Has Anyone Had To Go Through A Cat With Chronic Renal Failure?

To: EBH; NoGrayZone; Kaylee

I am so sorry for the loss you all have shared with us. I, too, have had the dreaded decision to make with a much-loved pet. How much they show us about life! They come into our lives and, for however much time they are in it, they touch our hearts and bring out what is best in us. They are, in a way, God's little messengers - almost like angels - and we understand in a small way how much God also loves us and grieves with us when we are in pain and wants what is best for us. He is the God of all comfort and I pray that each of you finds comfort, strength and grace to endure the loss, remember the joy and to be open to loving and nurturing the other “angels” he will gift us with.

81 posted on 11/25/2010 5:39:08 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)

NoGrayZone wrote: "Has Anyone Had To Go Through A Cat With Chronic Renal Failure?

For the last couple of months, I thought my elder kitty was just going senile. She turned 19 this summer and has the usual "old cat" look....frail back and hind legs, loss of muscle and weight and just looks "old". She also started tinkling and pooping outside her liter box and seemed obsessed with her water bowl (hovering over it for hours).

She has hip dysplasia and "old cat back", which cortisone shots took care of 2-3 years ago, then they stopped working. I found Syn-Flex for pets online and she made a miraculous recovery.

The vets did all kinds of tests, etc last time I bought her in and nothing came back. I started seeing weird symptoms for the past month, but just assumed she was getting senile.

I looked up her symptoms and found CRF, which is common at her age. There is no cure, it only gets worse. I do not want to bring her to the vets. Last time she was there (my original vet is now elder and seemed to have lost some of his mind, perhaps senility is creeping in. I heard that in the vets office). I don't like the other vets there, nor trust them from my last experience.

There is also no cure for it.....just things to do to ease any symptoms to make them more comfortable.

I found, online, Tinkle Tonic, which seems to ease a lot of symptoms for this disease.

I was just wondering if any FReepers had to or are dealing with this and perhaps can give me some helpful advice.

I have been crying for the past 4 days. I know her time is near and 19 years just doesn't seem long enough."

"Has Anyone Had To Go Through A Cat With Chronic Renal Failure? "

Yes, I have. While kidney failure is generally a downhill slope, there have been many advances made to not only make your kitty more comfortable but in some cases, lengthen a cat's life. There have also been some miracles and seeming complete recoveries from feline chronic renal failure but they are extremely rare especially in older cats.

Some cats can live up to 25 years, I personally know of one cat who was 25 years old when she passed away. Your cat could rally and I hope she does. :)

Following your getting your cat accurately diagnosed by a competent Vet, and if your cat actually has chronic renal failure, KD cat food is a good start. They have changed the formula over the years and the taste is now something most cats love, especially the canned KD cat food flavored with chicken.

Recent research shows that onions and onion powder can cause renal failure in cats. Do not ever give your cat any food which contains onions; nor food which has even been cooked with onions such as baked, boiled or fried chicken; nor anything which has onion powder or any type onion flavoring in it. Unfortunately that means don't share any human food leftovers.

However, don't worry if you already have - CRF is very common in older cats and the onion warning only came out in recent years.

Eating is a sign of health. Your cat should eat a good amount every day, preferably twice a day. If she skips a meal, write it down. Then if that trend continues for one more day, take her to the Vet right away. They have all sorts of inexpensive non-harmful medicines which will stimulate her appetite.

Also always have several jars on hand of strained turkey baby food with nothing added to it for the occasional times where your cat won't eat. Again she should eat every day.

You can entice most sick cats to eat again with turkey baby food. She will want to lick it off your hands then you can give it to her in teaspoonfuls then when she improves she'll go through a jar a feeding and often several a times a day.

However, no matter how much turkey baby food she eats, still you should take your cat to the Vet whenever her appetite decreases.

Appetite or not, right now your Vet will want to assess your kitty's current condition by taking blood and urine samples to see how her kidneys and liver are functioning.

Your cat might have an infection rather than renal failure or she might have an infection combined with the failing kidneys.

If you feel your kitty is too frail right now to undergo a blood test, then the Vet will still most likely insist upon a urine test if your cat has not had one in awhile.

