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Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / October 2007help with newly diagnosed cat
Hi, or should I say help???!! I have a female cat (unable to determine age, got her from a shelter, estimate 6-8 or 10 years old) who has just spent a week in distress. she's a small cat to start with....but she used to weigh almost 8 lbs, when she went in she weighed 5 lbs., now 5.25 lbs. after 3 days of treatment at the vets. She used to eat 2 cans of fancy feast a day and last month was grandually losing strength in legs. then stopped eating last Friday. took her to the vet on Monday and they did blood work. here are her results from first blood test: ALB 3.0 ALP 41 ALT 50 AMY 1629 TBIL 0.3 BUN 76 CA++ 10.3 PHOS 12.2 CRE 4.7 GLU 119 NA+ 147 K+ 2.7 TP 7.2 GLOB 4.2 Thyroid Profile T4 1.9 CHOL 217 QC OK HEM 0, LIP 2+, ICT 0 after three days at the vets with fluids, antibiotics and RenaKare Gel: BUN 49 Creatinine 3.5 we were encouraged at the vets because her numbers did improve and she seemed so alert and not as weak when we picked her up this afternoon but, since bringing her home: After the initial joy of being home again, we've hit a major road block. She has only eaten about a teaspoon of the Hills AD stuff. I gave her the 1 1/4 ML of RenaKare with the little bit of food we got down her. she seems weak all over again and can barely walk, she pulls herself along the carpet with her claws. she is agitated when we try to feed her. I've tried the stuff the vet gave us. No interest. I tried her usual favorite Fancy Feast (fish flavor) almost repelled by it. she gave me a guttural growl when I tried to get her to lick it off my fingers. she pulled herself by her claws to the corner of my living room and put her head behind the furniture like she's hiding but doesn't have the strength to find a better hiding place. she's cowering in the corner facing towards the wall, flicking her tail right now. I just don't know what to do next. She seems weaker by the moment. I want to just let her alone for the rest of the night. Im hoping she is just trying to trust us again after we took her to the bad place (the vet's) and left her there. I'm hoping she just is tramatized by all the activity of the last week. there were dogs at the vets and she is afraid of dogs. and she hasn't been away from home since we got her except for a few trips to the vet when we first got her. but I'm very upset at her reaction to food and her obvious weakness. shouldn't she be feeling better since I was able to get the Renacare in her? Could the Renacare have made her queasy? the tube says to give with food, she did eat about a teaspoon full and I expected she would eat more, so I gave it to her. Since I gave her that Renacare she only ate a few more morsols and then she seemed to be turned off by food. could it have something to do with her Phosphorus level? I read that it's like she has heartburn. Please help! I don't know what to do to get her to eat. I tried microwaving her favorites (not too hot, I tested first). She definitly doesn't want the stuff the vet gave us. but they said she ate it at the vets. I don't want to give up on her, but I don't want to torture her either. any help would be greatly appreciated. barb here are her results from first blood test: ..........you need to post the normal ranges for these numbers to be meaningful. Labs have different ranges for normal. she seems > weak all over again and can barely walk, she pulls herself along the carpet > with her claws. ..........have you treated your home with any pesticides recently? > I just don't know what to do next. She seems weaker by the moment. ............If she was walking normally in the vet's office, I'd call the vet. > shouldn't she be feeling better since I was able to get the Renacare in her? > Could the Renacare have made her queasy? ............I don't know what Renacare is - is it this? http://www.biopathics.com/renacare.htm Is this what they were using at the vet hospital? Did they give her anything else? I'm a big fan of alternative medicine, but I'd say you need a proven phosphorus binder at this point and perhaps something like Pepcid to calm her stomach down and bring her appetitie back. Please read this list of meds for CRF cats: http://www.felinecrf.com/meds0.htm ..........please join the feline kidney group and ask these questions. Your vet should be able to answer them also. Please let your vet know immediately she's not doing well at home. Afraid of dogs or not she was eating at the hospital and gained weight. She must eat. buglady take out the dog before replying 2 hours after this post I pasted below.... she has kept the baby food down. I'm giving her baby food