Ragdoll cat kidney disease

[whatalifethisis]

Hi, have posted in the Litter Tray too but posting here for traffic as I have to call my vet in a few hours .

Our 10 year old ragdoll cat started behaving strangely at the weekend, spending the entire time curled up at the back of my wardrobe. The first thing I noticed was her miaowing loudly to be let into the bedroom which she has never done before, she'll go in there if the door is open but never asks.

Took her to our lovely vet on Monday . She weighed her and she has lost almost 1 kg since October and is now under 3kg (she has always been very small) so that's nearly a third of her body weight. I feel bad that I didn't notice but to be honest I hardly ever pick her up as she's just not that sort of cat that likes being picked up. Our huge boy ragdoll is picked up constantly, because he's constantly in the way!

The vet took bloods which showed advanced kidney disease. She said the main thing we need to do is get her to eat (our cats share a food bowl so I had no idea she wasn't eating) She's never been a big eater but now she won't eat at all.

The vet gave me two different tablets to give her to try and stimulate her appetite but it's made no difference at all, I've tried cooked white fish, cooked chicken, salmon, wet food, cat treats.....she will not touch it.

She is just spending her days under the bed now and looks very unwell. her miaow has taken on a very strange sound that I can't explain.

The last two nights she has lay on top of me in bed which she never does but last night she would not stop trying to climb on my face, This went on for a couple of hours as every time I started to fall asleep and stopped holding her she would start again.

I'm sorry this is such an essay and I don't really know what I'm wanting, I guess just any suggestions or anybody had similar experience with their cat? I am at a loss and heartbroken.

Thank you

Hi op, it is funny how mn works, there's always someone with an issue akin to ones own. My Ragdoll/moggy has just been diagnosed with early stage kidney disease. I am very sorry to hear that yours is unwell. Has she previously been interested in tuna? Lick e lix? Sorry I don't have any magic answers for you, I would just take the vets advice i'm afraid.

May I recommend www.thecatsite.com? There are lots of far more knowledgable ladies on there.

I’m so sorry OP. I’ve lost two cats to kidney disease in the past. I know you don’t want to hear this but how much is she suffering? It may be time to think about what’s right for her.

My tabby cat, when he was on his last legs, spent all his time in my bed. Literally under the covers, curled between my legs (when I was in there). I think they know they’re very ill and just want to be near you. I hope your cat rallies - it is heartbreaking when they pass.

Our cat has some kidney failure but it is in no ways advanced.
We've put him on a renal prescribed food from the vet, Royal Canin although I am sure there are others on the market you can buy. It is pretty bland tasting but our boy loves it. We have also moved all of our cats onto a renal based biscuit diet so there's no risk of him eating the wrong food by mistake. Purina Pro Plan Renal.
We also have multiple cat fountains to encourage him to drink.

Our boy isn't advanced like yours so I am so sorry to hear it - it isn't your fault, I had a cat years ago who lived mainly outside. When he finally showed himself I genuinely thought he'd been hit by a car he'd hidden the illness so well.
We did say to the vet when the time comes and he starts losing interest in food should we feed him anything that gets him eating, ie chicken, steak and she advised against it as the high protein makes the kidneys work harder and in turn cause more pain so perhaps it's worth trying the bland food, see if you can get just a pouch or two to try?
Other than that, you must be an excellent cat mum for your Ragdoll to seek you out, most cats go into hiding x

Hi IStillmissblockbuster thanks for you reply and I'm sorry to hear you puss is also unwell. Fingers crossed he/she can be treated.

Unfortunately ours has advanced kidney disease and the fact that we can't get her to eat is not good. I forgot to mention tuna, it was one of the first things I tried and that is when I realised there was something seriously wrong as both my cats and two dogs go mad for it. She just wasn't interested.

I know the kidney disease can't be cured but if I could get her to eat we could at least try to treat her. At the moment her quality of life is very poor. I don't want her to suffer and I won't let her but just wanting to see if I can get her to eat because if she doesn't eat she will surely die anyway

One of our cats was in that condition, when she was 14, finally we tried saucer of milk. She began drinking that, and regained some strength.