They only withdraw a small sample of blood, but for whatever reason, my CRF cats always went into a serious decline following a blood draw. That decline included appetite, pep, hydration levels and lasted a week. That's a dangerous decline for any cat who is already on the down slope of health with CRF.

I finally found a Vet who listened. He said that all Vets should listen to Pet owners because no Vet can follow you home and observe how your cat is doing following a Vet clinic visit. An attentive and caring owner's input is crucial in assessing a Pet's health.

Also the sad fact is that most times, once a cat has been diagnosed as having CRF, that diagnosis doesn't change, only the prognosis changes and that's basically good or bad. Prognosis can be accurately assessed from a thorough physical exam, if the Vet is willing to trust his or her impressions from that physical exam and finally is willing to listen carefully to an owner's observations.

In my opinion, Vets who are insecure about their diagnostic skills will always prefer to rely solely upon numbers to diagnose and in this case, to assess the rate of kidney decline.

Again my opinion, but those type of insecure Vets will label diagnosis by exam and history taking as "guess work" while more secure yet old fashioned Vets call it simply “good diagnosis.”

For the urine sample, that's something you can easily get and again, only my opinion, probably should at least try, rather than add any stress to your kitty by allowing the Vet or his assistants to withdraw the urine sample. If you feel that your kitty is too frail, your Vet should accept your help in obtaining a sample from home.

It is simple if you don't mind watching carefully where your kitty prefers going. Just place an unused and clean freezer strength clear ziplock bag in her favorite spot to go and then wait until she goes on the bag and pour the sample into either a sterile glass jar, or even another clean unused ziplock bag.

Refrigerate the sample until you can take it in to the Vet. They should culture the sample, because if she has an infection, they need to prescribe the right antibiotic.

However, if you are willing the Vet might make a good first guess on which type bacteria is involved in a bladder/kidney infection, and prescribe the right antibiotic on the first try without the added expense and time delay of a cultured specimen.

They can centrifuge a urine sample in the Vet clinic which again, will only indicate there is an infection and it will not pinpoint the type of bacteria.

If your cat does not tolerate a prescribed oral antibiotic, for example if they give her something which she fights taking, if she throws it up, if she foams at the mouth whenever you prepare to give it to her, and please do give it an honest try, then go immediately back to the vet and ask, then demand if necessary another antibiotic which she will tolerate and take.

They have antibiotics in pill form and liquid. They have good tasting antibiotics for the most picky and sickest cats. If she has a kidney/bladder infection, she will need to keep the antibiotics down. She also cannot afford becoming more dehydrated from vomiting.

If your Vet blocks your attempts to collect urine samples, if your Vet ignores or discounts your observations, or input, if your Vet refuses to help you learn how to make your cat more comfortable and prolong her life as much as possible, then start calling around your area to find another Vet. A good Vet will gladly listen to a long term owner's personal observations of a geriatric cat and in most cases, will help you make your cat more comfortable.

After getting assessing your cat's current condition, your Vet might recommend regular, frequent and possibly daily sub-cutaneous injections of lactated Ringers solution.

That's something else a good Vet clinic should be able to help you learn how to do yourself rather than transporting your kitty back and forth to the clinic.

It's very simple for even the most squeamish pet owner to learn. Vet clinics usually start out selling you a bag of lactated Ringers, the set-up and then they will often throw the needles in for free. They should show you how to set-up the bag, then demonstrate how they give your cat one injection from the set-up Ringers bag, letting you try it also while you're still there.

If after a few weeks of you giving your cat regular or even daily lactated Ringers injections, and if you have finished the first bag of fluids, and depending upon your cat's weight, size and condition, the bag will have lasted a few weeks or more.

If your kitty has improved at all, if she has even a little of her spunk back, if she improves as much as they usually do, you'll still need to continue the frequent or daily sub-cutaneous lactated Ringers injections indefinitely.

Vet clinics range widely on how much they charge for a bag of lactated Ringers and set-ups. Where I live, they charge anywhere from $25-35 per bag which cost should include a set-up.

Costco Pharmacy online will accept a valid Veterinarian’s prescription for lactated Ringers and also set-ups. The prescriptions can be faxed directly to Costco's Online Pharamcy by the Vet clinic.

