Giving subcutaneous fluids

[citiesofbismuth]

Last time I saw the vet with my renal failure cat, she mentioned giving him subcut fluids at home. I said I wasn't sure as he wasn't so happy with me giving the morphine subcut injections. He does seem to have got used to them now though and is pretty relaxed when having them.

I was wondering if anybody here had given subcuts to renal failure cats and how it works out. His pancreatitis appears to have settled down and he has been eating some renal diet again, so I'm thinking he may survive this crisis and that I'd perhaps to step up active treatment rather than palliative care.

I'm back at the vets on Monday.

My mum’s cat had them for almost a year, once a day. He had horrendous blood test results at the time of diagnosis and prognosis was few weeks if that. He had few weeks ( iirc) of IV fluids at the vet and then he moved on to the subcutaneous fluids. It was fairly easy to administer, took a few minutes. My mum started off with a thicker needle ( same as the vet was using) as it was quicker but sometimes it did seem a bit uncomfortable for the cat so she switched to a smaller size.
I suppose if your cat is not very ill yet he won’t need them every day? In any case it was much less traumatic than I assumed it would be.
Oh, and definitely go for single use fluid bags, it’s a bit hard to get the amount right with the double dose ones as they change shape as the liquid goes down.
Good luck

Thanks for that info. Sounds like it might be something to at least try to see if he tolerates it. I could administer it after his morphine injection has kicked in.

I knew someone who did it. But to be honest it's not a route I'd want to go down with my cats.

It's something I frequently do at home for a whole variety of reasons - but these are always short term reasons, not as long term support. It's very easy to do and is great to keep up the hydration of cats that aren't eating for example.

However if it were needed indefinitely then I think I would be questioning if it was time to pts. Cats that need it daily can't be feeling great. If it's just to get over a crisis though then it's certainly worth trying.

Never done it but there is a whole heap of info on this website which I came across when I thought old lady might have renal failure:

www.felinecrf.org/subcutaneous_fluids_tips.htm

Just a thought as I am a human doctor, not a vet but we would avoid morphine in humans with renal failure as it is primarily metabolized in the kidneys and so can accumulate and cause side effects, worsen renal failure and potentially cause toxicity. I'd pick different analgesia with different metabolism.

Would this be the same for cats? I'd ask your vet.

It's buprenorphine he's on. Not sure about how it's metabolised. I have a balancing act between treating him and preserving his kidney function. I get really anxious when he eats normal food instead of his renal diet. This is why I was thinking about the subcuts.

Ok buprenorphine is a totally different drug - it's not morphine and in humans (and presumably cats) is safe in kidney failure.

I was being lazy typing morphine lol 😶

Did you speak to the vet about phosphate binders to go in his normal food?

Yes I asked and she said that his phosphate levels are okay. I'm not sure how this works. She said that getting food into him was more important than worrying about his renal diet.

His bloods have come back stable, he hasn't lost any more weight and she's shown me how to do the subcut fluids.

He's staying on painkillers and anti emetic (injected) for the time being. It's going to cost quite a bit and I'll have to look for overtime at work. She said he's not tensing up when she palpated his pancreatic area.