so high! About a week before we noticed symptoms, we brought a clipping from an outside creeping ground ivy-type plant and set it in some water in attempts to root it. #1 has always been a very curious cat, and we have previously caught him numerous times chomping away on flowers in vases. He definately got into the plant we were trying to root, and I strongly suspect this as the cause. Of course I told the vet, and she agreed it's possible. I swear....I will never, ever, buy or bring another plant or flower inside my house unless I know for certain that it could not harm my kitties. If it is in fact an acute failure, would he completely recover, or might he still have some kidney damage that we'll have to treat with diet and the occasional fluid treatment? I realize I'm ahead of myself, and we ARE taking it one day at a time, but he seems to be improving each day. He's bright eyed, his coat looks shiny, his dandruff is disappearing, he's continuing to eat and drink, though I am concerned about his constipation. He's been on tonic-lax for almost 2 days now, about 1/2 tsp 3 times a day, but I don't think he's had a BM yet. It's hard to say for sure as we have the two cats. Any other suggestions? Phil, your posting brought tears to my eyes. This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you so much for your efforts in responding. Our family has been torn up over this. For the past week we have been taking turns, bawling our eyes out over the thought of losing him. We just cannot imagine life without him. > > Diuresis can lower BUN/Cr rapidly because it improves GFR. Just remember > > that fluid therapy to promote diuresis should be used only on a short term [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > What would be short term? Days, weeks, months? . Fluid therapy to supply daily water needs and replace normal ongoing losses (maintenance) is not the same as fluid diuresis. Maintenance therapy can last as long as a few weeks to a few months or until he recovers sufficiently and voluntarily meets his water needs (from food and drinking). Fluid therapy to correct dehydration and ongoing (normal) losses should also reduce the BUN/Cr.because it maintains urine output which facilitates the normal excretion of uremic toxins Fluid therapy to promote diuresis (fluid diuresis- FD) should be used only to manage a uremic crisis. FD should reduce the BUN/Cr significantly within 24 hours or within 2 days. If it doesn't intense diuresis is usually necessary. How much and how often is he receiving fluid? Stop by my site for a fluid replacement guide: http://www.maxshouse.com/Calculation_of_24-Hour_Fluid_Requirement_at_Different_L evels_of_Dehydration.htm Remember, water intake from food and drinking must be taken into consideration when you're calculating his fluid requirement. One, 5.5 oz can of cat food that contains 75% moisture contains about 143 ml of water. Overhydration can cause fluid overload and pulmonary edema. The fact that he's improved *significantly* so quickly, is a pretty good indication that the fluid therapy is working and his BUN/Cr are coming down and also that he could already be in the "recovery phase" of ARF. The fact he never became oliguric is also a *very* good sign. If he continues to > improve as he has been, when do I know it's ok to take him off? You won't know without blood tests. This is why additional blood tests are so important. . You didn't mention urinalysis. Was one done? Urine gives a lot of valuable information about the condition of the kidneys. The urinalysis should've been done before beginning fluid therapy because the fluids will influence the urinary values. However, urinalysis will still provide some good information. > > I don't know how well your cat reacts or adapts to changes in his > > environment - especially drastic ones. I would delay the move until he's [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > that's his name & we have a #2 as well), back for bloodwork before or > after the move. Before. He may have recovered by the 30th! ;) I want to get an accurate reading and I understand > stress can affect his numbers. That's true. > > Although CRF can occur at almost any age, but since he's only 5 years old, > > my gut feeling is acute renal failure which is *reversible*. I get the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Phil, I'm completely with you on this one. His symptoms came on > extremely sudden and were so high! ...and now his symptoms seem to be subsiding almost as rapidly. ;) These factors strongly suggest ARF, and that he may be in the recovery phase. About a week before we noticed > symptoms, we brought a clipping from an outside creeping ground > ivy-type plant and set it in some water in attempts to root it. #1 > has always been a very curious cat, and we have previously caught him > numerous times chomping away on flowers in vases. He definately got > into the plant we were trying to root, and I strongly suspect this as > the cause. Of course I told the vet, and she agreed it's possible. You might want to bring a sample to your local florist - He might be able to identify it. Then stop by my site an see if its on the toxic plants list. If it isn't on the list, that doesn't mean it isn't toxic. Could he have gotten at any medication? NSAIDs? Or antifreeze or cleaning products? Do a house search from the cat's point of view just in case the plant wasn't the culprit. I > swear....I will never, ever, buy or bring another plant or flower > inside my house unless I know for certain that it could not harm my > kitties. I err on the side of caution; I don't have any plants in my house. > If it is in fact an acute failure, would he completely recover, or > might he still have some kidney damage that we'll have to treat with > diet and the occasional fluid treatment? It could take as long as 3 to 4 weeks of therapy to distinguish reversible from irreversible renal failure. Based on your description of his rapid improvement, my gut feeling is he