My black polydactyl cat, Holly, who is only 1.5 yrs. old, is in acute kidney failure. She is at the vet now being rehydrated. I will be there first thing tomorrow and decide if I should bring her to the St. Hyacinthe Animal Hospital. Holly has had a tough life. Her siblings died in the cage at my vet at five weeks of age and she was the only one left so I took her home. At 7 weeks, she was so anemic from the fleas she'd had that she needed a blood transfusion. That set me back $1200 at DMV. She's been healthy since then. She doesn't like to be picked up and I try to respect that but I held her briefly last Sunday and she seemed fine. She's always been small but I am used to that as I have a healthy dwarf-cat who is 11 months old and 3.5 lbs. Well, when I picked her up today because she was walking funny and meowing, I nearly dropped her in shock. She is a bag of bones. When we weighed her tonight at the vet she was 3.6 lbs. She also has a URI that is quite severe. I asked the vet if sudden weight loss is possible and he said yes. I am still so unbelievably mad at myself though that I didn't notice sooner. Even so, my vet, whom I trust, told me that there is not much more I could have done even if I had brought her in sooner. The vet suspects FIP. Has anyone ever dealth with FIP? I have a multi-cat household. Also, what about acute renal failre in a young cat not due to FIP? Has anyone ever had the damage reversed in their cats?`
Here are some relevant results:
AMYL - greater than 1500 U/L (normal: 500 - 1500 U/L)
UREA - greater than 46.41 mmol/l (normal: 5.71-12.85 mmol/l)
CREA - 752 umol/l (normal: 71 - 212 umol/l)
PHOS - greater than 5.19 mmol/l (normal 1.00 - 2.42 mmol/l)
TP - 92 g/l (normal: 57 - 89 g/l)
GLOB - 62 g/l (normal: 28 - 51 g/l)
Please send prayers/positive thoughts. My cats are my babies and my heart is broken beyond words.
Lisa.
Acute Renal Failure-FIP
Re: Acute Renal Failure-FIP
Lisa, there are many potential causes of acute renal failure, anything from heart disease, to drugs, antifreeze poisoning to concurrent primary organ disease. I would ask your vet specifically about diagnostics that go further in ruling out the various causes (including immunological). Was a complete urinalysis done and was anything unusual upon the urinalysis? (i.e., obstruction). Were x-rays done to see the size/shape of the kidneys and any other abnormalities of the other major organs, as well as gastrointestinal inflammation?
The sudden weight loss is concerning, but this could be due to a secondary health condition going on other than the kidneys, and I would strongly suggest getting a consult with a feline nephrologist for direction on how to proceed from here, with further diagnostics and possibly an ultrasound to rule out secondary disease processes. I doubt FIP would be a factor here, you didn't note any typical signs or symptoms of the disease.
Whatever the immediate treatment plan is at this point, it's important that Holly does NOT recieve an overload of fluids, your vet must monitor her closely during hospitalization, and be prepared when you bring her home, that you will need frequent followup rechecks on her bloodwork and urinalyses.
Again, I would advise a pro consult with a feline specialist, particularly in nephrology.
The sudden weight loss is concerning, but this could be due to a secondary health condition going on other than the kidneys, and I would strongly suggest getting a consult with a feline nephrologist for direction on how to proceed from here, with further diagnostics and possibly an ultrasound to rule out secondary disease processes. I doubt FIP would be a factor here, you didn't note any typical signs or symptoms of the disease.
Whatever the immediate treatment plan is at this point, it's important that Holly does NOT recieve an overload of fluids, your vet must monitor her closely during hospitalization, and be prepared when you bring her home, that you will need frequent followup rechecks on her bloodwork and urinalyses.
Again, I would advise a pro consult with a feline specialist, particularly in nephrology.
..........Traci
Re: Acute Renal Failure-FIP
Not sure about feline kidney disease, but I assume kidneys function the same regardless!
My husband has kidney disease, an inherited disease, and has to watch his protein, sodium, potassium, cholesterol, as well as fluid intake...
They say drinking plenty of water is good for the kidneys, and flushes them out, but in cases of diseased kidneys, it is just the opposite, he can only drink about half of what the rest of us do, because it would overload his kindeys and make them work harder with more filtering to do!
