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Hi after reading a bunche of your comments on your own cats not eating, I got the hint that I needed to bring my cat into the vet. For years my cat has had a vomiting problem, a couple of times a week at most, but he remained eting. I have always thought it was stress, he always got worse when we went away. About a month ago he got more fussy with his food, until he stopped eating all together. I took him to the vet a week ago and found that over an unknown amout of time he has lost about 8-10 pounds. They took basic blood tests and called me with the results. The vet told me he was in kidney failure and their suggestion was to put him down because of the bad lab values. I was not ready for that so I told my husband that we would wait for a few more days. Now the cat is eating more, hydrated more, not vomiting and more active than a week ago.
Can anyone explain this, first he was dying and now he is eating a little better than last week?

Cats with kidney failure often tend to go up and down in their health. As long as your cat seems comfortable and not suffering you probably shouldn't euthanize him. You might want to look into doing sub-Q fluids which might prolong his life and health even more.

These may give you a better understanding about this disease.

>>Hi after reading a bunche of your comments on your own cats not eating, I got the hint that I needed to bring my cat into the vet. For years my cat has had a vomiting problem, a couple of times a week at most, but he remained eting. I have always thought it was stress, he always got worse when we went away. About a month ago he got more fussy with his food, until he stopped eating all together. I took him to the vet a week ago and found that over an unknown amout of time he has lost about 8-10 pounds. They took basic blood tests and called me with the results. The vet told me he was in kidney failure and their suggestion was to put him down because of the bad lab values. I was not ready for that so I told my husband that we would wait for a few more days. Now the cat is eating more, hydrated more, not vomiting and more active than a week ago.
>>Can anyone explain this, first he was dying and now he is eating a little better than last week?

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

I agree. As long as your cat seems pain-free, there are things you can do to prolong his life reasonably and comfortably. As to why he seems to be better, if the vet gave sub-Q fluids (and likely did), he is probably feeling much better and hydrated. Sub-Q fluids are given under the skin to re-hydrate the cat. It looks like they are injecting a "bag of water" under his skin. Your vet can give sub-Q and can also show you how to and it can generally add time and quality to his life. Some folks choose to do sub-Q on their own at home and can add up to a couple years to the cat's life (again depending on how far along your cat is). It is a choice you have to make, but for now, since you want more time, talk to your vet about your vet giving sub-Q so his time with you is comfortable and quality.

Another thing to consider is switching him to a diet that helps his Kidneys, such as Science Diet KD (you can get from vet). You can get a can or two or a small bag of dry to see if he likes it. At this point, it is more important he eats whatever food he will eat -- but if he likes the KD, it'll be even better for his kidneys.

My cat is a year into kidney failure and the KD has helped his values considerably. Haven't had to go to sub-Q yet as we noticed the then subtle change in values about a year ago and started on the food. But, he will likely need Sub-Q within the next few months to a year.
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey