Have you ever worried about your pet...

[Frosty]

Have any of you ever been so worried about your pet that you over looked the obvious? I have a cat who is almost 9 years old, and long story short lost most of her kidney function 8 years ago. The vet didn't expect her to live much more than 6 months, but Dipper wasn't ready to quit. She was actually doing very well until recently, then she started looking like she doesn't feel good, started peeing outside of the box and eating cat litter. She hasn't done those things since her kidneys first quit. She only has one kidney left, and it's only partially function. I took her to the vet thinking that he was going to tell me that her kidney is giving out. I dreaded this vist! What was right in front of me that I was missing... a renal cat loses it's appetite. She is eating fine. A renal cat tends to hunch over the water bowl, she was only there to drink or harass the dog when he tried to drink (she thinks she's big enough to push a 70 pound dog away from the dish). Now I am waiting to see what the vet says, but looking at it without the tunnel vision I am thinking anaemia and possibly urinary tract infection.

But I really could smack myself for missing the obvious. I have taken care of this renal cat for 7 years, and I am familiar with the symptoms. Somebody just smack me in the head!

 

[la dee da]

How about a good luck hug instead

 

[gritsar]

I'm so sorry for what you and Dipper are going through.
Yes, I had the best dog of my life put down last June due to kidney cancer that had spread to her lungs. I kick myself regularly for not noticing the one symptom/sign that she did display; a slight tinge of red around her private parts (from blood in her urine). She was a very stoic dog and just didn't let us know she was in pain until it was far too advanced. In reality though, even with an earlier diagnosis, we still would have had to put her down. There is simply not the resources around here to treat a dog with cancer.
Good luck to you and blessings.

 

[Frosty]

Dippers vet called me the next day to discuss her bloodwork, BUN and Creatnine are both elevated some. They have been worse, but have been better, too. He told me to start with the subcutaneous fluids again, and to give her 300 cc's a day. I had reservations about giving her that much, but my reservations came from things that I read on line and this is a trained vet so I followed his instructions. Long story short, I quit with the fluids on Saturday, and spent the day convinced that I was watching my cat die. She was in HORRIBLE shape, struggling to breath, temperature 3 degrees below the low end of normal, lethargic, not eating, couldn't put her head down to drink so I would have to get down on the floor and give her water from a syringe (thank goodness she knows how to drink from a syringe!). I was up all night watching over her, worrying, and ended up with one heck of a stress headache.

I called my mother last night, and mentioned that I still have a bit of a headache. She asked what it was from, and I told her that it was probably a stress headache. She asked what I was stressed about, I replied 'Because my cat almost died?' She said 'That isn't something to be stressed over, I mean, maybe concerned but not stressed!' This is coming from a woman who still tells me over and over the story about the time it was cold out, and my dad hit the dash of her vehicle and cracked the dash. She doesn't even have the vehicle anymore, but she still tells the story and is still mad about it. I understand that not everyone is an animal lover, but I really wish that she could understand that these are my furkids!

She probably thinks that if the cat dies, I'll come visit her but that's a whole 'nuther rant...

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

I would call the vet and confirm the SQF dose. It seems like a heck of a lot to me.(even though you stopped the treatment). How big is the kitty?

I would call the vet tomorrow. Ask to re-confirm the dose with the DOCTOR. If the receptionist tells you 300cc is correct I would still ask to leave a note with/or speak with the Dr. (make sure to re-iterate it's a __ lb. cat with ______ going on. Vets DO make mistakes. They are, suprisingly, just human!! One written mistake and the whole process is skewed.(5 years of working with vets and the step mother is one too. Things do get mis-communicated) not that I'm saying it was a mistake, but if it were my kitty I would be questioning! (also if the dose was too much ask what an overdose of SQF looks like..)

Hope your kitty starts to feel better! Sorry about the hard times. Good luck with everything.

Edited to add: after re-reading it kinda sounds like I'm pushing the mistake theory. I'm really not. That was just a point and tips I was trying to put out there for you.

The recent problems could very well just be other complications. Personally though I would just cover your all your bases:
Call the vet? Go in for a re check? Re check blood work- have levels worsened/improving?

But firstly get kitty warm and comfy!!! Good Luck!!

 

[Frosty]

I sent him an email and told him what I am seeing... I do have his work email address and that way I get everything in writing when he replies. He is very familiar with this cat, I think she is one of his biggest sucess stories and he seems to really like her. I know they are human, too. But I try not to second guess them (too much).

I have given kittens 50 ml and never had problems. When Dipper first had problems with her kidneys failing, she went down to between 4.25 and 4.5 pounds (she was only a year old at the time and 8 pounds is a good weight for her) and he had me giving her 200 ml/day. She handled that fine, but was perhaps more dehydrated than she is now? Right now she weighs about 7.5 pounds, a little thinner than I like. Before giving her fluids I check her belly and do a quick skin elasticity check to make sure the fluids are absorbed. There weren't any fluids collected in her belly, skin was a bit slow going back so I proceeded. There were no indications that she was being over hydrated, but... there is a possibility of congestive heart failure going on (she is on blood pressure meds for hypertension, potassium supplements, and a phosphate binder). I suspect that the fluids that I was giving her were building up in her chest cavity, in which case if he wants her on fluids I'll have to ask him about adding a diuretic to her list of meds. I think we also need to look harder at the possibility of anaemia giving her problems. One thing that I can say for sure... she is quite a fighter! This cat really wants to survive! And my chicks heat lamp came in quite handy to warm her up

The other cats are happy with it, too which is great because that lets me know that it isn't too hot. She is looking a lot better, now! Thank you for the reply, now I don't feel totally alone with this.

Editing to add... the receptionists are really great about passing messages and having the vet call, and Dipper already had an appointment for a recheck on Tuesday. I really suspect that she has something else going on, which also hid the fact from me that the fluids weren't absorbing to where they should have. Otherwise I would have felt the squishy belly and known to cut back. The last time was wierd... her skin was crackly like there was air under it - there wasn't air in the line, so that wouldn't be it. But I did find a site that said that the crackly skin could be a sign of over-hydration. I told him in the email everything that I was seeing, even if it didn't seem like it could be related.

 

[Brindlebtch]

 

[redhen]

Wow, so sorry about your kitty. What a good, caring owner you are..