For those of you with CRF cats..question about IV fluids...

[joeybee12]

...my cat has been on that for about 3 weeks now. For the most part she tolerates it. Did any of you have vets that said at some point this could be discontinued? Thanks!:hi:

[flvegan]

1. Subcutaneous fluids, as far as I know, are an ongoing therapy.

Good question for your vet, I think.

[joeybee12]

4. Thanks...

...my impression also is that it's ongoing...but I've seen posts where some cats' bloodwork has come pretty clsoe to normal, so I wonder if it's discontinued. Got a call out to the vet.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. CRF? Cathode Ray Feline?

:shrug:

Seriously, though, I'm curious as to what it means - I assume it's some kind of sickness? If so, I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I hate when cats get sick, because they're the coolest animals on the planet.

[joeybee12]

3. Chronic Renal Failure...

...yeah, it sucks.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Ooh - that's not good.

sorry to hear it.

[joeybee12]

13. The good news is that it's manageable and cats can

go a year or more with treatment...still too early to learn about my cat, though.

[Madrone]

6. It's ongoing.

You just have to be careful not to OVER do it.

[joeybee12]

18. I reaqd something about weaning them off the fluids...

...I'll ahve to ask my vet about that.

[MonkeyFunk]

7. I had a girl with diabetes

who would get IV fluids about once or week or so. She would always come when I called her for it and just sit there quietly while I did it. She also came every day for her insulin shots.

She was a good girl.

[joeybee12]

17. Aw, she sounds like she was a sweetie!

[flamingyouth]

8. Yeah, it's ongoing.

We've been giving Hepburn fluids every other day for six months. Sometimes he can be a real ass about it but his values have improved somewhat. He just turned 16 last week, so we just take it a month or so at a time. Good luck. :hi:

[joeybee12]

10. Thanks.

16 that's great!!

[joeybee12]

11. Thanks.

16 that's great!!

[joeybee12]

12. Thanks.

16 that's great!!

[Beausoir]

9. Ours repsonded well and with dietary modifications and making fresh water more available to her, we

were able to stop with the IV.

Buy a drinkwell pet fountain. It worked wonders for us.

[joeybee12]

14. I was thinking about that even before this all started...

...guess I'll try it now!

[Beausoir]

15. It really did help us. It's important to keep it clean, though.

Our girl has severe arthritis in her spine, so she is not terribly active.

Making fresh water available to her all through the house has really helped.

Does your girl get all "sloshy" after her IV? Ours always did. It was kinda..weird.The fluid would pool around her ankles sometimes. And sometimes, her puncture would leak a little.

Weird, but normal, so I am told.

[joeybee12]

16. No, she didn't sloshy for me, but I had to take her in a week

ago for a bladder infection, and to get a urine sample they gave her liquids, and the vet said he could feel it gown down her legs.

[Robert of Locksley]

19. CRF cats

I have had three cats who eventually came down with CRF and gave all three IV fluids (plus a quarter pepcid a day for acid reflux) for years. One cat passed away two years after her diagnosis at seventeen, the second a year after his diagnosis at eighteen and the third lived to an astonishing twenty-two years old and passed away from cancer - she took fluids every three days for six years and never succumbed to the disease! Low-protein cat food was also key - all were fed various low protein cat foods mixed with a few table scraps for treats every now and then. I recommend LRS solution over Normal Saline Solution because Normal stings a bit (made the cats jump every time) and my cats seemed to tolerate Lactated Ringer Solution a little better.

I would never stop the fluids, however. I am convinced they kept our cats alive for a long time. If they're too expensive, there are some great online vet companies that you can order the IV solution and needles and all from (we used Brico Medical Supplies) - all they need is a prescription from your vet (our cats went to PetSmart) and they were very quick in delivery.

[joeybee12]

21. Welcome, and thanks for all the great info...

...I just checked and I do have the LRS solution. Mine is only 12, so hopefully her immune system is still in good shape. I guess I'll get an update on her values in about 10 days...keep your fingers crossed.

[Critters2]

26. I used LRS, too. Never did use saline. nt

[begin_within]

20. Just be careful to give only the prescribed amount and no more

too much of the fuids can create more problems, like getting into their lungs and interfering with their breathing... one vet did give too much and my cat had trouble breathing.

[joeybee12]

22. Yikes, I hope the breathing problem was a one-time thing.

I'd also heard it can cause heart failure.

[begin_within]

23. Sadly, it was her last day anyway.

She had a heart condition for the last 10 years of her life, plus kidney failure, plus they discovered a cancer in her spleen. There was no hope of her recovering her full health again. So I decided to have her put to sleep at the age of 17. It was an agonizing decision but it was the right thing to do. She had a long and basically healthy life. On the day before, someone at the vet gave her fluids, but must have given too much, because she wet the bed a few times that night, and had a lot of sounds in her breathing. Someone had given her too much of the fluids. I was seriously considering putting her to sleep, depending on the diagnosis of cancer, but when she was doing that heavy breathing it made it more obvious that it was her time. That was 6 years ago and it's not painful for me now to think about it, but it was alarming at that time.

[CorpGovActivist]

24. Joeybee...

... sorry to hear she's sick.

:hug:

- Dave

[Critters2]

25. My Ari was on 'em continually once we started.

He was real good about it. But the vet never mentioned discontinuing 'em.

How's your kitty?