Re: Inky update - Kerry
Kerry, He needs to be on Lasix if the fluids are affecting his heart that badly, many CRF kitties are also heart problem kitties and many getting fluids are on lasix, your vet should know that. If not maybe you can have them recommend an internal specialist more versed in CRF problems. Cats that have both CRF and heart trouble need to be closely watched, it's balancing act, but honestly Kerry the fluids are very important to help keep the healthy part of the kidney healthy for as long as possible. And of course dehydration has it's own set of problems. Fred doesn't have any heart problems so he is OK with the fluids other than he just doesn't like getting them, but he has been exceptionally good for me. I've had to change my routine, he won't eat the treats anymore so I take him in the bathroom, pet him and explain it's time for the fluids and it will keep him feeling good for longer and keep his kidney's working longer, then I stick in the needle among a head turn and grouching. I hold him in my lap on the floor while he gets them and for now that is working. He is getting 100mls a day. He gets a little fidgety towards the end but I just tell him we're almost done and he patiently sits. Once he knows we're done though, he wants to get the needle out and go. I just set him on the floor holding him under his belly, turn the roller up to close off the fluids and let him walk off and the needle slips out (sometimes he's in a hurry and I don't quite get the fluids clamped off, oh well, a little waste is worth it if it keeps Fred happy). What does Inky not like, the stick or the fluids going in or both? I had a communicator talk with Fred and tell him the fluids are essential and he as been much better ever since, he said he knows it's something I need to do just doesn't get the need for it. I have told him it will keep him feeling good for a longer time. I have also had to start pepcid AC, he had been vomiting foam every few days, a sign of tummy acid and the pepcid AC is suppose to help, so far he has only had them 2 times, he is getting it every other day. CRF cats that won't eat good are probably having tummy acid problems even if they aren't throwing up so the pepcid AC really helps with that and helps them get their appetite back. It has to be pepcid AC, not pepcid complete, not sure why that's just what everyone says, it may be the calcium in the other, some CRF kitties have high calcium already, the pepcid AC doesn't have calcium in it. I also have been bringing food to Fred whenever I think about it because he will usually eat a few bites and I have been adding water to his food which seems to make it more appetizing to him. Each of these tricks works for a while and then I need to vary things. Right now he is tolerating his fluids pretty well but not eating as well so it is a roller coaster ride!! -- Belinda happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties http://bemikitties.com Post Adoptable FeLV/FIV/FIP Cats/Kittens http://adopt.bemikitties.com FeLV Candlelight Service http://bemikitties.com/cls HostDesign4U.com [affordable hosting web design] http://HostDesign4U.com BMK Designs [non-profit animals websites] http://bmk.bemikitties.com
Re: Inky update - Kerry
PS. Inky's blood work is looking good, thats about what Fred's was while we were waiting for the blood work to be redone for the hyper-t, I was really upset when his creatinine got so much worse in those 3 weeks. I wish now I had followed my instincts and started fluids then, it may have made a difference. His kidney's got that much more damaged and that damage can never be reversed as I understand it!! Part of what I don't understand is how it's possible to get the creatinine down from such a high number to a good number again but the damage is still there. If the creatinine is the number signifying the amount of damage the kidney's have suffered and the actual amount of kidney function left, how can the number get so much better without the actual damage reversing some?? Anyone got any ideas about this? Think I'll ask my vet about that one!! -- Belinda happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties http://bemikitties.com Post Adoptable FeLV/FIV/FIP Cats/Kittens http://adopt.bemikitties.com FeLV Candlelight Service http://bemikitties.com/cls HostDesign4U.com [affordable hosting web design] http://HostDesign4U.com BMK Designs [non-profit animals websites] http://bmk.bemikitties.com
Re: Inky update - Kerry LONG
Hi Kerry, I think high phosphorous can make them feel nauseated so that may be why his appetite goes off, has the vet suggested phos binders? Part of one of the list messages below: Powdered Alum. Hydroxide Gel now for over 3 years and have not had any problems. It is a finely ground powder that mixes easily into canned food, and can be placed in a baggie w/dry overnight then fed in the morning . it binds with the phosphorus in the food in the gut and is then excreted through the stool. It really helps bring it down and helps them get their appetite back. His creat isn't too bad and the subqs at home should help keep that in check. His BUN is high but IV fluids should help bring that down. Fred is just the opposite, his creat is at 4.2 and 4 weeks ago it was at 2.6, so it got a lot worse, I'm hoping the subqs get it down some. His BUN was never too bad, it started at 46, went to 48, then back to 44, but he isn't concentrating his urine very good at all and that's NOT good. I talked with my vet about a Gif tube or an Endo-Sof Subcutaneous Catheter Set both used for giving subqs at home, I think they are similar but I need to talk with her some more because as I understood it the one she was talking about you still use needles but the people on the CRF list say you don't, but they are talking about the gif tube so there may be a difference. The way my vet explained it to me is, they have to sedate the cat and cut a small 5ml hole in the back area right below the neck. The catheter gets inserted and stiched in place down the back, I think the catheter is about 6 or 7 inches long and has small holes all the way down. At the end sticking out of the back is a port similar to the green ports on an Subq bag used to give additional things while subqing (vitamin B for example). The pictures I've seen of both doesn't look like what she described so I may be getting it wrong. The main concern is keeping it sterile and that it doesn't get plugged up. Sometimes the cats body sees it as a foreign invader and the immune system will form a membrane around it plugging the holes. This can be fixed without and surgery there is a manual on the CRF site that explains how to do it and I guess the girl who wrote it has even talked vets who have never done it through it. My vet has personally only inserted 1 of these and the kitty had no problems for the 4 months it was in, the cat died from unrelated problems after 4 months. She has worked with another cat that had one (she didn't insert it) and that cat had it for a year before it had to be replaced and didn't have any problems for that year or since to my knowledge. That is the extent of her knowledge and experience with them. When Fred was being a real poop, I was seriously considering it and researched it, I'll put some links at the bottom of the page about it. He's been pretty good lately, although the last two days he hasn't been as good, but good enough that it isn't necassary yet, but I will do it if it becomes necessary and he knows it. The fluids are very important and he will get them one way or another!! ENDO-SOF SUBCUTANEOUS CATHETER SET http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_subcutaneous_fluids.html a picture is at the bottom of the page, this is not what I understood it to be like, because you don't use needles with this, I may have misunderstood though. Another site with info on this: ENDO-SOF SUBCUTANEOUS CATHETER SET http://www.arnolds.co.uk/endosofsubcutaneouscatheterset.asp Gif Tube http://www.hoochcrf.com/What%20is%20it.htm Gif Tube another site with info: http://www.practivet.com/gif-tube.htm picture of cat getting tube insert, not too graphic. From what I understand the gif is made of human grade silicone the other is a new patented material, Endo-Sof, which is designed to be compatible with body tissue for up to one year. Lots to learn and my vet is out until tomorrow so I won't be able to talk to her before then. -- Belinda happiness is being owned by cats ... Be-Mi-Kitties http://bemikitties.com Post Adoptable FeLV/FIV/FIP Cats/Kittens http://adopt.bemikitties.com FeLV Candlelight Service http://bemikitties.com/cls HostDesign4U.com [affordable hosting web design] http://HostDesign4U.com BMK Designs [non-profit animals websites] http://bmk.bemikitties.com
