Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Kitty Cat had been doing really well since our last vet visit except for yesterday...

He howled last night and this morning.
He's getting picky about food and wants dry food over wet.
He's still hiding.
When he stands, his hind legs are not extended. He seems kind of hunched in the rear.

Tonight I gave him 100ml of sub-q as per our schedule and let him hide in the den to veg out. I washed his bed, cleaned his water dish, checked his litter box to make sure he's regular (and he is).

When we go back to the vet on Friday I am going to request the bloodwork results from this visit and the last visit so that I can post them on the forum and get feedback and do my own research. I also want to know his phosperous and potassium levels as well as have his blood pressure checked. From what I've been reading, CRf/HyperT cats tend to have high blood pressure and/or heart murmurs. Just want to make sure we are checking everything...

When I pick him up from the vet on Friday I also have to buy litter, more can food, more dry food, and more dog food...

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Hyperthyroidism

Boy Kitty's hyperthyroidism test came back high and I picked up his medication today afterwork.

Hyperthyroidism is the most common endocrine disorder that effects cats. It creates an overproduction of hormones produced by the thyroid gland. Some common symptoms include weight loss, being extremely hungry, as well as vomitting. There are three ways to treat hyperthyroidism: radioactive iodine, surgical removal of the affected glands, and medication. The route that the vet decided to go with Boy Kitty is most common -- with medication.

Hyperthyroidism medication is methimazole (Tapazole) which is a human medication. It works by blocking the secretion of the hormone in the thyroid gland and balances (hopefully) the cat's system out. This is a treatment and not a cure.

Because Boy Kitty has chronic renal failure his dosage has been lowered to 5mg twice a day (that's a 1/4 of a pill twice a day). Apparently, this drug has negative effects with CRF and that is why they treat cats with CRF with a lower dosage.

He will have to be monitored a bit more frequently now, but I am not sure exactly how frequently yet. We go back on May 2nd to have his bloodwork and thyroid rechecked to see how things are going. Bloodwork/thyroid tests run about $230

Cost of medication: $23

I put the pill in a blob of NutraCal ($4 approx) and smear it inside his lips (as far as he'll let me go) and on top of his mouth. He seems to like the NutraCal but doesn't appreciate the forcefeeding. I don't want to give him too much because the protein content of NutraCal is high. However, a little will not hurt.

The Hi-Tor Neo Diet cat can food was delivered today at the office and I gave Boy Kitty half of a can with a squirt of Welactin ($10 approx)when I got home. He didn't eat it all but he did seem to like it. He hasn't been acting crazy hungry today -- and it can't be the hyperthyroidism pill yet. We'll see tomorrow if the rest of the food is gone or if I need to mix some "junk" food in with it to get him to eat better.


Cost of the 24 cans $29 and change via amazon.com. Delivery was fast and packaged well. Cost of this food is MUCH less than the Hill's KD food sold at PetSmart. So, hopefully he will like it. I told my vet about the food today and I told her I would give her the label to the food when I see her next week since she's never heard of it.

Ok, some odd behavior today. He hasn't been sleeping in his bed but underneath the covered grill on the patio (he usually hangs out on the patio). He doesn't appear sickly or lethargic. He's alert and upbeat. Maybe it's cooler there?

I gave him fluids tonight. Finished out the bag so it may have been over 100ml but not by much. Cost of sub-q fluids: $20-30 depending on if I buy the attachment thingie. Sometimes it is free if I get it when my vet is there. However, the staff always gives me needles for free and I return the used needles so they can dispose of them properly.

I am looking forward to having his bloodwork/thyroid rechecked. Naturally I am hoping for improved numbers.

Monday, April 21, 2008

3.5 cans of Fancy Feast food

and The Boy ate almost everything. Yippee! Now if I can only get him to eat KD food...

He seems to be comfortable today. I let him sleep in the den most of the evening before having to put him in his room away from the crazy dogs.

I read alot today on felinecrf about vomitting, changes in fur, eating problems, and other associated problems. Alot of information out there. One thing I read said that the "loaf" position could mean he's crashing.... so naturally when I saw him in the loaf position today I started to panic... I held him, felt all over his body for bumps and swelling, checked in on him all day long.

He's fine.

I'm not feeling well tonight though... my stomach is upset and I feel lethargic. Sympathy pains?? :)

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Vomitting


Today I cleaned up vomit three times from Boy Kitty. All appear watery with some hair and yellowish liquid mixed in. Vomitting is not a normal occurrence for my cat -- especially multiple times a day. If there is more in the morning I may call the vet or visit the vet again to see what's going on.