sustained very little, if any permanent damage. I realize I'm ahead of > myself, and we ARE taking it one day at a time, but he seems to be > improving each day. He's bright eyed, > his coat looks shiny, his dandruff is disappearing, he's continuing to > eat and drink, That's why I think he may already be in the recovery phase of ARF. I'm not just saying that to make you feel better - I really mean it! Just keep a close watch on his mouth and tongue for any lesions or signs of inflammation. Cats' breath normally stink, but be on the lookout for an ammonia odor. You don't want him to stop eating because of oral pain caused by uremic lesions. though I am concerned about his constipation. He's > been on tonic-lax for almost 2 days now, about 1/2 tsp 3 times a day, > but I don't think he's had a BM yet. It's hard to say for sure as we > have the two cats. Any other suggestions? You may want to speak to your vet about a plain baby glycerin suppository. Some baby suppositories come with lubricated applicators preloaded with plain glycerin. The applicator looks like a eye dropper with a ball at the end instead of the slim rubber reservoir. Very fast and easy to use. Constipation can be a real problem in cats because it tends to be self-perpetuating -- regardless of the cause. The longer the stools remain in the rectum the drier and harder they become and the more painful they are to eliminate. This can lead to *voluntary* fecal retention and eventually obstipation and megacolon. So if he's constipated, you want to resolve it as quickly as possible > Phil, your posting brought tears to my eyes. This is exactly what I > needed to hear! Thank you so much for your efforts in responding. Its what I really believe. > Our family has been torn up over this. For the past week we have been > taking turns, bawling our eyes out over the thought of losing him. We > just cannot imagine life without him. If you allow only the optimistic vet to handle his case, my gut feeling tells me he'll with you for a long time. I really mean that! ;) Please keep me posted on his progress. Keep the faith!. Phil. He's currently receiving between 100-120 ml of subq daily depending on how well he's sitting for us to take it. We definately get at least 100 ml into him daily. I'm worried about giving him too much fluid. Do you think I should reduce his doses anytime soon? The vets think I should keep him on 100-120 ml daily at least for the next month. The plan is to bring him in for bloodwork in a months time after we move. I want to get him settled in the new place. He's peeing lots, and he's had two bowels movements in the past two days. They were very dark brown (almost black) and quite hard. I hope this will get things moving again. I think we'll still give him the tonic-lax until we know for sure things are moving as they should be. The vet said the amphojel might constipate him so I think continuing the tonic-lax won't hurt. It also contains a bunch of extra vitamins that he could probably use right now. He seems to be continually improving. His alert times are getting longer and he's even had a few playful moments. When we first brought him home from the vet, all's he did was sleep. And it didn't look like a comfortable sleep. He would curl his paws underneath him and hold his head down. Now he's stretching right out and looks alot more comfortable. It's funny how you don't really notice the small, seemingly insignificant behaviour until they stop doing it. I think he may have even put a little weight back on. He doesn't feel as skinny and spiny as he did a few days ago. Maybe it's all in my head. What are the signs of being oliguric, and what is oliguric? I don't know what any of this means, but here's the urinalysis that was taken the day he was admitted (last Tuesday): PH: 6.0 SP.GRV: 1.020 APPEAR: Clear COLOR: Pale PROTEIN: 1g/1 GLUCOSE: Neg KETONE: Neg BLOOD: trace BILIRUB: Neg UROBIL: Norm WCB: 0 -3 RBC: 0 -3 EPITH: Many HYAL CAST: Neg GRAN CAST: Neg RBC CAST: Neg BACTERIA: Neg MUCUS: Neg CRYSTALS: AMOUNT: Here's the comment by the tech: amorphous debris present Few transitional epithelium present Few clumps of epithelium present T015 HYPERGLYCEMIA - STRESS RENAL AZOTEMIA AND PROTEINURIA - RATIO? Do you see anything notable here Phil? I guess it's always possible that he got into household chemical, but it's very unlikely. Everything is kept put away in a cupboard and I'm pretty sure he can't open the cupboards. Medications? Again, unlikely. No possible way he got into antifreeze. He's indoor only. I'm still leaning towards the plant. We're going to find out what it is. Once we find out, I'll let you know just in case it's not on your list so you can add it. Again, thanks so much for your attention to our crisis. You have no idea how much it means to me. > He's currently receiving between 100-120 ml of subq daily depending on > how well he's sitting for us to take it. We definately get at least > 100 ml into him daily. I'm worried about giving him too much fluid. > Do you think I should reduce his doses anytime soon? It doesn't seem like too much - but I can't say for sure because I don't know how much water he's consuming daily from drinking and from food. A very rough estimate of a healthy cat's daily water needs is about 1 oz/lb.BW/day or 60 ml/kg BW/day. A more accurate "guesstimate" of water needs:(in milliliters) is equal to the cat's metabolizable energy requirement in kcals. .IOW, a cat with a daily energy requirement of 180 kcals has a daily water requirement of about 180 ml (including drinking and water in the food). Again these are just *maintenance* estimates for normal healthy cats that are eating normally and doesn't include water to correct dehydration or to replace excessive ongoing losses. Those replacement values are added to the maintenance water needs. The vets think I > should keep him on 100-120 ml daily at least for the next month. The > plan is to bring him in for bloodwork in a months time after we move. I don't think I'd wait a