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Your experience with feline renal failure?

pennimania

pennimania

still dre and drooling
My darling minx Cavendish, the bat rat monkey cat has been diagnosed with renal failure :(

I realise now that she has been abnormally quiet for awhile but put it down to missing my husband (who she adores) because he is in Skye for a few weeks.


I've been really busy recently and only had time to feed them change water and litter etc and not really paid them much attention. Last night I came back from an exhausting day in Edinburgh and noticed that she could barely walk and seemed to have lost weight overnight.

Took her to the vet this morning and he diagnosed renal failure. Currently she is in cat hospital with IV fluids and tomorrow they will take bloods. His words were 'to be honest, it's not looking good' :(

I feel really bad about this, should have noticed sooner etc. My only excuse is that I have had ten tons of shite on my plate in the last few months and as long as they were fed, watered and clean I haven't spent too much time with them, although I do always talk to them (and play) a bit. I thought Cavendish was quite introverted but put it down to external reasons.

Now i've been Googling it and I see the condition can be managed but it may take a great deal of commitment which I am not sure we can give. My husband has Parkinson's and although he copes, he doesn't like bending down or doing very fiddly things (like giving cat meds). My son lives with us and is very concerned about Dishy but he has severe mental health issues and I don't know if he could cope with (for example) giving subcutaneous injections.

Why can't I do it? I've won a three month residency in the Netherlands starting in late August, It's probably my only chance to do it given my husband's condition which can only get worse. And I don't know that we can afford those meds long term anyway.

Have any of you had a cat with this? Did you manage to control it with diet? I know I sound like a selfish cow so flame me if you wish :(
 
Our cat had kidney problems, she was always on a special diet for it since we had her, she continued on that for a few years but eventually it got worse and there was basically nothing to be done, she got weaker and weaker till the vet pretty much told me she had to be put to sleep.

Sorry not to have better news.
 
weltweit said:
Our cat had kidney problems, she was always on a special diet for it since we had her, she continued on that for a few years but eventually it got worse and there was basically nothing to be done, she got weaker and weaker till the vet pretty much told me she had to be put to sleep.

Sorry not to have better news.
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I'm not really expecting better news but I appreciate your swift reply.

A few years ago i posted about my beloved Mulder cat (who I let drag on for far too long). I can't bring myself to read that thread now.

I vowed i would never make that mistake again, but now I'm scared I might make too hasty a decision.

I'm really glad that the vet said she should stay in tonight and be assessed (though I can't afford it for too long - makes you appreciate the NHS).

I need advice (and time to think).
 
Renal failure is how most cats go. It's because they are pure carnivores.

Switch immediately to a renal diet (like Royal Canin) and that's probably all you can do.

Your cat will die eventually but renal failure is almost as close to 'natural causes' as a cat gets.

There's no fault anywhere. It's just the way of things.
 
Sorry to hear this pennimania :(

The only useful thing I can add is about Ickle, boy tabby who died a few years back from renal problems. The first sign was him persistently licking the charcoal blocks in the gas fire at my mum's house - The vet said mineral deficiencies / dehydration / depletion of electrolytes caused it and that that behaviour was a known indicator.

Anyway, my point is that mog might need dietary / medication supplements (as others also say) to stay as well as possible, so ask vet, do some careful Googling etc

Ickle lived a good long while after the diagnosis

Love to you and the mog :)
 
Sirena said:
Renal failure is how most cats go. It's because they are pure carnivores.

Switch immediately to a renal diet (like Royal Canin) and that's probably all you can do.

Your cat will die eventually but renal failure is almost as close to 'natural causes' as a cat gets.

There's no fault anywhere. It's just the way of things.
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Thank you for replying.

I have had a lot of cats but this is the first one that I knew had renal failure. She's only 10.

I suppose I want the impossible - I want the diva back, nagging me, hanging on doors, stealing socks and bullying me but I don't want (and can't afford) heroic measures.
 
