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Just got the devastating news that my best buddy in the world has CRF. My name is Steve, I am beside myself with grief. The Vets says Peter probably wont live out the year. He is 17 years old. Yes, I am aware that he has lived a long life already...this IS NOT a comfort. Our Vet said he has seen cats that live a year or even two. Can you cat owners please share your experiences with me. I know Im going to have to make a gut wrenching decision soon, whether in the next few months or even weeks if his treatment fails and he progresses further. Any successful treatments? Any success stories? My vet has none to tell. My wife and I would appreciate any help or advice. Right now we have a schedule to see the vet to learn out to give him the electrolyte pack injections, and we have changed his diet to diet that's good for his kidneys. BTW if the Moderator could please correct my misspelling of Failure in the title, that would me kind of you.
Last edited by DOUBLE H; 08-24-2011 at 06:59 AM..
Reason: corrected misspelled word
I'm sorry to hear this about your cat. I have no experience with this -- although I think others on this cat chat do -- but I wish you and your kitty the best.
Sorry to hear about Peter...it is hard to take, I remember. This is what claimed most of my cats through the years. I have one 18 yrs who is beginning CRF now.
There are success stories in that they can live longer lives with treatments, but no way to stop it cold. So you do what the rest of have done...basically do anything the vet says to try....& love them dearly...but don't let your buddy feel miserable or have a poor quality of life. It is gut-wrenching, but do what is best for Peter.
gbh
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foreverking
Just got the devasting news that my best buddy in the world has CRF. My name is Steve, I am beside myself with grief. The Vets says Peter probably wont live out the year. He is 17 years old. Yes, I am aware that he has lived a long life already...this IS NOT a comfort. Our Vet said he has seen cats that live a year or even two. Can you cat owners please share your experiences with me. I know Im going to have to make a gut wrenching decision soon, whether in the next few months or even weeks if his treatment fails and he progresses further. Any successful treatments? Any success stories? My vet has none to tell. My wife and I would appreciate any help or advice. Right now we have a schedule to see the vet to learn out to give him the electrolite pack injections, and we have changed his diet to diet thats good for his kidneys.
I'm sorry to hear this about your cat. I have no experience with this -- although I think others on this cat chat do -- but I wish you and your kitty the best.
Foreverking: So very sorry about Peter. I've lost more than one cat to it. My vet told me that renal failure is one of the most common causes of death in cats...he described it as the Achilles' heel in their physiology. Best of luck to Peter.
I too have lost a cat (my only boy cat ever ) to this CRF. It was in '08 after trying sub-q fluids to no avail. I want to say only that please understand this is devastating news but if you believe in God, then it is His will in some way. I can only pray for you & Steve, & ask God to help you in these very hard times. I know so much of how you feel. Please hope & pray for the best yet always realize we have finite time on earth & no matter what -- you WILL be w/ Steve again someday, that I am sure.
CRF is in fact a pretty common ailment if the cat lives long enough in the first place, and 17 is as you say already pretty long. The CRF kitty we had in the house lived to that age. She was in discomfort at the end, and that may not entirely have been from the CRF. One trip to a vet ER resulted in a suggestion of cancer in addition to the CRF. (Though I really hated that place and don't trust that to be a good diagnosis, it could have been.) Seemed to have some gastrointestinal issue at the end, I think that is also common. For the record, from diagnosis (it was around this time of the year) to that heavy decision was several months, not quite a year. But I'm sure this will vary with how far they believe things to have progressed.
I read a lot of things then, but one thing we didn't do and wasn't as I recall suggested by that cat's vet is subcutaneous fluid treatments. Sometimes I have regrets about not really asking about this further, not checking with another vet or something along those lines. Hindsight. Now I would have been more assertive and probably tried it. I learned later that a friend's cat had CRF, they did sub-q (as it is referred to in shorthand) fluids and the cat lived 3-4 years from diagnosis. Now she may have been a younger cat when diagnosed, caught earlier in the progression, etc. Lots of possible variables. But this is something you may want to look into, and I can tell you from experience that not every vet will necessarily suggest it. (That said, keep in mind that one answer might be that it's too far along for this to be of much help. But certainly you can solicit different vet opinions on that.) My friend's cat had a "port" installed so that they could give her fluids through that instead of actual injections each time. And because it is important of course that the cat not pull the port right out, someone (either they or a friend of theirs, can't remember) made a special garment for the kitty to wear, a sort of vest that kept her from getting at the spot.
I know a kitty who was diagnosed with CRF when she was 16 and lived until she was just a week shy of her 23rd birthday.
Wow. Guessing it was caught early on, but still, that's quite a long run!
I keep figuring my cat is also going to end up with this. I keep watching her drink, etc. Dunno. She was just at the vet for blood work a couple months ago. (It was in late May perhaps? Need to check.) Things were fine then. But sometimes knowing she's drinking and urinating a fair bit I still wonder. Will just have to stay on top of visits.
Should probably work more on food ingredients and things which may become important if this happens....
BTW Steve, as far as food goes, you'll see some various stuff, and the vet may recommend prescription diets and that sort of thing. But read up on those web sites because one key is going to be just that the cat eats at all. I think we spent too much time worrying about what to get ours to eat back then and so on. Catsmom's link says that all too often the issue is the cat isn't eating enough. And all the same rules about switching food apply in any case, such as doing so gradually, etc.
Don't panic! It is a condition that is not curable, but treatable. Tanya's guide listed in earlier posts is very, very helpful.
Our boy was diagnosed with CRF about 4 years ago, he just turned 18 this week. He is also hypothyroid with mild dementia. We have him on a wet K/D diet and he is thriving.
Learn to do subQs in the event of dehydration and your buddy will do just fine.
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gbh
) to this CRF. It was in '08 after trying sub-q fluids to no avail. I want to say only that please understand this is devastating news but if you believe in God, then it is His will in some way. I can only pray for you & Steve, & ask God to help you in these very hard times. I know so much of how you feel. Please hope & pray for the best yet always realize we have finite time on earth & no matter what -- you WILL be w/ Steve again someday, that I am sure. 
