Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
I have a 17 year old cat named Ben, who has been in great health up until last week. Acting sluggish, drinking alot, just not being the social animal he is. I thought possible diabetes because of the way he was acting. They ran all sorts of tests and said that they think now it might be renal failure but not sure. They are giving him fluids. This started Monday. The doctor said there maybe a poss. infection going on in his body somewhere causing this. He appetite isn't good. They want him on a low/no protein diet. He is on A/D. I have tried the can and the hard food. I mist the dry food a little with water and put just a dab of oregano on it to try and perk it up per my vet. He seemed to be doing better and this am very happy and purring. He then started to walk and was very unsteady, probably weak. He didn't eat this am. Does anyone have any ideas what I can do to get nourishment in him. The regular vet won't be there until tomorrow and don't have much faith in this one. I am wondering about asking them to put him on an IV fluid versus what they are doing now just sticking a needle under his skin and giving him the fluid. Also want to know if nourishment can be put into the IV to help strengthen him for now. His teeth have alot of tarter and gums are red, this might be the problem. We of course don't want to put him under anesthesia to clean them right now, but he needs to get stronger first. The other vet also mentioned doing some antibiotics also when she rechecks the blood tomorrow. I can't believe that they hadn't done a urinalysis until I asked them about it today. Don't have results yet... Please any suggestions.. thank you Lil

Poor baby! Usually when my cat who had renal failure got some IV fluids and antibiotics she perked up and started to eat. Hopefully the vet (the one you trust!) will be able to help with this!

Good luck to you and the cat!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thank you for your reply! When I went to pick Ben back up today the tech said to me and by the way your cat has a neurological disorder. I said What?? She said the other girl noticed him walking with his head down and to the side. I asked this other girl since the vet herself didn't bother to mention to me what was going on, as if it were no big deal. Well apparently Ben is lacking potassium thta is causing this. She said they were out of the tumeral/K (sp.?) and she would have some by tomorrow, tht this would help. I said WHAT, isn't there somewhere else I can get it. She said only at vets. So anyways, I couldn't believe that they were letting Ben come home like that. I called another vet and had my vet send a script and then proceeded to give it to him. Why they couldn't do this I don't know. Anyways, it was late in the day and just didn't feel good about it. I took him to the emergency vet who said their vet wouldn't be there until 7p and she referred me to some other vet that she knew was would be open. He seemed to be a wonderful doc. He did say though that he was in renal failure and chances were that it was just a matter of time. We decided though to give him intravenous fluid w/ potassium all throughout the night. He will call me in the am. I wish I was with him. The vet said he could get better for a while but most probably wouldn't be for long and that I should think about what to do next. Ben is still loving and not in any visible pain. I know people say well what do you expect he is 17, but I think that is crap. I don't know if it's too late or not but my doc says he probably only has a small part of his kidneys that are functioning and they of course don't regenerate. He doesn't know why the lack of potassium is happening. I am really depressed. I just wish I would have found a more caring vet sooner and poss. had caught this sooner. I am hopeing for the best! Thanks again. Lil

I am so sorry for the situation that you are going through with your Ben.

It disgusts me that after a certain age, vets just write off the animals as a lost cause! You would think with their education and experience with animals, they would see that cats are living much longer than the "12-14" yr statistic that I seem to have quoted at me every single time I bring her in for care. The same goes for Feline Leukemia cats....my brother's car was recommended to be put to sleep at the age of 6 months when she was diagnosed. My brother decided against it (there were no other cats to be infected with it). 8 years later she succumbed.

Ooops....there I go of on my soap box again!!! LOL.

Anyway, since my cat is going through something similar, maybe we can keep in touch via e-mail and swap notes. My name is Heather and I can be reached at hlr1129@juno.com.

My prayers are with you and Ben in this matter!

I am going through the exact same thing as another poster. My Tiki is 18 and the vet also diagnosed her with renal failure and a possible kidney infection on Monday. Gave me antibiotics and an IV bag (for under the skin) to do at home. But I cannot get her to eat anything!!! I've done the canned food, the dry food, the dry food softened with water/chicken broth etc...I've even taken canned tuna and blended it into a smoothie so she could drink it. When that failed I tried using a dropper to get it into her (the result was that the started foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog....just like she does when I try to get her meds into her).

I am very stressed out and upset and have found that most people (outside of the forum) just jump to the "what do you expect at her age....have her put to sleep". I could see that if she was lethargic or in some kind of pain. But other than the recent wobbliness (that I attribute to her not getting the right nutrition), she is very active and loving. She runs to the dish when I put the food down....she just can't get more than a mouthful or 2 before she loses her interest.

The vet's advice was to admit her for 3-4 days and have a catheter (sp??) put in so she can get more IV and injections but as much as I love my cat, I do not have any way of coming up with the 600-800 dollars that would cost! And I'm more afraid for my cat's mental health if I leave her at the vet's for that amount of time (in the 15 yrs I've had her, she's never had to stay overnight at the vet w/o me).

I'm sorry if I seem to be rambling but I am very distraught at the entire situation and am hoping I can get some words of wisdom from people who have been in the situation.

Thanks for listening folks and TIA for any responses I may get!

Heather in PA

I also think when they see he is 17 that they automatically say well he lived a long life and this is expected in older cats. I thinkk that is crap..... I am hoping for the best. He is now at another vet who seems caring and he is keeping him overnight with IV fluids all night and having potassium in it. I am never going back to that vet. I have 5 other cats, 1 dog and a bird. I cannot believe all the stuff I went throught this afternoon from there lack of caring. Good luck to you and wish the best!

Lil

Hi there, sorry that you and your kitty are going through the same thing.
Ben has been in the hospital (new doc) sincce Wed. They have kept him on IV fluids and checking with the vet today, he is eating well and all his high levels are back to normal with the exception of potassium. For some reason this doesn't seem to get much better. His system isn't retaining it. He had a full body xray yesterday all was basically ok. The kidneys looked fine just a little smaller, not anything he said to be concerned about, he does have something he can't tell what by his right lung, very small. The big problem is he still has his head hung down and unsteadiness when walking. The doc thinks prob. something to do with the brain poss. Maybe a tumor. I don't think so though, this head thing and unsteadyness came on all of a sudden aft. a visit at the other vet. I think if it were a tumor, he would have had some gradual effects from it before then. They gave him a steroid injection to see if this would help. The doc basically I guess is preparing me. I told him I want to bring him home since he seems stabilized. He said that is fine, just to wait until tomorrow to see if shot had some benefit. As long as he isn't suffering and is eating I want him home, just afraid of the head thing. He thinks poss. kidney are may not be functioning right and it is just a matter of time. I just don't think it is his time. I am checking all the holistic stuff out. I know it sounds weird, but maybe massages, protein diet and anything else I can think of wthat will help him. I just don't want him to be disoriented. The doc thinks tht is why he may not be walking around much. Let me know how you are doing. LiL

Poor Ben! My thoughts and prayers are with him! I hope he can have some more quality time with you at home! It's good that you finally found a caring vet!


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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!