TBH from what you describe if she doesn't eat soon, by the end of today I'd seriously consider letting her go and have the vet euthanise her.She sounds miserable and as though she may be coming to the end even if you did get her to eat it's likely she has little time left.I haven't had a rag doll with kidney disease before but my ragdoll boy, about six) had a bladder blockage and I wish that we'd let him go sooner. The vet who is lovely was eager to try almost everything to treat him once once it became obvious that he wasn't going to improve even if other cats with the sane condition had. It wasn't that long, less than another week between trying one last attempt at treatment and having him euthanised but he was so miserable and now I wish that I'd told them to stop sooner.

I'm so sorry about your lovely cat.

Have you tried cat milk? We always keep a supply in now because my kidney-disease boy takes his medicine in it. He has a saucer every night, and he has kept his weight up (even gained a little) since his diagnosis.

I'm so sorry to hear this and we went through it last year, although he never stopped eating. Our other cat has cancer and we were struggling to get him to eat. Eventually we discovered Encore cat food and also Sheba Fresh Choice, both of which he gobbles down. Lick-e-lix is also a game changer, either on its own or put it on his food. Try feeding him separately.

I'm so sorry you are experiencing this. We lost our beloved cat a few years back to kidney failure.
She was 11 when we rehomed her, already on medication for a thyroid issue. We had her for over three years, through surgery to remove a suspected tumour (turned out to be a cyst) and tried everything when finally her kidneys were failing too much and I held her for the last time as the vet helped her sleep.
For a while she was sipping at full fat milk which helped a bit. Have you tried scrambled eggs?

Thank you all for your replies and I'm sorry for all of you who have lost your cats or who have poorly cats.

I will look at the website mentioned up thread.

One of the tablets says one or two daily and the vet advised us to start with one and I keep thinking maybe if we try two it will make a difference but I think I know I am kidding myself.

I know that even if she eats she will still need treatment.

I keep reading on websites about people that have full bloodworks done on their cats every year in order to pick up problems early. I didn't even know that was a thing and so feel guilty about that because maybe if I'd done that it would have been detected earlier.

I will try the milk and some scrambled egg in a minute but I know I have to make a decision but I just want to be sure I don't give up on her if there could be a chance.

I'm sorry, I'm rambling now...I love her so much.

We lost our beautiful girl to kidney disease in January. She too had lost lots of weight but we hadn't noticed because she'd always been very small. In the last couple of days she stopped eating, but drank lots of water. We made the decision to euthanize her because she had no quality of life

This is one of those threads where I feel like I can really and truly say “I know how you feel”. My beautiful girl....we let go. She behaved so strangely, keeping away from everyone and everything for days, maybe up to a couple of weeks, and started to refuse her food and we took her in to the vets and they said it was advanced kidney disease. Then she became desperate to be close, we couldn’t leave her by herself for a minute, to the point where one day I came home o find my DH holding her while making a stir-fry. We tried every method but no treatment worked, she became rapidly frail and thin and made strange noises. It was a horrendous decision and I was crying so much telling the vet that we had decided to have her put to sleep, that he couldn’t understand me at first. I know it was right, though. There was going to be no miracle turnaround, and the confusion and pain for her was unbearable to watch. This was ten years ago and I feel all choked up even thinking about her, she was so gentle and adorable. The pain and suffering though, no way. I couldn’t let it continue, and I had to tell myself that she’d had a loving life experience, and we knew that she wouldn’t improve, so what justification was there to keep her going in agony? I’m sorry to say I think she knows it’s the end, that’s why she wants to be with you. If she’s taking nothing in, and you’ve tried everything, then maybe she should be let go. I’m really sorry. Speak to your vet about the likelihood of it all turning around at this stage.

I'm sorry for the loss of your darling girl mouse26

theWarOnPeace your post made me cry, it is exactly what we are going through. I'm sorry you had to go through it too.

Her clawing at my face trying to get closer in the night was heartbreaking, especially as she is a cat that is like a lot of them affectionate but always on her terms.

The strange miaows are hard to bear.

I've had her since she was 12 weeks old so just over 10 years.

I've tried scrambled egg and milk but she's just not interested even when I try by hand.

She's just sitting in the middle of our bed staring into space.

I'm sure our other cat and two dogs know something is wrong.

I'm waiting for my vet to call me back but I've made an appointment for 5.30pm today, because I know this is about her not us and we have to do the last thing that we can for her.