I have forgotten the exact costs but an entire case of Lactated Ringers plus the box of set-ups, all totaled together, were only a couple dollars more than what the Vet Clinic charged me for just one bag, that was the first bag of lactated Ringers plus the one set-up which they first sold me.

Unopened unused bags of Lactated Ringers keep well in any home environment as long as they're kept in the original shipping box, and not subject to heat or freezing temperatures.

This might all sound very complicated, but it's a lot simpler doing it rather than explaining.

You sound like you love your cat and have taken good care of her so it's critical for you to find a Vet who will support you in your efforts to make her as comfortable as possible in the remaining years you have with her. Not all Vets have equal compassion but the ones who do I believe make up for the others.

Once a geriatric cat has been officially diagnosed as having chronic renal failure then continual assessments especially blood tests, in my opinion are more about the vet racking up a bill than about good Veterinarian medical practice. Keep good records, ask for exact results on all blood and urine tests. You are also entitled to keep any x-ray films they take.

Then if you relocate or switch vets, the new vet will have “proof” that your cat's condition is what you say it is. Even some of the best vets get antsy about taking the word of an owner yet they will gladly accept good records and requested lab values.

My preference in Vets especially when dealing with geriatric cats has been the Vet who can first take an adequate history from an owner, then after a physical exam, can make a good initial diagnosis, followed by a recommended course of treatment, and next give a prognosis and last of all, use lab values simply to verify all of the above.

Unfortunately many Vets these days insist upon lab work immediately after giving only a cursory physical exam of the Pet. In many cases, if the owner is willing, the vet will then suggest x-rays, ultra-sounds and anything they think you'll pay for. The sky or your bank account unfortunately becomes the limit.

One Vet talked me into getting x-rays for one of my cats who had CRF and then once he got the x-rays, claimed he wasn't sure what he was looking at and then told me he needed to refer the x-rays out to a radiologist friend of his.

That hurt on many levels, the most important being trust. That Vet took my concern for my cat and started playing a particularly nasty form of building a bill. The game starts with guilt-tripping an owner into unnecessary procedures and the game ends when either the Pet dies, or when the costs go beyond the owner's ability to pay.

Repeating tests in a geriatric cat who has been diagnosed with a chronic debilitating illness such as chronic renal failure, often has nothing to do with helping the Pet get better. Unfortunately sometimes it's all about the Vet earning a few more dollars.

It was years ago that I fell for it by allowing him to x-ray my cat, but I stopped that game when he claimed he needed to refer the x-rays out to his radiologist friend for another reading of the films.
Because I no longer trusted him, I then began second guessing everything he had recommended and I stopped taking my cat in to him which is also not good.

Pet owners need Vets they can trust and those Vets should be worthy of trust.

Ask around. If you have local Pet Food Stores, especially the independently owned Pet Food Stores, go ask the clerks if they have a favorite Vet. Hang out in the Cat food aisle and ask other customers. There's always a way to find a good Vet.

The best Vet Clinics I have found were not part of a large nationwide or statewide chain but were solely owned and operated by one Vet or a small group of Vets.

Occasionally the large chains will hire good Vets but then those good Vets always seem to leave in favor of smaller less centrally controlled Clinics and in rare cases, they will buy a retiring Vet's clinic.

Another idea is to attend a cat show in your area and ask several cat breeders which Vet they could recommend.

Good luck!

82 posted on 11/25/2010 5:42:44 PM PST by bd476

To: arasina; NoGrayZone

Well, I’m a kook then too. I believe our pets will be in heaven, as well. I’d pull out my file of reasons why, but honestly, it’s been painful enough reading this thread this far; I need to go think of something else.

But I did so because I know your pain NGZ. We had to put our beloved 14 yo Emma to sleep in early March, and the pain is still very raw. Emma was unlike any cat I’d ever owned. Whenever anyone in the house would be injured or would cry, Emma would come from wherever she was in the house to sit with them. She was loving and trusting, and here I go, welling with tears.