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pennimania said:
Thank you for replying.

I have had a lot of cats but this is the first one that I knew had renal failure. She's only 10.

I suppose I want the impossible - I want the diva back, nagging me, hanging on doors, stealing socks and bullying me but I don't (and can't afford) heroic measures.
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10 is young but it's Nature. i felt a bit guilty when my first cat died at only 14 (thyroid). My second cat died of renal failure but she was 20 so I put that down to old age. I'm on my third now.....

You might find that your cat will come back home and, with special diet, live for years.

Here's the stuff I used. My old, picky cat liked it....

Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Renal Support With Chicken Wet 48x85g Pouch - Animed Direct
 
Sirena said:
10 is young but it's Nature. i felt a bit guilty when my first cat died at only 14 (thyroid). My second cat died of renal failure but she was 20 so I put that down to old age. I'm on my third now.....

You might find that your cat will come back home and, with special diet, live for years.

Here's the stuff I used. My old, picky cat liked it....

Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Feline Renal Support With Chicken Wet 48x85g Pouch - Animed Direct
Click to expand...
If she comes home I will try her on that (and the younger cat).

He will just have to lump it or like it!
 
Our late cat Tiggy had renal failure which was picked up at the vet's when she was about 18. We tried her on the recommended special diet - I can't remember what but it might have been Hills.

She didn't like it, and having two cats who just ate each other's food as and when, we gave up on that and just fed her normal but higher-end supermarket food (Sheba, Gourmet etc. - mainly Gourmet). Otherwise, she wouldn't have eaten. We were careful not to give her too much dried food and of course she always had plenty of water.

She ate enormous amounts of food for a small, old cat. We subsequently adopted a voracious rescue cat, a tom, and even so our catfood bill has really gone down.

The vet gave Tig six months to two years at the age of 18 and she lived to 22. I think the moisture in the catfood, plus drinking lots of water, kept her going. She wasn't prescribed medication. Plus her being a tenacious little bugger. I also think my partner's devotion to her played a part, who knows?

Hope Cavendish is OK. It sounds like it may be a bit more acute than Tiggy's. Don't feel bad about not noticing. Apparently cats are very good at not appearing ill when they are.
 
oryx said:
Our late cat Tiggy had renal failure which was picked up at the vet's when she was about 18. We tried her on the recommended special diet - I can't remember what but it might have been Hills.
Click to expand...

I think Hills is funny stuff. My cat wouldn't touch it. Just as well I got it for nothing from a neighbourhood chat forum. Eventually, it went back on the same chat forum.....
 
Sirena said:
I think Hills is funny stuff. My cat wouldn't touch it. Just as well I got it for nothing from a neighbourhood chat forum. Eventually, it went back on the same chat forum.....
Click to expand...

Yes, possibly - we didn't try her on another. Maybe we ought to have tried another, but as she lived to a very ripe old age it's all academic!

I seem to remember a couple of my previous cats when I lived in SW London loved the stuff - if they went to the vets I bought a couple of tins of the 'normal' Hills for them. Not as a treat, as they would wail the place down to an embarrassing extent, despite only being there for boosters. The stuff looked like pate. If I'd taken them to the vets after work and not eaten since 1pm I was almost tempted :oops: (not really).
 
Our Konjo died of renal failure a year ago at Easter. She had a good quality of life up until the last 5 or 6 days of her life and was only diagnosed just before her death. She had suffered a major injury early in life and had pronounced arthritis as a result, which I suppose masked the gradual decline. The day before she died she wanted out into the garden to sit in the sun.
She lived her life on her terms, not ours, and in her terms, it was a damn good life with no thought for how long it may last.

I do feel for you, pennimania, I felt dreadful about not noticing how poorly she was but the vet was lovely going through the quality of life stuff, and pointing out how happy the cat seemed to be. As long or short as a life may be, you can only do your best to make it a happy and comfortable one.
 
