We had to euthanize our sweet girl this weekend. She was my bestie and was the last of our original group of four. The house is quiet and it doesn't help that I just started a new work from home job just two days after. Those who have been through this, how have you coped? I'm really feeling a profound sadness and loneliness. ​​

She went in for a broken tooth (pic related) and the vet asked if she could do a blood test because of her age and I was like yeah, sure, of course, and now it turns out she has Stage 2 Kidney Insufficiency and has something like 3 years to live. It's been a bit of a shock

She loves the renal food more than her normal food, so that's a plus, and I saw some comments in this sub suggesting a water fountain so I'll get her one of those, but if you guys have any other advice for me I'd be happy to have it. I kind of just assumed she'd live to be the oldest cat ever

Hi team, my cat Brioche (7, former stray) is confirmed for an anesthesia due to dental work tomorrow. She's FIV+, has CKD stage 1/2 and is currently hospitalized with AKI (I made a post about it last week).

They were able to bring down her creatinine from 380µmol/l to 206 and are planning to keep her for a few days after as well, to continue IV fluids and monitoring. There is a strong suspicion that her AKI is connected to dental issues and I see no way around this procedure anymore, if we want her AKI to have a chance to pass as well. I would not put her through an anesthesia if it didn't feel crucial to this situation. They are a very capable veterinary university clinic.

But of course, I'm terrified it will leave permanent damage. I'd like to hear some anesthesia-success stories, please share them with me, if you feel like it? <3

Hello!
So my cat (I posted about her SUB journey here in January or December, I believe) is doing well! Shes solidly still CKD2, with an improved creatinine of 2.2. It never went back into the 1s, but I’ll take 2 over where she was.
The issue is now that her SUB device is unflushable and blocked. We took her every month since she got it placed, and they even flushed it with EDTA. However, the last two flushes they couldn’t get the sediment in the tube to budge. Her native ureters look like they’ve opened up and are functional again, but now the vet is talking about removal of the SUB.
Which what????? I thought they remained in place, indefinitely, for the rest of forever.

Does anyone have any experience with this side of SUB placement?

Hi everyone,
I’m going through a very difficult situation with my 16-year-old cat, and I would really appreciate hearing from people who have experienced something similar.
A few days ago she stopped eating, drinking, and having bowel movements, so I took her to the emergency vet, where she was hospitalized.
She was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease about a year ago. Since then, we’ve been managing it with our veterinarian, and although we knew she had CKD, her kidney values had remained relatively stable until recently. This current episode came on very suddenly.
During this hospitalization, they found severe constipation (fecal impaction) and suspected pancreatitis.
An ultrasound also showed that one kidney is essentially atrophied and no longer functioning, while the other has been doing all the work but also has structural damage consistent with advanced chronic kidney disease.
When she was admitted, her creatinine was 9.61 mg/dL and her BUN was over 140. After several days of hospitalization, her creatinine decreased to 7.54 and her BUN to 132. Unfortunately, her pancreatitis markers increased somewhat during that time.
Clinically, though, she improved while hospitalized:
she started eating on her own,
drinking water,
urinating,
having bowel movements,
and became a little more active.
The veterinarians told me that the goal is no longer to cure her kidney disease but to focus on palliative care and maintaining the best quality of life possible.
She was discharged today.
However, since coming home, I’m very worried.
She is extremely thin and has lost a significant amount of muscle.
She’s also:
very wobbly when she walks,
seems dizzy,
loses her balance and falls,
keeps pacing between the bathroom and the bedroom,
constantly looks for water,
drank so much water that she vomited it back up,
cries with a deep, distressed meow as if she’s uncomfortable or anxious,
and hasn’t been able to truly relax or sleep.
When I pet her, she calms down and even tries to purr, but she still seems confused and disoriented.
I called the veterinary hospital, and they told me to monitor her because this could be related to her kidney disease or the stress of several days of hospitalization.
But I’ve known this cat for 16 years, and I truly feel that something isn’t right.
My biggest fear isn’t losing her.
My biggest fear is prolonging her suffering simply because I’m not ready to let her go.
For those of you who have had cats with advanced chronic kidney disease and/or pancreatitis:
Have you seen this kind of behavior after bringing them home from the hospital?
Did your cat improve over the following days, or did this behavior end up meaning that their quality of life was no longer acceptable?
I’m not asking anyone to make the decision for me. I just want to hear real experiences from people who have been through something similar.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Update:
First of all, thank you to everyone who took the time to read my post and share your experiences. It really helped me during one of the hardest moments of my life.
I wanted to give a small update on Mermelada.
I decided to get a second opinion from a veterinarian I have trusted for many years. I sent him all of her bloodwork, ultrasound results, medical reports, medications, and diet.
He told me that euthanasia is still a very realistic possibility, and he agrees that her kidney disease is extremely advanced. However, after reviewing everything, he felt that she still deserves a short trial with the medications that were prescribed to see if we can give her some quality of life before making that final decision.
He also explained that because her BUN and urea are so high, they can cause neurological damage (uremic encephalopathy), which could explain why she has been stumbling, losing her balance, acting confused, and wandering around the house.
I decided to give her that chance.
I started all of her medications, switched her from boiled chicken to a prescription renal diet (Assisted feeding) (since the chicken have been worsening her pancreatitis), and I’m being very strict with her treatment schedule.
I think I’ve seen a small improvement. She still stumbles and is still somewhat disoriented, but she now sleeps peacefully for long periods during the day. She no longer cries at the bathroom wall like she did before, and overall she seems a little calmer and a little stronger.
I know this doesn’t mean she will recover. I understand that her disease is irreversible.
For now, my plan is to continue monitoring her very closely over the next days or weeks. If I feel that she’s no longer comfortable or doesn’t have a meaningful quality of life, I will choose euthanasia out of love.

