Can a 15 year old cat overcome mild kidney failure?

Question

Vet said she had diluted urine & the kidney test came back elevated. She was good in "Liver, protein, cholesterall, electrolites, thyroid, red & white blood cells ... but she's lost 25 % of her weight, and is going bald.

Vet says they'd like to run more tests, but I fear that she's dying ... I guess I'm paronoid about vets who try to take every dime from you, and want an opinion if spending an extra $500.00 would result in my cat living a QUALITY life as opposed to a longer life.

Answer 1

Overcome it, no, but slow the progression, yes. Feed her Hill's Prescription Diet k/d (its specifically for kidney disease). I just lost my 15-year old cat, had to have him put to sleep on Monday. At first, they thought it was just kidney failure, hence the Hill's food, but it seems he also had cancer, and was getting progressively worse by the day. If it had only been the kidney's, the diet may have actually given him a couple of extra years, and I do mean quality years. Unfortunately, the cancer put an end to that hope. The food comes in dry and canned. Good luck, and please don't give up on her. She should not suffer, but with the correct diet, if her kidney's are the only problem, she should be feeling much better. Get her started on the Hill's quickly, and don't give her other foods.

I gave him Renal Essentials for cats too, they're tablets. Lots of vitamins and minerals. I had to get a pill crusher and put it into this canned food, but I really think it helped. I also used Nutri-Cal cat dietary supplement gel, just squirted some in that same canned food bowl. This stuff is suppose to help the cat's appetite along. They say you can just squirt some out and they'll eat it, but of course, my cay was stubborn so it had to go in the food. Believe it nor not, I got the Renal Essentials and the Nutri-Cal on ebay. We are 50 miles from the nearest pet store.

For his last couple of weeks, we tried the IV fluids. I took the kit home and gave him under the skin injections twice a day the first week, and once a day the second week. It would have ended up being only once or twice a week, and it did seem he was making progress, but then the cancer got worse. You might ask your vet about the IV fluids. It seems that when they first get sick, they get very dehydrated, but after being property hydrated, they should get pretty much back to normal.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

There is hope. Years ago our family cats had an infection that caused us to have no option but to have the kidney removed. He lived 7 healthy years after this. At the age of 13 he began to have mild failure in his remaining kidney. All other tests were fine but he became so skinny it was scarey! After talking about many options we decided to go with a daily saline IV. He stayed at the vet for a few days while the vet gave him the daily IV and ran tests. The saline forced the kidney to work harder and therefore function better. It was like he was a new cat and we were able to take him home to continue the treatments. We only continued this for a little less than a year before he began to get sick again but we were told that other cats treated the same way, but had 2 kidneys, had lived that way for years. It wasn't hard to give him the IV either. The needle went just under the skin on the back of his neck where the saline would pool up under the skin and slowly absorb throughout the day. We were easily able to give it to him at home. Good Luck! I know how hard it is to see your kitty get sick!

Answer 4

Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's very important to determine whether your cat simply has renal insufficiency. Sometimes this will be somewhat inaccurately called "mild kidney failure." It is extremely common for an older cat to have renal insufficiency, which will progress over time. However, the progression can be slowed with special diet and, when necessary, with the administration of fluids. My 18 year old cat has renal insufficiency and has an *excellent* quality of life right now. 15 is not *that* old -- indoor cats can live into their 20s.

Please have the tests and discuss options with your vet before giving up on your kitty. It is possible that giving her fluids and a restricted diet could make her feel better.

I do agree that if her life becomes miserable you should not prolong it, but you may still have options at this stage. I have found this site to be an excellent source for information: http://www.felinecrf.org/success_stories.htm

Good luck to you and your kitty.