As far as eating goes it took about 4 different cans of Fancy Feast to get him to eat the amount of one. I want him to eat the KD food again and am thinking about force feeding him with a syringe this week. I know it is very important for him to eat and to eat well. I don't want to piss him off or get him upset, but, I do want to improve his numbers or at the very least, keep him stable.

I watched him drink a lot of water today from his waterfountain dish and the dogs' dish. So that's good.

His coat looks a bit ragged and there are some patches of fur missing near his tail.

Tonight I gave him 100ml of sub-q fluids. He's such a good boy when I give it to him too. He's always been good when I do it. He just sits there and purrs. I changed the needles, measure where we are starting at, place the needle under the skin between his shoulder blades and start squeezing the bag. He started to leak because I pushed the needle too far into the skin that it penetrated out through the other side. No big deal. I re-adjusted the needle and started again. It was over in less than ten minutes and he was free to go.

So overall I say we had a good day with just a little concerned with the vomitting.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Boy Kitty's CRF Story

Boy Kitty had been a very healthy cat until late last year when I took him to the vet because of a urinary tract infection. He was treated for weeks with antibiotics until it cleared up and then I had his teeth cleaned for the first time. I had not realized how bad his teeth had gotten until the vet showed me the back of his teeth and saw the gunk had been fused together. So he had his teeth cleaned and made it through the procedure very well. Afterwards, he stopped pooping and eating. The vet had to give him an enema because, as she said, he was so backed up that he filled up their litter box. He seemed to be very relieved after that visit but not regular. Over the next few weeks, giving him laxatone regularly, he began to poop on his own again. His appetite picked up to a normal level too. This all occurred Oct-Nov 2007. He weighed 10.2lbs

I brought him back to the vet for regular urinary checks because of howling and spraying. My vet also ran bloodwork and that is when it was discovered that he was in the beginning stages of CRF. I immediately switched him to KD food and administered sub-q fluids twice a week. He did not have UTI but vet said that he could get them regularly as a secondary problem associated with CRF.

We went back regularly to have his bloodwork rechecked and though he was losing a lot of weight - about 4lbs - his bloodwork had improved to normal levels (but high on the normal side) in January '08. The vet and I were so excited! This was great news as it meant that what we are doing is working. He was still on KD food, with a squirt of welactin twice daily, and sub-q fluids administered 3x per week.

This high didn't last long. Over the last three weeks Boy Kitty began to howl again, he turned his nose up at the KD food, and he seemed ravenously hungry. He also stopped drinking out of his waterfountain water dish and preferred the dogs' water bowl. So back to the vet for a recheck. My vet said his creatinine level is normal, his BUN is 55 (higher than last visit), and his red blood cell count was low. She also said he was dehydrated. They gave him fluids and told me to increase the sub-q treatments to 5x a week (100ML). She told me that although it's important to get him to eat anything, keep trying the KD food too. So I ordered different food online last night in hopes that he would like this renal food better (reviewers are raving about it). We'll see!

Anyway, I was really upset. When I spoke to my vet on the phone about his bloodwork I thought she was hinting about putting him to sleep though she didn't come out and say that. Maybe it's just what I feared after hearing that his numbers declined since the last visit. When I picked him up after work I asked her straight out if it was his time and she said no. She said he's still spunky and not lethargic. He doesn't exhibit all of the symptoms of other CRF cats. I had posted on a message board for parents of CRF cats after the phone call for their advice and all of the responses were positive. They also told me to get his blood pressure checked because that could be the cause of howling.

Oh, one other thing, the vet tested his thyroid and it appears it is high. She is having the test sent out for confirmation and will call me in a few days with the results. He will most likely be put on hyperthyroidism medication. This could also be the cause of the howling.

Whew!

On a positive note his weight is pretty stable considering he's been really picky about the food I give him. He was 6.4lbs in Jan and he weighed in at 6.2lbs yesterday. This could be a scale glitch or accurate. Either way, it's much better than losing a significant amount of weight as he had been regularly doing.

I moved his waterfountain water dish to a different location and he's drinking out of it again.

It's been very emotional. I've had my boy since he was about 6-8mos old. He's always been my loving and fatty (he used to weigh about 15lbs) cat. I know he's 18 years old and his life is shorter now than it is longer. I am somewhat prepared for the day when he will die but I am just in tears when I think it could be anytime soon. Still, if he declines to a point where he's uncomfortable and in pain and his quality of life has suffered, then I will do the right thing. Til then, it seems like he is doing well for an 18 year old cat with CRF. We still have more time.