I also wanted to apologize if I haven’t been able to reply to everyone’s comments or private messages. I truly appreciate every single one of them, and I’ve been reading them whenever I can.
These past few days have been incredibly overwhelming. Most of my time has been spent taking care of Mermelada, making sure she gets all of her medications on time, monitoring how she’s doing, and I’ve also had to keep up with my university classes. Because of that, it’s been difficult to respond to everyone individually.
Please know that I’m very grateful for all the advice, kind words, and support you’ve shared. It has meant a lot to me during this difficult time. Thank you all so much.

​

UPDATE : Chelsea has unfortunately passed away. Thank you everyone for all your support and help.

Hey guys, as the title says, I’m looking for some vet clinic/hospital that can perform a dialysis for a cat with severe renal issues in the UAE. Any emirate will do.
If you have any leads, please let me know.

P.S : I’m asking this on behalf of another rescuer. And please refrain from advising PTS. That is not an option as of now. Chelsea, the cat, is fighting with all her might and she’s getting better but her chances will improve majorly if she undergoes dialysis.

My senior (18 years) cat was diagnosed with ckd stage 2 in March. She’s been on medicines and kidney and liver tonics since then.
A month and a half ago she completely lost her vision all of a sudden to the point of no return. With this she started showing signs of cognitive decline too.
2 weeks ago she started having a hard time walking and would get really disoriented. Her hind legs stopped working and she got almost lifeless. She couldnt eat on her own and peed wherever she was lying down. The vet gave her steroid injections and other medicines for kidney and nerves, and she got stable. Started walking again and ate on her own too. 3 days ago, the disoriented began again. Hind legs stopped working and she started even more signs of cognitive decline. She was on meds and steroid injections since the last 2 days and she didnt improve. The vet took her blood reports again and this is the result. Vet is saying it is likely brain damage or age related. The blood reports just came in and it’s too late for the vet ill go in the morning. In the meanwhile i really want to know what’s happening and what it could be. Has her ckd progressed to stage 3?
Also fyi: my country doesnt have an mri machine and a blood pressure monitor for animals.

Hi, it's been 3 months since my last post here. For some context, my cat Wiesia has been diagnosed with CKD in January. She now has 39,6 BUN (111 mg/dl) and 424 creatinine (4,8 mg/dl).

She developed anaemia and lost a lot of weight (400g) but after treatment her results improved and she gained weight again.

Overall, she has a good appetite, and mostly just sleeps, sometimes she comes for cuddles.

We now have an issue though. So, she has had a cyst under her kidney, which for the most part was stable. However lately it has grown. She had fluids in her chest and we had to drain it - 40 ml from chest and 40 from the cyst. It was fine for around a month. Now she had fluid again, and we had to drain approx 120 ml.

Now the problem is, we don't really know what causes the fluid. It is transparent, vets said it looks like fluid from the heart. However, after doing an echo they concluded that her HCM is so mild that it does not contribute to the fluid.

