My cat, Titi, is 9 years old. Just over 2 years ago, the vet diagnosed him with Stage 3 CKD. He advised me to feed him renal dry food and give him Semintra once a day. Those two years went quite well. He even went from weighing roughly 8 lbs 13 oz to 15 lbs 7 oz. About a week ago, Titi stopped eating; his coat was dull and he had very bad breath. He was isolating himself. I took him back to the vet who told me he is now at Stage 4 (his creatinine, urea, and phosphate levels were higher than the machine could detect). He had large ulcers under his tongue. So, he has an AKI (acute kidney injury) on top of the chronic condition. The vet's prognosis was guarded, if not very pessimistic, and he talked about putting him to sleep. The vet said the AKI might be caused by kidney stones. He did an ultrasound where he saw large stones. He then referred us to a veterinary hospital. Titi had another ultrasound which showed that he has almost no left kidney left and that his right kidney is still quite large but with irregular borders. But that wasn't the main issue. The vet hospital advised trying a 48-hour stay to put Titi on an IV drip. The vet also gave him an injection of a steroid and a broad-spectrum antibiotic. After just under 48 hours (around 30 hours), the levels had come down but not enough. They are detectable by the machine but still very close to the maximum limits. The vet stopped the drip and explained that it wasn't right to keep pushing, and since he wasn't eating anymore, it was the end. He gave him a week at the absolute most to live. He could have fitted a feeding tube, but he didn't recommend it. So we decided to bring him back with us to be with him in his final days and give him some comfort. Titi is back home now. For the first three days, I still did two round trips a day to the vet for morphine and anti-sickness injections. I started feeding him (cat fish soups) and giving him water with a pipette (almost every hour) plus Semintra. The vet then suggested trying liquid renal food. Titi took it very well at first. After three days, he had regained some strength and even the vet was surprised. His prognosis went from a few days to a few weeks. So he decided to stop the morphine but keep the anti-sickness meds. This is the first morning without morphine, and I find Titi is really flat, and it's very difficult to feed him. He's drooling from the sides of his mouth. Plus, Titi is constantly going back and forth to the litter tray without necessarily doing a wee. No poo for at least three days. What should I do? Thank you so much for your replies.
Chronic Kidney Disease - Cat - Need some advice
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Hello
You must never give up... my pooch was diabetic and needed daily care, and then came kidney disease... it’s so hard emotionally... you just don’t know what to do for the best... I stayed with him right until the very end... we go into denial... but the suffering is there... my pooch was 15 and a half... he’s with me every single day.
Whatever you do, don’t give up—as long as there’s life, there’s hope. Best wishes to you..
Just a heads up, when a cat's breath starts to smell, it's usually a sign that the illness is quite advanced. I think you really need to weigh up the pros and cons for your cat's sake. The urea is essentially poisoning their system...
Taking care of your cat also means knowing when to let them go to spare them from suffering that is becoming unavoidable.
I’ve only just had to say goodbye to my own. She’d stopped eating, wasn’t passing any stools and had been completely withdrawn for a week.
Sending you strength.
Thank you for your support. Yes, I’m still hurting, it’s only been seven days... yes, I’m remembering all the mischief from when he was young... it does help... I miss him so much... I think you’re very brave to have supported four cats through their illnesses... time eases the pain, but they are a part of us.
We’re like parents to these little kitties who can't speak to tell us where it hurts.
Thank you again for your support.
Best wishes,
Bri93
Thank you for your support, I’m going through a very difficult time... it’s a heart-breaking decision to make... but seeing him suffer day and night is so painful, you feel completely helpless... all the trips back and forth to the vet... the emergency vet, the endless treatments, you feel like things are finally on the mend and then the next day the illness takes over again... thank you for all your support...
Best wishes,
Bri 93
Thank you so much for your comforting message..
Kind regards,
Bri93