AnnaKarpik said:
Our Konjo died of renal failure a year ago at Easter. She had a good quality of life up until the last 5 or 6 days of her life and was only diagnosed just before her death. She had suffered a major injury early in life and had pronounced arthritis as a result, which I suppose masked the gradual decline. The day before she died she wanted out into the garden to sit in the sun.
She lived her life on her terms, not ours, and in her terms, it was a damn good life with no thought for how long it may last.

I do feel for you, pennimania, I felt dreadful about not noticing how poorly she was but the vet was lovely going through the quality of life stuff, and pointing out how happy the cat seemed to be. As long or short as a life may be, you can only do your best to make it a happy and comfortable one.
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Yes, Cavendish wanted to sit in the sun on Tuesday! We have steps with a south facing aspect which she loves.
She collapsed on Wednesday evening :(
 
My cat was diagnosed with kidney failure a few months ago. The few weeks before she was diagnosed we'd had huge problems getting her to eat anything and had despartely been trying all kinds of luxury foods. We found out later these were the worst things to give her & that a special diet is really really important.

She's now on Royal Canin renal wet and dry food which other posters have mentioned. You need to introduce it gradually (like with any new food). And apparently lots of cats really don't take to it very well. My cat was given an appetite stimulant though which worked pretty much instantly. She can't get enough of the food now. Perhaps you could try this?

I don't think the condition necessarily has to take loads of commitment & expense (although the food is quite pricey) but then I guess it obviously depends on the level of kidney failure.

10 is young though :( Really hope she's ok.
 
I've been dealing with this a lot recently. Normally they will blood test, re-hydrate and then re blood test. They'll also look at proteins in their urine.

The key really is getting fluids into them, which is the bit I have a struggle with, as my cat seems to want to avoid drinking now, but for some reason likes the mug of water I leave out for her in the garden.

It can be managed with renal cat food, and a drug that I forget the name of, which I think is about £40 for a 2 month perscription, 1 pill daily. Its quite easy to give my cat pills using something called easypill, I just make sure she gets that before she is fed, so she's good and hungry and gobbles it all up.

With regards to getting fluids in them, you may want to address how they like water. Mines been better at drinking since switching to a plastic water bowl (apparently they sometimes don't like their reflection in the bowl with metal bowls), and also iced water.

I've always said I'm prepared to treat with diet and pills, but when it comes to stuff like dialysis its too much.

Renal failure can also be kicked off by generic infections, so don't panic quite yet. I'm still struggling to get lucy to drink plenty of fluid, but she seems happy enough at the moment.
 
When my tom had renal failure, the vet gave the option of not just a diet change but weekly saline injections. May have been something else in there, but mainly saline. He had a couple months of those, but it wasn't worth the quality of life impact of putting a drip in an elderly tomcat. Thing is, that perked him up enough that he went on - albeit not at the same speed as before - for another 2-3 years before it caught up and ended him.

I don't want to hold out too much hope, but lots of things can happen. Cats are just that type of animal - fine one minute, near death the next. But the inverse is true as well.
 
Orang Utan said:
what? we ARE nature (as much as cats are)
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To a great extent, we have separated from Nature into Human Nature. This is the whole lesson of the biblical 'fall': the separation from the divine purpose into self-will. I don't go along with this, necessarily, it's just by way of illustration....

So, we humans have our hospitals and our meds and our surgical interventions but animals don't. And I think it is unecessarily intrusive for us to interfere too much with the way of things in respect of animals.
 
Miss-Shelf said:
How is Cavendish today pennimania ?
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Well now I'm confused.

I've had to come back to Skye today so I haven't been online. Thanks for kind replies!

I rang the vet and he says the bloods are clear so not renal failure.

But she is still floppy and has to stay in another night for more fluids. Thank god I have insurance and they already say they'll cough up.

But I want to know why she is so dehydrated, she drinks water like there's no tomorrow?
 
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