a little bit at a time every hour or so. I've also been able to give her the Potasium (Renacare) gel and she's keeping it down. I've decided that the full dosage was too much to handle at once, so I'm breaking it up in smaller dosages now. She's keeping the baby food and the gel down, so far so good. the antibiotic and appetite stimulant seem to be working. I'm using a syringe to squirt the baby food into her mouth. she isn't liking it, but she is tolerating it right now. So I guess that's my stategy. smaller amounts of food, more frequently. She's already holding her head up better. still wobbling when she trys to walk. but she's not huddled in the corner like she was. I'm feeling better too because I thought I was putting her down this morning and the vet said no, she's not giving up. she's just very weak and stressed. he's working with me. he's a great vet. bless him. pray for my Baby...I have no prayers left. Barb I got back from the vet an hour ago. we redid the blood work. her phosphorus is way down, her other numbers are pretty close to what they were yesterday. the vet thinks she has a UTI or stomach infection, gave her an antibiotic that is supposed to be for both. also gave her an appitite stimulant. I was able to get 4 heaping teaspoons of Gerber chicken and gravy stage 2 in her. she is keeping it down and as of yet hasn't gone to the litter box. she turned her head after the 4th spoon of food so I let it go. she is exhausted, but she already looks perkier than before, her eyes are dialating normally and she is resting. she looks more comfortable than she did all last night. I'm taking it as a good sign. She had Subq at the vet. she goes back tomorrow for the appointment I already had scheduled. I'm going to learn how to do the Subq's myself. I don't want to have to drag her to the vet's everytime because it stresses her out. here are her new numbers: ALB 2.7 2.2-4.4 ALP 36 10-90 ALT 69 20-100 AMY 1255* 300-1100 TBIL 0.3 0.1 - 0.6 BUN 49* 10-30 (same as yesterday) CA++ 10.5 8.0-11.8 PHOS 7.5 3.4-8.5 (was 12.2 yesterday) CRE 3.5* 0.3 -2.1 (same as yesterday) GLU 124 70-150 NA+ 154 142-164 K+ 2.9* 3.7-5.8 TP 6.7 5.4 - 8.2 GLOB 4.0 1.5 - 5.7 QC OK HEM 0, KIP 0, ICT 0 I'll let her nap a bit and get her to eat some more in an hour or so. she is so stressed out (and so am I). Barb > here are her results from first blood test: > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > buglady > take out the dog before replying > she has kept the baby food down. I'm giving her baby food a little bit at a > time every hour or so. I've also been able to give her the Potasium > (Renacare) gel and she's keeping it down. .......that's all good news. Just keep the food rolling in her. The last yr of her life I fed the old cat 4 times a day. It was that late night feeding that seemed to make a real difference. She'd often yell at me at midnight and I found she would eat well then. I'm using a syringe > to squirt the baby food into her mouth. she isn't liking it, but she is > tolerating it right now. .....Just be very careful you don't point it back at the throat or she could aspirate the food. Every time you feed I'd at least try offering her some on your finger first. I wouldn't feed every 2 hours - it's too much for a cat. They just do not like being messed with so much. I'd try for every 4 hours. I thought I was putting her down this morning > and the vet said no, she's not giving up. she's just very weak and > stressed. he's working with me. he's a great vet. bless him. > I'll let her nap a bit and get her to eat some more in an hour or so. she > is so stressed out (and so am I). ......try not to stress. What you're doing is just good nursing care. Sick kitties sometimes need it, but it doesn't mean they're dying. ......all paws crossed here for recovery buglady take out the dog before replying >> she has kept the baby food down. I'm giving her baby food a little bit >> at [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > on > your finger first. kind of funny story...I was waiting for her blood work in the vets exam room with her, I started bitting my nails (yeah they're down to the quick) and there was a bad taste on my fingers, I realized it was cat food. I totally forgot I was trying to get her to eat by licking cat food off my fingers. in my rush to get her seen today I forgot to wash my hands. BLECH! how do they eat that stuff?!? I wouldn't feed every 2 hours - it's too much for a cat. > They just do not like being messed with so much. I'd try for every 4 > hours. I have backed off a bit. I was trying every 2 hours because she was eating such small amounts. but now she's eating more at a time so I am going with every 4 hours or so. actually the last time we ate, she