Buzz's bloodwork

[Sarah and Buzz]

So Buzz appears to be feeling much better this morning. She ate as normal and we gave her 1u of Lantus. BG was 367 (? I already can't remember!) at AMPS.

The vet called Dave this morning with the results of the BW. Her kidney values (creatine? he can't remember what she said, but something with kidneys) were double what they should be, and the vet told him that if she doesn't get hydrated well enough, it could be life threatening. Good grief! She thinks we can manage it at home as long as she is drinking and eating. We are giving her chicken water every few hours, and like I said, she is eating this morning. Because it's the weekend, Dave is going to stop by the vet and get some subQ fluids just in case. I don't want, nor can we afford, a trip to the ER vet. He is also picking up a copy of the results so we can see for ourselves what's up.

An exciting day already and it's not nearly noon. I hope everyone else's weekend is going better.

 

[Terri and Lucy]

You may need this reference when you review the bloodwork:
http://www.felinecrf.com/tests0.htm

How old is Buzz?

 

[Sarah and Buzz]

She just turned 9 in November. I posted the relevant results on Health, sorry don't have the link now, am on my phone. Thanks for the CRF link; that is what I am afraid of.

 

[Ele & Blackie (GA)]

When you get the results, please post them. As you know, Blackie was diagnosed with CRF in January. I have lots of links for you if you need them. You could also compare Buzz's results to Blackie's just for more info. Do you add water to Buzz's food? I always add water to Blackie's food and so far we haven't had to use SubQ fluids. Also, have you noticed if Buzz is peeing in larger quantities? That's another sign of CRF. Don't worry too much about this - the BUN can be elevated because of the lc food, not CRF. And Buzz is feeling better. Sending you and Buzz healing energies today. I hope your weekend goes better.

 

[Joanna & Bix (GA)]

So glad she is feeling better. I hope her blood work stuff turns out just to be a fluke, or a bad day she was having. Poor girl! :sad:

 

[Sarah and Buzz]

Here is a link to the results (posted in Health): viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1929

I did compare Buzz's #s to Blackie's, Ele. Her BUN is much higher, as is phosphorous. But you say that could be from the food, not necessarily CRF? How do you differentiate?

The vet mentioned nothing about CRF, only that we needed to keep Buzz hydrated. I'm not saying that her not mentioning it makes me think it's not CRF, just that I would have liked for her to mention all possibilities, and if she doesn't think it's a possibility, then say that too.

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

the "N" in BUN stands for nitrogen which is what protein breaks down into. If you reduce the carbs in a diet then the fat and protein content are the only place to make this up in a cat diet [they don't drink alcohol].

The last two tests H has had just barely above normal BUN and within range creatinine. This also coincides with our switch to low carb, medium fat, high protein diet.

Also those ranges in the blood tests are for ALL cats - not just cats that happen to be on low carb diets.

You will probably want to address the phosphorus issue. Just about every commercial cat food out there has too much phosphorus.
Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 4th ed. Chapter 6 page 22 states:
"Dietary phosphorus may be reduced as low as 0.3% DM in cats with overt renal disease, otherwise levels of 0.5 to 0.7 % are recommended"
http://www.markmorrisinstitute.org/atta ... ts%20b.pdf

Wellness Turkey, one of the lower P foods out there, has 1.05% DM Phosphorous!!! Even more scary, the typical raw with bones recipe [the ones frequently promoted here] have 1.7% DM phosphorous!!!

I think it is [what I'm thinking about not what Buzz has] kidney stones maybe - but anyway they are made of three things ammonia [Nitrogen/protein], phosphorous and one other thing. This is what I think may have guided the historical thinking that protein in CRF cats was bad.

 

[Ele & Blackie (GA)]

Sarah, when they did the U/A did they tell you the urine specific gravity. This is one of the keys of weather you are really dealing with CRF. And it's my understanding that once you get a "bad" USG, it never changes, while the BUN, creatnine, etc can change. What are you feeding Buzz? I feed Blackie Wellness Chicken and Turkey because they are relatively low in phosphorus even though its low carb. Such a mystery, I hope you get it sorted out soon and that Buzz is back in good numbers soon.

 

[Sarah and Buzz]

the "N" in BUN stands for nitrogen which is what protein breaks down into. If you reduce the carbs in a diet then the fat and protein content are the only place to make this up in a cat diet [they don't drink alcohol].

The last two tests H has had just barely above normal BUN and within range creatinine. This also coincides with our switch to low carb, medium fat, high protein diet.

Also those ranges in the blood tests are for ALL cats - not just cats that happen to be on low carb diets.

You will probably want to address the phosphorus issue. Just about every commercial cat food out there has too much phosphorus.
Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 4th ed. Chapter 6 page 22 states:
"Dietary phosphorus may be reduced as low as 0.3% DM in cats with overt renal disease, otherwise levels of 0.5 to 0.7 % are recommended"
http://www.markmorrisinstitute.org/atta ... ts%20b.pdf

Wellness Turkey, one of the lower P foods out there, has 1.05% DM Phosphorous!!! Even more scary, the typical raw with bones recipe [the ones frequently promoted here] have 1.7% DM phosphorous!!!

I think it is [what I'm thinking about not what Buzz has] kidney stones maybe - but anyway they are made of three things ammonia [Nitrogen/protein], phosphorous and one other thing. This is what I think may have guided the historical thinking that protein in CRF cats was bad.

That is quite interesting about the phosphorous, Gator! 1.05% is certainly quite a bit above the recommended amounts, no? Thanks for the link and the info.

 

[Sarah and Buzz]

Sarah, when they did the U/A did they tell you the urine specific gravity. This is one of the keys of weather you are really dealing with CRF. And it's my understanding that once you get a "bad" USG, it never changes, while the BUN, creatnine, etc can change. What are you feeding Buzz? I feed Blackie Wellness Chicken and Turkey because they are relatively low in phosphorus even though its low carb. Such a mystery, I hope you get it sorted out soon and that Buzz is back in good numbers soon.

The vet did not tell me any results from the UA other than that her glucose was high (duh), no ketones, and no infection present. I will be discussing the results with the vet on Monday and will ask about the USG then.

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

That is quite interesting about the phosphorous, Gator! 1.05% is certainly quite a bit above the recommended amounts, no? Thanks for the link and the info.

Yea, SACN is like the go-to book for nutrition. Interesting in Newsgroups [a totally separate part of the Internet] there was this big old dust-up about how SACN is tied to Hills.

My theory is that they put so much P in the food because it is then easier to get the Ca [Calcium to Phosphorus] ratio correct. A smaller amount of P would then require a more precise measure of Ca to ensure it was in the correct zone. Just my working theory.