Just diagnosed with kidney failure!

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matahari

matahari

Member Since 2013
hi I need some advise from you kind folks.....

My kitty was diagnosed with diabetes 2 years ago. He has been on lantus and been really stable. I went away for 6 days and a friend was caring for him. He stopped eating and she held back on the lantus. Now I've returned and he is really struggling. Can't walk looks terrible.

Took him to the vet. He is now in renal failure. The vet suggested putting him down. I declined! He sent me home with sub q fluids, antibiotics that I inject into the fluid. He also got a b12 shot.

He seemed to be getting better, but now today he is down again. He is eating on his own and moving around. His numbers are bouncing. No ketones in urine.

I'm waiting for the vet to call as to what to do now. More ABX?

What can I do more?
 
:bighug::bighug::bighug:

There is an awful lot that can be done to help CKD kitties, and the earlier the condition is caught the better.

I strongly recommend that you go straight away to Tanya's site and join their support group (there's a link on the site home page). Tell them that you're new to CKD and explain the urgency of the situation. The group are very helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I hope they will give you some pointers straight away to get you through the crisis stage. Stress that the vet isn't being very positive and that you need some initial advice to help with this. If you have any labs they will be able to look at them and give you an initial idea of what can be done to help your kitty right now. I really do think you should talk to them before making any big decisions.

My little one was diagnosed with early stage II kidney insufficiency (a much better term than 'renal failure', IMO) in March. She's doing OK and is eating fine. I've learned a lot from Tanya's site and the support group are very helpful.

Please let us know how you get on.


Mogs
.
 
Your Nino is a beautiful boy! Just wanted to tell you how much I like his photo ... and that I'm wishing you the best & sending healing vibes your way from the state next door (AZ).
:bighug: - Robin
 
matahari said:
@Robin&BB your is too! Why do so many black cats have diabetes ? Do you prefer prozinc to lantus?
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Maybe because we don't notice as quickly when they've put on too much weight, since they're wearing basic black? :woot: (Bat-Bat once weighed 18 lbs.)

Lantus or ProZinc? For me that's a tough call, but must say that Bat-Bat regulated more quickly on Lantus, and we made it into remission. But there are plenty of cats who've done just as well on ProZinc. As is said so often said here @ FDMB: Every Cat is Different (ECID).

Whichever insulin works well for your kitty is the right one. Please keep us posted on how Nino's doing, ok? I'm sure you'll get some great support from Tanya's site, too. :bighug:
 
Robin&BB said:
Maybe because we don't notice as quickly when they've put on too much weight, since they're wearing basic black? :woot: (Bat-Bat once weighed 18 lbs.)

Lantus or ProZinc? For me that's a tough call, but must say that Bat-Bat regulated more quickly on Lantus, and we made it into remission. But there are plenty of cats who've done just as well on ProZinc. As is said so often said here @ FDMB: Every Cat is Different (ECID).

Whichever insulin works well for your kitty is the right one. Please keep us posted on how Nino's doing, ok? I'm sure you'll get some great support from Tanya's site, too. :bighug:
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Maybe because we don't notice as quickly when they've put on too much weight, since they're wearing basic black? :woot: (Bat-Bat once weighed 18 lbs.)
Too funny about the basic black Robin!!
 
matahari said:
Thanx. Yes I've been to Tanya's site waiting to be approved.
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Here is another equally good site:https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Feline-CRF-Support/info
Join both. When you post on either group it is a good idea to post full labs as we can get a better idea of what to advise.

Two big issues that concern me is your statement that your cat is having a problem walking, he could have low potassium. I am also interested in the phosphorus values. I will look for your posts in the renal groups.
 
Thanx all. I'm going to get the labs from the vet. He is on sub q fluids and I believe there is potassium in there. I'm waiting to talk to vet today.
 
I got tha labs. But I keep calling and I have not been able to talk to the vet. It's very frustrating. Im not sure what to do now. The office manager emailed me the lab results. I have joined the feline crf group and I'm trying to post his numbers there. It's a bit confusing how to post on that board?

I've been reasurching tring to get finacial assistance to help pay for all the things he will need to sustain him. Most of the finacial aid groups won't work or are only doing say and neuter help.

He seems to be doing a bit better. His blood sugar is not housing as much, he is walking better and eating and drinking well. I'm going to try and post again this morning the results.

Thank you for getting back to me. I've been overwhelmed with all this and looking for new work.

