Any CKD Cats Take SubQ Fluids?

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SabrinaFaire

SabrinaFaire

Member Since 2011
In addition to being diabetic, Hobbs also has Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). His check up was last night and his kidney numbers are up a bit (I forgot to have her email me the labs, will do that on Friday when we go back). She wants me to bring him in to test his BP and also start him on SubQ fluids. We go back on Friday for all that. Anyone done this? Is it hard? Expensive? Any suggestions?

I seriously need to stop taking him to the vet right before major holidays. He was dx with diabetes right before Christmas last year. At least this time we're not planning on going out of town for the occasion.
 
How hard it is depends upon the kitty. It is not expensive if you get the supplies (fluid bags, needles and administrative sets) from other than your vet. The fluid bags require a script.
This a goo place to get them.
http://bricomedicalsupplies.com/
There is also Thriving Pets and more.
Sometimes you can order the fluid bags by the case from a nearby Cosco.
 
from my experience, it depends on the kitty as to how difficult it is. my first ckd kitty was hell on 4 paws and got none because there was no way she was going to let us. fortunately she did well without them for 2 years after the vet thought it was time she needed them.

since then i had to give them to another of my kitties as part of her cancer treatment and that was no problem at all. really easy. and then her brother now gets them and has for well over a year now and he too is no problem at all. i will say that a plate with food on it is a great distraction for kitty while you're doing the fluids.

there are several tips and tricks to make it go easier or quicker but i'm sure those are covered in the links already given.

as far as costs, i get my needles and lines from thriving pets that was mentioned before. the vet is going to probably give you 18 or 19 gauge needles, ask them if they have 20 gauge at least. the difference in the 18 vs. 20 doesn't look to be much but boy does it seem to make a difference to the kitties. i think i just paid about $7 for a box of 100 needles from thriving pets last week. the lines were a buck something each but i can't give you much in the way of specifics until i get home tonight and can look at them.

the fluids i get for about $25/case of 12 bags at walmart versus about $25 for one bag at the vets. they don't stock them but if you give them the NDC number they can order them and for ours it just took a couple days is all.

the handiest of websites i've seen pertaining to ckd is tanya's site at http://www.felinecrf.org/

eta: here's the needles i use

http://www.thrivingpets.com/index.php/t ... f-100.html
 
You've gotten some great suggestions where to buy supplies. Vet's offices really mark up the price of supplies. My sugar kitty Brie gets fluids and he does ok. He gets a little squirmy. It really depends on the cat. Some cats are really easy and others will have nothing to do with it. I use 18 G needles. I know it's big but the fluids run a lot quicker. One of the yahoo renal failure groups has a good link to the different gauge needles, different manufacturers and how quickly the fluids run through those needles. People use 18, 19 or 20 gauge needles. You'll see different opinions. I can't remember the name of the group but if you are interested I'll find out. Just message me. I've done fluids with quite a few cats over the years and I've been very lucky that my cats have been cooperative. Brie is probably the most challenging cat and he isn't really that bad. After about 75 ml he wants it done.

Sandy
 
OK so his appointment on Friday went OK. His BP was up so they are putting him on BP meds. They showed me how to do the fluids but I'm glad I have that video to refer to before I have to do it myself. They charge $32 for the fluid bag at the vet, I found it on that Brico Medical site for $3/bag when I buy a case of 12. Talk about markup! They did not fight me at all about getting his the fluids online cheaper, so that's good. He needs 150mL 2x/week so the bag should last about a month. I'm going to order it this week so I have it on hand. Oh and they did give me 20G needles so that's good, right?

Thanks for all the help, guys.
 
Hi Sabrina,
Glad you were able to find a good deal on the fluids. And also that you got the 20g needles. When Bob first got fluids after his dka, I had to give 200 ml per day, but I split it into two treatments. You might see how he tolerates the time it takes (and the volume) of 150, and if it's an issue, ask the vet if splitting it into two treatments of 75ml would be okay?
Bob's patience ran out by the time I got 100 into him:-)
Carl
 
I'm giving Brie 100 ml every other day. He gets a little antsy after about 75 ml. I was giving 100 ml 5 to 6 times a week for a few months until we got his creat stablized after his kidney infection. Brie kind of let me know that he wasn't going to put up with fluids every day. I'm lucky that his kidney disease isn't too bad.

Sandy
 
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