Early Stage Kidney Failure in Cat

[TeriM]

Wow growler, I didn't realize that was how you did that . When I did them with Bud we just injected fluid directly from a big needle. Duffy is an extra good kittie for being so patient .

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by chico2

Growler,Duffy must be a wonderful little girl and I cannot say enough good things about you as her mom.
I cannot imagine any of my cats behaving as well as Duffy were they in the same situation,but you never know until you are faced with it.
to you and little Duffy.
My boys thinks she is a very brave and good girl

Thanks Chico Duffy's always been such a good cat purrsonality wise even w/the Tortitude thrown in there

Originally Posted by Chris21711

for Duffy being so good in letting you administer the sub Q's Growler, amazing what she will do for a treat

Course the first time @ the vets there was no treat (she won't eat their treats) so she had no idea she was getting one. Happy to have it after though

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

She's such a good girl! And, of course, her Mom has that healing touch!

How long does it take for the proper amount of fluid to be injected?

I takes about 5 mins for the 150cc's w/an 18 gauge needle - that's just from the start of the fluid flow to the end not counting prepping for the poke itself

The Ultra Thin Wall 20 gauge I want should have about the same flow rate but be a little easier on her skin being a bit smaller (the super thin walls will keep the flow rate roughly the same).

Originally Posted by TeriM

Wow growler, I didn't realize that was how you did that . When I did them with Bud we just injected fluid directly from a big needle. Duffy is an extra good kittie for being so patient .

The large prefilled syringe is one way to go, using the IV drip set is another way. Depends on which way you, the cat & your vet is more comfortable doing.

She is very good during her fluid therapy

[growler~GateKeeper]

Update from today's visit, we got blood & urine samples for testing. I got the pleasure of collecting the urine sample myself @ home, they have this neat little special catlitter that doesn't absorb anything . Called "nosorb" it's completely sterile and hey bonus - comes in a little cup that is perfect for returning the sample back to the vets

Results back either Mon or more likely Tues.

We've upped her fluids from 150mls twice a week up to 150mls every other day. This is inpart due to her excessive drinking and also to give more support to the kidneys flushing more toxins without as much work involved from them.

Everyone at the vets office is amazed at how well she is doing considering everything she's been through

She's eating great, energy is great, happy little grrl

Duffy got to say hi touch noses with a beautiful Samoyed a pet of one of the staff at the vets office

[hazelrunpack]

Wow! And she didn't even growl at the doggie? What a good gurl!!!

for good numbers when the results come back!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

Wow! And she didn't even growl at the doggie? What a good gurl!!!

She hissed & growled a little bit at the doggie after first saying hi when he got a bit too pushy right in her face. He was so cute so sweet just wanted to see the kitty

[chico2]

Duffy is doing sooo good,because she's a very brave little girl and has a wonderful mom,who'd do anything possible for her

[Love4himies]

Awwww Duffy was kissed by a doggie

How did Duffy like the nosorb? I tried that with Puddles, but ended up having to follow her with the nosorb and kitten litter pan to her litter box, wait for her to start peeing then quickly pick her up and put her in the kitten litter box mid pee.

I hope she once again gets some good results

[14+kitties]

Wow! That Nosorb sounds great for collecting urine. Might be fun to do though.
Duffy is doing well. The love you have for your grrl shows through so very clearly!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

How did Duffy like the nosorb?

She wasn't impressed . Duffy is quite picky about her litterbox and would prefer nobody being around watching while she goes. I put in the nosorb then put the edge of the litter catcher mat under the box so was slanted, then shook the nosorb litter a litter more down to the lower end. This way she wouldn't be stepping in it.

When morning came & she had to go, Duffy stepped into the box turned around stepped out, looked at the funny litter then got back in, did her duty, stepped out and went WTF???? this stuff isn't doing anything?

That's when I shooed her out & collected her deposit for the vet

Results not back yet, will get them tomorrow

[Chris21711]

Good vibes for Duffy's results Growler. The pic you posted on the tjt was

[hazelrunpack]

for good results! I agree with Chris about that pic of Duffy...she's so dreamy What a purrrrrrdy gurrrrrrl

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by growler

Results not back yet, will get them tomorrow

Didn't get the call today will call them tomorrow to see what's up.

Thanks for the compliments on my grrl.


Did another round of fluids today, she's getting so used to them, such a good grrl

[Love4himies]

Oh another day's wait. Sending that her results will be good.

[growler~GateKeeper]

These were the results from the last test in Sept:

Originally Posted by growler

So her Creatinine has dropped a tiny bit again @ 217 (last month 218), her BUN has gone up a bit :sad: @ 21.5 (last month 18.2) Calcium still in normal down a wee bit from last month, Phosphorus up a little but still well within normal. Her USG has also dropped :sad: to 1.022

I got the results back from this month's test:
BUN 25.1 still rising :sad:
Creatinine 268 big jump from 2 months ago :sad:
Phosphorus 1.41 still well within normal
Calcuim 2.6 still well within normal
USG 1.020 still dropping :sad: but not as much as it did between the previous two tests

[hazelrunpack]

Aw...sorry the numbers weren't better, growler but she's still doing so good! She's really hanging in there with help from her very excellent mama! She wouldn't be doing near as good if you hadn't gone to bat for her like you did!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Thanks Hazel

[sugarcatmom]

You know what they say: look at the cat, not the numbers. Hazelrunpack is right, Duffy is still rockin' it. You 2 are an inspiration and a testament to the human-animal bond.

[chico2]

Growler,forgive my ignorance,but what do all these numbers mean to Duffy??
She looks wonderful

[Love4himies]

I am sorry to hear the boodwork wasn't better, growler. Duffy couldn't ask for a better mom.