Best

Hayley
 
Labs:

ALB 4.0 2.2-4.4 g/dL

ALP < 5 10-90 U/L

ALT 64 20-100 U/L

AMY 2502 300-1100 U/L HIGH

TBIL 0.2 0.1-0.6 mg/dL

BUN 142 10-30 mg/dL HIGH

CA 11.4 8.0-11.8 mg/dL

PHOS 15.0 3.4-8.5 mg/dL HIGH

CRE 8.6 0.3-2.1 mg/dL HIGH

GLU 205 70-150 mg/dL HIGH

NA+ 143 142-164 mmol/L

K+ 3.2 3.7-5.8 mmol/L LOW

TP 11.3 5.4-8.2 g/dL HIGH

GLOB 7.2 1.5-5.7 g/dL HIGH


RBC 7.33 M/ul 6.54-12.20

Hct 36% 30.3-52.3

HGB 12.0g/dl 9.8-16.2

MCV 49.1 fl 35.9 -16.2

MCH 16.4 11.8- 17.3

MCHC 33.3 g/dl 28.1- 35.8

RDW 23.3% 15.0 - 27.0

%Retic 0.2%

RETIC 13.9 K/ul 3.0 -50.0

WBC 14.50K/UL 2.87 -17.02

%NEU 88.3%

%LYM 8.9

% mono 2.4%

% Eos 0.3%

%BASO 0.1%

NEU 12.81 K/Ul 1.48 -10.29

LYM 1.29 0.92 -6.88

Mono .35 K/lu 0.01 -0.26

EOS 0.04 K/ul 0.17 -1.57

Baso 0.01 K/ul 0.01- 0.26

Plt 501 K/ul 151-600
 
matahari said:
I have joined the feline crf group and I'm trying to post his numbers there. It's a bit confusing how to post on that board?
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I find it tricky using their board as well, Hayley (not helped by my PTSD. :( ) I can't get my head around the email interface at all. I just post on the forum and read replies there, too. I find that it helps to bookmark the threads I'm following (there's an option at the very end of the page on each thread). That way I get alerts when people reply to the threads. I find forum software like FDMB's much easier to work with.

They recommend Dropbox for sharing labs, but I created a separate tab on Saoirse's spreadsheet and typed in the lab results and reference ranges. Then I just included Saoirse's spreadsheet link in my post. They were able to see it fine.

matahari said:
I've been overwhelmed with all this and looking for new work.
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I know how you feel. Getting to grips with diabetes and pancreatitis isn't anything like as difficult as the CKD stuff. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you while you're looking for new work. Be sure to post for a little support when it's getting too much, OK? :bighug::bighug::bighug:


Mogs
.
 
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These value are very consistent with kidney degradation.
PHOS 15.0 3.4-8.5 mg/dL HIGH
BUN 142 10-30 mg/dL HIGH
CRE 8.6 0.3-2.1 mg/dL HIGH
K+ 3.2 3.7-5.8 mmol/L LOW
These tend to indicate dehydration
TP 11.3 5.4-8.2 g/dL HIGH

GLOB 7.2 1.5-5.7 g/dL HIGH
With the hydration corrected it would epected that the HTC would decrase and may be below the normal range
the HCT
HCT 36% 30.3-52.3

You need to feed a low phosphorous food our use a binder. I also say the sub-Q fluids are required too.

Also see:
http://www.felinecrf.org/diagnosis_blood_chemistry.htm
 
My Tess also has CKD. I've collected a list from Dr. Lisa's list of foods that are both LC and low phos, plus some of the newer food. It's on a tab on Tess's SS.

You can create a new tab on your SS for labs too. Just create a new sheet and you can copy and paste the names of the tests from Tess's tab, saves a lot of typing.;) Be sure to make sure the normal ranges are the same as we have, if they are copy those if not you will have to fill them in. Every time you have labs done just fill in on a new column, it's a great way to quickly see any changes. Then you can share the link on Tanya's group, just the way we do spreadsheets here.
 
He seems to be doing better. I have picked up from the vet more Baytril and sub q fluids. He is doing much better on Pepcid AC. I wish I knew about Pepcid before. I think he has been suffering for awhile. I'm learning so much about all this. I Finally got the diabetes thing handled. Now this. I'm hoping he will pull though this.

He started purring today again and Is Eating better. I put food in front if him and page will eat every couple of hours. Drinking water too. Going to his litter box too.
 
That's very encouraging, Hayley. I have Saoirse on her B complex supplement now and it is doing her good. It's another easy thing for you to add. Jarrow B Right was recommended by Tanya's site (1/10 capsule per day).
 
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