Answer 5

I'm not sure what other tests they want to run, but you can give her a quality life for several years if you can treat her. Cat's (or human's for that matter) cannot get back the kidney function they have lost, but you can certainly slow the progression. I have seen much older cats than 15, including cats with chronic renal failure. I'm not sure about the extra tests, perhaps you should go to another vet, and have your labs transferred there. Find one that is highly recommended so that she can get treatment without further delay. She needs to get fluids several times a week (not that hard, I promise, they just go right under the skin), there are special diets for kidneys, such as Hills KD, and Eukanuba Multi Stage Renal. You need to help her get as much fluid as possible, you can leave your faucet dripping or flavor her water with tuna juice. There are also vitamins that can help, such as Standard Process renal support. At the clinic where I work, we also give B vitamin supplements, and put them on antibiotics for five days per month. This keeps them feeling good, and prolongs their life. Good luck, and I hope you get to spend lots more quality time with her.

Answer 6

It's good that you are concerned about your cat's quality of life. I would suggest that you have an honest discussion with your vet about your cat's condition and prognosis, and stress that your primary concern is her quality of life. A good vet will have your cat's best interests at heart, and will not shy away from discussing your concerns about treatment vs. euthanasia. Discuss what is involved in treatment, and make sure to address your concerns about stress to the cat, financial cost, and time involved, and be honest with your vet about what you are or are not willing to do when it comes to home treatment.

Don't hesitate to get a second opinion if you think it might help you to decide.

If the kidney failure is in its early stages and your cat hasn't been treated with fluids yet, it's certainly possible that she could bounce back and feel much better. I had a cat who was diagnosed at 12 and lived to be 17. I did need to feed her a special diet and give her medication daily (she also had hyperthyroid), and had to give her subcutaneous fluids once every week or two to keep her hydrated. Your vet can show you how to judge her hydration status and give the fluids yourself at home. It looks scary, but both the cat & I got used to it quickly - she could tell it made her feel better, so she didn't mind too much.

She went through a tough time at age 14 when she lost hair and was feeling ill, and I had the quality of life discussion with my vet at that point. The vet told me candidly that she thought my cat had just hit a rough spot and was pretty confident that she could get her through it, so I trusted her, and my girl did get better. Her hair even grew back, though the vet hadn't been sure if it would. Her quality of life finally began to deteriorate in the last couple of months right before she turned 17, due to a combination of the kidney failure and to heart failure, at which point I had her put to sleep. Treating my cat when she was diagnosed with mild kidney failure gave us 5 more good years together.

Here are some web sites with good information about kidney disease and treatment, for you to get an idea of what's involved:
http://www.felinecrf.com
http://www.felinecrf.org
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=KidneyDisease

My thoughts are with you - I know it can be very tough trying to decide whether or not it's a good idea to keep trying when a pet becomes old and gets ill.

Answer 7

Kidney failure is just that, it doesn't get better and sadly it only gets worse. You can retard the decline with medications but no it doesn't get better. You can make her comfortable, and there are medications but soon she will need dialysis and that's expensive.
MIld will get worse as she gets older. Depends how much kidney functions she has, thats what the vet wants to test for, she is dying I am afraid if she does have Kidney Failure.
I just lost a 13 year old to it, we didnt get much time with him and we just made him as comfortable as possible but in the end we had to make the decision.

Answer 8

A friend of mine had a really old cat with kidney failure. He went like a natural food place, and apparently calves liver blood, when syringed in your cats mouth 3-4 times a day restores their kidneys........weird, but I'm telling you, she's a brand new cat.

Answer 9

My cat was diagnosed with kidney disease 3 years ago when she was 14. The vet suggested I give her medication and subquetaneous fluids. I declined the medication and give her fluids on a weekly basis at home.

She's now 17 and her tests have come back each year with no change in her condition - no deterioration in her condition. She's lost weight but is still happy and active.

I would consult a holistic vet.
http://ahvma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1
http://www.holisticvetlist.com/

Feed her only real natural cat food such as Innova, Wellness or Merrick.
http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=food

Answer 10

Well your cat has already exceeded her life expectancy by a year. Renal failure cannot be overcome - but it can be managed in most cases.

Is your cat happy? Is she eating and using the bathroom normally? Is she in pain? I would consider these things if your considering treatments vs. euthanisia.

If this were my cat - and she's happy and painfree - I'd take her home and love her until she showed signs of distress. Then consider making that hard decision.