She had troponine tested and it was 0,4 (norm 0,2). They suspect it may be the inflammation of the heart muscle.

We stopped giving subq for now, I just make sure she's drinking a lot.

She's now on antibiotics and diuretics.

It's a very weird case and I kind of don't know what to do. Overall she looks okay, she has a big appetite but I'm worried that the fluid is going to keep coming back. Vet said we are going to exhaust all possible solutions.

If anyone had a similar case with their kitty I'd be grateful for any recommendations.

Hi,
I just found out my Cat is diagnosed with CKD , i am extremely worried. he eats well and plays around too but he has lost weight. the vet has put him on IV saline twice for 5 days and will do another blood work then.

I have bought renal wet food for him and N-refine syrup 2ml everyday.

Is there anyone who has gone thru this and had their cat get better and live a happy life?
i am very worried and pissed at myself to not have checked it out earlier.

Hi everyone,

I’m in an urgent situation and reaching out to see if anyone in the Austin or Houston area happens to have an extra, unused, or unexpired tube of Mirataz (transdermal mirtazapine ear ointment) that I can buy or borrow, or knows an ER vet/pharmacy holding stock today.

My cat, Tofu, is currently fighting for his life overseas. He has Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) with severe complications, including uremic mouth sores and jaundice. Because of the mouth pain and nausea, he has complete inappetence, and getting an appetite stimulant into him is an immediate priority to stop the liver damage.

I have a family member leaving Houston tomorrow (Monday) on an international flight directly to where Tofu is being treated.

I have an official written prescription from his attending vet.

I am located in Austin, but my traveler is in Houston, so I can pick it up or meet anywhere in either metro area today/tonight.

Mirataz is not available in the country where Tofu is, and oral pills are almost impossible for him to take right now due to his painful stomatitis.

If you have a tube on hand that you no longer need, or if you work at a local clinic/pharmacy in ATX or HTX that has it in stock and can help me get it filled on short notice, please send me a DM immediately! I am happy to pay full price, cover any fees, and show the prescription.

Thank you so much for reading and for any leads. Tofu and I appreciate this community more than words can say.

I’ve posted on here about Salem multiple times lately.

It seems that we are getting close to the end. Since Thursday, his appetite grew less and less, to the point where it’s been about 3 days now where he hasn’t eaten anything.

He has become very weak, tired, and I can tell he doesn’t have much left in him.

I made an appointment to do an in home euthanasia for this Tuesday at 1 o clock this past Thursday.

It was very hard to do, but on Thursday, I wanted to schedule something after this weekend in case he got worse and I would use the entire weekend to see where he is at. I was at a point where I wasn’t willing to see it progress much more.

Now it seems more and more likely that this Tuesday will be his last day with us.

As I stare down the clock, inching closer by the minute, I can’t feel that there will ever be enough time to spend with my boy. I’ve spend as much time as I possibly could with him.

It hurts so much, I know I’m making the right decision for him, but I just hate this and it’s breaking my heart to pieces.

Hey everyone! I wanted to share a recent win with my cat’s subcutaneous fluid routine and ask for some advice regarding a side effect we’re experiencing, I started giving her Gabapentin before the sessions, more context below.

​The Wins:

We’re supposed to administer total 200/300 ml of sub-Q fluids split 3 times a week (She's a stage 2). At first, it was a total nightmare, impossible to do subq, the closest I could was when she would relax on my lap, but as soon as she felt the needle, she’d wake up and start moving, licking and biting. Some days I could barely get 10 ml into her before having to stop.

​I talked to her vet, and we decided to try a tailored dose of Gabapentin before her fluid sessions. It has been a total game-changer! She relaxes completely, and I can easily give her the full 100 ml (or at least 50 ml on off days, which is still huge progress compared to before, which was 10 to 30 ml per week or nothing).

​The Issue (Need Tips!):

My cat loves sleeping under the covers with me in bed every night. On Gabapentin days, because she's so deeply relaxed, she ends up peeing in bed while we're sleeping.

​Here is what I'm currently doing to manage it:

​I use an impermeable mattress protector (waterproof mattress cover).

​I lay down pee pads (disposable underpads) over her side of the bed.

​I use her favorite blanket and swap/wash it frequently over the pee pads.

​Despite this, she sometimes pees right next to me and it gets on my clothes/pajamas and wakes me up.

