My 8 year old cat was recently diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure?

Question

My cat, Fang, has recently been diagnosed with CRF. The vet told me that she had a few days to live...that was four days ago. She seems to be doing better, but I'm still very worried. Her temp is 98.9 and she is lying on a heating pad for much of the day. She is still playing a little. I have recently switched her food to Hill's K/D wet, mixed with a little stinky A/D. She has been eating, peeing, pooping and drinking. Also, she has a history of recurrent UTI's, for which she was on C/D for about a year. Does anyone know how long cats can live like this? Is there anything else I can do to make her more comfortable?

Answer 1

There are a few groups specifically for people working with a CRF cat.. Here's a yahoo group
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FelineCRF/
Here's a group on Catster too that also is for CRF support
http://www.catster.com/group/Crf_support_group-1258
They have a bunch of links listed too...
I don't have much experience with CRF, but I know a couple people from those groups and there's a few with quite a bit of experience..
Best of luck with your kitty..

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I am so sorry. Some cats can make a partial recovery from this but will need lots of tlc and special catfood for as long as she lives. Go online and look up more information than your vet had time to give you. As long as kitty seems comfortable and eats etc. there is hope. Cats are very stoic though so keep in touch with your vet. Mine used to say that if a human would be suffering with the kidney function that the cat has the cat is probably suffering too and that is when the hard choice has to be made. Good luck and give Fang a kiss from me.

Answer 4

Poor kitty! I know of someone who had a cat with renal failure, and he lived several weeks beyond what the vet had told the owner. He was acting pretty normal, except that he had slowed down a bit. I think you're doing about all you can do to make your kitty more comfortable. Be sure she has plenty of fresh water to drink, and keep her warm and quiet, away from children and other pets. Just give her lots of love and hope for the best. I am very sorry I can't be of more help. God bless!

Answer 5

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. It's a little difficult to be too specific without knowing what the underlying cause of the CRF is. That said, you didn't mention your cat getting IV or Sub-cutaneous fluids (also known as "Sub-Q" or "subbies"). This is the greatest tool for keeping your cat comfortable as It long as her kidneys are functioning. Since she's pee-ing, they are still working.

It is very easy to give her sub-Q at home. Have your vet teach you how. It can extend the life of your cat for quite awhile. I have a friend who kept his older cat alive, comfortable, with a good quality of life, for over two years after he was diagnosed with CRF.

Don't delay on this. With the kidneys losing their function, they aren't doing their job of keeping her blood clean of toxins, and that is going to make her feeling crummy. (not unlike the way we feel when we have the flu) It may be advisable to have her admitted for IV fluids for a day or so to "flush" her clean first.

If her urine test showed she had crystals in her urine you'll need to be very careful with diet. If she no longer likes CD, try the latest and greatest version "S/O" - also available from your vet.

A couple of resources:

A great website:

http://www.felinecrf.com/

And:

You can contact the helpline at the Cornell Feline Health Center 1-800-KITTYDR. It is available MWF from 9-12, 1-4 East coast time. I know the vet that usually is on Wed morning and she's helped my rescue save many, many cats. There is a small charge for the service, but it's no more than a vet office visit for me and I get tons of time with her. If you can get a copy of your cat's lab tests and fax to them that would be even better.

Good luck!

Answer 6

You don't mention the age of your cat. The Hill's prescription foods are very poor quality. Dr. Hill developed his special formulas in the fifties when it was thought that reducing protein would help cats with renal insufficiency live longer. That has never been proved by any research. The quality of the protein is much more important than the quantity.

My cat with kidney issues lived with me for seven years from age 15 to 22 and 1/2 and she ate only a raw meat diet I prepared for those seven years. So get your kitty off the Hill's junk and on to some quality meat protein - Wellness, Natural Balance, Avoderm etc. Wellness is probably the best if you must use commercial food. And NO dry food. Cats need lots of moisture in their food to keep the kidneys healthy and they never drink sufficient water to offset the dry diets.

Answer 7

Cats can live many years with crf. Are you giving fluids? (You should be) KD shouldn't be used unless it is end stage crf. can you email me the labs?


If your cat is not in final stages, this is not want you want to do. You do not want to put your cat on the
Vets low protein diet. There are simply so many better options out there than to hand the poor cat a low amount of poor quality protein - which often results in a poor appetite and muscle wasting since the body is now robbing its own muscle mass to feed itself a decent quality and amount of protein.
. There are new thoughts on this and the thinking is it is not the amount of protein but the quality of protein that matters.
The Merck veterinary manual [www.merckvetmanual.com] says that cats need "4 g of protein of high biologic value per kg body wt/day". That's about 7 calories from protein per pound body weight per day. If a cat isn't a good eater and consumes, say, 20 calories per pound per day, then 7/20 = 35% of calories can safely be from protein. It must be high quality protein, which means meat, fish, milk, and eggs, and not grain or soy.

I am under the assumption that you have been feeding mostly dry foods. Many use a vegetable based protein instead of animal and that is part of the problem.. Your cat needs protein as it is a carnivore and cutting down on it will lead to other health issues and may cause faster degeneration.
You want to cut down on fat and phosphorous (no fish allowed now) The best way to do this is with a raw diet which you can make yourself or buy. (Making yourself is better) link provided at the bottom
If you are unwilling to do that then something like the non fish flavors of Wellness or Merrick with NO grains are good alternatives. Wysong is also a good canned choice. This list gives a breakdown. Remember you want low phosphorous
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm


You also will want to look into phosphorous binders. Something like aluminum hydroxide
Ask your vet or look into calcitrol


You may want to talk to the vet about having injectable Pepcid AC on hand or you can buy it in pill form (ac not plain pepcid) and give 1/4 tab for stomach upset which happens a lot in crf cats due to acid in the stomach.
I hope this stuff helps, here are many links for you
Making cat food
http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm
other links. Read, read, read!!!!
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=KidneyDisease
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_chronic_renal_failure.html
http://www.felinecrf.org/
http://www.felinecrf.com/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/
About that vets diet. This report is for dogs but applies to cats
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Opera/2167/bovee_protein_RD.pdf

Answer 8

Aww. I have a cat that was diagnosed with that. They said he had three weeks to live. That was two years ago. I'm no expert, but just love on your cat. Thats probably the best thing you can do for it. Make sure it keeps drinking water though.

Answer 9

Ive seen cats live a long time in renal failure it really depends how far advanced it is and how old she is. I would seek another opinion because iv or subcutaneous fluids help prolong their life.

Answer 10

just keep doing everything that you are doing. make sure that she is eating the special food and drinking. hydration is important. i hope that she continues to feel better. with your love and commitment i believe there is hope.