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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Ragdoll kidney disease

18 replies

whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 07:22

Hi
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:
Straightforwardplease · 27/02/2019 09:37

Don’t feel bad, cats are very good at masking these things! Flowers

Our 10yr old ragdoll was diagnosed with renal failure a few years ago, his first bloods had the worst perameters the vet had seen and he was very poorly, after a few days of daily vet trips, iv fluids and no improvement we made the decision to pts but he perked up a bit at the vets and we decided to carry on with treatment instead. We got him to eat by mixing water with his wet food and using an oral syringe to put it on his tongue - it was a painfully slow process but he did perk up and start to eat on his own in the end. He had food prescribed form the vets but it didn’t have much smell or taste so we just got him an assortment of wet foods to try to start with then put him on the special food. He actually did miraculously recover, the vet couldn’t explain it!
However we also had a 3yr old tabby at the same time she also diagnosed. We managed it the same way and she lived for a couple of years but never sadly recovered and was never the same again really, we probably should have pts but had false hope from the other miracle cat.
Miracle cat lived a few more years but we think it was his kidneys that got him again eventually, he was never as healthy as he had been.

Toddlerteaplease · 27/02/2019 09:57

Had this with my Persian. By the time I realised what was happening it was to advanced. I put her weight loss down to her severe heart disease. She had no symptoms until literally a few days before she was PTS.

Toddlerteaplease · 27/02/2019 09:58

Mine had had her diuretics doubled which I think tipped her over the edge.

princessTiasmum · 27/02/2019 10:07

I am so sorry for you and your poorly cat,i have Ragdolls and mine are also all 10 years old[i have 3] one of mine has started being more vocal than she used to be, but i have a feeling it might be dementia coming on, as she cries for food, then eats a bit and cries again, also doing her business in odd places, like using the bath or or doing it somewhere other than her tray, but i had a Siamese who had advanced kidney failure,he was the most loving cat i ever had,he wouldnt eat the special food, but he was given Ipakitine, powder to sprinkle on his food it did help i think for a while,but eventually he lost the fight,
I hope you can find a solution
I also had a cat who had kidney failure, and used to do what your cat does,crawl up the bed and lay her face on mine, she went very thin, and eventually had to take her to be pts, it was heartbreaking, so i can understand you want to keep your cat for as long as possible, but jf it seems to get very painful for her, you have to consider what is the best for her, [flowers ] for you

Original poster
whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 10:34

Thank you all and I'm sorry for all of your losses Flowers

I am driving my self crazy thinking what ifs? What if they put her on a drip? What if I manage to syringe some food into her? What if they can increase the dose of her appetite stimulants?

She is sitting on our bed just staring into space and doesn't seem now to want to be cuddled.

I know this is about her and not us...I have made an appointment with for 5.30pm today to say goodbye to her which is the last thing I can do for her.

OP posts:
Toddlerteaplease · 27/02/2019 13:13

Hand hold. It's awful. But it is a very peaceful and dignified death It wasn't till I looked back at old photos that I realised how awful Fatty looked.

Toddlerteaplease · 27/02/2019 13:16

I did the What if. But deep down I knew she'd had enough. She wasn't behaving like the cat I knew. She already had very bad heart disease so I knew it was the end of the road. Miss her terribly but it was the right decision.

Original poster
whatalifethisis · 27/02/2019 20:02

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.

Ragdoll kidney disease
OP posts:
princessTiasmum · 27/02/2019 22:50

So sorry for your loss,having to have a few of my lovely cats pts over the years i can imagine how upset you will be,
Try to think of the happy times with her, and be comforted by the fact you knew that she knew she was loved, r i p Tilly Flowers

Original poster
whatalifethisis · 28/02/2019 07:23

Thank you PrincessTiasmum
The vet must have thought we were going to flood the room the amount of tears we cried!

She did have a good life though and she was loved soooo much. All of us with pets know the day will come when they leave us. You just have to do what you have to do when the time comes.

I'm comforted by the fact that she's now at peace.

OP posts:
princessTiasmum · 28/02/2019 17:41

To be honest i have cried more when i had to put my cats to sleep [oh and a 17 year old German Shepherd ] than i have at a humans funeral,
I think its the fact that we are having to do it,and it feels like we are murdering them, if that makes sense
I once found one of my cats dead when i got up one morning and although upset,it didnt affect me as badly as having to take an animal to be put to sleep

Original poster
whatalifethisis · 28/02/2019 22:34

princessTiasmum I totally get that, it's such a big responsibility and all the what ifs and the guilt are hard to bear.

Even though your head tells you it's the right thing to do, your heart tugs you in the opposite direction.

OP posts:
fluffypudcats · 28/02/2019 23:42

I posted a similar post just before you. I'm devastated, I understand your feeling of loss. But I let my little girl down. It wasn't possible for me to be with her. I'm envious of your paw prints - I tried to take some just last weekend and they are so precious. These little beauties steal our hearts, don't they, and Tilly most certainly was a beauty. Hugs Thanks

Original poster
whatalifethisis · 01/03/2019 06:55

Oh fluffypudcats you didn't let your little girl down. You said yourself it wasn't possible for you to be with her, sometimes circumstances work against us.

I know we are lucky re the paw prints, the vet offered them to us, I didn't even know they were a thing.

I know we did the right think but my heart is heavy. Before I had pets I didn't know this feeling of love was possible for an animal,

I'm so sorry for the loss of your little girl and the pain you are going through. Know that she was loved and try to be kind to yourself Flowers

OP posts:
princessTiasmum · 01/03/2019 09:31

fluffypudcats so sorry for your loss too, it is heartbreaking, but at least we know they are not suffering anymore
Your cat was loved and she would have known that, you didnt let her down,you gave her peace

Original poster
whatalifethisis · 01/03/2019 18:23

thank you fluffypudcats

OP posts:
fluffypudcats · 01/03/2019 22:56

I made it back tonight. I've seen, held and said my goodbye to her. Her brother is struggling because he's not at home either (I'm single so they went on holiday to my Mum’s) but yes, she was loved, adored even, as I am sure was Tilly. They will always have a bit of our heart
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/thelitterr_tray/3519722-my-poor-little-girl

Original poster
whatalifethisis · 02/03/2019 07:36

fluffypudcats I've read your thread. You did what you had to do...for her. She was beautiful!

Such a lot you are having to deal with, take care of yourself Flowers

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