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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Ragdoll cat kidney disease

75 replies

whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 07:38

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

OP posts:

Que0 · 27/02/2019 11:24

OP you sound so lovely. You have to think about all the cats that haven’t been fortunate enough to have such lovely homes as your cat has. I also have a Ragdoll and I know how special they are. I can only imagine how I would feel in your position, but please go easy on yourself. Thinking if you today.

Santaclarita · 27/02/2019 11:39

I am so sorry.

Honestly I would let her go. Cats tend to suffer from kidney problems towards the end, not sure why, but they do. It will happen to any breed. All of ours apart from 1 (who died from cancer) started to deteriorate from the kidneys first. Medication won't do much for very long.

She's had a lovely long life with you and couldn't ask for anything more.

MatildaTheCat · 27/02/2019 12:02

So sorry to read this. If you are going to have her put to sleep would you consider getting the vet to visit to do it? I’ve already decided that when my ancient old lady reaches the end ( she has lots of signs of kidney disease but still has good quality of life) I will have the vet visit. She has always hated the car and her cage.

Best wishes.

Original poster

whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 12:04

utterlydesperate I'm sorry for the loss of your furry pal, I know how much it must hurt.

Que0 I have two ragdolls and always think they are like dogs in cats bodies!

Santaclarita thank you for your kind words. I like to think she's had a lovely life. We always joke that all four of the fur kids landed on their paws when they came to live with us. They are much loved and dare I say it...a little bit spoiled but that's the way I think it should be if you have pets.

She is still in the same position on the bed, very still and very quiet but she has just given me a look...I can't describe it but it's the same look I saw in my beloved moggie the day we made the decision to let her go.

Thank you all for your kind words, it really has helped more than you will know

OP posts:

Veterinari · 27/02/2019 12:11

@whatalifethisis
My fail safe cat eating enticement is pilchards in tomato sauce warmed in the microwave for 30s to make them extra smelly

However if her kidneys aren’t functioning she may we’ll need fluid therapy to flush out the toxin build up and reduce her nausea. Did the vet discuss a drip with you? If she really won’t eat then you need to go back to the vet

NannyRed · 27/02/2019 12:18

It’s so hard to make that decision, but deep down inside youdo know it’s best. You love her too much to prolong her suffering.

Euthanasia is the very last gift we give our pet and it comes from a place of love.

I have just lost my darling Persian boy, I knew his end was near and I kept saying “soon, but not today. Today he is happy” he slipped away in the night at home, he is buried in his spot in the garden with some daffodils just bursting into floweron his grave.

for you, along with a hand hold.

In a few weeks you will look back fondly at happy times with your pet and remember she only knew love in her life x

Original poster

whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 12:21

Matildathecat what a coincidence...our cat is called Matilda, although we have always called her Tilly.

I hadn't thought of that , but whatever happens she won't be going in her cage. My partner can drive if necessary and has has her own blanket which I will snuggle her in.

OP posts:

chillpizza · 27/02/2019 12:32

It sounds like it’s time. When the animal is no longer happy and enjoying life it’s time.

When an animal won’t eat and by the sounds of it hasn’t for some time your just prolonging the pain end stage kidney failure is not nice to watch an animal go though.

I lost mine to kidney failure via poison and I wish I had got them there in time so I didn’t have to watch them gasping for their final breaths. We kept hoping that this food or that food, or a treat etc would work but they just wanted to stay in the same position laying down watching but blank.

GreyRoses · 27/02/2019 12:33

Oh I am so sorry.

I am sitting with my own ragdoll, stroking her and thinking how horribly sad this is.

Cats do have a way of just slipping into not eating when it's their time, regardless of the illness.

As with humans, hearing is the last thing to go and with my old cat, I made sure I petted her throughout her slipping into sleep and spoke quietly. I am sure that is very comforting to them.

SpringForEver · 27/02/2019 12:39

I found this site helped the first time, and again the next time. I know what you are going through too.

www.felinecrf.org/

user1473878824 · 27/02/2019 12:45

Oh @whatalifethisis, I am so sorry. I am sending you lots of unMumsnetty hugs xxxx

SpringForEver · 27/02/2019 12:51

My boy lost interest in food quite quickly, and began trying to drink from the toilet, I knew that he was getting ready. I had told him to let me know when he was ready to go and I wouldn't let him struggle and he had always drunk from his bowl or fountain so I knew.

The last day he climbed up and drank from the tap which he had never done before, and wouldn't stop. I spent the afternoon with him and we went to the vet where they were very, very kind to him. I couldn't have asked for a better goodbye. He had always been difficult and it was not our regular vet as I didn't trust them any more so explained that I had to say goodbye and I just wanted someone to be kind to him, and they were.

I tried to make his day as normal as I could, his usual routine, so that he wasn't stressed by change.

