Ever witnessed feline renal failure?

[chuckrocks]

How did you deal with it? Money is an issue unfortunately. Any advice welcome.

Edit:

Thank you all so much. Cappy has been, as you experienced, a great friend and companion. It's such a powerless feeling, but a compassionate feeling at the same time.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Place this in the lounge or 'pets' group forum and you'll get answers.

Best of luck to you and your little beast.

[Cleita]

2. Twice. Both times kitty had to be put to sleep.

There is a sort of kidney flush that they do that helps for a little while but really, if kitty lived that long to experience this, he/she will appreciate the put down. My personal experience.

[chuckrocks]

4. I agree

I don't want to prolong any agony for him. We have seen some sites that talk to a low protein diet, others that say high. Did you go right to the vet? He doesn't seem to be in pain, still purrs. Just won't eat much at all and doesn't want to get up.

[Cleita]

19. My kitties always go to the vet regardless of the problem.

If renal problems have been diagnosed and you aren't sure, get a second opinion. Most cats purr even when they are hurting just because they don't want to upset you. If he doesn't want to eat or get up he is having problems.

[David Zephyr]

3. Yes. We had this with our 25 year old cat.

Our cat, Lady Clyde, suffered renal failure. I'm very sorry if you are dealing with this with your kitty. And if it is any small comfort to you in your distress, money can not solve feline renal failure. Don't beat yourself up because you can't do something that can't be done anyway.

As a lover of cats (and dogs), I am very sorry for you and your kitty. Renal failure is the worst. Don't let him or her suffer because the pain is terrible. :hug:

[chuckrocks]

6. That must have been very hard

Cappuccino is about 18 and well traveled. Thanks for your thoughts. She must have been a happy cat.

[sharesunited]

7. 25!!! That's almost book of world records territory!

Well done, Lady Clyde.

[virgogal]

8. I'm a dog person(cat allergies) but am surprised Lady Clyde lived 25 years.

Wow ! Speaks well for you.

My dogs made it to 14 and I miss them terribly.

[David Zephyr]

14. We had her 23 years and her former owners told us she was two when we took her.

The family that had her really were not good to her. They named her Clyde and didn't even know that he was a she. We bought their home and they didn't want Clyde. We took her into our family of one poodle and two other cats and, of course, discovered immediately he was a she. So Clyde became The Lady Clyde and everyone in our little neighborhood knew her by that name. She fit in perfectly with us and moved right into our house, something she'd never been allowed to before.

She was so afraid that we'd put her outside, where she'd lived before, that she dared not leave the upstairs of our home for nearly one year. That was sad. Finally, she knew she could come and go if she wanted to and that she was always welcome "inside" with us. Family.

[virgogal]

24. A very lucky kitty to have found you.

[Warpy]

5. My cat is showing early symptoms

Injections of normal saline solution under her skin can keep her going for some time, bright eyed and bushy tailed. She's 16, though, and heroics are out. The subcutaneous fluids are not a big deal if you're willing to do it. Otherwise, the kitty gets very sick very quickly and euthanasia is about all you can do.

What happens in cats is that their kidneys don't concentrate the urine. The symptoms are a cat with a constant, raging thirst who is always in the box, fluids just go right through their systems. The subcutaneous fluids are to give the kitty extra fluid and keep him/her comfortable and prevent dehydration.

You'll have to ask the vet very carefully what home care of a kitty with renal insufficiency is going to cost you and let your conscience be your guide. The kitty will usually tell you when it's time to go.

[SharonAnn]

10. Yes, I did the subcutaneous fluids for a little over 2 years. Finally it wasn't enough

and he would no longer eat and was lethargic, with that "sick cat" look.

It broke my heart to put him to sleep, but he was suffering and I couldn't bear to let him continue suffering.

[pansypoo53219]

17. i didn't know the signs for my female, so too late

to save my tabby. but i did that with her brother. kept whiskers going for a few years. but if it is money. i remembe low protein + low salt. there was a diet you could make your self. rice. live and such, but the liver stank soooooo bad.
good luck.

[Warpy]

18. Right, I'll take her for tests again this summer

and the renal diet is the first thing we'll do. I can just see her scraping the floor next to the dish, "bury this shit!"

