Topic: I'm heartbroken- Penny has kidney failure (Read 7703 times)

mervyn7451 · « **Reply #25 on:** November 10, 2010, 02:42:15 AM »

Aw lau,I'm soo sorry about Penny.My best chum Orbit passed from the same thing & was ill for a year before he went to add order to Rainbow Bridge..(He was a military cat after all!)
My fingers & Daisy's paws are crossed for Penny!
Hugs.
Merv & Daisy

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #24 on:** November 10, 2010, 00:21:00 AM »

Is it calici that you were trying to spell

I was looking for our links of dangerous stuff but they are all up the creek so will need to rebuild.

Certainly Lilies, poinsettas, anti-freeze and screen wash cos it has anti-freeze in it ,

The problem with anti-freeze is that its very sweet and attractive to cats and a killer.

Also slug pellets unless they are the special ones that are not dangerous to cats.

Lindsey (thefunkyinuit) · « **Reply #23 on:** November 10, 2010, 00:16:19 AM »

Sending hugs your way, hope Penny gets better soon xxx

Fire Fox · « **Reply #22 on:** November 09, 2010, 23:56:48 PM »

Many of the large food manufacturers will send you samples of dry food if you e-mail to ask - RC were very generous with their indoor variants. I don't mean to pry but if Penny is on heat presumably she is not allowed to roam freely? If not then it might be worth a thorough search of your property in case anything toxic crops up. I truly hope not but anything that can help the vets ...

lau200 · « **Reply #21 on:** November 09, 2010, 23:37:17 PM »

how wierd ginge, penny has a mouth ulcer although she has had it for about 3/4 weeks. she started being ill and was diagnosed with the colletsy (sp) virus, which several of the others also had. mouth ulcers are part of the symptoms for it, and some of the others also had ulcers but penny's hasn't healed although they have popped- she still had obvious markings on her tongue. when i mentioned that the vet did seem surprised that it hadn't healed. i wonder how long she has been sick and whether she did have the colleetsy virus, i know we nearly lost little Chelsey to it as her fever was so high.

i hope she improves enough for me to look into the food. one of our other cats lexie has IBS so we have z/d and wet puches from the vets so i'm used to the expensive food! thanks for all the advice, i'm glad leo is still with us, and i hope he can be penny's inspiration. i will tell her all about him tomorrow.

thanks to you all for your kind help and support x

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #20 on:** November 09, 2010, 22:58:57 PM »

No advice I'm afraid, just wanted to send you a

and let you know that we know what you're going through and are here if you need the support

Fingers crossed Penny can go on to make a good recovery

ginge66 · « **Reply #19 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:41:30 PM »

Mark x

ginge66 · « **Reply #18 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:38:50 PM »

Hi he eats a combination of both wet and dry food made by Purina and Royal Canin its prescription only from the vets but is especially for cats with renal failure. Unfortunately being a typical cat he will sometimes refuse the meat although the other two will eat it no problem

I sometimes supplement his food with felix senior as I understand that although not specific to cats with renal failure it contains nutrients especially to support older cats kidneys. Another trick to get him to eat his biscuits was to put them in a whiskas temptations packet and feed them to the other cats at the same time then it became a competition to see who could eat the most! My vet gave me quite a few samples to try which helped as the food does not come cheap.
As I understood it the key to recovery was to get him eating as cats can easily give up and it can be very difficult to force feed. Obviously eating along with iv fluids helps to clear out the toxins and aid recovery. I seem to remember the vet found Leo had a mouth ulcer and I naively thought that was the reason for his lack of appetite but later found out this was because of the toxins in his blood he must of felt so bad and I felt so guilty that I didn't notice it earlier but then hindsite is a wonderful thing. To look at him now you would never know he had been ill only yesterday he was chasing Ozzi up a tree and pinching Larrys food so I really hope this can give you some inspiration if there is anything else you wish ton know please ask
Andrea x

lau200 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:38:38 PM »

brilliant mark, you're a star x

Kirst · « **Reply #16 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:37:50 PM »

Sending loads of good vibes and hugs for Penny xxxx

Mark · « **Reply #15 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:19:14 PM »

Here's the link to Leo's thread http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,34050.msg606166.html#msg606166

Vets often put cats on renal food temporarily when they have acute renal failure to take the burden off the kidneys. Hill's & Royal canin make both wet & dry. There are other brands as well. Although wet food is better for cats with kidney problems, I never had any luck feeding it - it stinks

Hill's is called k/d & Royal Canin, s/o renal

Ellen2010 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:15:50 PM »

Lau wait and see what the vet says as it is not always a death sentence, I have a cat diagnosed 21 months ago and she is still going strong with CRF but she is 17 years old and is controlled by plain flavoured shop bought cat foods and medication.

Gill is so right if someone has Lillies or spilt some antifreeze that could be the cause of Penny's problems but hope not either of these and it is just an infection as sometimes if the have an infection of the urinary tract this can also show high kidney readings and will respond to fluids.

