Feline renal failure

>>2241782
Is there really nothing else you can do?

>>2241787
From the sound of it he has lost over 90% of his kidney function. Kidney can't be rebuilt in any way and they won't get better with treatment. Can only try to keep it from failing more and to have him eat only food which doesn't strain the kidneys.

>>2241787
kidney failure in humans results in dialysis for the rest of your life 3 times a week. Its not any way to live.

>>2241865
cats spend 16-20 hours a day sleeping.

it wouldn't make much of a difference to them if there was a dialysis machine for cats, but there isn't.

>>2241782
Our cat lived with about 90% renal failure for three years. She was pretty special, though because she was extremely laid-back and trusting. She needed pills twice a day and, eventually, subcutaneous fluids every 24-48 hours. She allowed this with no fuss and was happy and loving and had a good quality of life for those three years. When that was no longer the case, we had her put to sleep in our home. She needed frequent blood panels to keep an eye on her numbers so her treatment could be adjusted as needed. A few times there was a drastic shift and she'd "crash" and need to be hospitalized overnight to bring her back from the brink. The vet taught us how to administer the fluids ourselves at home. As you may imagine, those were three EXTREMELY expensive years. We went without many luxuries and even a few things we had previously considered "staples". We put some of the treatment on credit cards and were still paying it off long after her death. We also didn't spend a single night away from home during that time, except for a couple of times we were able to bring her with us.

Totally worth it, though. Would do it again. But, like I said, she was special in that the treatments didn't upset her. She was that trusting. I've never had another cat I would have attempted that with; it would have been too distressing for the animal and would NOT have given them an acceptable quality of life.

>>2241896
She'd been taking a homeopathic asthma pill for about ten years at that point, too, so the whole taking-a-pill-thing was old hat for her. What's two or three more, daily? She absolutely lived for being brushed with her soft-bristled hairbrush so as long as we would spend ten minutes afterward brushing her, she'd tolerate just about anything. She was great. Man, I miss her so much. Give your kitty some lovin from me.

>>2241782
The worst crash my CRF cat had was when she had an undiagnosed urinary tract infection. Just laid in the hall with this blank expression. I thought she was actively dying. We took her in and her numbers were crazy with spikes here and dips there. Clearly something wrong but the vet couldn't figure out what it was. Meanwhile, she was almost unresponsive and clearly miserable. We were about to have her put to sleep but the vet said well, we could do a urinalysis first, just to see. We did. Raging urinary tract infection. Also common in old folks in nursing homes and hastens THEIR deaths as well. Put her on antibiotics and she perked right up. It was a very close call.

I'm sure the vet has told you this already but CRF cannot be cured. Only managed. Each cat's progression will be different, but as I described in our case, it can get extremely expensive - mostly with the bloodwork. The pills and special food cost money, of course, but it's the frequent vet visits that are the most financially draining. If you can't administer fluids at home, it gets vastly more expensive.

Our cat didn't mind being given pills, didn't mind traveling in the car, didn't mind going to the vet, and didn't mind being given subcutaneous fluids.

To decide whether or not to attempt any treatments, you have to take your cat's personality and behavior into consideration. How would he tolerate all these things?

I do wonder if your guy has a urinary tract infection, though. The crash has to have been instigated by *something*.

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Yes, he has a urinary tract infection, confirmed on the first day (Wednesday), which he receives antiinflammations for.
Today he has also gotten pills for anti-acid build up and to prevent urea in the blood to become too severe.

Thank you so much for the write-up. Really appreciate it.

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Tough luck, least you were able to enjoy the more than half of the xat's lifetime. Next time get a pet that's possibly not such a emotional bank, like fish.

>>2241782
Wet food only I hope. Give fresh water as often as possible. Water fountains help encourage drinking also.

Ideally cats should be on wet food only diet. They get most of their water through eating.

>>2241930
Aside from the anti-inflammatories, is his on an antibiotic?

Urinary tract infection needs antibiotics. Not just anti-inflammatories.

>>2241947
>>2241981
They are antibiotics, my bad.

>>2242734
Good!

>>2241782
I have a 18ish year old cat with renal failure, and she has been doing great with it for several years now. Not visibly ill at all. She was only given a 512 days left prognosis too, and that was over two years ago and she is still doing great.

It's important to stick to the renal diet, those foods have lowered protein levels, and phosphate binders which help them deal having shitty kidneys. Try to get him on the canned version if possible, and add water to it so it is nice and soupy. If he won't eat it soupy, then just canned, and if not canned then the dry will have to do. The extra moisture will help keep the kidneys flushed and will slow the damage further.

It's a shitty disease and shittier situation, but try not to worry too much. He might do great for a couple more years, he might not, just try to make it the best life for him that you can, and enjoy what you have left with him as best you can.

>>2241782
I've had cats my whole life and most have passed from renal failure at 15-18 years. My dad is a vet and says this is the most common way that domestic cats go. Hope you get time with him and give him love

>>2241896
>spending a shit ton of money to keep animal alive and in pain for three more years

You're selfish.

>>2243176
I know you're just trolling but I'm going to address this anyhow because evaluating the quality of life in any pet with a chronic condition is very important.

Usually I would cringe when someone says that they paid a lot of money to nurse an animal along for a protracted period of time but kidney failure is actually very manageable in some cases. We just got lucky with this one cat. Like I said, when her quality of life declined, we had her put to sleep. If she hadn't been the sort of cat to tolerate the treatments, we would have put her to sleep as soon as she got the diagnosis because, at the time, she was clearly uncomfortable. As soon as we began treatment, however, she turned right around.