Our Lord was once man and he knows about our earthly love and pain and what love and joy our animals bring. I cannot believe that our Lord would see our pets as insignificant. He loved animals of all kinds and He loves us! Therefore I believe Emma will be there with Him. Think about it — animals are without sin, which is why I believe they were sacrificed on altars before the Lord. From all the artist renderings, little lambs are in heaven, too. And that ark which Noah was instructed to build? It was for the animals which were saved!

And I’m not here to debate anyone...and I won’t.

Just love on your kitty. Do whatever you are able to do medically, but then know there are scores of us who have been there; and who are there right now. (Even Mark Levin took this week off from his radio show to spend it with his dying dog.) It’s pain that’s almost too difficult to imagine, but that’s to be expected when love is mutual and still so strong, and has been given so freely for nearly two decades.

God bless.

83 posted on 11/25/2010 5:56:07 PM PST by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL (*********************End automatic pay raises for congresscritters**)

To: getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL; NoGrayZone; Kaylee

You Chose Tears

The little orange boy stopped. Behind him, kitties were playing, chasing each other and wrestling in the warm sunshine. It looked like so much fun, but in front of him, through the clear stillness of the pond’s water, he could see his mommy. And she was crying.

He pawed at the water, trying to get at her, and when that didn’t work, he jumped into the shallow water. All that got him was wet, and Mommy’s image danced away in the ripples. “Mommy!” he cried.

“Is something wrong?”

The little orange boy turned around. A lady was standing at the edge of the pond, her eyes sad but filled with love. The little orange boy sighed and walked out of the water. “There’s been a mistake,” he said. “I’m not supposed to be here.” He looked back at the water. It was starting to still again and his mommy’s image was coming back. “I’m just a baby. Mommy said it had to be a mistake. She said I wasn’t supposed to come here yet.”

The kind lady sighed and sat down on the grass. The little orange boy climbed into her lap. It wasn’t Mommy’s lap, but it was almost as good. When she started to pet him and scratch behind his ears like he liked, he started to chitter and chatter and grind his teeth in happiness. He hadn’t wanted to, but he couldn’t help it. “I’m afraid there is no mistake. You are supposed to be here, and your mommy knows it deep down in her heart.” the lady said.

The little orange boy sighed and laid his head on the lady’s leg. “But she’s so sad. It hurts me to see her cry. And Daddy too.”

“But they knew right from the beginning this would happen.”

“That I was sick?” That surprised the little orange boy. No one had ever said anything and he had listened when they thought he was sleeping. All he had heard them talk about was how cute he was or how fast he was or how big he was getting.

“No, not that you were sick,” the lady said. “But you see, they chose tears.”

“No, they didn’t,” the little orange boy argued. “Who would choose to cry?”

The lady gently brushed the top of his head with a kiss. It made him feel safe and loved and warm-but he still worried about his mommy. “Let me tell you a story,” the lady said.

The little orange boy looked up and saw other animals gathering around.

Cats—Big Boy and Snowball and Bear and Abby and little Cleo and Robin. Merlin and Toby and Iggy and Zachary. Sweetie and Kamatte and Obie.

Dogs too—Sally and Baby and Morgan and Rocky and Belle. Even a lizard named Clyde and some rats named Saffron and Becky and a ferret named Pippin. They all lay down near the kind lady and looked up at her, waiting.

She smiled at them and began:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A long long time ago, the Loving Ones went to the Angel in Charge. They were lonesome and asked the angel to help them.

The angel took them to a wall of windows and let them look out the first window at all sorts of things-dolls and stuffed animals and cars and toys and sporting events.

“Here are things you can love,” the angel said. “They will keep you from being lonesome.”

“Oh, thank you,” the Loving Ones said. “These are just what we need.”

“You have chosen Pleasure,” the angel told them.

But after a time the Loving Ones came back to the Angel in Charge. “Things are okay to love,” they said, “but they don’t care that we love them.”

The Angel in Charge led them over to the second window. It looked out at all sorts of wild animals. “Here are animals to love,” he said. “They will know you love them.”

So the Loving Ones hurried out to care for the wild animals. “You have chosen Satisfaction,” the angel said.

Some of the Loving Ones worked at zoos and wild animal preserves, some just had bird feeders in their yards, but after a time they all came back to the Angel in Charge.

