Do you think my cat is suffering from a kidney disease?For about a week I notice my cat looking really skinny. I didn't think much of it until I can feel her spine and ribs easily. Near her tail (like around her waist area) she is extremely skinny there. Like her waist is getting sunk into her body. She's been acting normal, but I notice she hasn't been eating a lot and wants more water than usual. But she uses the bathroom fine. She's had energy until now, where she is now to be getting weak. I've made an appointment to the vet today, but I jsut wanted to know if this could be symptoms of kidney disease or something else? If it is kidney problems, can she be saved? or will she die no matter what?
I almost forgot. She has been doing things over and over again. Like if she goes to eat, she will eat a little, than she will go back to my bed rest and then minutes later she will go do the same thing again. She's also done this when she saw me eating, came to me and then quickly returned to my bed to rest. She also does this licking sound from time to time.
Posted by pinkwafer
I wouldn't jump to assume this is kidney disease but there is certainly something wrong and I am glad you have an appointment to take her to the vet. They will give her a full examination, and will probably want to take some blood and run some tests to get to the bottom of it all. It is likely she may need to be admitted for treatment, but don't assume the worse just yet. Good luck, hope she is okay.
Posted by Ken S
CRF is possible. There are other possibilities too. Diabetes hyperthyroid for example.
All can be very treatable
\ Best of luck
Posted by Rowan G
It does sound like it could be chronic renal failure (CRF, that's kidney disease...). The licking sound could possibly be from her feeling a little nauseous (they say crf is like flu, not actually painful). Another possibility is hyperactive thyroid: though most cats with this lose weight in spite of increased appetite, some do lose their appetites. Increased restlessness would fit this. It could even be a combination of both: if your vet does diagnose hyperactive thyroid make sure she's monitored when first starting treatment, as hyperT can mask CRF and reduce symptoms.
HyperT is easily treatable, with options including medication (which doesn't taste bad, so generally cats take it easily, one of mine learnt to take her pill herself when put in front of her), surgery and radiation, the latter 2 giving a cure.
CRF is not curable. However the the outlook is very variable, with many cats living long enough to die from something else. I've had two cats with both CRF and HyperT. One lived only 7 weeks after her CRF diagnosis. The other, who also had a heart condition which complicated medication further, lived over 2 years from diagnosis. You don't say how old yours is, but mine lived to 17 and 19. If you want to look into it, there's a lot of controversy over different treatments. Personally I think number 1 priority is making sure your cat has quality of life for as long as she has, and not prolonging her life if doing so reduces the quality too much.
If she has CRF and is feeling sick you can do something for that simply by encouraging her to eat little and often. Your vet might recomend special diets: if she doesn't like them, they only make marginal difference, so don't feed them. My 19 year old beat the odds with three life threatening conditions on a diet of normal cat food and very little medical intervention for her kidneys (fortekor and b suplements, no fluids which would have been bad for her heart). And don't forget to look after yourself as well as her: don't feel guilty if you don't do as much as others you might talk to on the internet. Making yourself exhausted/stressed out/broke will not stop the inevitable coming one day. Nor will it help you be the loving, happy owner your cat deserves. All our cats die eventually (your question: will she die no matter what? answer, yes, all cats do, with CRF or not). Look after both of you.
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