month for a recheck. > I want to get him settled in the new place. He's peeing lots, and > he's had two bowels movements in the past two days. They were very > dark brown (almost black) and quite hard. You might want to drop off a stool sample with your vet to check for blood. If these we his first BM in a few days, the stools were dry and hard probably because they weren't eliminated right away. The longer stools remain in the colon/rectum the drier and harder they become because water is drawn out. I hope this will get things > moving again. I think we'll still give him the tonic-lax until we > know for sure things are moving as they should be. The vet said the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > alert times are getting longer and he's even had a few playful > moments. You're convincing me with every post that he's probably in the recovery phase of ARF! When we first brought him home from the vet, all's he did > was sleep. And it didn't look like a comfortable sleep. He would > curl his paws underneath him and hold his head down. Now he's > stretching right out and looks alot more comfortable. It's funny how > you don't really notice the small, seemingly insignificant behaviour > until they stop doing it. You know something? You're right! I think he may have even put a little > weight back on. He doesn't feel as skinny and spiny as he did a few > days ago. Maybe it's all in my head. I know you've already had some heavy vet bills, but if you can afford a good pediatric scale, it would be one of the best investments you can make in your cats' healthcare program. Subtle weight gains and losses are difficult to notice in a cat you see everyday. Suble losses that aren't obvious to the eye can be an early warning that might help you catch a disease in the early stages when they're the most responsive to treatment. This is the scale I recommend: http://tanitascale.com/pro_scales/1583.html > What are the signs of being oliguric, and what is oliguric? Producing very small amounts of urine. I don't > know what any of this means, but here's the urinalysis that was taken > the day he was admitted (last Tuesday): > > PH: 6.0 > SP.GRV: 1.020 Dilute - but could be a result of fluid therapy. > APPEAR: Clear > COLOR: Pale > PROTEIN: 1g/1 ..This is consistant with but not limited to exposure to nephrotoxins and supports your hunch about the plant. > GLUCOSE: Neg > KETONE: Neg [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Few transitional epithelium present > Few clumps of epithelium present Was the urine sample collected via a catheter? > T015 > HYPERGLYCEMIA - STRESS > RENAL AZOTEMIA AND PROTEINURIA - RATIO? > > Do you see anything notable here Phil? Nothing really remarkable. Although the dilute urine has me a little worried. Was this urinalysis done before or after starting fluid therapy? > I guess it's always possible that he got into household chemical, but > it's very unlikely. Everything is kept put away in a cupboard and I'm [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > we find out, I'll let you know just in case it's not on your list so > you can add it. I'd really appreciate that - might save other cats. That list is a never-ending work in progress! > Again, thanks so much for your attention to our crisis. You have no > idea how much it means to me. Everything you've said sure sounds like he's in the recovery phase! I think he's in the back stretch rapidly heading for the home stretch! The best advice I can give you is stick with the vet who wants to fight and keep your cat as far away from "the quitter" as possible! Keep the faith! Phil. Just wanted to post an update. I got the results of #1's repeat bloodwork back today. Here's the important numbers: BUN: 59.94 Creat: 2.57 Phosph: 3.28 Here's what they were previously: Sept 10/03 (initial examination) BUN: 115 Creat: 8.02 Phosph: 7.73 Sept 13/03 (after 3.5 days of IV fluids) BUN: 133 Creat: 10.48 Phosph: 9.56 I am relieved that his numbers have come down significantly. The vet's advice is to reduce his subqs from 100 ml daily to 60-80 every other day. She'd also like me to cut back his phosphorus binders to once a day and continue with the famotidine every other day. I'll bring him back for more follow-up bloodwork in 3-4 weeks time. #1 is doing amazingly well. He eats and drinks well, uses the litter box regularly, is active and wrestling with his brother #2 and pretty much seems back to normal, though he lost alot of weight while he was sick and I'd like to see him gain it back. We are enjoying each day we have with our sweet boys. We always knew we loved our cats, but when this crisis happened, it sure hit home with us and made us appreciate our boys even more. > Just wanted to post an update. I got the results of #1's repeat > bloodwork back today. Here's the important numbers: [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > we loved our cats, but when this crisis happened, it sure hit home > with us and made us appreciate our boys even more. Thanks for the update! I was worried that someone might have talked you into something drastic. You sure made my day! The rapid onset of symptoms and then fairly rapid and significant improvements are certainly indicators of the recovery phase of acute renal failure. The recovery phase can take several weeks to a month or so. This is the phase of repair and regeneration of renal tissue and restoration of renal function. This is certainly evident by the progressive resolution of the azotemia and return to normal activity! I just *love* happy endings!!! Thanks so much for the update! and please keep me posted. The very best of luck, Phil. So sorry about your cat. His blood might be very acidic (metabolic acidosis). Did you vet test total CO2 (TCO)? That´s how you´d know. If you manage to correct his blood pH, all those numbers will come down. Did you get him on a kidney diet? i hope the best....i lost my cat franky due to kidney failure...... |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.