initiated it. so I hand fed her some kibble. she's much clearer eyed now, before her eyes were big as saucers. the vet tech showed me how to get the baby food in her. I just let give a little squirt into the side of her mouth. now, I just let a little leak out the tip of the syringe. she's licks it on her own. I'm only giving the baby food now because it gets her started eating the kibble (and it's the k/d kibble). she ate almost a whole jar of baby food today and 1/4 cup of kibble. strangly enough she still wants nothing to do with the canned food, she never ate dry food when she was well. always wanted canned. > I thought I was putting her down this morning >> and the vet said no, she's not giving up. she's just very weak and [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Sick > kitties sometimes need it, but it doesn't mean they're dying. I can't believe how responsive she is to me. she's always snubbed me, she loves the piss out of my husband though, always wanted rubs and pets from him, never from me. I was the "food lady", but now she's wanting me to love her and care for her. I wish she would sleep a bit though, she still seems slightly agitated. but if I go to her and sit with and lightly pet her, she chills out. She's a longhair and she is getting so clumpy. I can't groom her at all right now. It's going to be hell getting the clumps out of her coat, but I'll cross the road when I get to it. thank you for your help and concern. Barb > ......all paws crossed here for recovery > buglady > take out the dog before replying Barb, do you have any Feliway, perhaps? Sometimes that is enough to relax an upset or flighty cat enough to eat... All the best, Kay no, what is it? if it's a drug, I'll hold off. she's got an antibiotic in her right now and I dont want to pile things up on her. I know there will be times when she needs to get pilled and stuff, but right now she's improving so much with the eating, I'm not throwing anything else in the mix. but she seems much more comfortable tonight. she is still a little fidgety, but much less so than earlier this evening. I fell asleep on the couch and I woke up to the sound of crunching, she was eating kibble on her own! then she laid down in front of me and was watching TV, like we usually do. she's stopped huddling in the corner. she's laying stretched out in front of the couch, more relaxed than I've seen all week. her whole demeanor is totally different tonight, I think we're turning a corner here. thank you so much for your concern barb > Barb, do you have any Feliway, perhaps? Sometimes that is enough to relax > an upset or flighty cat enough to eat... > > All the best, > > Kay update on my Baby: totally different cat from just 2 days ago. She is eating on her own, still won't eat the k/d stuff, I gave in and let her have her favorite Fancy Feast yesterday. She ate a whole can this morning. she is no longer dragging her weak back leg, it's more of a limp now. she's still a little weak back there, I'm sure she can't jump or anything like that and she gets tired from exerting herself. But she is able to walk farther this morning without resting than she was yesterday. she was just walking away from me and she was moving pretty darn good. what if we had this wrong? what the infection came first? What if she has been carrying around some kind of low grade infection, kidney or intestinal, for a while and she got weak for whatever reason (maybe even picked up another infection on top of it) and that made her numbers get skewered? She really showed improvement after the first antibiotic shot, and this morning after her second antibiotic shot yesterday, she is vastly improved. I read that kidney function can come back in humans when they have kidney failure after having a kidney infection. What if she's been carrying around this bug all this time and the antibiotic killed it and now that it's gone she's getting kidney function back? Is that possible? I'm not trying to have any false hope but she is really looking good today. no appetite stimulate and she got up today at her usual time (5:30 am!!) and woke me up to be fed. She hasn't done that for a long time, even before she crashed. she's using the litter box normally, drinking water and eating entirely on her own. She still feels hydrated, (she last had a Subq yesterday, at 1:00 pm) she holds her chest erect, she's bright eyed, very responsive, and affectionate, the only thing you notice is the slight limp. that potassium supplement is kicking in and I've only been able to give her the whole dose twice this whole week! It's only been 6 days since she crashed. She has appointments at the vet for 3 Subqs spread over this next week, I'm going to run her full blood work