Many cats can live with CRF for several years so don't panic if that is
his diagnosis.  Read Helen's excellent website:

www.felinecrf.org

Maybe he just needs his tapazole adjusted.

My late cat had both hyper-t and CRF the last couple of years of his
life.  He was diagnosed with (early) CRF first and then several months
later with hyper-t.  Since hyper-t can mask CRF, one can do a delicate
balance with tapazole to decrease the symptoms of CRF (by keeping the
tapazole dose a little low, ask your vet).  I really think it helped my
cat to have both conditions.

Good luck with Tycho.  It sounds as though he is doing fine for right
now.  Please let us know what his blood results are.

Candace

It doesn't sound like end stage renal failure or anything. Maybe you should
get him on a geriatric food, but then again, he is 19. A very good old age
for a kitty. I say if he is eating and happy, he is still with you. I think
you will know if he needs help. I hope the blood tests come back well.

I agree w/ Candace's post.  If it turns out that he is in CRF, it
doesn't sound like he's anywhere near end-stage renal failure, &
Helen's website (felinecrf.org) is excellent - very readable, with a
ton of extremely useful info.  I referred to it a lot when one of my
cats developed CRF.

Once the blood work comes back you'll have some more concrete - besides
clinical - info to work with.

Cathy

Hi Beth,

My cat Dmitri, age 16, was just diagnosed with CRF, early stage. I
totally know how you feel. Read Helen's site thoroughly if the blood
tests come back positive, but know that CRF doesn't mean he's going to
pass away immediately. I was comforted to read the stories after
posting about Dmitri, and to learn that you can prolong his life, and
quality of life with diet and other methods.

Someone posted in the thread I started that her cat lived five years
after the diagnosis, and then actually passed away from cancer.

And ((((hugs)))) to you and Tycho, from Dmitri, Jack and me, plus some
head butts for good measure!

Juls

I had a cat who was diagnosed with megacolon, two years later diagnosed with
CRF severe enough to need sub-Q fluid treatments daily (100 cc and then 150
cc), and then two years after THAT diagnosed with a liver tumor.  Although
it took many trips to the vet and a big commitment from me, that cat lived
to a very good 18 years.  He loved to eat, thank goodness, which helped
tremendously.  He died rather suddenly one evening after a trip to the vet
had given him a good checkup (he was anemic at that point but had a good
turnaround with epogen), and the vet's conclusion was it was either the
liver tumor or a massive stroke that killed him.

My point in all of this is that of all the major illnesses this cat had, the
easiest by far to manage was the CRF.  He adapted to the subQ fluid
treatments beautifully and never fussed.  The colon problem was a really
tricky one, and it became much trickier as the liver tumor increased in
size.  Still, up to the day he died, Norman was a happy, much loved cat.  I
couldn't bear to take down the hook in the bathroom where I used to hang his
fluid bag each night, so I put a little photo of him in a frame and hung it
there - kind of like my own tribute to him and all he went through without
any complaints.  As long as he had lots of good stuff to eat, Norman was
fine with the world.

CRF is definitely NOT a "going to die any day now" situation, even in an
elderly cat.  Norman lived well past the predicted two years, and he did
that with other major illnesses going on.  It just takes a commitment on
your part to see he gets the treatment he needs when he needs it.