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"Designed to aid in the recovery of a cat or dog that is anorectic, undernourished, or otherwise debilitated.
Recovery of an animal that is anorectic, undernourished, or otherwise debilitated can often hinge on the ability to supply adequate nourishment, (to repair, restore, and build). PDG is a cat and dog supplement specifically designed to reflect this understanding and can be mixed with water to form a paste for force feeding if necessary."
Don't microwave this supplement, it will kill the probiotics and it's just not a good idea in general. If heating some food gets her started eating, just heat the first bite or two. It will get hot faster, so be sure to let it cool a little, so it's not too hot.
I don't think you will need to heat anything, my cats LOVE this [PDG]stuff. I shake a little on top of all their food. For my ill cat, I measure out his daily amount separately, since it is a larger amount.
I would order it from Chewy.com. They have it on sale right now. $12.13 instead of $17 on the Wysong website. Don't do auto-ship. My orders from Chewy.com arrive really quickly.
I also ordered the rabbit Archetype freeze dried. They love that as well. It needs to be rehydrated.
You can call Wysong and ask specific questions pertaining to caring for CKD kitty and the [correct] use of their products. They are very helpful and will most likely send you targeted samples if you ask. Do tell them that you don't need dry food samples though or you'll get a bunch of those instead of more [personally] useful products. But do order the PDG right away from Chewy.com
I will get some baby food, she seems to enjoy things that are easy to lick up so that's a really good idea. Is there any specific Brand of baby food you recommend? I also talked with the Vet this morning and he said 1/4 of a pepcid ac would be fine to give to her. I gave her that soon as I got home today to see if it helps her stomach so she can eat more.
I think Beechnut is the brand that is just chicken (or turkey). It has a green and white label, and they (unfortunately) come in tiny jars. However, if you can't find Beechnut, I've used Gerber too (blue and white label).
I read through Tanya's page over the last few days, one of the best sites I saw in regards to this, it's very helpful. The main thing Vet told me to keep her away from is any raw foods, he said its like throwing fuel on the fire, he said to only feed her soft canned foods w/ a lot of moisture. I will ask the Vet about Wysong during my next Appt., I never head of this. She's also not eating any dry food, shes rarely eaten any her entire life. I did go to Petco today to find some different foods for her to try and she ate some solid gold which she's had in the past so I was happy to see her eating something fully instead of picking at it or just licking the gravy. I tried to offer some baby food (I made sure no onion or garlic) but she wanted nothing to do with that, I will try it again another day but my other cat sure gobbled it down fast. Thanks again for your guys info
Yep, I've got some gravy lickers, too. When they get old and sick, I just cater to whatever they want. Had to laugh about the other cat gobbling the baby food. Isn't that always the way? Good luck learning how to give SubQ fluids!
Thanks Lori I go tomorrow to learn! I also want to ask him about her eating since she always seems eager to eat but then starts eating and its like she can't chew up the food properly or pick it up and she'll just start licking up whatever she can so been trying to find the easiest things for her to eat. I had him chk her mouth last time we were there and he didn't see much that would stop her but some tarter build up which he removed. I'm worried since Cats with this issue get ulcers, I can't see any where I can check since opening her mouth entirely is a nightmare and it just causes more stress so I will have him chk again tomorrow if he sees anything else wrong. Another thing I wanted to point out to him is she hasn't had much of a bowel movement lately and I'm sure a lot of it is from lack of eating enough so gonna see if I can add some fiber to her water or food and if its safe for her with this condition. I read about Miralax and may see if that will be ok to use.
I use plain psyllium powder for my cats, especially the older ones. I have been using it for years and it keeps them "regular". I get it from Frontier: Psyllium Husk Powder, 1 lb Bulk Bag (a)
There's also an organic version. I buy the 1-pound bags because I have a gang of cats and I put it in their food every morning. Ask your vet what s/he recommends, of course!
Thanks for the info Lori I just got back from the Vet and they told me she was dehydrated so they gave her fluids and told me to administer it every 3 days. They told me it's good she's not vomiting and is still wanting to eat so I shouldn't try giving her much else to upset her system besides the Pepcid. If she does go into none stop vomiting or anything that makes her more miserable that it will be her time to be put to rest which is really depressing me to think about cuz I hate to have to make that choice since I don't want her suffering like that. I just have to keep telling myself she's had a nice long happy life. She did say Miralax would be ok if the fluids don't help her pass a bowel so I may order some of the stuff you mentioned to have on hand since it sounds better. Her weight did slightly go down from a week ago, she was 7.44lbs and now is 7.22lbs.
FWIW, our cat was diagnosed with renal problems when she was 17, and lived to 22(!) with subQ fluids and yes - Pepcid AC to fight the excess stomach acid. We added some Nutri-cal supplement ("gunk") to make sure she got enough calories and to keep the bowels working.
Best of luck to your kitty - who, no matter the outcome, is very lucky to have someone like you to take care of her.
Thanks for your kind words Dane, that is so great she lived another 5 years with fluids! It's so amazing the difference and I'm happy to have found this Vet who gave her another chance. I will chk into Nutri-Cal and ask the Vet about it.
In the past I had to get a new Vet cuz my first Vet I used with Pippin had left with no warning so I asked my new Vet at the time about using SubQ in the future (this is when she was 18 years old and I started to worry due to her age even tho her levels at that time where still within range just on the higher side) and he just said that it's a poor mans dialysis and wouldn't do much. I was so shocked by this cuz of all the good things I read about this. I never went back to them after they tried to force my Cat on insulin due to one high insulin test when she was sick and said if I didn't start insulin she wouldn't make it another 6 months. I home tested her for awhile and never a high reading after she was better from her illness and shes still alive at 25 so 7 years since I went to that Vet office and I would never return.
Gave my Cat her first SubQ Fluids today, went very well and she barely squirmed. I however went to try and take the used needle off to place a new one back on for next time as my Vet directed and I ended up poking myself with the needle enough to bleed after. I did call up the Vet office and got an on call clinic and they just said to wash it well with soap and alcohol, you can't really contract anything from the cat. She said sometimes needles are stuck to use pliers to remove it since it didn't just easily cap on and twist off. They didn't really explain to me how the needles come off and on so I didn't think it was this difficult when I saw them quickly do it in the office. I asked if the line or IV would have been contaminated from poking me and she said it shouldn't have, just the needle would have got some on it if anything, I see no visible blood on the needle itself but I will check with my Vet tomorrow.
I was so worried to do this and this is something I didn't anticipate to happen.
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