“They know we love them,” they told the angel, “but they don’t love us back. We want to be loved in return.”

So the angel took them to the third window and showed them lots of people walking around, hurrying places. “Here are people for you to love,” the angel told them. So the Loving Ones hurried off to find other people to love. “You have chosen Commitment,” the angel said.

But after a time a lot of Loving Ones came back to the Angel in Charge. “People were okay to love,” they said, “but sometimes they stopped loving us and left. They broke our hearts.”

The angel just shook his head. “I cannot help you.” he said. “You will have to be satisfied with the choices I gave you.”

As the Loving Ones were leaving, someone saw a window off to one side and hurried to look out. Through it, they could see puppies and kittens and dogs and cats and lizards and hamsters and ferrets. The other Loving Ones hurried over. “What about these?” they asked.

But the angel just tried to shoo them away. “Those are Personal Empathy Trainers,” he said, “but there’s a problem with their system operations.”

“Would they know that we love them?” someone asked.

“Yes,” the angel said.

“Would they love us back?” another asked.

“Yes.” the angel said.

“Will they stop loving us?” someone else asked.

“No,” the angel admitted. “They will love you forever.”

“Then these are what we want.” the Loving Ones said.

But the angel was very upset. “You don’t understand,” he told them. “You will have to feed these animals.”

“That’s all right,” the Loving Ones said.

“You will have to clean up after them and take care of them forever.”

“We don’t care.”

The Loving Ones did not listen. They went down to where the Pets were and picked them up, seeing the love in their own hearts reflected in the animals’ eyes.

“They were not programmed right,” the angel said. “We can’t offer a warranty. We don’t know how durable they are. Some of their systems malfunction very quickly, others last a long time.”

But the Loving Ones did not care. They were holding the warm little bodies and finding their hearts so filled with love that they thought they would burst. “We will take our chances.” they said.

“You do not understand.” The angel tried one more time. “They are so dependent on you that even the most well-made of them is not designed to outlive you. You are destined to suffer their loss.”

The Loving Ones looked at the sweetness in their arms and nodded. “That is how it should be. It is a fair trade for the love they offer.”

The angel just watched them all go, shaking his head. “You have chosen Tears.” he whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So it is,” the kind lady told the animals, “and so each mommy and daddy knows. When they take a baby into their heart, they know that one day it will leave them, and they will cry.”

The little orange boy sat up. “So why do they take us in?” he asked.

“Because even a moment of your love is worth years of pain later.”

“Oh.” The little orange boy got off the lady’s lap and went back to the edge of the pond. His mommy was still there and still crying. “Will she ever stop crying?” he asked the kind lady.

She nodded. “You see, the Angel felt sorry for the Loving Ones, knowing how much they would suffer. He couldn’t take the tears away but he made them special.”

She dipped her hand into the pond and let the water trickle off her fingers. “He made them healing tears, formed from the special water here. Each tear holds bits of all the happy times of snuggling and petting and shared love. And the promise of love once again. As your mommy cries, she is healing.

“In time, she will be less sad and she will smile when she thinks of you. And then she will open her heart again to another little baby.”

“But then she will cry again one day,” the little orange boy said.

The lady just smiled at him as she got to her feet. “No, she will love again. That is all she will think about.” She picked up Big Boy and Snowball and gave them hugs, then scratched Morgan’s ear just how she liked.
“Look,” she said, “the butterflies have come. Shall we go over to play?”

The other animals all ran ahead, but the little orange boy wasn’t ready to leave his mommy. “Will I ever get to be with her again?”

The kind lady nodded. “You’ll be in the eyes of every kitty she looks at. You’ll be in the brux and boggle of every cat she pets. And late at night, when she’s fast asleep, your spirit will snuggle up close to her and you both will feel at peace. One day soon, you can even send her a rainbow to tell her you’re safe and waiting here for when it’s her turn to come.”

“I would like that.” the little orange boy said and took one long look at his mommy. He saw her smile slightly through her tears, and he knew she had remembered the time he almost fell into the bathtub.

“I love you, Mommy,” he whispered. “It’s okay if you cry.” He glanced over at the others, running and playing and laughing with the butterflies. “Uh, Mommy? I gotta go play now, okay? But I’ll be around, I promise.”

