Korky MOT not good - prescribed Fortekor

[Baggy]

I hope Korky does do ok 
Dinah is another one who seems to have done really well on Fortekor. Like Korky she seemed quite well clinically, but we took her for a senior MOT and I think her creatinine level was at about 300 (can't remember urea, sorry).  The vet said it was worth trying Fortekor - she's been on it for well over a year now and both kidney levels are back into the normal range.  Initially her levels didn't rise, they just stayed exactly as they had been, then after a month her appetite increased noticeably (which was a relief as she's a tinypuss - only about 2.2 kg) and she started drinking slightly less.
Much like Tiggy, within 5 months her levels went back into the normal range. She's 19 now so we give her whatever she wants to eat, which means senior food when possible but she's a total madam about food!  She does like Royal Canin renal biscuits though - not sure if they do her any good, but they've certainly not seemed to do her any harm either.

[Mark]

I don't have Clapton's last readings to hand but 2 years ago, I thought his days were numbered. He is doing really well on it although he does sleep a lot. He has the appetite of a Lion and doing really well.

I just found a thread from June 2007. Clapton's readings then were

Urea 20.2
Crea 300

I haven't had him tested again yet as no point putting him through it for no reason. The time hasn't come yet but OH is against giving him fluids as he has sensitive skin. It's good that Korky's phos levels are good - if you don't already, I would recommend switiching to senior as it is gentler on kidneys than regular. Clapton eats about 75% senior and 25% regular. He won't eat k/d type food anyway but I have read enough about it to not want to feed it anyway. The protein levels are so low, it can cause muscle wastage.

[Gillian Harvey]

Sorry to hear about Korky's results  I'm surprised your vet didnt recommend fortekor while his values were still relatively low and I can understand why you are hesitant in using it now, I would be too, after reading about on the felinecrf.org and on the foretkor data sheet which states that it can cause a rise in creatinine levels initially. Its whether you and your vet think he can cope with that initial rise.

Sam's creatinine is only 218.7 and urea 11.5 and my vet put him straight on foretkor - the only side effects I noticed is that it made him very lethargic, so my vet recommended halving the dose, which I did and he was better with that dose (he's on fortekor for both his heart and his kidneys though).

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

I know Mark uses Fotekor on Clapton to very good effect, and I'm sure others here use it too.

Has his wee been tested too?

No it hasn't.  Thats one of the things I want to ask the vet about because it would appear from what I've read that the amount of protein in the urine is as important as creatinine in determining how well a cat copes with CRF.  At the moment Korky seems to be coping well.  His appetite is good and his behaviour is normal.  Mind you, he's always been on the lazy side so not easy to detect changes there 

Helen - thanks for those results, they realy are encouraging.  I suppose its worth giving it a try, we can always stop it if it doesn't agree with him.  The difficulty is knowing how long a trial to give it if does seem to be adversely affecting him.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Sorry to hear Korky's 'numbers' have gone up   

I've quoted my own post here (from when Mark was debating whether to continue Fortekor for Clapton) to save me typing out the figures again but as you can see I had very good results with Fortekor, albeit Tiggy was only just over the '310' guide given by felinecrf when Fortekor was started.

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,4008.140.html He did in the end and I think it has paid off for him, t

Tiggy was on Fortekor for almost 20 months and had no side effects whatsoever.  When she was diagnosed the vet initially gave the prognosis of 5 - 7 months given her age, I honestly believe that the Fortekor gave her the extra time with me and in the end her CRF was still well managed it was the cancer that took her 

Here are Tiggy's blood test results, Fortekor was started immediately after the first test in July 2005...  As you can see her results improved at every test, the last test taken just 4 months before she died her kidney levels were actually within normal range - not bad for an 18 year old cat diagnosed with a terminal condition 20 months earlier!

Here's a really good link to info on Fortekor, it mentions that Fortekor is primarily excreted by the liver so may not be suitable for Swampy after all?  There are also links to studies, trials and other articles.  http://www.felinecrf.org/treatments.htm#ACEI


July 05

Urea       35.3      Normal range     2.5 - 9.9
Creat       312.2     Normal range     20 - 177
Phos       2.24      Normal range     0.9 - 2.2



October 05

Urea       16.5      Normal range     2.5 - 9.9
Creat       233      Normal range     20 - 177
Phos       1.68      Normal range     0.9 - 2.2



January 06

Urea       20           Normal range     2.5 - 9.9
Creat       165      Normal range    20 - 177
Phos       2.06      Normal range    0.9 - 2.2



April 06

Urea       18.5           Normal range     2.5 - 9.9
Creat       150      Normal range     20 - 177
Phos       1.5       Normal range    0.9 - 2.2



October 06

Urea      9.8               Normal range    2.5 - 9.9
Creat      97.4             Normal range    20 - 177
Phos      1.7               Normal range    0.9 - 2.2

[clarenmax]

I know Mark uses Fotekor on Clapton to very good effect, and I'm sure others here use it too.

Max's creatitine levels a few weeks ago came in at over 500, but they think that was also to do with the urinary tract infection that we're still treating.  Has his wee been tested too?

I was asking about Fortekor as well recently, but my vet didn't seem to think that it does push the levels higher to start with, so there really is some mixed information out there which can be confusing.

Sending a gentle headrub to Korky, hope his levels stabilise again soon 

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

  to little Korky.

Thanks for that and at 6.8kg he's actually quite a BIG Korky.  My indecision lies in the fact that at the moment he is clinically very well and I'm tempted to follow the maxim that you should treat the cat not the numbers.

[Christine (Blip)]

Sorry to hear Korky's results took you aback a bit  .  I know several people on here have experience of Fortekor and may be able to advise on your specific query but I don't think any of them are logged in at the moment - hang on until the evening shift climbs aboard.

  to little Korky.

[CarolM (Wendolene)]

Korky had blood taken this morning to check his kidney function and the vet has just rung to say that his creatinine is 413 and urea 21.6 (up from 290 and 13.9 in March). If I'd been given that result 6-8 weeks ago I wouldn't have been surprised but he's seemed so well for the past 4 weeks since his ear problem cleared up that this has come a shock.  The only good new is that his phosphorus is normal.  In March the vet said his values weren't bad enough to warrant Fortekor but he now says that he thinks it worth trying. I've been reading up on it again and have been somewhat put off by Tanya's felinecrf site (which I hold in very high regard) as she seems very lukewarm about its value at any stage of CRF and says that personally she would not use it in a cat whose creatinine was above 310.  I know it causes an increase in creatinine at first and can also cause lethargy, reduced appetite etc and wonder if anybody on here has started therapy with Fortekor in a cat with creatinine over 400 and what the result was.  I'm going to talk to the vet again later on but right now I'm so undecided.