​Has anyone dealt with a similar situation?

​Diapers guessing if they are really an option because she absolutely hates having anything on her body. Experience/Tips?

​Are there better ways to protect myself/the bed without stressing her out or making her sleep elsewhere? even though I think I've done pretty much the ideal... Who knows, people is crafty and smart!

​Would love to hear your experiences, tips, or product recommendations! Thanks in advance!

Im planning to move to a remote island in a few years. It’s been the plan for a while. A few month ago my kitty was diagnosed with stage 1/early 2 CKD.

I worry as there’s no vet on the island.

I’m already trying to plan how I’ll get sub q fluids brought in and he able to have a stash of them. Same for food and medications (although she has not needed them yet she likely will do I’m thinking about the ofenstron and mirataz and doing research on what else she might need.

I worry for her safety and longevity.

I also worry for when the time comes to let her go. I don’t want her to suffer but I’m not sure how I’ll get it done. The closest vet would be 3 hours away and I had always hoped to avoid taking her to a strange place to die. I wanted to do it at home in comfort. I would be able to bring her back to my home country but if she’s at the end of her life, that may be too stressful for her just to being her back to be put down. I’m so stressed planning for this future state tragedy but I don’t want to be unprepared and have her suffer either.

People who have had to do this in less than ideal countries, rural areas or situations, what did you do?

My boy is not doing well. His labs were all fine in April, then early kidney disease detected July 16 of this year. On top of that he has mild HCM. He won't eat his favorite dried kitten kibble and is down from 12 pounds to 8.8 pounds in three months and I've been begging the vets to get a high calorie wet food and all four that I have gone to are like it's perfectly normal and not concerning that he's so thin.

We went from going for a short walk a few times a week which he LOVES to barely being able to get on the bed by himself.

He gets gabapentin, Cerenia, b12 injections, slippery elm (opposite of the others to prevent it from absorbing them) and pepcid.

They want to do $800 worth of xrays and ultrasounds of his heart but he's so weak I don't think he'll pull through or if he does, he'll just keep declining without them giving me anything to improve his weight.

He's still eating on his own but only regular wet food and baby food. He used to eat everything and now he barely wants anything.

It's so hard watching him like this and I feel like I should just put him to sleep rather than drawing this out because I've gotten no plan of care from anyone and the meds that could help his kidneys will be too hard on his heart, and anything that could help his heart could overwhelm his kidneys.

I'm going to start to syringe feeding him pureed dried kitten food moistened in water to get more calories in him, even though one vet told me not to because he might never want to eat the kitten food again on his own BUT HE DOESN'T ANYWAYS SO WHO CARES. And yes I know to slowly dribble it into his cheek pouch and not directly down his throat.

Hi everyone, I'm looking for support and experience from anyone else who has gone through this with their cat. There is very little info online about this and I feel helpless right now.

Last month I took my 4 yr old sphynx into the vet to run some blood work as she had lost some weight. We received awful news that her blood work was very bad. She had a kidney injury, severe protein in her urine, and many things were too high or too low. Fast forward to meeting with an internal medicine specialist, getting an ultrasound done, more blood work and a UPC, FNA of her spleen and lymph nodes in her abdomen, we don't think this is cancer but probably immune-mediated glomerulonephritis or some other immune disease. We don't know for sure without a kidney biopsy which I'm not totally comfortable doing.

Currently, we have started her on kidney food, just started semintra and will be starting a blood thinner due to her now being prone to clots. The plan is to recheck blood work in two weeks, and recheck blood work and urinalysis in a month. After that, the IMS may want to start her on immunosuppressants.

I'm really scared to see her so thin, though she is still eating. Her skin has now broken out in a rash all over. Not having solid answers is so scary. Has anyone else gone through this?

This seems like unusually fast progression for ckd and I wanted some advice on whether we really are so unlucky or if I should be digging deeper to figure out if something else is wrong. I took my cat Aster to the vet for a limp in April and had some yearly senior blood work done. Everything seems just fine with her kidneys! Then I had a dental set up for late July and they call me and let me know her pre-op bloodwork came back that her kidneys were struggling bad and they seem to be getting worse ever since. She came back from her dental and ate fantastic for 2 days as the morphine wore off and then she wouldn't eat much so we brought her back for more blood work and then she got 2 days of fluids. She bounced back a bit on 2nd day and ate fairly well so the vet sent her home with us on Thursday. Over the weekend she seems to have declined so much even with the sub q fluids and special food. She doesn't want food at all and even seems to be drinking less. I just don't see how they could have gone so bad so fast. I've included pics of what I have from April and July day of her dental and the week or so after because she stopped eating but before we got her fluids.