I am heartbroken.

I'm so sorry, WhatALifeThisIs. You know that you're doing the right thing but it doesn't make it any easier. Hugs for you and your beautiful ragdoll girl.

Thank you TheLollipopShoes

I've made the appointment and now i'm thinking perhaps they could put her on a drip and then she would start to eat...I am driving myself crazy.

This is such a hard thread to read. You must be so upset. If the cat has no appetite at all and is gone very downhill I doubt sadly that there is some miracle food that will help her get her appetite back.

It is one of that hardest parts of being a pet owner as they bring us so much joy and to see them sick is desperately sad.

Have a really frank discussion with your vet today and huge vitual hugs to you xx

Don't feel guilty about not having blood work done regularly. You can't test or prevent for everything. Also even if you can catch it it can still progress incredibly quickly, and be too late for any real treatment. That's what happened with my small dog who died from AKD.

Even if they did get her to eat again she still has AKD and her time and quality of life are very limited. I understand wanting more time with her, it's natural that you do, but extraordinary means might not be what's best for her. Quality is much more important to animals than quantity. I'm sure that your vet will advise to an extent but in the case of my ragdoll boy I still wish that I'd called and end to it sooner rather than later. It bothers me that I didn't even though it was a matter or 4 or 5 days. I'll be thinking of you and your girl today.

One of my Siamese was disagnosed with kidney disease a year ago. I’m so sorry you’re going through this OP—it’s horrible. My boy stayed in hospital for a week and was on a drip and given an anti emetic (the build up of proteins makes them nauseous) and they got him eating again, monitored him closely with blood tests, urine tests etc until he was well enough to come home so I’m really surprised they didn’t keep your girl in to support you in getting her to eat again. My lad is now on a prescription diet of low protein and although he doesn’t look great he is much much better. He can be difficult to get to eat and sometimes I give him a little junk food (felix or whiskas—they all love it although it’s not the healthiest) to pep him up becasue he does still sometimes go off his food. Does she have a favourite food? Mine also loves plain chicken and salmon although I use a phosphate binder to ensure that his kidneys aren’t working too hard. Did your vet discuss this with you?

You know it may be worth getting a second opinion from another vet because honestly it doesn’t sound like your vet has supported you very well. 10 isn’t particularly old and there may be something you can do for your girl yet.

Hi Junkmail I will discuss the things you have mentioned with my vet when she calls me.

Her disease is very advanced and she has lost about a third of her body weight which she could ill afford as she was tiny to begin with.

She doesn't have a favourite food as she is not keen on food full stop! She would always eat tuna though, but she won't even look at it now.

I haven't thought about getting a second opinion to be honest. We have been with the same vet for 9 years and have always had faith in them. They saved my pup's life 2 years ago when he was just 15 months old by recognising what was wrong with him and getting him referred to a specialist unit within the hour.

I will talk to my partner before the vet calls

Please, OP, don't add guilt to your heartbreak. Cats still have a lot of the wild animal in them, and in the wild it is vital to conceal any weakness - she'll have been doing her best to conceal her illness from everyone, including you. I know it's hard - I lost two cats over the course of a weekend last September, still feel guilty.

Oh MereDintoPanidiculation that must have been heartbreaking for you
I would absolutely say to you that although I don't know you, you are a fellow cat mum and as such would have done everything possible for your cats as we all do and that you should try not to feel guilty. Now I just need to take my own advice!

The other thing I completely forgot to mention is that they have also detected a heart murmur which I don't know if it's connected or not. They would be willing to investigate but unless she eats that's not going to be an option.

She has been given two different types of appetite stimulants to no avail.

OP, I'm so sorry to read your post. My very beloved cat friend died six months ago, from kidney disease. Like you, we hadn't noticed how much weight she had lost (fluffy cat that did not like being picked up) and she started to visibly fail one evening.

I'm sorry to be another one to raise this, but I think it's time for your cat also. It's the last act of kindness we can do for our friends, our last act of love.

I'm crying typing this, as I miss my little furry pal so much, but when they change character like that, it's time. I took her to the vet - he said we could try a drip if I wanted: I was crying and devastated, but I knew that any treatment would be for me and not for her. And as we're always told as pet owners, better a week too early than a day too late

I'm so sorry, OP -