Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: lau200 on November 09, 2010, 17:25:06 PM
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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.
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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 :hug: :hug:
It sounds like your vet is looking after her well.
Are they outdoor cats?
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sorry to hear about poor Penny :hug:
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:hug: :hug:
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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 :scared:
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Poor Penny :hug:
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?
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:hug: :hug: I don't have any constructive input, I just wanted to send a hug.
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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 :Luv2:
B :Luv2:
xx
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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 :hug:.............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.
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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
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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 :naughty: 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 :wow: 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 :hug: :hug: hope your other two cats are feeling better too.
Andrea x
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Sorry to hear about Penny -really hope she gets better very soon :hug :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
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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
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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.
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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 :sick:
Hill's is called k/d & Royal Canin, s/o renal
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Sending loads of good vibes and hugs for Penny xxxx :hug: :hug:
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brilliant mark, you're a star x
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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 :Crazy: 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
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:thanks: Mark x
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No advice I'm afraid, just wanted to send you a :hug: and let you know that we know what you're going through and are here if you need the support :hug:
Fingers crossed Penny can go on to make a good recovery :hug:
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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
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:hug: 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 ... :hug:
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Sending hugs your way, hope Penny gets better soon xxx :hug:
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Is it calici that you were trying to spell :sneaky:
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.
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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
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Just to point out, there are 2 general types of kidney failure, Acute & Chronic.
Acute (which it sounds like Penny has) is usually caused by infection or poisoning. Although it can be dangerous, if treated in time, the kidneys can recover 100%
Chronic is the more common type, this is irreversible and the kidneys deteriorate over time. It can take from months up many years. It can be slowed down with diet and/or meds, but it is a case of "how long is a piece of string" timewise. We lost Clapton at the beginning of October, and it would have been 5 years since diagnosis had he made it to the end of the month.
Another poisoning culprit seems to be the clear type of antibacterial kitchen spray, ie Dettol spray - although supermarket own-brand seem to be the same. A few have warnings on but not all. I think people assume as they claim to be safe to use on high-chairs etc, that they are non-toxic. They are safe for humans, but cats are unable to break down the toxins so they build up over time. Also a rule of thumb is any disinfectant/antiseptic that turns cloudy when water is added is also poisonous to cats - it is the phenols that poison them.
As for lilies, anything in the lily family is poisonous, including onions, garlic, leeks. I think lilies are more toxic though - any part of the plant is dangerous.
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on the plus side poppy is fine today and it looks to be lexie's IBS that caused her to be ill rather than whatever ails penny.
i mentioned cleaning spray and various other things to my partner. sprays are kept away in a cupboard. we don't use anything for the slugs. she could have eaten something outside though. i know some of our neighbours feed my cats, although i wish they wouldn't. penny has caused us worry in the past when she disappeared for several days and came back blue. the ink took several trips to the vets to get rid of, we never found out what it was. i wonder whether that has anything to do with it?
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ive just phoned the vets to hear she is brighter this morning, and has even eaten some breakfast :)
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Sorry to hear Penny's at the vets hun, but so pleased that she's brighter this morning.
As Mark said, it sounds like this has been bought on by ingesting something she shoulnd't have, as chronic is a progressive illness, and you would have seen a gradual deterioriation in health, whereas this sounds as though it was very sudden.
Hope Penny has a good day and the vets can tell you a bit more about what's going on :hug: :hug:
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So glad shes a bit better today. ;D
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So pleased Penny is doing well and losts of good wishes for a continued improvement :hug: :hug:
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sadly although she seems better, she isn't really.
her potassium levels are down to a reasonable level but her kidney function has not improved, "if anything it is worse" said the vet.
it wasn't john, it was the one i don't like. she said that if there are no improvements by tomorrow then we should think about making that decision.
but my sister thinks we should wait abit. i'm going to nip up and give them some of my clothes to put in with her- it may aid her recovery i think. sadly i am not allowed to go in and see her myself, so i hope some of my smell will do.
any advice? i'm so very upset at the thought of losing her
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I agree with your sister that you should give her more time before making THAT decision, is there a possibility that you could see the other vet instead. It took quite a while before Leos levels started to drop for example his creatinine levels were initially around the 600 mark and I think they only dropped by about .2 after 3 days, his levels are now around 180 I think the normal for cats is abt 120-160
Its a shame that the vets wont let you visit, have they given you a reason for this I used to go around dinner time in between clinics. Sending you more positive vibes and hope things have improved again by tomorrow :hug: :hug: :hug:
Andrea & Leo x
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As long as she isn't suffering, I would give her more time. i can't believe your vet won't allow you to see her >:( - I would insist. You know her better than anyone and will know what to do, only when you see her :hug:
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As long as she isn't suffering, I would give her more time. i can't believe your vet won't allow you to see her >:( - I would insist. You know her better than anyone and will know what to do, only when you see her :hug:
Completely agree, I know all cats are different but Andrea's experience with Leo shows that it can take a while for the results to drop.
