Anyone have a cat over age 10 who has early stage renal failure? If so how are you dealing with it?

Question

I am currently dealing with it that's why I ask. It's heartbreaking.

Answer 1

lI have a 22 yr. old cat in 'renal failure' for the past four years. Cameo has kidney numbers like you wouldn't believe. Next week she goes under anesthesia to have her teeth cleaned. She is a very decrepit old lady. She has been stone deaf for about six months now. She tools around the house and in the garden. Sleeps slightly more than my younger cats. Loves the warmth of the gentle morning sun. She eats well, poops well and drinks a ton of water daily and pees profusely. She switched to a homeopathic vet this spring and has a Chinese herbal mixture that she eats on her food. She has been on a raw meat diet since I rescued her at age 15. She was dying from hyperthyroidism and her owners weren't treating her for that. I did have her treated with the radiation and she recovered well. She had lived totally outdoors outside the neighbor's house most of her life. She loves her "retirement" home with comfy beds, chairs and couches to nap on in a warm home where she is fed an excellent diet and has excellent veterinary care.
Cameo is one remarkable kitty, tortoiseshell, with lots of attitude.
She was a barn cat and I think her longevity can be attributed to the genes she got from her parents and grandparents who lived their lives on a diet of mice!
I don't kid myself that she will make it through another winter and she may check out next week under anesthesia. And though she was never abused and was fed by her former owners it has been wonderful to see her do so well for so many years when she was literally at death's door seven years ago. People who meet her simply adore her.

My 14 yr. old Kinsey, an orange tabby, whom I have had since he was a kitten had slightly elevated creatinine when his blood work was done last month. He eats the raw meat too. And some canned food to which I am now adding a teaspoon of filtered water in each of his servings. He is very trim at 11 pounds and of course quite active and very vocal (as always).

I lost an 11 year old applehead Siamese to mammary cancer three years ago. This spring my 11 year old Norwegian Forest cat wannabe was diagnosed with bladder cancer, that is an untreatable and aggressive cancer. 13 yr old Sylvie was pronounced in excellent health at her annual exam about a month ago.

I tell you all these very long stories (I have a long story too as I am 75) because I have had to face the loss of beloved cats and I know you sound very distressed and want you to know that I can understand your feelings.

These wonderful creatures that we care for so much and love so dearly will leave us in spite of our best efforts to keep them with us.

You can get a lot of support and ideas for helping your cat at the Yahoo group for crf cats and I feel you should join. I am, of course, a member of the cancer group and of the Holisticat groups too.

Good luck with your kitty. Feel free to contact me at [e-mail]. I would like to know your kitty's story and hope to see you online at the other groups.

Answer 2

my cat didn't have renal failure, she had some weird form of liver disease that was unresponsive to treatment. but i relate. its hard. she was sick for almost two months, and we ended up putting her down on monday because her condition worsened over the weekend. i'm heartbroken. she slept on my pillow with me every night for 8 years. just cherish the time you have together. since its early, see if there is anything the vet can do to treat it. if its too late for any sort of treatment, just make her comfortable, give her lots of attention and love, feed her some of her favorite food..chicken, fish..let her indulge a little. nothing can prepare you for when she/he goes, and it will definitely be a different feeling when she/he is gone. take a picture of the two of you and put it in a picture frame like i have done, and put it in a place where you can see it and always remember him/her. just remember to give lots of attention and love so he/she will have good memories, and when you get to heaven, he/she will be waiting anxiously and purring

Answer 3

At 16 my cats kidneys started to go...but he lived another 3 years after that. Towards the end, I was giving him subcutaneous fluids every other day, and that extended his life by about 6 months. Ask your vet for some options to help extend your cats life and how to make it a more comfortable life.

Answer 4

Here is a website that may help. check it out it tells about treatment and other stories of cats with the same illness

Answer 5

not me

Answer 6

not any more.... get the hint?