My cat was diagnosed with feline chronic renal failure (kidney failure) about 5 months ago. Resources/support?It's not a question of if my cat is sick, but how severely.
Our family cat that passed 6 years ago didn't show signs of discomfort or pain until she was dying, and the euthanasia was very difficult because her body had already started to shut down and her veins collapsed.
My cat started throwing up a while ago (she is ten years old, and had always seemed very healthy before that) and blood tests showed she had f.c.r.f. The stress of taking her to the vet and the iv for liquids stressed her out, more like traumatized her than just stress, and she went downhill within a few days and almost died. We were able to find a vet who helped us get her better at home without meds, but she recently started throwing up again, has lost her appetite but is more thirsty, is urinating like crazy, her eyes that were a vibrant green with a bit of blue are now a dull green, and the major thing is she accidently urinated while she was asleep yesterday. From the research I've done, "leaking" is a flag for kidney failure, and I don't have the money (literally) to do any kind of treatments (I'm paying my way through college right now on my own).
My cat has been like my shadow, inseperable, since we got her as a kitten when I was ten. I feel like she is a part of me, and I know she is not healthy, although she would seem ok to someone who doesn't know her. My worst fear is for her condition to worsen to the point where she is in a lot of pain, and for the euthanasia to be painful or difficult.
I have a phone appointment with the vet this afternoon, but if anyone knows of any websites with advice or similar stories, I would really appreciate it. I am looking for some support, and to make sure I do what is best for her.
Thanks, I will definitely look at those groups.
Unfortunately, when she first got sick and diagnosed, we tried the tablet for naseau but she would not take it, even in her favorite treats or crushed into food. We also tried the at home IV thing to hydrate her, but even that made her panic and we didn't see any improvement. After a while, it was clear they were making her more stressed and just feeling worse, we were finally able to get her relatively healthy by changing her diet (to canned food mixed with water).
Posted by Elaine M
There are some very good CRF cat groups over on yahooGroups, just put the term in the search field. There's also been discussion on it over on the Handicats group over there, so there are a lot of owners familiar with the reactions.
Has your vet suggested a 1/4 tablet of Pepcid A/C for settling the stomach? It's safe for cats. Phone and ask them. Has your vet taught you how to syringe water into your cat or give fluids? It's do-able at home and extremely helpful for the cat to be hydrated without the stress.
There's also several very good CRF sites online, google CRF feline and you;ll find it.
Here's one -- http://www.felinecrf.com/
Orignal From: My cat was diagnosed with feline chronic renal failure (kidney failure) about 5 months ago. Resources/support?
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