I would also insist on a visit, be polite but firm and just don't take no for an answer. Tell them you'll come at their quietest time so as not to inconvenience them. If you take a top that's been worn it will help relax her and she's more likely to eat if you are there.
Let us know how she gets on :hug:
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Lau there are 3 things they check for in kidney function at least, Phosphates, Creatnine and Urea in the blood so is worth finding out if it is one or all or what they have tested for in kidney function. Thought I would let you know if they say BUN reading that is the Urea in the blood that they have tested.
Hope things improve for Penny and try to speak to the vet you like rather than the other vet if you can as well.
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I am sorry to hear that Penny is ill, but acute came to my mind straight away too, with her age, although I have heard of young cats with CRF. I am also sorry you have such a negative vet, you do get that quite often that they try and push PTS with kidney problems, but quite often they just need a bit longer on the fluids, so I would definitely fight for her to stay on them for at least a couple more days. What a shame they wont let you see her though, I dont understand vets who do that, and glad mine aren't like that.
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I agree with the other posts so far, don't make any decision just yet, give it a few days to see if the levels come down and kidney function improves.
I'm amazed they wouldnt let you see her, again I would be firm and tell them you want to, nobody knows here better than you :hug: :hug:
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I think you should insist on seeing Penny, its well know that it helps cats, although not dogs.
I agree with the other posters, its farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr too early to mack any sort of decision.
Have they said why you cant see her.................I would be tempted to suss out another vets who are more reasonable and move her asap straight onto fluids with good care. :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Hi hope no news is good news and everything is ok :hug: :hug:
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i phoned several times today for an update but the vets had meetings and alot of surgery etc so i sneakily asked my sister to pop down as i was in work.
john the vet was brilliant and saw her straight away even though she hadn't booked an appointment!
basically penny's kidney are just not working. when they give her fluid, it pretty much comes out as it went in, instead of the kidneys adding the bits and bobs to it. to find the cause, they usually do biopsies, but penny is far too ill to have one as she is too weak for the anaesthetic. john the vet has said he isn't giving up on her, he'll do a scan tomorrow in the hopes it will shed some light on the cause of penny's kidney failure. he says that the usual symptoms you would see in a cat that has been poisoned are not the same as penny's symptoms, which points more to a condition she has been born with or something that has caused them to shut down. john also said that although she is duller than yesterday she is alot better than she was when she went in and she has eventually managed to eat something again today.
i'm hoping my girl pulls through, this is agony waiting to hear what is going on.
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Sending lots of good vibes for Penny :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Get well vibes from us here too :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Fingers crossed the scan shows something treatable
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Not knowing is so difficult. When my last cat was ill he was at the vet's for a week having various tests and every day the prognosis was different. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. :Crazy:
Good luck for Penny, she's a young cat so she'll be strong.
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Best of luck for the scan, and hope that she's a bit brigher today if she's been eating :hug: :hug:
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Good luck today :hug:
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Fingers crossed the scan helps identify the cause :hug:
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she's started chemo. it's cancer :(
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Oh Lau, I am so sorry :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
I am sure you will give us details when you are ready but do hope that they are letting you visit :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Lau I am so very sorry to hear it is cancer and I hope the chemo helps her and you have her for many more years to come with each other. Sending you lots of :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: and :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: as it is never easy seeing a loved animal or person go through that.
Sorry am crying my eyes out here as know what it feels like to be told that about a cat. Hope the vets now let you visit her so you can give her loads of cuddles and loves.
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Hi lau
my cat went through 2 rounds of chemotherapy.
So if you want to chat feel free to get in touch xxx
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So very sorry Hun, sending you lots of :hug: and sending love and healing vibes for Penny xxx
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So sorry to hear that its cancer :( I hope she responds to the chemo and is home again soon :hug:
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Like I said before, she's young and strong. They wouldn't be giving her chemo if they thought there was no hope for her.
Lots of love and strokes to Penny, hope she's better soon.
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thanks everyone, i just need to get my head around what is going on. we haven't had the biopsy results back so we don't now if it is malignant or benign tumour yet
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:hug: :hug: for you and Penny but at least shes got age on her side. Hope the vets has let you see her now and its not too long before shes back home again.
Andrea x
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So sorry to hear this news.
Hope the treatment helps Penny and she has many more years with you :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Hoping it is benign and can be treated :hug:
My Alice had a huge malignant tumour removed from her face 3 years ago and she is fine. (she adores having her scar scratched with a slicker brush now :Luv2: )
Alice recovering :Luv2:
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Fingers crossed - would chemo work on a benign tumour?
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I wondered that. I thought with benign ones, they left them be as long as they weren't causing an obstruction or mobility problems. Not sure really.
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I'm so sorry Lau, hope things improve :hug:
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:hug: :hug: :hug:
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I hope the treatment works hunnie, as others have said, she definitely has age on her side, and the vets wouldnt suggest such treatment if they didn't think it would work :hug: :hug:
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:hug: :hug: :hug: