Tom update

[angieh]

Sorry the news wasn't what you wanted Shelley, but as you say hope it's been caught quickly enough. I'd let Tom eat what he wants, if he wants wet - it's probably better for him. It's good that he seems well in himself and regular eating is important for him - (((hugs))) for you and gentle cuddles for Tom.

[babycakes]

awww the poor thing. Hes being well looked after though by his Mum x

[dandysmom]

How is he eating this morning?

[Shelley123]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have picked Tom's tablets up, he's on 5mg tablets of felimazole and fortekor for his kidneys. I am going to ring the vet to discuss on Monday. I have been doing a bit of reading and apparently cats with kidney failure can be short of potassium which in turn can lead to muscle weakness, especialy the back legs. Tom has had weak back legs for years, the vet suggested it was a neurological condition.
He has eaten well this morning anddoesn't realy seem off his food so here's hoping. Just bought some more chicken to pill him with.

[Velvet]

Its probably different with dogs but Katie has to have low protein & low salt. Shes on special prescription diet, you could ask your vet about dietry requirements

[farthing]

I would ask your vet for a special kidney diet, both hills and royal canon do them- hills is a pate and royal canon do a pate and pouches of chunks in gravy( mine like this). My vets tend to put cats who are slightly high in urea or creatinine( the 2 which indicate renal failure) onto food only and fond this is enough to bring them back down to normal for a while. The younger vets are less willing to put a cat on fortekor unless the protein/ creatinine ratio is above normal. Apparently it isn't effective until then, however both Fluffy and Donald are on it without being tested for this because they have borderline high blood pressure and fortekor helps with this too. It's good you have caught it early and although it is a progressive disease you can slow it down a lot. I would certainly suggest you have him tested for T4 and kidney function 2-4 weeks after he has been on the new dose. Mine main advice would be to feed a renal, wet food diet. Good luck, I have 2 in this position at the moment.

[farthing]

I would ask your vet for a special kidney diet, both hills and royal canin do them- hills is a pate and royal canin do a pate and pouches of chunks in gravy( mine like this). My vets tend to put cats who are slightly high in urea or creatinine( the 2 which indicate renal failure) onto food only and find this is enough to bring them back down to normal for a while. The younger vets are less willing to put a cat on fortekor unless the protein/ creatinine ratio in the urine is above normal. Apparently it isn't effective until then, however both Fluffy and Donald are on it without being tested for this because they have borderline high blood pressure and fortekor helps with this too. It's good you have caught it early and although it is a progressive disease you can slow it down a lot. I would certainly suggest you have him tested for T4 and kidney function 2-4 weeks after he has been on the new dose. Mine main advice would be to feed a renal, wet food diet. Good luck, I have 2 in this position at the moment.

[Velvet]

Would just like to second Farthlings advice. Katie is on Hills K/D renal food - tinned variety. She wont eat the dry kibble & its important to keep weight on renal patients, so i just buy the tins (wet food).

[Shelley123]

Thanks again everyone for your good wishes and advice.
I will certainly try the renal food with him.
His urea level was 24 but i don't know whether this is very high or not. I am going to ring the vets on monday and ask for a copy of the test results.

[pinklizzy]

Sorry the results weren't great but at least he is getting the treatment he needs. I'd agree with the renal diet if he is happy to eat it, you can also get phosphate binders that you can add to the food (phosphate is one of the waste products excreted by the kidneys)
Hyperthyroidism can sometimes mask the signs of renal disease (and both are conditions commonly suffered in older cats, sadly), as one of the clinical signs of hyperthyroidism is high blood pressure which in turn increases the blood flow to the kidneys so filtration of waste products is still at an acceptable level. Once the T4 levels normalise, the kidney issues will be more noticeable.
As far as whether the Urea was particularly high, it is difficult to know without seeing the range provided by the lab/blood analyser as it will vary. Was the creatinine level elevated too? It may be worth trying to get a urine sample if possible as this will give a fuller picture of what exactly is going on.
Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know, the fab cats website is also a really good resource.
x