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I am heartbroken.. My beautiful himalayan CoCo was diagnosed with sever kidney failure. He had lost weight and I was concerned so I took him to the vet. He did blood work and called to tell me that his kidney's were shutting down and not working. His kidney's are working but not cleaning plus he is not eating much at all. He has never had any problems that is why I am so confused as to why all of a sudden he is so sick.
I brought him home for the weekend but I am so torn as to what to do. The vet says he could give him fluid which will make him feel better but it won't help his kidneys.
I don't want him to get so sick that he is in pain but I don't want to rush this either. He is only 8 yo.
I did do a search.. and found that persians and Himalayans are prone to polycystic kidney failure. He
Was this a prolong lead up to the failing kdneys or was it a sudden event as in withinn the last 24 to 72 hours where the cat went from normal to suddenly ill?
He actually did not have any symptoms other than loosing weight. I was shocked and still am needless to say. He isn't eating much and drinking a lot of water. My vet said that there was not much that is going to help him since his blood readings were so bad.
I didn't bring home the blood test. I wish I had now, but one of the worse results was something that should be in the 20s or highter and it was a single digit.
I recently read that there has been an increased in kidney failure and liver problems in felines due to some type of toxic ingestion or exposure from formally considered safe substances. It was something like a low buildup over time that begins the process and suddenly it hits a point where the animal suddenly becomes critically ill. It mentioned that there is possibilities of reversing the ailment with certain medication and procedures but, you have to know what it is (ethyc gychol, chlorine, acetate, isoproyl, etc etc) and testing for all to find the one is near impossible in a traditional vet setting. So the article was leaning toward the need to speak frankly with the vet and find out exactly what any chances of reversing the illness is and accept that in most cases, there may be nothing you can do anymore. Sorry to hear about this as I know the diffiuclty in caring for a animal with a mortal illness and just waiting for time to passs. Any consalation, we all know that all animals are better in gods hands and she has a special place in her heart for them.
The web site mentioned above, felinecrf.org, is a very good reference for kidney issues. It may help to spend some time there reading.
It's worth noting that although it has been termed "chronic renal failure" until fairly recently (and the term is probably still in use) "failure" is not always the proper frame of mind to use. Failure may seem to suggest there is nothing more to be done, and while you appear to be describing a severe case in which that might be true, it also might be true that your kitty could live months or longer if actions are taken such as the fluids. It's hard to say for sure with only what you have posted so far, and of course every case is different.
A very important key, and you will find this in certain parts of that web site, is that you must be able to get the kitty to eat. If he does not eat, he will get worse much more quickly from that than he will from the kidney disease most likely. So steps should be taken to ensure he can eat. Feed him anything he'll eat, whether it's meat scraps from your own food, tuna, dry or wet, it really doesn't matter at this point. There may also be some medication that would help with this, not sure. That type of med would be a very temporary thing, but if you can get him eating enough and you do the sub-q fluids, that could make him feel better enough for a little while and maybe even a longer while. I do not want to give you any false hope however. Perhaps this is truly end stage. I'm not a vet and certainly can't make any sort of true qualified judgment only from your writing here. These are generalities, and I'm hoping that they may still apply in your case.
Kidney disease is usually not detected until quite a lot of the kidney function is gone, well over 50% gone. But some cats can stay alive for significant amounts of time even with extremely reduced function. You may need to have a better idea just how reduced it is before you can have any kind of expectations. You may also want to look into a second vet opinion. It's hard to tell from what you've said so far, but I get at least a little impression that this one hasn't been entirely helpful. But it's hard to know in the fog of the new diagnosis, perhaps. You may want to call back and get the numbers again at least, which may help you with some of the other info. One thing you've said that's odd is the major kidney function measures are higher when the kidney function is bad, not lower. So I'm not sure which number you might be referring to that was much lower than usual. Perhaps someone else knows which measurement that might be and whether it is indicative of anything here.
Start with these pages I think on that site, the Just Diagnosed and the How Bad Is It:
It's overwhelming at first. Hang in there and regroup armed with some additional info. I hope you are able to find some treatment and have more time with your kitty. I think that would involve the fluids that the vet mentioned for sure, plus perhaps some other measures. Good luck.
I'm so sorry for you and CoCo. Both of our siamese had kidney failure. Mezzi lived a good life for a year and a half the vet gave her a few months to live, I fed her anything she would eat and made sure she got lots of liquids. Olivia's kidney failure came on very quick, she had lost some weight but was still eating and then over a couple days she became extremely ill and it was time.
I'm so sorry for Coco's diagnosis, but please don't make any drastic decisions. CRF is not a death sentence. Cats can live long excellent quality lives with CRF.
The reason you didn't know is because 1) cats are the masters of hiding illness. They will hide illness and pain as long as they possibly can, so by the time we humans see something is wrong, they usually have been sick for a long time and 2) by the time kidney failure shows up in the blood work, the kidneys are 75% gone.
You can give Coco sub q fluids at home to keep him feeling good for a long time. Stay in contact with your vet, and feed him a wet diet. Small meals, frequently. He may need some pepcid to help with an acid tummy. Ask your vet, of course.
A few of us here have done sub q at home and can help you over the initial hurdles. You're in shock now, but in time, the care of a CRF kitty becomes almost routine.
Several weeks ago our oldest (11) stopped eating and was acting very antisocial. We took him to the vet just terrified that it was kidney failure. It was some mystery infection that cleared up with antibiotics. I felt so lucky and relieved.
My heart is broken for you. I know how scared, worried and distraught you are. It is my sincerest wish that the vet can extend your CoCo's life without him losing quality of life. I am sending you a lot of love and healing wishes from Michigan.
Just wanted to offer my support too regarding this. I know we had a boy cat in '08, but it was total kidney failure when caught not early like this. So, we were going to try subQ fluids but if it is total kidney failure it is not as effective that late. In your case, I hope & pray that it will be VERY different then our case (it CAN be treated well & many people attest to this so NEVER get discouraged). It is worth every penny, & we even thought of a kidney transplant but again it was very late stage. I will keep you & kitty in my prayers, & May God Bless & help you through this time.
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