Original poster

whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 14:16

I have just spoken to the vet about a drip. She said she can do that which might help temporarily but the disease is so far gone that she would be in the same place when she came off the drip.

The medication we have given her is an appetite stimulant and an anti emetic but nothing will persuade her to eat...she must just feel so poorly. It's hard to think that this time last week we were blissfully unaware that anything was wrong.

I've shut the other fur kids downstairs and I've come upstairs to spend the afternoon quietly with her in bed. She's just come on to my lap to make it very difficult to use my laptop!

chillpizza that sounds horrendous and so sad. You have just put into words what I couldn't when you said 'watching but blank'. She's always been a very vocal cat and will answer when you speak to her, she just tried but it's too much.

NannyRed I'm sorry for the loss of your Persian boy, you will think of him whenever you see daffodils.

SpringFor Ever thank you for the link, I will take a look. Sad that you lost your boy too. Times like this it just feels too painful to have pets but I just keep telling myself that the pleasure they give us outweighs this a million times.

OP posts:

TheLollipopShoes · 27/02/2019 17:24

Just to say that I'm thinking of you and your beautiful girl.

theWarOnPeace · 27/02/2019 18:04

Thinking of you OP. X

Que0 · 27/02/2019 18:12

Thinking of you also OP I’m so very sorry.

Willow4987 · 27/02/2019 18:16

Hi Op,

I had a cat with the same disease and while she managed to survive 5 years through her sheer stubbornness and our methodical medication and food management, in the end we had to make the heartbreaking decision to let her go. We always said when she wasn’t herself or in pain we’d do it

But if you don’t feel you’re at this place yet, and only you can know this there are things you can try

Of the top of my head we tried:

Renal diet - mainly biscuits as she wouldn’t eat wet food. When things got bad we used to count how many biscuits we’d given her and then how many she’d eaten to track if she was having a bad time eating.
Water fountain
Cans of tuna blended with water (she preferred to drink and not eat, so this way she was getting some food - although be prepared to never look at tuna again!)
Any cat treats we could get her to eat
Sardines and mackerel in tins slightly warmed up

And really thorough medication management - at some points we had to inject her ourselves with saline to perk her up if she was having a bit of a dip

It sounds like a lot but throughout this she was always stubborn, loud, purring and happy self. As soon as she was mentally and emotionally ‘gone’ we knew it was time

ChibiTotoro · 27/02/2019 18:21

I had to have my lovely cat pts last summer due to kidney disease. She did go on a drip for a few days and totally bounced back, started putting on weight etc, but just 12 weeks later she suddenly went dramatically down hill. The vet said we could try putting her on a drip again, but I felt her time had come. It's such a tough decision to make, but ultimately it was the right one.

Oh and I think not noticing the weight loss is quite easy. They're so furry and you see them every day so it's hard to spot the difference.

SpringForEver · 27/02/2019 19:04

My little one had some digestive issues which we never got to the bottom off and dropped weight for quite a while, also had a 3rd degree heart block. She was very difficult to feed for many years and eventually her kidneys started to fail. Very similar to my boy except that he would always eat whereas she vomited often.

She had appetite stimulants and anti emetics and tests. When she lost even more weight it turned out that her kidneys would have been OK, as would her heart, for quite a while longer, but she had renal lymphoma which takes hold very quickly. We took her to the vet just before the results came back and said goodbye to her at the same time. Would never have known it wasn't kidney disease if the vet hadn't noticed some swelling. She has been thin for so long we were used to it, but it was the refusal to eat at all that made it obvious. Don't blame yourself for not noticing, the weight loss can be so gradual that it isn't obvious.

Having been through it twice in a short space of time, I am much more aware that it is happening again, and nothing I can do, it happens when they age, heart, kidneys or both. All we can do really is love them and care for them and try to get it right at the end.

SpringForEver · 27/02/2019 19:06

typo - had been so thin

Hot4Holes · 27/02/2019 19:10

Thinking of you all this evening. I have a ragdoll too, they are such special cats. Have you got any photos you’d like to share?
I hope you can get her eating soon.

Hot4Holes · 27/02/2019 19:11

Ps please don’t blame yourself for not noticing sooner. They are very good at hiding pain. Plus they are so fluffy!

Duckduckduck123 · 27/02/2019 19:43

UtterlyDesperate · 27/02/2019 19:56

Thanks so much for your kind words, OP - thinking of you and your furry friend tonight

Original poster

whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 20:00

We said goodbye to Tilly late this afternoon. The vet was so kind and the end was peaceful. The vet asked us if we wanted some paw prints so we have said yes.

Photo is of Tilly when we first brought her home. She was a complex character, vulnerable yet she ruled the roost with the other three, when she'd had enough, everybody knew about it!

Thank you all for your kindness today, it meant such a lot.

OP posts:

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