I'll try the fluids. I am a retired nurse so it won't squick me out and if the cat tolerates it well, it can buy us a little more time together.

She's my last kitty because I don't want to take the chance of having a furry friend outlive me with nowhere to go after I'm gone.

[Bobbieo]

9. Had to put my 17 year old cat Gidget down yesterday. It cost $$28.73

for the Euthanasia and $35.69 for Cremation at the best animal hospital in town. If you bury yourself it would be cheaper. We've done that before.

It broke my heart as she had spent every night her 17 years on my bed. I know was costly but I could not bear to watch her suffer.

[Warpy]

15. I'm so sorry

I think losing a furry friend is worse than losing people a lot of the time.

My kitty also sacks out with me every night. If I don't go into the room by 10:30, she comes out and nags me.

I feel your loss as my own. It's not going to be much longer, I'm afraid.

[thatgemguy]

11. My Benny is has CRF

He got very sick in November. We took him to the vet and got the diagnosis. We have doing Sub Q fluids (Lactated Ringers Solution) every few days. Some days, he like a kitten. Yesterday, was not a good day, but today his appetite is back.

He's 17 and I recognize that the end is near. Like the other poster Mr. Benny has slept by my side almost every night.

I'll miss him...

[dkf]

12. Did the fluids thing.

If your kitty looks bad please put her to sleep. I waited too long and it was awful. I wish I could have spared her the end part.

[DesertFlower]

13. my joey wasn't acting right. i took him

to the emergency animal clinic. they said he was in renal failure. i had him put down.

[Hardrada]

16. Our cat Fritzi had this. We went as long as we could with him.

He was 16. Miss the little chap a hell of a lot. His predecessor ,Waldorf,had several things wrong with him but got to be almost as old as Fritzi. Two cats did give us 30 years of companionship. We are waiting a bit before we get another one or maybe two since we might do a bit of traveling and not have to get a catsitter for awhile.

[MUAD_DIB]

20. The big sleep. I had a cat that adopted me. She was 15 then.

She lived a good life until about 19.

She was too old to help so I let her go humanely.

[Mike K]

21. In case any cat person doesn't already know -

- I learned the hard way some years back that FLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) is an extreme risk to all domestic cats who go outside. It is very easily contracted, death is certain and there is no cure.

All domestic cats should be innoculated against this killer -- even inside cats.

Our ignorance of this disease cost the life of a cat I'd grown very attached to.

[M155Y_A1CH]

22. I just lost my Thomas this December

I really feel for you. Thomas only lived for about six weeks after he was diagnosed even with weekly vet visits. The vet cut me a break on the cost of the procedure because I was up front about my inability to pay. I had to walk him a couple miles in a carrier to the next town because we don't have a vet here. It was worth it for me because Thomas knew we did it because I loved him. I spent those weeks giving him as much lovin' as I could and I'm glad I did.



I still expect to see him in his favorite places and think about him often.
In the end all you can do is act out of love. You may not know when the end is near to make a decision. My Thomas passed in the night.
:hug:




edit image

[atomic-fly]

23. so many sad stories...

One of our cats is on the Kidney Formula food and thyroid medication.
Another cat is on the thyroid medication.
I'm afraid we will have to go through this eventually.

[kestrel91316]

25. You could always PM me. I do feline renal failure morning, noon, and night.

[AlienGirl]

26. Never feline, but sadly, saw some rats go through it

The first one was Jared, a sweet little blue rat. He started looking lethargic one day. That night, when I checked on him he was lying in a puddle of urine and blood, and he was very cool to the touch. I rushed him to the nearest ER, where they tried to replace the blood volume and buy some time...I authorized what they thought was a ridiculous amount of money for treatment (this was back during my first marriage, before cancer, I was doing okay) but he was already too far gone. My other rat, Kramer, sat in the corner for a week and appeared to lose interest in everything for a while. He even had episodes where he woke up from a deep sleep screeching--he'd never done that before--like he was having nightmares.

After that, I acquired a "rescue" rat--unfortunately, it turned out that he was from the same breeder, which I didn't know. He died of the same thing, but this time I decided it was better to have him euthanized when he got diagnosed, because Jared's final day had been bad and it was not curable.

I don't know if that helps. Just wanted to let you know I'm feeling for you.

Tucker

(no rats any more, the short lifespan hurts too bad)