Hope this gives you a bit of hope and I hope Penny is well soon.

lau200 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:03:25 PM »

i was just wondering about the diet. someone on another forum has a cat with kidneys that dont function properly and she mentioned a diet. what diet was Leo on? (i'm glad to hear he has made a full recovery-gives me hope!).

thanks for your replies everyopne x

bunglycat · « **Reply #12 on:** November 09, 2010, 21:01:06 PM »

Sorry to hear about Penny -really hope she gets better very soon :hug

ginge66 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 09, 2010, 20:53:48 PM »

Hi I'm really sorry to hear about Penny and I know just how your feeling because I went through a similar thing with my cat Leo a couple of months ago. I actually posted on here about it, if I knew how to post a link I would, people were very kind and supportive. Just like you I had no idea how ill he was and I really thought he had got a blockage because hes a devil for catching birds

so when I took him to the emergency vet and his bloods showed acute kidney failure possibly due to poisoning I was devastated especially as they only gave him a 50/50 chance, Leo is three by the way.
I'm pleased to say after spending four nights at the vets that he survived and his recent blood tests showed that his kidneys are nearly back to normal

I still don't know what caused the kidney failure but if you can find my original post there is areally good link about various things that can be poisonous to cats or if anyone reading this could post the link please

My vet used to let us go in daily and spend an hour with Leo which helped us both and we also used to feed him his special renal diet as he is quite a nervous cat, the vet seemed to think this was the key to getting him well again along with his iv fluids of course.
Sending you lots of healing vibes and

hope your other two cats are feeling better too.

Andrea x

lau200 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 09, 2010, 20:40:37 PM »

not sure about the anti-freeze or lillies, we don't keep either on our property just to be on the safe side, but outside who knows. i must admit that anti-freeze was my first thought as the vets seem to think it was soemthing eaten or a virus rather than something she was born with. she isn't out of the woods yet as far as i know because her K levels need to be below 6 and they were 7.5, i suppose tonight will be the turning point. i really miss her and i know Lucie is, they always slept together on the sofa.

thanks for your words of support everyone x

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #9 on:** November 09, 2010, 19:19:49 PM »

Yes thats why I asked if they went out, especially as the other two are now ill too.

Please watch the other two carefully.................I know you will

.............and if looking like same symptoms as Penny, off to the vet quick cos it would then seem that there is something out there that they shouldnt have touched.

I hope the vet is right and its just a coincidence but I do wonder.

beckamsimmons · « **Reply #8 on:** November 09, 2010, 18:46:39 PM »

Oh bless you, i understand, it's so sad and worrying. I have everything crossed she pulls through. she sounds like a little fighter as she didn't moan about being ill, bless her.

My cat has been missing 3 weeks now so I know what it's like to fear you'll never see them again, she's my best friend too.

Massive massive hugs and much much

B

xx

JackSpratt · « **Reply #7 on:** November 09, 2010, 18:39:22 PM »

I don't have any constructive input, I just wanted to send a hug.

Mark · « **Reply #6 on:** November 09, 2010, 18:23:14 PM »

Poor Penny

It sounds like Acute, rather than Chronic - the good news is she could have 100% recover with Acute

- is there any way she could have licked antifreeze or eaten any part of a lily?

lau200 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 09, 2010, 18:10:40 PM »

yes penny, poppy, lexie, lucie and man cat do go out outside. that is my main worry just incase penny has eaten something out there

AllShookUp · « **Reply #4 on:** November 09, 2010, 18:06:05 PM »

cazzer · « **Reply #3 on:** November 09, 2010, 17:59:59 PM »

sorry to hear about poor Penny

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #2 on:** November 09, 2010, 17:48:39 PM »

I am so very sorry to hear how ill Penny is and kidney failure at such a young age is not common, Sending lots of get well vibes for her

It sounds like your vet is looking after her well.

Are they outdoor cats?

lau200 · « **Reply #1 on:** November 09, 2010, 17:25:06 PM »

my girl is so very ill. i didn't even think for one second she was as ill as she is. she was abit warm yesterday morning and the OH says she was sick quite a bit yesterday. but i was in work for 10 hours yesterday and then we met family for a meal in a pub to mark our nieces brithday. so it was late on last night by the time i got home, but the OH wasn't worried as penny does get alot of furballs- she grooms all the other cats. when i saw her be sick it wasn't food just abit of fluid so i too thought it was just a furball. she was abit tired, as was i so i thought i'd leave her and see how she was early in the morning. again, i wasn't too worried when i saw her fast asleep on the sofa, she always slept there. but when i touched her ears she was so cold and when i tried to move her- she couldn't stand. she just fell like her legs had no strength. when she did manage to stand- it was like she was drunk, wobbling all over the place. the OH says she tried to go the toilet but nothing happened and she refused a piece of fresh chicken- her favourite. it was then i phoned the vets and got her in first thing this morning. of course i was concerned but never did i think it would be as bad as it is. i thought she might have just had an infection or something. she really opened her bladder on me on the way to the vets- not a little widdle like cats normally do but lie niagra falls. when i rang at 2pm to check how she was, i found out how seriously ill she is. her body has too much potassium so she is on glucose to counteract that (too much K can lead to a heart attack) and she is severly dehydrated so she is on a drip for that. she is also on heat etc but my girl is so poorly. kidneys get rid of the toxins in your body- so she has toxins in her body too.

having kidney problems myself i do understand just how serious it is and just how much pain she must have been in. but she didn't tell me, she was so brave. she didn't even pull her sick expression until this morning. i'm gutted, i wish i had noticed this yesterday. the OH is in shock too. but Penny's my baby, my best friend. i don't know how i will ever cope if she doesn't come home. i couldn't imagine life without her and i don't want to.

the vets don't know what has caused this, they are shocked that a cat so young is suffering from kidney failure. she isn't even 2 years old yet.

we had a scare from Poppy and Lexie too because they have both been sick. the vets think they have eaten something, but that it is a coincidence. Lexie's IBS may be back with avengence. both Lexie and Poppy have anti-sick meds and are to have no food for 24hrs. obviously if they start showing signs of going like Penny we are to rush them back, but the vets just think i'm unlucky.

Penny is staying at the vets for atleast the next few days so the can see how she is. please keep your fingers and paws crossed for my girl.

i'm so sorry for the long post, i just needed to tell someone.

Author Topic: I'm heartbroken- Penny has kidney failure (Read 7703 times)