Topic: Polycystic Kidney Disease in moggies... (Read 3027 times)

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #25 on:** June 30, 2011, 14:33:44 PM »

The vet thinks his kidney function will deteoriate like any other CRF kitty but with renal food and medication we can hopefully slow that down or halt that for a while to extend the time we have with him.
Thats why he wants to re-test everything after the ABs and Fred has been on renal food for a month or so to see if that helps any.
His renal food arrived yesterday, 6 boxes of it

also have 40 tins of normal cat food as it was on offer in sainsburys

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #24 on:** June 30, 2011, 11:42:39 AM »

I'm glad he's doing well and seems to be ok. It sounds as though although he has impaired kidney function, his condition may not be the same as a cat with crf who will slowly (or sometimes quickly) deteriorate. Did the vet say it would get worse or will it stay at the same level of performance now?

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #23 on:** June 29, 2011, 23:15:45 PM »

That's good to hear

From how you describe hi, apart from the cystitis, he does sound like a normal happy little kitten - CRF is such a scary term but if the vet has said 'his kidneys aren't working properly' then that isn't nearly as scary, especially knowing that diet and tablets can help enormously

P.S In answer to your question, I'm still waiting to find out and the boys are four now

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #22 on:** June 29, 2011, 21:21:00 PM »

Fred is doing fine, thank you
He is enjoying the renal food (crazy cat) which is good as I ordered loads in.
He is still on ABs for the next few weeks and then he will need to be re-tested to check his kidney function and protein levels of his urine then take it from there.
I feel a bit calmer about it and realised I just need to enjoy him all the more and deal with any problems as they arise rather then spending all my time worrying about what ifs...
You wouldn't think he was ill to look at him and he is bounding around like a looney kitten as ever!
when is it kittens are supposed to slow down?

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #21 on:** June 29, 2011, 14:46:08 PM »

How's little Fred doing lately, any updates?

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #20 on:** June 21, 2011, 00:18:07 AM »

Really sorry to hear that

Try not to dwell on it for now, Fred won't know any different and is still his happy loving little self no matter what the vets have concluded about his kidneys

You could look into phosphorous binders sprinkled on normal food if he doesn't take to the renal food. Fortekor in conjunction with phos binders worked miracles with my childhood cat Tiggy who was in the latter stages of CRF and elderly when diagnosed but we still had years together.

With little Fred being so young fingers crossed you have many, many happy years ahead

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #19 on:** June 20, 2011, 23:23:08 PM »

Napoleon had one kidney shrivelled to pea size and stones around it..............nobody knew how long he had been like that but his kidney levels were only slightly high until he became ill in April.

The stones had started to break up and were in his bladder and had blocked him. I saw them after they had been removed ands were tiny.

I hope that something can be done to help your boy cos he is so young.

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #18 on:** June 20, 2011, 22:45:52 PM »

On holiday so just a quick update
The vets phoned and said he does not have PKD, but he does have CRF

will be trying him with renal food and possibly fortekor (sp?)
also, it is not that one kidney is a bit smaller than the other, but that it is significantly smaller and shriveled. The lack of kidney function means his urine is not concentrated, concentrated urine clears the bladder of bacteria but his doesn't and leads to his bacterial cystitis...

This dodgy kidney could be caused by his being so ill when he was younger, something called amaloidosis (sp?) or he was born with it, but it seems to be the source of his problems.
Feel very sad and wish I was at home to give him a hug, luckily my friend has done that for me. Going to try and put it to the back of my mind and have a couple of days of peace before dealing with it when I get home.
hasn't sunk in I don't think.

He is only 1

Fire Fox · « **Reply #17 on:** June 16, 2011, 23:40:47 PM »

Quote from: JenGeorgieBob on June 09, 2011, 14:28:39 PM

Just read that link, thank you for that, was very informative.
It also says they are more prone to kidney infections and the vet said she detected a very low level of bacteria in his urine which means he is fighting off a small infection somewhere.
I will get him tested as soon as possible and will ask the vet about Ginger, as it seems likely that being siblings they would share it although she has no symptoms at all.
Part of me hopes this is it, as it would be a diagnosis, but part of me (a huge part) thinks no, its not fair because then he can't be cured
Waiting for the vet to phone to let me know how much all the tests will be then I will book him in for them. Poor Fred.

Try not to worry about Ginger, we only share 50% of our genes with each parent and 50% with each sibling.

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #16 on:** June 16, 2011, 06:05:09 AM »

Fingers crossed for the results

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #15 on:** June 11, 2011, 00:13:48 AM »

I hope that he does not have it and Napoleon had only one working kidney for x years, its not known how long but it wa totally shrivelled to peasize two years ago.

Despite this his kidney levels for an 17yr old cat were only a fraction high, until a month ago.

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #14 on:** June 10, 2011, 21:02:13 PM »

Fred is home...with some rather large bald patches!
No sign of the disease from the ultrasound but one kidney is larger than the other! So possibly one is working properly, one is not?
They have said to give him 6 weeks of antibiotics rather than one short course of 1 week, so make sure his system is clear of any infection.
it will be about 10 days until we get the results of the genetic test to really answer the question about whether or not he has it.
paws crossed he has not got it, and it is just a low level infection that is not going away and causing these problems and only one kidney working properly. At least that would mean his sister Ginger would not have it too...
will update when I hear any news.
Fred will be having some cat milk tomorrow to cheer him up after his ordeal (he is a little sleepy this evening)

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #13 on:** June 10, 2011, 15:20:13 PM »

When will you get the test results?