Then he turned and raced after the others.

by Anne Kolaczyk

84 posted on 11/25/2010 6:11:40 PM PST by EBH ( Whether you eat your bread or see it vanish into a looter's stomach, is an absolute.)

In N.C. it is illegal to not vaccinate house pets against rabies. In fact, you must pay a license fee of $10 per pet per year (it is sent in to a different agency and not the vet) and if you do not, your fee doubles and then penalties are assessed. I tried to explain that my two cats are completely, strictly indoor only cats, but it does not matter, they MUST get annual rabies shots.

85 posted on 11/25/2010 6:45:38 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)

That was really beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

86 posted on 11/25/2010 7:10:16 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)

Excellent idea. I will stop in my local pet store and ask them. I don’t trust the vets I have now and I do need to get to her one ASAP.

Thanks for your great advice!

87 posted on 11/26/2010 2:29:07 AM PST by NoGrayZone (This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order. - PJ O'Rourke)

To: teenyelliott

Your kitty looks just exactly like my Old Bob. He was unique. He had Feline Leukemia. We had to help him pass about 2 years ago. It was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever done. Everyone told me it was the right thing to do but I keep thinking he trusted me and I felt like I let him down. But now I know he just wanted to not be sick and I couldn’t do that for him so now I know it was the right thing to do. My son had a beautiful 3 legged Siamese who got kidney failure and had to be put down. They didn’t want to do it so long story short. He wound up weighing only 4 pounds, so severely dehydrated he had no bodily fluids left. He couldn’t even walk anymore. They wound up having to have him euthanized anyway.

88 posted on 11/26/2010 2:33:15 AM PST by beckysueb

That is heart breaking, but uplifting. It certainly is a keeper.

89 posted on 11/26/2010 2:37:25 AM PST by NoGrayZone (This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order. - PJ O'Rourke)

Thanks. Thanksgiving was good. It was nice spending it w/ the family. I hope yours was great as well.

90 posted on 11/26/2010 2:40:15 AM PST by NoGrayZone (This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order. - PJ O'Rourke)

Over the years I have had many cats that lived to an old age, then died from a variety of causes. It is never easy. As the human in the relationship you have to make yourself end your kitty’s chronic suffering if that is the case. very hard but necessary. I lost my Schmeckel Kitty several months ago (see my personal page) and still cry. He just wore out from a variety of illnesses. I had to send him over the Rainbow Bridge for kindness’ sake. My thoughts are with you.

91 posted on 11/26/2010 7:46:57 AM PST by pabianice

You need to join the yahoo group for CRF cats. They are SO helpful....you will learn alot in there.

92 posted on 11/26/2010 10:14:53 AM PST by Fawn (CANCER SUCKS)

My heart goes out to you, believe me, I’ve been there and done that many times. I wish I could put a hand on your shoulder and give you a hug. I’ve lost multiple cats to kidney failure myself, but I did have a success story or two. I just wanted to drop by quick and let you know that we are not all alone here. I’ll post my experiences but that will be a little later, I have to go to my 25th high school reunion.

93 posted on 11/26/2010 4:37:14 PM PST by Nowhere Man (General James Mattoon Scott, where are you when we need you? We need a regime change.)

I lost my little companion Wednesday morning. He was almost twenty by final reckoning. He started having the wobblies then stopped eating and finally stopped drinking. I miss him so ... his name was Crooked Tail. Had three tail joints crooked at 30 degrees and his tail was not full length. He was a s,art kitty, very vocal and loved lap time. I have a few questions for God, when the time comes.

94 posted on 11/26/2010 7:44:13 PM PST by MHGinTN (Some, believing they can't be deceived, it's nigh impossible to convince them when they're deceived.)

Yeah, I'm back from my reunion. I can understand your sadness, I've been there too. CRF is a common problem in cats, too bad we can't do more for it, I mean, we can land a man on the Moon yet kidney problems still plague animals and people too. B-(

Gettin g back to what I've said, I have had experience with this too, between subcutanious fluids and special diets, I've had wide varying degrees of success and failures.

