2/28 Trixie AMBG 93 - BW...not the greatest news

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Amy&TrixieCat

Amy&TrixieCat

Member Since 2011
Yesterday

So far today...happy appy, snuggly, spunky, feisty, and anti-jinxes. But yesterday afternoon and last night her appy would only qualify as nearly crappy for the first time in quite a while. I am on high alert.

Her follow-up BW results came in yesterday afternoon with a mixed bag. Her BUN and creatinine are still extremely crappy but basically stable - pretty much the same that they've been for the last year-ish. But some other values indicate that she could be experiencing progression of her CKD....she is slightly anemic now (as she was in Dec, too); her potassium is a bit elevated (was in Dec, too), and the new one is that her phos shot up. The irony is that despite this news, and aside from last night's crappy appy issue, for the most part she seems to feel the best she's felt in a long time...something I didn't notice until after/while we ran the ABs. I was hoping the AB would correct the anomalies in December's BW. Big sigh.

In poking around last night, I did see that benazepril can cause elevated potassium, and she's been on it for 3 years now. I have a call in to the vetty about that; she's not in until later today.

Her WBC was better and back in the normal range, but it was the higher end of normal, which does have my attention, too. I also wonder if she's got a kidney infection as her "mystery infection", and if that's the case, the AB she was on wasn't the right choice. I do feel like her appy isn't as good as it was when she was on the AB, and last night's crappy appy really stood out. And IF it's a kidney infection, it could account for some of her other BW results. As I said, I'm on high alert....another bought with crappy appy and I will probably request Zeniquin for possible kidney infection (vetty did agree that this is possible).

I guess I'm grasping. As all of you know, knowledge may be power, but it also an incredible source of massive stress, anxiety, and depression.

With that, I do have to try to make myself useful, even though I don't feel like it. Physically moving does tend to help...

Prayers to all....

Amy
 
Amy, I am so glad that you have a plan for Trixie and that the vet is on board with it. No one knows our babies the way we do and you surely have your finger on the pulse of Trixie's well being. Sending vines. :bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
I think it's worth a try to treat for a kidney infection. Some of my cat friends wanted me to try that for Max but my vet was against it. He never had a UTI or any infection his whole life. Since Trixie has done well when treated I would give it a try. :bighug:
 
Thanks for all the thoughts and hugs, everyone....

tiffmaxee said:
I think it's worth a try to treat for a kidney infection. Some of my cat friends wanted me to try that for Max but my vet was against it. He never had a UTI or any infection his whole life. Since Trixie has done well when treated I would give it a try. :bighug:
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I am very seriously considering this, especially since her WBC is on the high side of normal and because I feel like her appy is faltering a bit now that we're 12 days out from finishing the last AB (I felt like it started faltering over the weekend, but I wasn't sure if it really was or if I was being hyper-sensitive the way I can be). I so regret not culturing her urine back in December, but we were all so focused on the thought that her elevated WBC was related to the anal gland issue that brought us to the vet in the first place that any possible urinary issue slipped through the cracks.
 
Amy, so sorry for this stressor. Sorry if I missed this, but have they gotten a recent urine analysis/culture?
I sure hope her appy picks up - you are always such a cheerleader for all of us- I will send some healing vines Trixie's way
 
Carol & Murphy said:
Amy, so sorry for this stressor. Sorry if I missed this, but have they gotten a recent urine analysis/culture?
I sure hope her appy picks up - you are always such a cheerleader for all of us- I will send some healing vines Trixie's way
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Thanks, Carol.

No, not a recent culture. They drew urine on Dec 29, but we were focused on her overloaded anal gland issue that day so actually culturing the urine slipped all of our minds. She was just in for her follow-up this past Saturday (finished the AB just over a week prior) and they did not draw urine at that time.

Vet did suggest running a culture to see if there is anything going on - but it was more of an "if you want to" sort of thing. I think she's not fully convinced it's a kidney infection, but at the same time, she will pretty much do what I want, whether it's run a culture, or just prescribe an AB that would be appropriate for a kidney infection. I honestly just don't know what to do. And I know sometimes kidney infections don't even show in a culture. Last night her appy sucked which was a surprise - hadn't had a bad appy in quite some time, but today it is pretty decent and she seems comfy and relaxed. And with her kidneys being bad for so long, the CKD is bound to progress. I don't want to hit her with a powerful AB if it's not needed. Ugh.

We are going to try cutting her benazepril in half, since one if it's potential side-effects can be elevated potassium. We'll recheck her BP and potassium in about 2 weeks.
 
Normally, I would vote for taking her in for a urine draw, but since I know Trixie's history of having a bad reaction to a vet visit (maybe that's what caused the crappy appy?), I hesitate to do so. If your vet sees no harm in prescribing the Zeniquin, and you feel in your gut that this is a good option, I'd go with your gut. You are the most dedicated helicopter mom I know, and you know Trixie inside and out. A kidney infection does sound like a good explanation for the changes you're seeing in the BW.

Sending healing and appy vines, and :bighug:s.
 
Amy&TrixieCat said:
She's ot on new ABs just yet....just something I'm pondering based on how her appy performs. She is eating better so far today than she was last night, so at the moment I'm just in hover-mode....
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Anemia does cause inappetance, and exhaustion. I imagine you know about the hormone erythropoietin? If not, it is often administered to cats to reverse their anemia. It does work and over my lifetime, I've had 4 different cats on it. They all recovered nicely and went on to have various longevities. The only problem with this hormone is:
1. Most vets are scared of it, thinking an allergic reaction to it might cause the cat's death.
2. Once convinced of it's usual safety, most vets tend to administer too much of it, too quickly. This raises the blood pressure too fast and often leads to massive strokes.
I do not remember the protocol for cats on this hormone, but I recommend you to the FAQs part of the CRF online group for the correct administration.

I hope this can help you.
 
Amy&TrixieCat said:
In poking around last night, I did see that benazepril can cause elevated potassium, and she's been on it for 3 years now. I have a call in to the vetty about that; she's not in until later today.
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Neko often had a bit elevated potassium before she went on benazapril. She was on it for almost three years and it never raised her potassium. Her potassium came down after we increased her benazapril dose due to her increased proteinuria last spring. ECID.

Is Trixie on B vitamins? Neko was a little below range on the HCT and I found the B vitamins helped. Course, she was getting chemo which didn't help the situation. I'm glad Trixie is pretty stable there. Neko's IM vetty wasn't too concerned when she was at where Trixie is now.

I hope the helicopter can land soon. :bighug:
 
(((Amy))) love to you and our little buddy, Trixie.

I hope her appy picks up and you can figure out what is going on that's changing those BW results. That's not my forte, but I can send all kinds of healing vines, healing light and prayers your way.
 
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