Subcutaneous fluid therapy for CRF cat

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Steve - 06 Jun 2008 21:01 GMT

My cat suffers from CRF and for the last couple of weeks I have been
giving him sub-q fluids (150ml), typically once every three days or
so. As soon as he started receiving these fluids, he began acting like
he feels much worse. A few hours after receiving fluids, he develops
severe nasal congestion and an extremely runny nose. He also becomes
very lethargic. Basically he is miserable, and by the time it clears
up it's just about time for the next round of sub-q therapy.

I've been telling myself that this is all just a coincidence. After
all, how can hydrating your cat make it feel worse? It doesn't make
sense to me. At the same time, the correlation between the
administration of sub-q fluids and my cats congestion and lethargy is
awfully strong.

I am waiting for my vet to call me so that I can discuss this with
her. However, if anyone here has any thoughts to share, I'd appreciate
hearing them.

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Deborah, DVM - 10 Jun 2008 12:45 GMT

Hopefully you've talked to your vet by now, but in case not....

The only reason I can think of for fluids to make him worse would be if he
is in heart failure and the SQ fluids are overloading his heart. Might be
worth a chest xrays. Or maybe just give smaller amounts of fluids, i.e. 60
cc and see if that makes a difference.

Deborah, DVM

> My cat suffers from CRF and for the last couple of weeks I have been
> giving him sub-q fluids (150ml), typically once every three days or
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> her. However, if anyone here has any thoughts to share, I'd appreciate
> hearing them.

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Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / June 2008

Subcutaneous fluid therapy for CRF cat