One big success I had was keeping my Burmese cat, Muffin alive for 2 and a half years with CRF using a combination special diet and conventional foods. Sometimes you have to mix the special kidney diet foods with a little bit of regular to get the kitty to eat it. She died a month shy of 17, but being diagnosed at 14 and a half, I consider that a victory.

Muffin: b. 8-21-1987 d. 7-09-2004

Then I had Corky, we had to give her fluids for about 9 or 10 months. She also had diabeties from before and sometimes she did take fits where we thought she was dying, then she'd bounce back and be normal. She lived to by 18 and a half, my second oldest cat. Still, I'd consider that a victory.

Corky: b. 5-12-1989 d. 9-07-2007

Then we had Greystone, he had CRF yet barely made it to 5 years old. He was a grey and white Tuxedo cat. He lived for about 3 weeks after diagnosis. We did what we could but he crashed and burned basically. B-( That I consider a defeat. A quick note, we still have his mother, she's 10 and his brother and sister, G.W. (9) and Whitey (9).

Greystone: b.4-15?-2001 d. 4-15-2006

Honorable mention. Since this is about CRF and not cancer, I still have to mention my oldest, Pansy. She had thyroid problems for the last 2 or 3 years of her life but she chugged on until the last month or so. She had lymphoma, cancer. In humans, it is one of the more "easily curable" cancers, but there are the somewhat rare times you have complications. She lived to be 19 years and 8 days. When she passed away, an online friend came on to comfort me, he was going through lymphoma himself and was tired from the chemo he was receiving, but we both loved our cats very much. Unfortunately, my friend was one of the ones that had complications so he passed on 4 months after Pansy.

Pansy: b.8-19-1987 d. 8-27-2006

P.S., here she is getting ready to "zot!" She used to run on 120 VAC, 60 cycle power. B-)

My heart goes out to you and anyone else here with kitties with CRF. You never say die, I know it is a roll of the dice and like the old 1970's era car commercials said, "your mileage may var," but it is worth a try, at least in that case, you know you did what you could no matter what happens.

95 posted on 11/26/2010 10:47:13 PM PST by Nowhere Man (General James Mattoon Scott, where are you when we need you? We need a regime change.)

My condolences. I remember you mentioning Crooked Tail from time to time. My heart and prayers go out to you.

96 posted on 11/26/2010 10:50:15 PM PST by Nowhere Man (General James Mattoon Scott, where are you when we need you? We need a regime change.)

To: getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL

I’m also a “kook” that believes our pets go to heaven. Tell you the truth, if they would not be there, then I really wouldn’t want to go there. Still, I won’t debate it with anyone, but I’ll leave it go with one thought. I think and know God would want us to be happy in heaven so He would bring the souls/spirits of our pets up into heaven for us to meet up with them again one day.

97 posted on 11/26/2010 10:53:50 PM PST by Nowhere Man (General James Mattoon Scott, where are you when we need you? We need a regime change.)

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for your loss. That is terrible =(

Did you read post 84? It made me cry and also gave me some comfort. I hope it helps you.

98 posted on 11/27/2010 2:49:46 AM PST by NoGrayZone (This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order. - PJ O'Rourke)

I'm so sorry for what you're going through.

The following may not help right now, but perhaps for the next kitty who finds you.

I have read things which suggest that long-term feeding of mostly dry cat foods increases the likelihood that the kitty will have renal failure at the end.

So... it might be a good idea to feed cats wet food and not rely just on dry food. Maybe even to eventually switch your kitties over to a raw, homemade diet. There is all sorts of information on this topic all over the internet.

Cats evolved as desert animals, and they get much of their moisture from the juices of the meat they eat (whether it's a hamburger or a mouse burger). They typically don't drink as much water as dogs.

99 posted on 11/27/2010 9:45:51 PM PST by pbmaltzman

To: pbmaltzman; All

Thanks. I have been giving my 3 more canned food. I get the grain free natural ones....with the first few ing’s being only protein.

I am bringing her to the vet today @ 3:30. I was able to get a urine sample so they won’t have to get it from her.

Here’s hoping for the best.

100 posted on 11/29/2010 3:09:08 AM PST by NoGrayZone (This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order. - PJ O'Rourke)

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