My Kitty may have the beginnings of kidney failure. Sorry for this long post.

[smudgley]

Originally Posted by catmadjax

thank you for that advice, I know Companion Care had to put down my birman down a couple of years ago, i had never taken her to that vet but it was after midnight and her airways collapsed. They were good and sent me a sympathy card too which helped. Can i ask which vets you would not recommend?

I'll pm you the details.

[angieh]

Hi Catmadjax! Your Kitty is a lucky girl to have such a champion. Neither you nor she are to be fobbed off by vets saying she's too old to be cared for - what rot and, I would consider, totally unprofessional! My cat Merlin is 21 and although not in the full flush of health, still has a good quality of life and is interested in his surroundings and what's going on. My vet has never used the excuse of his age but always reminds me of the things to look out for in relation to diabetes and CRF. My vet has had the blood tests done that you have had done for Kitty, but I have never asked to be given a copy, so I can't comment on whether they would have been handed over. Good luck with your new vet.

[catmadjax]

Hi everyone, i thought i would post you my diary for kitty for the past 2 days. It may or may not be relevant, either way i feel i have to do something.

Saturday: Morning she went out and had a wee,
1pm water and food
2pm water
2.24pm water
3.22pm water
7pm water and food
9.45pm water and food
9.47 water
10.08 food and water
10.30 food and water.
She used her tray in the night and had a wee, and i think sometime during the day went out for a wee and poo.

Sunday: had a wee at 7.30 (yes, i was up early to watch her!) lol.
8am food and water
10.40 food and water
1.15pm food and water
4pm water
5.15pm water
6.00 water
7.00 food and water

She seemed to have a bit of a gravelly meow at times but she definatly doesnt have a sore throat now and her cold has gone apart from a couple of coughs today.

total water consumption i measured it to 110ml in 24 hours.

I have no idea if this is normal water consumption for an older cat.

I have now emailed all the vets recommended,so we will see what comes back tomorrow. DO let me know if i should avoid any partiular vets in the telford area, you can PM me with the details.

[dandysmom]

That's an excellent idea keeping a diary! My friend I mentioned with the 17 year old CRF cat does the same thing; her vet (the good one!) says it is helpful. She also keeps a spreadsheet with all Kate's lab results to easily keep track of the changes.

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by catmadjax

total water consumption i measured it to 110ml in 24 hours.

I have no idea if this is normal water consumption for an older cat.

I think my 19 year old cat drinks rather more than that. It is likely that since Kitty goes out she is drinking when out. Would she object if you kept her in for a couple of days so that you can monitor exactly what she is drinking and how much she wees?

When I was concerned that Bobby (previous cat) had a kidney problem I measured what they drank, and the two cats (both large adult cats without access to outside, eating roughly 1/3 canned food and 2/3 dry food) were drinking 450ml of water each day between them. The vet assured me this was normal m(and Bobby's bloods came back as normal). Now we only have Tinker and I think she probably drinks about 150-200ml per day.

[catmadjax]

Thats really interesting, I will keep a diary but the only thing is that i am at work, so it cant really be accurate. But i have measured the water each day, measuring out a quantity, then 24 hours later, measuring it again and recording how much is gone. This does work, but i do have another cat in the house BUT she wont drink tap water, only rain water, so even if she did take the odd drink (which ive never seen her do) 150ml a day is still not bad for both cats and not bad just for the one. I suppose a little evaporates when the heating is on so you have to allow a little for this too.

[catmadjax]

Good news about a new vet, out of the 4 i emailed, with the questions 3 responded AND rang me within 1 hour of their opening hours! WOW! so,, tonight, i visited them all and chose one, spoke to the vet about my concerns, they showed me around the practice, all within 1 hour of me getting back to them after their emails! So it is a very good start. ALSO I have Kitty booked in for WEd morning 9.10am for a blood test. AND this vet has asked me for a urine sample (he gave me some special litter to use with a bottle and pipette).



I expressed my concerns to him and the way the previous vets had treated us, and as i was explaining things he started to smile, I said "why are you smiling?" he said, "you are a very wise owner" LOL. He agreed i was correct that she should have a further test and the old vet SHOULD have done one in the first place. And he said the old age is definately not an illness, obviously her results wont be the same as a 2 year old cat, but as i told him, if the results are higher than those taken in October, then we know we have to act quickly!



The practice is a completely new building, all the upto date facilities, and what they dont have they can refer me to a clinic down the road for ecg's and ultrasound if ever i need it. I did ask about emergencies, and he said that he was on call 24 hours, on the odd weekend it would be another vet, but that would be rare ( i do understand that he has to have a night off occasionally) but the surgery took me just over 5 minutes to get to, so it all looks quite good so far.



Oh yes, and i forgot to mention, The blood tests that she has, the T4 and the geriatric profile, can be done in minutes and the results take about 10 minutes! At my old vets they took 3 days!!! (and they never used to ring me with the results, i always ended up chasing them) so this new surgery at least has its own lab.



I will keep you posted of the results on Wednesday FINGERS CROSSED EVERYONE. XX Jackie and Kitty. ( will make sure to post this onto my other groups as well.)

[dandysmom]

What great news! That new vet sounds like a treasure; pity they're all not like that! Do keep us posted with the results...and well done, you!!

[yola]

Super news Jackie! I hope they get to the bottom of Kitty's trouble; sort it out; and then you can both continue with business as usual

[catmadjax]

Do you know i have to say, all the vets i approached were good but i had to make a quick decision and not loose focus that Kitty needs to get to a vet as quickly as possible.

Its also sooo nice to hear of furbabies living into their 20s! I hope i am as lucky with Kitty. Gosh when i think she was born in 1989! lol