Listen carefully to your vet and follow close instruction...I will pray that Holly comes through and with care is able to live a productive and happy life with you and her playmate...
Regular checkups and urine and blood tests will help keep tabs on Hollys condition and how well her kidneys are functioning in the future...my husband goes every 4 months or so...
My husband has kidney disease, an inherited disease, and has to watch his protein, sodium, potassium, cholesterol, as well as fluid intake...
They say drinking plenty of water is good for the kidneys, and flushes them out, but in cases of diseased kidneys, it is just the opposite, he can only drink about half of what the rest of us do, because it would overload his kindeys and make them work harder with more filtering to do!
Listen carefully to your vet and follow close instruction...I will pray that Holly comes through and with care is able to live a productive and happy life with you and her playmate...
Regular checkups and urine and blood tests will help keep tabs on Hollys condition and how well her kidneys are functioning in the future...my husband goes every 4 months or so...
Re: Acute Renal Failure-FIP
Holly had an ultrasound today and the results are very bad. Her kidneys are HUGE (4-4.5 cm), polcystic and the cortex is inflamed. They supsect FIP or cancer. She is only 1.5 and they told me that even if they continue with fluid therapy and she seems to do better, she will not live to her 2nd birthday. Her kidneys are simply finished. I sat with her all day and petted her head. I told her I was sorry. I hope she understands.
Because she is not in pain, my two regular vets, the radiologist and I decided to continue fluid therapy and then wean her off of it over the weekend. On Monday, if she makes it, she will come home. They suspect her next crisis will happen almost immediately (within a few days). At this point, I will euthanize. They told me that there is no point in seeing a nephrologist.
My heart hurts more than I can say. I had the hardest time saying goodbye to my dear girl. I authorized that if overnight or tomorrow she is extremely suffering and they can't reach me, then they should end her misery. I want to be there when she breathes her last, and I will breathe it with her, but I cannot let her be in agony either.
Continued prayers/thoughts please. I am devastated.
Lisa.
Because she is not in pain, my two regular vets, the radiologist and I decided to continue fluid therapy and then wean her off of it over the weekend. On Monday, if she makes it, she will come home. They suspect her next crisis will happen almost immediately (within a few days). At this point, I will euthanize. They told me that there is no point in seeing a nephrologist.
My heart hurts more than I can say. I had the hardest time saying goodbye to my dear girl. I authorized that if overnight or tomorrow she is extremely suffering and they can't reach me, then they should end her misery. I want to be there when she breathes her last, and I will breathe it with her, but I cannot let her be in agony either.
Continued prayers/thoughts please. I am devastated.
Lisa.
Re: Acute Renal Failure-FIP
Lisa, I strongly suggest you demand from your vet a consult with a specialist, this should only cost you the price of a teleconference call made by your vet to a specialist at a nearby veterinary university (I would recommend PEI of course).....since this is polycystic kidneys, the large size, inflammation could be due to the cysts that are filled with infection and can be drained. Abcessed cysts are common in this condition and left undrained and untreated, they will only multiply and continue to cause infection. A specialist can at least discuss with you options in treatment/surgery.
It would be unlikely for a young cat to have developed cancer, and I don't know why your vet suspects FIP, your post denotes nothing of the common signs of FIP (while kidney failure at end stage could be a factor of the dry form of FIP, nothing else you've mentioned indicates it)
Please, don't give up, demand from your vet a call to a specialist, you need to know if you do in fact have treatment/surgery options available from a vet more experienced. I'm not trying to give you false hope because I don't know the true extent of her kidney impairment, but polycystic kidney disease can be treated and managed to some degree by a competent vet.
I'm sending prayers and healing thoughts for Holly and you.....
It would be unlikely for a young cat to have developed cancer, and I don't know why your vet suspects FIP, your post denotes nothing of the common signs of FIP (while kidney failure at end stage could be a factor of the dry form of FIP, nothing else you've mentioned indicates it)
Please, don't give up, demand from your vet a call to a specialist, you need to know if you do in fact have treatment/surgery options available from a vet more experienced. I'm not trying to give you false hope because I don't know the true extent of her kidney impairment, but polycystic kidney disease can be treated and managed to some degree by a competent vet.
I'm sending prayers and healing thoughts for Holly and you.....
..........Traci