Lotzy · « **Reply #12 on:** June 10, 2011, 11:56:55 AM »

Fingers and paws crossed for you here! Hope it all goes well.

madamcat (Edd) · « **Reply #11 on:** June 10, 2011, 11:24:30 AM »

Sending you a few of these

Hope today's tests go well and from those your vet is able to diagnose what is bothering your little man

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #10 on:** June 10, 2011, 10:45:35 AM »

thank you for your replies
Fred is at the vets now. Ginger seems so lost without him and the house feels empty (which is odd, as there are still 2 cats here). I sat down all sad after he had gone and both Benji and Ginger sat on my lap together and we all fell asleep! it was lovely as Benji does not normally sit on laps and Ginger does not normally sit with Benji (he insists on washing her and it makes her grumpy, lol) so that made me smile.
My fiance will be picking Fred up at about 6 tonight after work, annoyingly I am going to work soon and working until 7.30 which means it will be ages until I see my little man, but it does mean I will be kept busy.
Sorry I didn't mean badly bred in that way, just that the breeders hadn't tested the parent cats for it and so ended up passing it onto the kittens? but it seems to be a recent thing doing the testing?
did they go on kidney food for it, does that help in these cases?
He just seems so young (just turned 1) and if he is already showing symptoms...
anyway, fingers crossed it is something else, a tube in the wrong place or something that can be easily solved.

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #9 on:** June 09, 2011, 23:07:04 PM »

I've had two cats with PKD - persians, and no, they werent badly bred. Sadly not so much was known about PKD years ago and it wasnt looked for (my Suzie was about 10 when I adopted her, and Jasper was about 12 - both cats from the same breeder and same mating). PKD can occur in any cat, moggie or pedigree.

The trouble is once the cysts on the kidneys have spread and become large enough to cause renal dysfunction and failure, meds normally prescribed for cats with renal failure (such as Fortekor) are not effective. So the degree of renal dysfunction will depend on how many cysts there are, how much of the kidney (and sometimes other organs) they cover etc and how fast they grow. Still, Suzie lived till she was 14 and Jasper too was around 14 when I lost him, so they both did well, considering.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #8 on:** June 09, 2011, 21:47:58 PM »

All paws crossed here and hope the results are good

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #7 on:** June 09, 2011, 21:16:45 PM »

Keeping everything crossed. I hope it isn't pkd but, like you said, at least it would be a diagnosis and you'd know what you're facing then.

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #6 on:** June 09, 2011, 20:01:03 PM »

Fred will be going to the vets 8.30am tomorrow morning for blood tests, an ultrasound and the genetic testing for the disease.
Fingers and paws crossed please

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #5 on:** June 09, 2011, 14:28:39 PM »

Just read that link, thank you for that, was very informative.
It also says they are more prone to kidney infections and the vet said she detected a very low level of bacteria in his urine which means he is fighting off a small infection somewhere.
I will get him tested as soon as possible and will ask the vet about Ginger, as it seems likely that being siblings they would share it although she has no symptoms at all.
Part of me hopes this is it, as it would be a diagnosis, but part of me (a huge part) thinks no, its not fair because then he can't be cured

Waiting for the vet to phone to let me know how much all the tests will be then I will book him in for them. Poor Fred.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #4 on:** June 09, 2011, 14:24:25 PM »

Just been reading Tanya's site myself and it says

Quote

male PKD cats are often susceptible to FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disorder).

so pkd is a possiblity and I agree that it would be best if Fred was tested then you know what you are dealing with and if he doesn't have pkd you know there has to be another explanation for his constant cystitis. It might be worth getting Ginger tested too given that it's genetic.

Lotzy · « **Reply #3 on:** June 09, 2011, 14:10:24 PM »

I don't know much about pkd but I I'm sorry to hear this may be an option. Get the tests done and then you know exactly what you're dealing with and how to help him.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #2 on:** June 09, 2011, 13:37:24 PM »

Sorry to hear that the vet thinks Fred has pkd. Has the vet actually confirmed that Fred has cysts on the kidneys or is he guessing?

As far as I know, any cat can get pkd but because it's genetic and passed down through breeding, it can spread rapidly in pedigree cats if they are not tested. Persina and exotics seem most prone.

If his kidney values are just off normal, it doesn't sound as though he has crf so if he does have pkd it can still be managed.

ETA - there is some info on Tanya's crf site

http://www.felinecrf.org/related_diseases.htm#PKD1

JenGeorgieBob · « **Reply #1 on:** June 09, 2011, 13:13:20 PM »

Does anyone have any experience of this? what are the symptoms like? and the long term management and diagnosis? anything really...
The vet thinks Fred's bladder problems are due to his kidney problems and that it could be this but he needs a genetic blood test and a scan to diagnose it and check to see its progression, I thought this was normally something badly bred pedigree cats had?
any advice or information would be appreciated...

Author Topic: Polycystic Kidney Disease in moggies... (Read 3027 times)