Early kidney failure in cat, where to get her special food?

Dinah93

Hi all,

Very sadly this week our vet has told us our cat has early stage kidney failure. She's not even 3 so naturally we are devastated. He has said it is controllable through diet, and has told us to get something called 'Hills K/D'. Does anyone know what this is and where we could get it for the best price?

Also if anyone has any encouraging stories about their kitty having this and living another 10 years, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks x

spookylukey

Sorry to hear about your cat, are you sure the vet said liver failure as the K/D food is for kidney disease.

If it is kidney disease/failure then this site is invaluable - https://www.felinecrf.org - and I'm sure your cat could have many happy years ahead.

Dinah93

No you're right, its kidney. I guess I'm more tired than I realise. Been reading it all for the last hour and I'm so lost. There seems to be both wet and dry foods called k/d, and I don't know which one is right, and I just want to get her the right one asap.

spookylukey

They are both designed for cats with renal insuffciencies but as cats with kidney disease are often dehydrated then it seems much more sensible to feed wet food rather than dry. It might be worth getting a sample of both from the vets before you buy in bulk elsewhere as you may find she doesn't like one or both of them.

Do have a look at that site I linked to, there's a lot to take in but it really is a mine of information.

Dinah93

Yes, it looks like it could be useful however she doesn't actually have any of the symptoms mentioned except once she had constipation. The only sign she has had is she had what the vet thought was cystitis twice in the space of a week, but antibiotics seemed to stop that (she was pee-ing everywhere and a bit of blood).

About 2 months before the cystitis/kidney issues occured she had gone for her checkup, and the vet had said she had bad teeth and might need some extractions, and we should keep her off wet food, but she refuses point blank to eat dry so I don't know what to do.

Our vet doesn't stock the food, just said to get it online, so I don't think he'll have any samples.

spookylukey

Are there any other vets in your town? Most vets stock the Hills prescription ranges and you can buy a single pouch/can/small bag rather than buying a whole case online. Contrary to the name you don't need a prescription to buy them.

There's lots of arguments for and against wet/dry food but at the end of the day your cat might decide for you! She might not eat any of the prescription foods, wet or dry, in which case you will have to look for the next best alternative.

Has your vet said whether she has Acute renal failure or Chronic renal failure?

SnowyOwl_2

Have a look on Yahoo groups for people who also have cats in renal failure. Advice from other owners who have been dealing with this problem will be invaluable. That's not to say your vet's advice is bad, but other people's experience can really, really help, especially when you encounter a problem. My kitty has megacolon (nightmare) and would have been euthanised a year ago if I'd taken my vet's advice - I found a suitable group on yahoo and with the information gleaned from there my baby is alive and very very well, though on medication daily and for the rest of his life...medication which I have to buy from the US because it's not available over here - so no wonder the vet couldn't help.

lowis

please try to not be too upset, many cats live for years with this condition, the CRF link above is excellent and has some brilliant advice on caring for a cat.

definitely look for a yahoo (or similar) group to join. when my cat had lymphoma i joined the yahoo group and the advice and guidance and support (very important) was invaluable. you must be aware though that not everything in these groups should be taken for gospel and what works for one cat may not work for another.

you could always try and write to Hills and ask them to send you a sample of each if you can not fin a vet who stocks it. just send them an email explaining things and they might be helpful.

you might also want to ask your vet how much experience he has in dealing with this condition, if you feel he doesn't seem confident you could always visit some other vets in your area and ask them about their knowledge base.

good luck...wishing you all the best xxx

Dinah93

She has acute failure, so I guess its something that it was caught early. She's my first cat, she kind of chose me rather than the other way around, and I don't want to let her down if that makes sense?!

spookylukey

I'm sure you won't let her down, ARF is 'better' than CRF if the cat gets over the initial stages of it and as I understand it kidney function can be returned to normal in some cases....

ARF is a serious condition which usually comes on suddenly and which is often triggered by a particular event or "insult", such as your cat eating something poisonous. Lilies and antifreeze are both extremely toxic to cats and may cause ARF. ARF is usually treated with IV fluids and other medications at the vet's and, although it is hard to treat, if the cat survives the initial crisis, he/she can often regain much or sometimes all of his/her normal kidney function.

zzzLazyDaisy

((((((hugs)))))

A long time ago, before the days of internet forums (and no, I am NOT ancient!) my 12 yr old cat began to lose weight and got really sick, and after blood tests it turned out he had kidney failure. The vet actually said that they couldn't tell how bad he was, because the levels of whatever it was they were testing for were so high that it was off the normal scale.

He was given steroids and a had to go on a prescription diet of tinned cat food, which initially he refused, but over time he got used to it. We were warned that any improvement might be temporary and if he had another relapse there might not be much they could do about it.

So we took him home, determined to keep him happy and enjoy our time with him. As it turned out, with the meds and the diet, he had a good life, for another 7 years, and coped happily with a long distance house move in that time. He was out playing in the garden until the day he died. In fact two days before he died, he actually brought a 'present' in for us

So I know it is a shock for you, but cats do go on to live long and happy lives, even with kidney problems.