[Chris21711]

Originally Posted by chico2

Growler,forgive my ignorance,but what do all these numbers mean to Duffy??
She looks wonderful

I'm with Chico on this Growler, completely clueless as to what it all means. If you have the time, I'd appreciate understanding it a little better..

She does look oh so good growler, never would know she has anything wrong with her. She is beautiful

[rainbow]

I'm not completely sure but I think if both the BUN and Creatinine numbers are elevated it indicates kidney failure. :sad:

But, as everyone has already said, Duffy still looks really great and she couldn't have a better mom to look after her.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

You know what they say: look at the cat, not the numbers. Hazelrunpack is right, Duffy is still rockin' it. You 2 are an inspiration and a testament to the human-animal bond.

Yeah I know the mantra 'treat the cat not the numbers' and that's what my vet & I are doing , but sometimes it can get so d@mn depressing watching the blood numbers rise & the urine numbers fall. Thanks SCM , yes she is doing wonderfully.

Originally Posted by chico2

Growler,forgive my ignorance,but what do all these numbers mean to Duffy??
She looks wonderful

Originally Posted by Chris21711

I'm with Chico on this Growler, completely clueless as to what it all means. If you have the time, I'd appreciate understanding it a little better..

She does look oh so good growler, never would know she has anything wrong with her. She is beautiful

Originally Posted by rainbow

I'm not completely sure but I think if both the BUN and Creatinine numbers are elevated it indicates kidney failure. :sad:

But, as everyone has already said, Duffy still looks really great and she couldn't have a better mom to look after her.

Thank you SCM, Chico, L4H, Chris & Rainbow for the compliments & good wishes

Rainbow is correct the rise in both BUN and Creatinine means the kidneys are not functioning as they should be.

Toxins in the body (excess urea, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, creatinine{not all these substances are bad just in too high volume they can be}) are filtered out by the kidneys what isn't dumped in to urine is recycled back through the blood - same as people. The only difference is cats' kidneys concentrate the urine by removing as much water as they can to put back into the body, one reason they normally don't drink much. When the numbers continually rise it indicates there are more toxins than the body can expell, the urine is not concentrating as well {this is the lower USG number} so it takes drinking excess amounts of water to remove the waste from the body.

BUN = Blood Urea Nitrogen the amount of nitrogen waste products in the blood that comes from urea {urine}.
Creatinine = another waste product, a by-product of muscle. This value is not really affected by diet, stress or dehydration {BUN is abit more affected by those 3 factors} so to drop the creatinine number is not very easy.
USG = Urine Specific Gravity shows the amount of concentration of urine. Water has a specific gravity of 1. A cats' urine should have a SG of 1.040 to 1.060 anything less than 1.040 indicates a problem. In a cat receiving regular fluid therapy this test is not as reliable because you are putting even more fluids into the body than they would drink.

For Duffy this means there are more toxins in her blood, which the every other day fluid therapy is helping to remove. It is good that her vet increased the frequency of fluids now. I know these numbers are not extreme highs but I would like to try to keep them as low as possible for as long as possible, so the kidneys are functioning as good as they can for longer without working too hard. Physically she's doing great, she just drinks alot & pees alot and her energy level is better after getting fluids than before.

She's used to having them so often now that she was purring during her fluids tonite. Duffy is so good

[chico2]

Thank you for explaining Growler,it all sounds very complicated,but you certainly know what you are talking about.
I am sorry about the set-back,but we know one thing for sure little Duffy could not be in better hands and I think she knows it,being a good girl taking all these treatments with a sweet purr

[Chris21711]

Originally Posted by growler

She's used to having them so often now that she was purring during her fluids tonite. Duffy is so good

She is better than good Growler, it is fantastic how well she accomodates you in letting you do this to her

Thanks for the explanation Growler, it is nice to be able to understand rather than read a bunch of numbers and think, oh ok

[14+kitties]

Growler - your love and commitment to Duffy is amazing to witness. I can only hope if I was in your situation I would be able to do half of what you do for your grrl. , and to you for what you do for Duffy!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Thanks Chico, Chris & 14+ I'm sure in a similiar situation you would do the same

Duffy means the world to me

[growler~GateKeeper]

So it's been nearly 3 months since the last update, thought I'd mention how it's going.

Next vet appt & testing is for the end of the month, next IMS physio appt also for the end of the month. At the last IMS appt in mid Jan her physiotherapist said Duffy was doing really well, becoming less & less reactive, so we're stretching out appts to every 6 wks from every 4 weeks.

Overall she's been doing great still bright active and alert, I've discovered she prefers laying on my lap for the fluids & will stay still much longer/better that way. It's all become so routine for her

The addtion of the salmon oil has really improved her pooping & her coat is softer than before. Very very rarely does she have dry poop or any difficulty pooping now

She's eating great though I think a little tired of the lamb (lowest in phos so I probably tried to feed it too often ) so I've taken lamb off the menu for 2 weeks then will reintroduce it again & hopefully she appreciates having it back again by eating it with gusto

With the increase in fluids at the last appt (still @ 150ml every other day), her water drinking has decreased which shows the fluids working.

She's still getting all her supplements & taking them all with no problems, the cat who used to spit pills out is now the easiest cat in the world to pill

No vomiting except for the occasional small hairball - she is in winter coat shedding season now, so she gets combed before being Zoom Groom brushed which puts her on

The lady herself:
"You with that camera in my face again "

[rainbow]

What a wonderful update for purrty Ms Duffy.

[Love4himies]

I am so glad she is doing well, growler. But of course she has such a great mommy how could she not.

[chico2]

Growler,it's strange,I was just thinking of Duffy this morning,was going to ask how she's doing and here you are with an update,good one to boot
Great pic of her sweet face