again next Saturday. If I had stayed with the first vet, I might have listened to her and put Baby down. I'm so glad I went with my instincts and asked for the other vet. Because I can see that even if we have to moniter her and give her SubQs for the rest of the life, she is going to have some very good quality lifetime left. She is happy, purring and contented, sleeping right now like a normal cat. I didn't think I was going to see that again. She doesn't even have the sick smell about her anymore. thanks to all who emailed me, gave me such great advice and helped me hang in there. You really did help!! many tears of joy! Barb > totally different cat from just 2 days ago. She is eating on her own, > still won't eat the k/d stuff, I gave in and let her have her favorite Fancy > Feast yesterday. She ate a whole can this morning. she is no longer > dragging her weak back leg, it's more of a limp now. .......that's great! I wonder about that limping stuff, doesn't seem related to kidney problems. What if she has > been carrying around some kind of low grade infection, kidney or intestinal, > for a while and she got weak for whatever reason (maybe even picked up > another infection on top of it) and that made her numbers get skewered? ........that would be acute renal failure (ARF), not chronic, from which they can recover from proper care, like IV fluids, etc., which you did. That's what all the pets had who ate that bad food. Those who hauled them into the vet and got them on IVs had live dogs/cats in the end. > If I had stayed with the first vet, I might have listened to her and put > Baby down. I'm so glad I went with my instincts and asked for the other > vet. Because I can see that even if we have to moniter her and give her > SubQs for the rest of the life, she is going to have some very good quality > lifetime left. .......yes, even if it's CRF not ARF, they can have good quality of life with care. Hoping for the best buglady take out the dog before replying update on my Baby: totally different cat from just 2 days ago. She is eating on her own, still won't eat the k/d stuff, I gave in and let her have her favorite Fancy Feast yesterday. She ate a whole can this morning. she is no longer dragging her weak back leg, it's more of a limp now. she's still a little weak back there, I'm sure she can't jump or anything like that and she gets tired from exerting herself. But she is able to walk farther this morning without resting than she was yesterday. she was just walking away from me and she was moving pretty darn good. what if we had this wrong? what the infection came first? What if she has been carrying around some kind of low grade infection, kidney or intestinal, for a while and she got weak for whatever reason (maybe even picked up another infection on top of it) and that made her numbers get skewered? She really showed improvement after the first antibiotic shot, and this morning after her second antibiotic shot yesterday, she is vastly improved. I read that kidney function can come back in humans when they have kidney failure after having a kidney infection. What if she's been carrying around this bug all this time and the antibiotic killed it and now that it's gone she's getting kidney function back? Is that possible? I'm not trying to have any false hope but she is really looking good today. no appetite stimulate and she got up today at her usual time (5:30 am!!) and woke me up to be fed. She hasn't done that for a long time, even before she crashed. she's using the litter box normally, drinking water and eating entirely on her own. She still feels hydrated, (she last had a Subq yesterday, at 1:00 pm) she holds her chest erect, she's bright eyed, very responsive, and affectionate, the only thing you notice is the slight limp. that potassium supplement is kicking in and I've only been able to give her the whole dose twice this whole week! It's only been 6 days since she crashed. She has appointments at the vet for 3 Subqs spread over this next week, I'm going to run her full blood work again next Saturday. If I had stayed with the first vet, I might have listened to her and put Baby down. I'm so glad I went with my instincts and asked for the other vet. Because I can see that even if we have to moniter her and give her SubQs for the rest of the life, she is going to have some very good quality lifetime left. She is happy, purring and contented, sleeping right now like a normal cat. I didn't think I was going to see that again. She doesn't even have the sick smell about her nymore. thanks to all who emailed me, gave me such great advice and helped me hang in there. You really did help!! many tears of joy! Barb |
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