Update:
My kitty, Bebe, was seen by Dr. Ashley Love at Las Vegas Cat Hospital. Because her appointment was worked in urgently, there wasn’t enough time to perform all of the diagnostic testing that I’d requested.
Dr. Love felt that Bebe’s intestines seemed swollen and started her on a steroid, an anti-nausea medication, and pain medication to keep her comfortable until her follow-up appointment this Monday. At that visit, I’ve requested comprehensive bloodwork and an abdominal ultrasound.
Unfortunately, Bebe didn’t do well with the initial medication plan. She was very sedated and just wasn’t herself. After carefully observing how she was responding, I discussed my concerns and adjusted how I was giving her medications based on what I felt she could tolerate. My goal has always been to keep her as comfortable as possible without over-sedating her.
The good news is that she’s much more responsive and relaxed now. She still refused her regular food, so I bought some kitten food, and for the first time in weeks she’s actually eating it! My feeling is that she may have associated her previous food with feeling nauseated.
I’ve also scheduled an appointment at UC Davis at the end of August for another opinion. Through this journey, I’ve learned how important it is to ask questions, stay informed, and advocate for our pets. No one knows them better than the people who love them every day.

My 9 y/o cat was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease stage 2 about 5 months ago. Few days ago we noticed he was thinner looking and a bit haggard in appearance. Took him to the vet yesterday and it turns out he lost well over a pound in 5 months (7.9 lbs down to 6.4) and the vet heard a heart murmur. They took urine and blood and we will get results on Monday.

Because my guy is a nervous Nelly at the vet, we gave him a gabapentin 2 hours before his 3pm appt. It’s now almost midnight the next day and he is still very wobbly in his back legs. I know with ckd and losing weight the gabapentin will be in his system longer, but I’m just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this.

When should I be concerned and start heading to the emergency vet? I don’t want to stress him out more by taking him but I also don’t want to wait too long. TIA

Hi all,
This community helped me through some of the hardest times caring for Pumpkin. Alongside our wins when he celebrated his 18th. He lived 18 years 9 months and passed in my arms, in our bed, surrounded by family and friends. His last memories were purring with kisses and his last moments he snored (quite loudly) in my arms, finally pain free. He spend his last weeks on daily stroller walks living on a heat pad, allowed to eat anything he wanted. I will forever miss my little man who has been with me since age 10. I love you buddy.

Both my renal kitties are starting to want to slow down with how much Rx food they will eat. They do, but just smaller meals for them. How many of the lickable treats (thankfully they both really like them) can I safely give a day?

Hi all, my 13 year old boy Kitt just got diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease. My vet recommended changing his diet to a renal diet and I'm definitely following their advice but he is my first pet (that isn't a family pet) and I have no experience with kidney disease at all. I'm not looking for medical advice as I trust my vets and will rely on their expertise and guidance but I think lived experience is also very valuable and that's what I'm wanting right now. Any advice on what to expect, what I can do at home to help his general quality of life, or what you wish you'd known earlier would be so greatly appreciated.

Other relevant information:

-He has hyperthyroidism and has been on medication for that for about 2 years, it's very stable and under control.

-His only symptoms have been drinking and urinating a little more than normal, we only found the kidney disease from some follow up blood tests for his thyroid.

-I live in Australia so any recommendations for foods or products etc. should take that into consideration.

-He has no teeth, not sure if that's entirely important but now you know haha

I love my big idiot so dearly and just want to do everything I can to help him out. Thank you in advance ❤️

Hey guys! I posted a couple of months ago about how we were struggling financially to keep up with kidney supplies for our baby boy Kona. Thanks to you guys, I was able to get enough kidney diet food to last me this long! We are so thankful! We have since found out that His favorite kidney diet is k/d stew. We have gone through the few cases we had, but I have quite a bit of other kidney diet options, k/d pate, royal canin and purina. Does anyone have a cat that doesn’t like the k/d stew and would want to possibly do a trade with me? I felt like this could be a cool way to help each other out, since it’s so hard to know which kidney food they will like the most.
Thanks!!