Fancy Feast and Sub Q's saved my CRF cats life (vomiting, blood)
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I have a few questions - what kind of fancy feast? I went after reading this and got a grilled beef feast but my cat wasn't into it... I think also because it was pieces. Then I put it in the food processor, but he still wasn't really that into it. Could anyone give recommendations of which kinds their cats love?
He does seem to really like hill's a/d diet, but it is high in phosphorus and from what I'm reading, that is what causes neuropathy (the leg weakness and stumbling) and that is getting worse for my cat.
Also, just in case anyone has any insight or advice (and I have been searching through tanya's site and other crf sites for weeks now), my situation:
I am desperately trying to find a way to improve my cat's condition. He is almost 19 years old, with CRF.
He is also hyperthyroid, and has heart disease - an enlarged/heart murmur.
He takes methimazole (for hyperthyroid) twice a day, and a tiny dose of betablocker
(atenenol?) every other day.
He started deteriorating very badly the past few weeks... lost weight, lost appetite... now he is losing strength in his limbs and stumbling.
I didn't see any blood test numbers here... I don't know if my cat is past maintaining (my vet was alluding to euthanasia after seeing the blood test numbers)... But he still does normal and nice things that make me think I shouldn't give up on him. I don't know what to do
There are the numbers that were high in his results 2 weeks ago:
Urea Nitrogen 137 (reference range: 14 - 36) mg/dL
Creatinine 6.2 (reference range: 0.6 - 2.4) mg/dL
Phosphorus 9.3 (reference range: 2.4 -8.2) mg/dL
Has anyone had numbers as high as these and able to pull them down? does anyone have any suggestions?
Since he has been doing very badly (for about a week) the vet also
gave a phosphate binder, to be given with food, and a pottasium gel
(upon my suggestion because I read that low potassium can cause
hindquarter weakness). Also she suggested a quarter pill of 10mg
Pepcid tablet (an antacid).
If you want the exact doses of all these, please ask and I will write
them all down too. There was much more to the blood test, but these appear to be the high/more relevant numbers.
I feel for you. 19 is a very old cat. And those are quite high numbers. Mine is younger (going on 16) and his numbers were just a little over normal. I have a friend who kept a CRF cat going for 5 years but in the end she put him down because it was going to be just a little longer and he was in a lot of pain. The week before, he went over to argue with a neighbor's cat. It is a tough call to try to figure out when it is over. They often do a little rally before they go. I call it the sucker punch - enuf to get your hopes up just to have them dashed. I would at least try to get him low phosphate food. Mine is also on b vitamins with iron.
Best of luck with your poor old cat. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
My 16 year old kitty had some bad numbers a few weeks ago - it was the creatinine, at 5.8, that was very worrisome (BUN was high too). There was also evidence of an infection from the urine sample, and I had a sample cultured to determine which antibiotics would work. She was hospitalized and on IV fluids for a week, her appetite was great the whole time. The creatinine went down to 4.8 and then back up to 5.2 and at that point they said they had done all they could do, I should take her home, try meds and sub-q's but start to "think about" euthanasia.
After two days home she vomited up some blood and a clot and I freaked out. Got some different meds decided to keep trying. I have now nursed this cat for two weeks and she's doing much better. Weight is still low, but stable. She's very much herself, if a bit subdued.
She gets medication for hyper-T, twice a day. Methimazole, applied to the inside of the ear.
A tiny bit of Cerenia (anti-nausea), pill.
Carafate as an oral suspension liquid at least 30 minutes before meals (coats the stomach, protects from ulcers, which probably caused the bleeding).
Clavamox (antibiotic, pill, twice a day, this makes her nauseous and causes diarrhea - the nausea is under control with the previous two meds, not much can be done about the diarrhea, this is the only antibiotic that will knock out the infection, which could be one reason for the poor kidney performance/blood values, so I have to see it through)
Amphojel (phosphorous binder), mixed with her Fancy Feast. That Tanya's CRF page has good information about Fancy Feast, and which types are lower in phosphorous than others. My cat likes the sliced chicken, the minced varieties (turkey/chicken) and the marinated morsels.
She wasn't eating enough FF to maintain her weight, so I got a bag of the Hill's k/d dry food to supplement and she eats quite a bit of that.
I also started up a Drinkwell fountain for her (we had one we weren't using), and now she drinks a lot more water.
I'm also administering 100 units of fluids (ringers) approximately every day and a half.
It's been a chore, especially the pills! The sub-qs are going better than I could have ever hoped for. It really only takes 2 minutes. Wouldn't do anything differently though, and no way was I going to euthanize without giving her a chance, and I feel rewarded 1000x over for my efforts.
We went back to the vet today, 2 days after being released from intensive care, and her weight was the same, and they took a little more blood. Results tomorrow. I can't let the numbers get me down - what do they say? "Treat the cat, not the numbers". I need to look into the potassium gel.
It is the CARBOHYDRATES dooming (and dehydrating!)all these felines. And LOOK AT THE INGREDIENTS in that stuff that vet is selling you! Phosphorus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Feeding Your Cat** Know the Basi
PS By the way cats are STRICT carnivores and a veterinarian SHOULD be the FIRST person reminding y'all of this fact of nature -- NOT selling you UTI-in-a-BAG.
I appreciate the education you are trying to give the folks on this board, but I agree that one has to start feeding the cat properly from the beginning. There is nothing inherently bad about phosphorus; it is a necessary mineral and healthy cats should ingest plenty of it. But for cats with advanced crf, the phosphorus needs to be minimized and the binders help.
I am offering the dry k/d in conjuntion with the wet fancy feast and other brands (she won't touch the EVO and that's supposed to be one of the best foods around) because my cat will eat barely 6 ounces a day of wet food, and she needs the extra calories to maintain her weight. I am monitoring hydration levels regularly.
Sorry I get so upset when I see mention of that food and all the stuff the cats need to be on. If you have a chance, I hope you may just glance @ Feeding Your Cat** Know the Basi. It is Dr Lisa Pierson (if you'd like to google her and Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins for some info on them and their credentials). They are Feline Specialists. It's very basic info, just the facts which would spare you and countless others all this misery you and your pets are going through due to people (pet food falsehoods and vets in their pockets) not being honest with you and raking in the $$$ on our pets' unnecessary suffering. (PS they are not selling anything on the site at all. She just gives straight facts, and also addresses cats' addiction to the stuff they put on dry foods to "entice" them.) Nothing in the science diet is fit for a a strict carnivore's consumption and I don't know how they can legally still get away with this , especially with all the info out now and more people becoming aware of the truth , thanks to the Dr Piersons, Hodgkins, Michael W Foxes, Marty Goldstiens, Pitcarins, among others speaking up and telling people the truth.
My 19 year old Russian Blue was diagnosed with crf(bladder cancer) 2 weeks ago and the vet said 3-6 months maybe less, this has crushed me and left me spinning. the vet was ruthless and left me very little information and only seem to care about her money. he was peeing blood a couple of weeks ago and i gave him the medication and it seemed to stop for a few days, now this morning it was bright red, he does not appear to be in any pain and is still spunky, what i am struggling with is what to feed him-he has been on fancy feast for 16+years and i thought it might be bad to feed him so i Gave him some white albacore tuna and some turkey breast and he loved it for about a week and now is backing off it---------What can I feed him to make sure it is low in phosphorus and protein and will help the crf-please help as this is the only person left in my life and i am willing to accept this for what it is , I know he will tell me when it is time to go, But he and I are not ready to give up yet . I just need to know what is ok to feed him
Last edited by pacportland; 08-08-2009 at 12:05 PM..
Reason: finish my post
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