Cat kidney stuff

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Google [bot]

Original Poster:

6,692 posts

187 months

Saturday 10th June 2017
quotequote all
So Bruce, diagnosed with early kidney issues, is on a renal diet, high quality protein food, and has been for several months. As I understand it this was preventative and he was in the very early stages of kidney issues.

The last few mornings I'm having to clean up cat puke. Previously he was being sick maybe every week or two, but it's accelerating. He seems happy, energetic, hungry, all seems well. Except he's now puking again.

Bex et al, are you able please to give me an idea and suggestions of the prognosis? And real world suggestions please? He's 13yo and awesome.




bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Saturday 10th June 2017
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Hiya.

Diet food isn't really a preventative but it does slow the progress of kidney disease quite considerably especially if caught early. However kidney disease will still inevitably worsen. (I think studies had shown that one kidney diet could extend life expectancy by 2yrs compared to a cat with renal issues that wasn't treated with a special diet.) Obviously their will be variables to that.

Has he had any recent blood tests, he should have had a repeat test 3-6 months after the diet was started to check it was helping (urea, creatinine and phosphorus being the 3 important ones to check. He should also have his blood pressure checked as they can get hypertension with renal disease and could also be a cause of vomiting if it is high.

The vomiting may be a coincidence but it could be significant and should be checked. As kidney disease progresses we can add other products in to help support them and again this can provide successful results for a fair time.

There are different kidney diets on the market so maybe a change of make of kidney food will help but again this should be after a vet re check is done.

I hope you can find out why he is vomiting, not nice for them.

Edited by bexVN on Saturday 10th June 13:27


Edited by bexVN on Sunday 11th June 07:08

Google [bot]

Original Poster:

6,692 posts

187 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
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Thanks Bex. All clear today but if it happens again he's off to the docs.

untakenname

5,024 posts

198 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
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My cat doesn't seem to drink fluids unless it's from the pint glass I put by the bedside table or from the pond.

Reading this thread I have a feeling that she's dehydrated, is there anything I can do to make drinking water more appealing?

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
quotequote all
untakenname said:
My cat doesn't seem to drink fluids unless it's from the pint glass I put by the bedside table or from the pond.

Reading this thread I have a feeling that she's dehydrated, is there anything I can do to make drinking water more appealing?
How old is your cat and why do you think she would be dehydrated (cats aren't great drinkers especially if on a wet diet)

You could do things like add tuna water (springwater, not brine) to normal water or invest in a water fountain. Cats often like to drink runing water.

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
quotequote all
untakenname said:
My cat doesn't seem to drink fluids unless it's from the pint glass I put by the bedside table or from the pond.

Reading this thread I have a feeling that she's dehydrated, is there anything I can do to make drinking water more appealing?
How old is your cat and why do you think she would be dehydrated (cats aren't great drinkers especially if on a wet diet)

You could do things like add tuna water (springwater, not brine) to normal water or invest in a water fountain. Cats often like to drink runing water.

condor

8,837 posts

254 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
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A client's cat with kidney problems is having the 'Royal Canin' Renal wet food pouch, with tuna/chicken. Little and often seems to be the best way of feeding. Are you giving a pouch at a time?

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
quotequote all
I forgot to mention to OP a grumbling pancreatitis can be a reason for frequent vomiting especially in older cats. Often not diagnosed because it is not tested for very often but should be considered.

Google [bot]

Original Poster:

6,692 posts

187 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
quotequote all
Thanks folks, yes he's on the Royal Canin wet food, not a huge fan of the chicken but loves the tuna, 3 times a day, and he wants plenty more (which I find encouraging).

Noted Bex thanks. I do have a brilliant vet, specializes in older cats so I've no doubt he's over that, but will bring it up next time.

oakdale

1,862 posts

208 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
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Our 17 year old cat's kidney function is o/k as shown by blood tests but she was suffering from cystitis on a regular basis.

To try and encourage her to drink more, we put her on low sodium spring water (we use brecon carreg) and the change in the animal over the 6+ months she's been on it is remarkable.

No cystitis and bouncing about like a youngster (even with her arthritic hips) and much more alert.

She now drink at least twice as much as she used to, the only down side is the need to clean the litter tray so often is a pita.

Might be worth trying your cat on it to help flush the kidneys.

Google [bot]

Original Poster:

6,692 posts

187 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
quotequote all
That's interesting.

BTW anyone confused between spring and sparkling, cats definitely do not like sparkling water! I worried that I'd scared Bruce off water by giving it him for a joke once.

Edited by Google [bot] on Sunday 11th June 10:08

ali_kat

32,019 posts

227 months

Sunday 11th June 2017
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oakdale said:
Our 17 year old cat's kidney function is o/k as shown by blood tests but she was suffering from cystitis on a regular basis.

To try and encourage her to drink more, we put her on low sodium spring water (we use brecon carreg) and the change in the animal over the 6+ months she's been on it is remarkable.

No cystitis and bouncing about like a youngster (even with her arthritic hips) and much more alert.

She now drink at least twice as much as she used to, the only down side is the need to clean the litter tray so often is a pita.

Might be worth trying your cat on it to help flush the kidneys.
Interesting, thank you!!

To encourage cats to drink more..

We have a ceramic fountain, that they prefer to the metal one we had

We also have pint glasses of water by the bed

Cats prefer to drink from a wide bowl, we have a couple of (charity shop) cut glass bowls around the house too.

Have it separate to their food

Mobile Chicane

21,106 posts

218 months

Monday 12th June 2017
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I'd also suggest keeping lots of water bowls around the house so the cat can't pass one without thinking "Oooh! A drink!" They will eat rather than drink if food and water bowls are placed close by.

I con ours into drinking more, especially in hot weather, by adding a bit more liquid to their wet food. Over the winter we get given lots of game birds, and I boil the carcass scraps, heads, feet etc to make a tasty broth which I freeze in ice cube trays.

Google [bot]

Original Poster:

6,692 posts

187 months

Saturday 8th July 2017
quotequote all
Mobile Chicane said:
I con ours into drinking more, especially in hot weather, by adding a bit more liquid to their wet food.
Brilliant, thank you. Thread update, I've been spiking pretty much everything he eats with water, he's basically on a soup diet. Not one hint of sickness since. I know kidney issues don't go away so it's just an extension, but every life saving thing can be only that. For now he's healthy, happy and energetic.