Pookie (GA)
Member Since 2020
Lola's water consumption never eased up, even after she went into remission. Successive UAs confirmed there was no recurring UTI. In fact, they were all normal - no blood, no protein, no glucose. Specific gravities hovered around 1.020 and 1.018.
But she continues to drink ~16 fl. oz of water a day, so she went in for a physical on Monday. CKD. Labs are attached (and I tried to input them in the lab page of her SS, but the abbreviations are different and I'm not sure I got them posted correctly).
She had an episode at the end of January where she went off her food (YA Zero) and her fur started to smell like a feedlot. Not knowing any better, and because she resumed eating Dr. E's chicken with gusto, I assumed it was a reaction to the YA. Considerable online research and hindsight now suggests it was her kidneys crashing.
(The great irony in this is that in the 28 months she's been with me, I've never seen Lola looking better or acting happier! Her weight's steady, her coat's slick and glossy. She chases the laser pointer. She just has this drinking problem.)
My vet, predictably (and sadly), recommended a slow transition to a "therapeutic" "prescription" diet -- Hill's K/D. I know enough, having been on the board since October, that that wasn't the best option, but because the Tanya's website said that those renal diets work I was willing to give it a go. I ran the numbers: 46% dry matter carbs. I wept when I put the bowl out for Lola. Bless her, Lo has steadfastly refused to go near it. I did my bit for the vet.
Using the recommendations of the Tanya's site, the Facebook Feline Chronic Kidney Disease and our own @JanetNJ I bought several varieties of Weruva BFF PLAY and started offering it to her last night. I'll use the next several weeks to transition Lo to low carb, low phosphorous, low protein foods that won't kill her pancreas. Hopefully, when she returns to the vet for follow-up tests in a couple of weeks her numbers will be improved and I can use this as a learning opportunity for my vet (who's been my vet for 25 years and who I really, really like).
Which brings me to my question:
The Tanya's site talks about supplementing B vitamins. It also says prominently to check with your vet and that doing anything without your vet's advice can be dangerous .... I don't know that Lo is deficient in B vitamins, but since they are water soluble and excess washes out in the urine, is there any harm in adding it to her diet? Do I really need to consult my vet? (I just happen to have Vitacost B12 on hand.)
Thanks all!
Enid
But she continues to drink ~16 fl. oz of water a day, so she went in for a physical on Monday. CKD. Labs are attached (and I tried to input them in the lab page of her SS, but the abbreviations are different and I'm not sure I got them posted correctly).
She had an episode at the end of January where she went off her food (YA Zero) and her fur started to smell like a feedlot. Not knowing any better, and because she resumed eating Dr. E's chicken with gusto, I assumed it was a reaction to the YA. Considerable online research and hindsight now suggests it was her kidneys crashing.
(The great irony in this is that in the 28 months she's been with me, I've never seen Lola looking better or acting happier! Her weight's steady, her coat's slick and glossy. She chases the laser pointer. She just has this drinking problem.)
My vet, predictably (and sadly), recommended a slow transition to a "therapeutic" "prescription" diet -- Hill's K/D. I know enough, having been on the board since October, that that wasn't the best option, but because the Tanya's website said that those renal diets work I was willing to give it a go. I ran the numbers: 46% dry matter carbs. I wept when I put the bowl out for Lola. Bless her, Lo has steadfastly refused to go near it. I did my bit for the vet.
Using the recommendations of the Tanya's site, the Facebook Feline Chronic Kidney Disease and our own @JanetNJ I bought several varieties of Weruva BFF PLAY and started offering it to her last night. I'll use the next several weeks to transition Lo to low carb, low phosphorous, low protein foods that won't kill her pancreas. Hopefully, when she returns to the vet for follow-up tests in a couple of weeks her numbers will be improved and I can use this as a learning opportunity for my vet (who's been my vet for 25 years and who I really, really like).
Which brings me to my question:
The Tanya's site talks about supplementing B vitamins. It also says prominently to check with your vet and that doing anything without your vet's advice can be dangerous .... I don't know that Lo is deficient in B vitamins, but since they are water soluble and excess washes out in the urine, is there any harm in adding it to her diet? Do I really need to consult my vet? (I just happen to have Vitacost B12 on hand.)
Thanks all!
Enid
