New, having trouble, have elderly cat and lactulose question

[daesudee]

Hi! Once again, my apologies if this is a repeat. I will figure this board out.

I have a cat named Sabrina who is about 16. She is in kidney failure, but her levels are holding steady. She also has some spinal issues which causes constipation.

My vet prescribed lactulose about a month ago. That works, but I feel like it zaps her energy and makes her coat look scruffy. If I miss a day or two her energy level picks up and her coats looks better.

Is this my imagination or could this be a couple of side effects from the lactulose? My vet said probably not.

Thanks for any input.

[Traci]

Deb, lactulose if given regularly or consistently, can indeed cause fluid and electrolyte losses. You might consider adding 25-50 ml sub-q's to her daily regimin if your vet ok's this. Not sure about the energy level, but anytime electrolyte imbalances are present, energy reserves are of course depeleted. This would also explain her dull coat, loss of fluids.

[daesudee]

Thank you. That wasn't quite what I wanted to hear, but it makes sense. She was once upon a time feral, and still maintains some qualities of that- in other words she hates me for giving her the lactulose, hates me or anyone else to brush her, so I figured that I would never give her sub q's.

[Traci]

Deb, I was assuming you were giving her sub-q's on a routine for her kidney failure anyway, are you saying you are not? When was her last checkup and bun/creatinine checks? While the lactulose is probably largely responsible for the dull coat and lowered energy level (as a result of dehydration), her fluid losses could be at a point she needs to be rechecked ASAP, which could also cause the same symptoms. If she is weak at all, you have to consider potassium depletion, in which you could supplement with Tumil K.

What is the spinal condition, was it a previous injury or a previous pelvic injury? If she can be maintained without lactulose, ask your vet if you can use laxatone instead, and maybe talk about her diet, as in maybe providing an extra fiber supplement (you can also ask him if adding canned pumpkin to her diet would be ok for her case in particular). Is she currently on a prescription diet, a diet low in protein and phosphorus?

[daesudee]

I am happy to share her levels with you. Thanks for asking! I was on another board, but health issues just to seemed to fail most.

Sabrina was diagnosed Sept '02. Her bun was 40.0 and her creatinine was 3.63.

I put her on a prescription diet and she went from 8 lbs to 6 in about a month which alarmed me.

I put her back on Wellness canned as she is super picky and likes that. She isn't a fan of pumpkin, sadly, and bran and psyllium clog her like concrete.

Her levels were checked again in Jan of '03- her bun/creatinine was 38.4/4.33. So, I thought things were holding steady.

Then we rechecked it again this past Aug '03- and they were 39.4/4.26.

Her glucose has fluctuated from 153.4-139.7. Her Calcium, her cholesterol, and her globulin were all high as well.

No, we had not started the sub q's. I was hoping I could just keep her levels steady and not have to do it.

The spinal is not clear to me. I had her xrayed in Aug and the developer at the vet's didn't come out clear, so they need to redo it this week. My vet said he had noticed something last year, but wasn't clear on what it was.

Thanks again,