But should I be concerned about his kidneys, and if so is there anything i can do? I tried making homemade food....

And aside from his kidneys, what can I do for constipation? ....

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Hi! I've been off this board for a while and just read up on your string. I recently lost a Senior cat (16 y/o) that had constipation, CRF (Kidney Failure), anemia due to CRF, and also was on steroids long term for brain swelling/tumor... PHKitKat is far more qualified to answer your questions, but I'll give it a stab on some I am familiar with...

You didn't mention (or I overlooked it) whether or not he has kidney failure/CRF... When my Senior cat was diagnosed at age 14 with early CRF, we switched him to Science Diet Prescription Kidney Diet food (Science Diet KD). It really helped stabalize his numbers for a good 2 years without anything else really needing to be done. His brother from the same litter doesn't have Kidney Disease, has good "numbers" and has eaten the food alongside his brother for two years. The vet said it is OK to keep him on the food with his brother now gone, it has probably helped him not get kidney problems. Something to check into if your cat has kidney problem -- change his diet to something easier on his kidneys. Your vet can advise. Protein and Phosphorous are items I know are lower in kidney diet.

Constipation is very common in Senior cats. Mine would only eat dry food, but the vet recommends wet food (for kidney and constipation). Some cats will only eat dry. The above KD mentioned comes in wet and dry and worked very well in dry for my kidney failure cat (and apparently for my non-kidney failure cat). For constipation, there are things you can try with your vet. Mine wouldn't eat the pumpkin, either. They won't touch savory and smelly wet cat food, the sight of pumpkin caused shocked looks on their faces and gasps... I found a combination of LaxAire (tube stuff you can get from the vet) or hairball remedy treats given about three times a week helped for both cats. For the one with the more significant/diagnosed constipation due to a blockage/impaction at age 13, he was prescribed Lactulose, a stool softner, twice a day. Was on it 3 years, his constipation showed up a year before his kidney problems did, but kidney problems also cause constipation and probably kept him irregular. Since his brother's stools also slowed, but did not block him, I have started and kept him on the LaxAire/hairball treats for a couple years now without having to add in the Lactulose (vet OKed his current treats/tube stuff). Kidney problem cat went #2 about every 3-4 days for the past 3 years, normal cat went from daily #2 to every 2 days as he aged. Tube stuff and treats help him.

I take my senior cats in twice a year for blood and once a year for urine if there aren't problems. If there are problems, they go in as often as needed, usually 3-4 month intervals for my Senior that recently passed away with kidney problems and brain swelling (on steroids for that). His anemia was out of control -- we tried meds and it wouldn't help -- and a side effect is loss of appetite. Anemia is also a side effects of kidney problems. He lost 3 pounds in 3 months and took a sharp decline at the end.

I also wanted to mention steroids. Mine was on Prednisolone (kissing cousin to Prednisone). You have to closely monitor liver and sugar levels. He had dizziness due to a brain tumor that was very well controlled for a year and a half by the pred, but we had to closely monitor blood work as his liver and sugar levels would skyrocket and we'd have to lower the Pred. It was a dance to control the swelling and not affect the liver and sugar (causing diabetes).

One thing you didn't mention to put in your hip pocket is when a cat loses appetite, your vet will sometimes prescribe Cyproheptadine. It is an appetite stimulant that seems to work on some cats more than others. It really works on my surviving cat, not as much on his brother. It can help them to eat when side effect of other problems take their appetite. It will make them hyper in some cases, but eating is important. It is my #1 factor that all is well with my cat, along with regular pee/poop.

Fortunately, the surviving brother has absolutely no problems at this time. Blood and urine come back clean and very normal. His appeite is good. One cat had several chronic senior problems show up from age 13-16 and I lost him to them, and his brother from the same litter has had none of the "common" problems in 16 years. Sometimes it is hard to figure out. I am just grateful his brother is so healthy at 16.

I am treating him for a Kidney Infection he picked up as he is a three legged cat (lost a leg to rabies shot caused cancer/tumor in his leg at age 12 1/2). He's recovered well and no signs of cancer in the past 3 1/2 years, but he is prone to kidney infections due to the way he sits... Which reminds me, if you are giving any vaccinations, talk to your vet -- they are very hard on the kidneys in senior cats. Most vets stop them when they become seniors, except possibly for Rabies. I have stopped rabies in my cat as he has no other legs to lose (now don't you start worrying about rabies caused cancer, he was a rare case, tho it does happen).

But, like you, I am very nervous about the remaining cat and watch him like a hawk. It has been almost three weeks since we lost his brother, and I think the remaining cat (Pookey) would just like to eat, poop, and pee without me watching him during each event and checking him off on a checklist when he accomplishes all. Not quite that bad, but close. I keep watching him like something is about to happen. It is hard to get out of the routine when I had to medicate his brother so often the last couple years and monitor his body functions constantly... I hope I can ease up at some point with Pookey, but it is hard.

It's 6AM. Time to give him his antibiotic and see if he pooped/peed overnight... I heard him eat a bit ago, so all is well today...
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Tammy and Pookey
(Stanley 8/91 - 8/07)

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