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Unhealthy mature female cat, with the beginnings of kidney disease. She gets worse each time she goes to the vet, I'm pretty sure it's because they sedate her each time she goes to the vet.
Problem is, she won't sit still for the vet, and she NEEDS blood drawn for a T4 test. So the only way to get the blood is to anesthetize or heavily sedate her. Long story - I thought she HAD this test because vet 1 said her thyroid was fine, and that they had considered it a possible problem. Brought her to another vet for a second opinion, had the records faxed from vet 1 to vet 2, and discovered she never had this test done.
Ketamine isn't an option because of the kidney problem, plus she's 14 years old and it's not really a good idea for older cats.
I'm on my lunch break and have to get back to work, hoping to have some suggestions to ask the doctor when I get home at 4. She will need this bloodwork tomorrow morning, so this isn't something that can wait. She's not eating properly, she's lost weight, she's puking, her stools are pale and loose, and I've been trying all kinds of things for the past three months and my CAT doesn't have time to try anything else. If she loses more weight or rejects more food or starts showing more blood in her stool I'll have to put her down, and I don't want her suffering any more than I think she already is.
SO:
Those who "know" about all this anasthesia stuff for cats - please suggest to me, some specific drugs that I should ask my vet about, or insist that she use, or insist that they avoid. If it's something I can dose her with at home before I bring her in, (without a needle obviously) that veterinarians permit, I need to know that too.
Sevorflurane gas. Very quick acting anesthetic, very safe. Very useful for short acting, for example once after my cat had some teeth extracted, he had a long stitch that was bothering him, rubbing against the gum. Vet took him in the back, gave him just enough gas to be able to open the mouth, get back there and snip the long part of the stitch, she was back with him, wide awake and none the wiser, in about five minutes.
For the most part my 4 girls are pretty good when at the vet. But a couple of years back I had to take Misty in for blood work prior to removing a small mouth tumor. For some reason she became very upset & combative, and they ended up having to 'bag her'. It was basically a straightjacket for cats that had closeable openings for the legs and an opening for the head. It did calm her down & they were able to get the blood drawn, so she wasn't in it very long. Didn't like seeing her in it, but it was necessary & didn't hurt her at all. My vet told me he only uses the bag as a last resort, and most of the time it's not needed. If your vet has one, it may be an alternative to sedation.
For the most part my 4 girls are pretty good when at the vet. But a couple of years back I had to take Misty in for blood work prior to removing a small mouth tumor. For some reason she became very upset & combative, and they ended up having to 'bag her'. It was basically a straightjacket for cats that had closeable openings for the legs and an opening for the head. It did calm her down & they were able to get the blood drawn, so she wasn't in it very long. Didn't like seeing her in it, but it was necessary & didn't hurt her at all. My vet told me he only uses the bag as a last resort, and most of the time it's not needed. If your vet has one, it may be an alternative to sedation.
I don't know if they have that, but she's definitely not a candidate for it. She's declawed, so her front paws are harmless. But her back claws are razor-sharp, and she still has most of her teeth. The only time I've ever seen her even -attempt- to bite someone seriously - was at the vet. She "gnaws" on me all the time, but she never even tries to draw blood. With the vet, she becomes monster-lion from hell. If her head is exposed, the vet's not safe.
So I was reading the catfood (dot) org site and the good doctor makes herself sound like she really knows what she's talking about with regards to kidney disease vs. Hill's Rx diets. She's very good at blasting them and saying all the right things to convince me that Hill's is bad. Okay I get it. Hill's is bad. Of course, in that article, she doesn't mention what she feels is a GOOD idea to give a cat with onset kidney disease who's lost 4 pounds in the past year...but I digress.
I've BEEN giving her protein, and water, primarily meat-based high-end cat foods which she mostly doesn't like, I've BEEN throwing away raw prey-model diets, and raw non-prey-model diets, and even raw chicken gizzards and giblets and hearts and livers that I got at the supermarket and minced for her. I've BEEN throwing away Wysong, and Weruva, and Felidae, and Dave's (it's a local specialty 98% single-source protein food), even kangaroo, venison, and rabbit canned foods from specialty companies.
And while I'm throwing all of this stuff away, she's losing more and more weight, and now she's rejected her water bowl and is drinking off the shower floor.
So I switched to that Hill's, not completely, I'm now adding a little "crappy Purina nastiness" canned food (Friskies - with gravy) because as everyone here knows, the worst canned food is better than the best dry food. She rejected the Hill's canned food outright but she's actually accepting the kibble, without puking it all up 20 minutes later (which she typically does when she eats kibble).
Lo and behold - she's eating. And she's having a normal poop, that isn't nearly as pale-colored and loose as it was yesterday.
The beginnings of kidney disease + dangerous weight loss = you do whatever you haven't done yet, even if it means doing something some doctor on the internet says is bad.
CKD starts long before it shows up on blood-work. by the time the numbers show it, the kidneys are 75% gone.
How did the appointment go? Were they able to get the blood sample? With or without sedation? I understand your concerns with sedation and anesthesia, that's why I thought the sevo would be your best choice.
My cat had thyroid issues so her vet wanted lots of medications, check ups, and blood work resulting in one angry and very sick cat.
We found a specialty vet who just got to the point without putting Ms. Peaches through more than she needed. She is also handled well so after radiation treatment and blood draws every six weeks, she is getting used to it routine but still resists going into the carrier. Yes, the specialty vet is super expensive but there is no non-sense b.s. with this guy. Saves us money in the long run and the cat does better.
The specialty vet also likes the idea of mixing half her wet food (good quality protein kitten food) with water to keep her kidneys working well so we don't use the prescription food which many cats can't tolerate.
CKD starts long before it shows up on blood-work. by the time the numbers show it, the kidneys are 75% gone.
How did the appointment go? Were they able to get the blood sample? With or without sedation? I understand your concerns with sedation and anesthesia, that's why I thought the sevo would be your best choice.
Are you giving subq fluids?
She's drinking off the shower floor, so I'm just making sure to spray it fairly often. No idea why she thinks that water's any better than the water I put into her water dish - which I wash every time I refill it - which is several times every day.
The appointment is on Friday, and the -other- vet says she doesn't think she'll need to give her any sedation at all. She's going to do a complete panel plus the T4, plus an ultrasound. She (and the first vet) did feel some swelling in the abdomen area, and as they both said, it could be limphoma (in which case I'll put her down) or allergies (which I've already proven isn't the case by giving her a restricted diet for over a month), or something else. She has just the very beginnings of kidney disease, and she feels this is probably not the cause of all these symptoms.
If it turns out to be kidney disease, I'll put her down. I -will not- put her through more trips to the vet. Every single time I do it, it's traumatic for her. I -will not- subject her to at-home needles and force-feeding or tubes or any other such thing. She's a cat, not a person. She doesn't understand what's happening, or why. All she knows is the human who has given her nothing but love for the past 14 years has suddenly started subjecting her to torture and strange smells and strange people and barking dogs. Just thinking about what I'm already doing to her makes me cry for her.
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