Acute Kidney Failure

[Joanne_]

Thanks guys. So I gave him meds orally and he hated it so much he ran outside and has not been back:( this is SOOO unlike him. Its cold, wet and late:(

[Joanne_]

I finally got him in about 1am. I have not seen him sleep in 24 hours :\ he is on the back of the sofa fighting his sleepiness. Any idea why? Oh and I mixed his pate with warm water till it was of a soup like thickness and he ate a full tin:)

[JulieandBarney]

Hi Joanne,

My Barney does this when he has a flare up of his constipation/stomach problem, I have to struggle to get his paste into him, which helps him 'go' but because he hates being cornered, as such, he runs away and hides for a while, then, even though he is absolutely worn out with all the sickness and straining, he will try his level best to stay awake, until he is literally so worn out he just falls asleep, plus the anti biotics may make him feel a little out of sorts for a few days........x

[Joanne_]

Aww poor Barney:(
Today Jimmy slept a little but I can tell he is not feeling himself. Its just so heart breaking feeling so helpless. So far I managed to get his meds in him by mixing them with the lactose free milk. He seems to love the milk but I feel weird giving him it. Managed to get him to eat round about 3/4 of a tin of pate by watering it down.

[JulieandBarney]

Hi Joanne

That's good that he is taking his meds, I know that feeling of utter helplessness so well, whenever Barney is ill with his stomach, I can do no more than listen to his cries while trying to get his laxative into him, it breaks my heart to hear him, so I fully understand, you are doing the best you can at the moment, as hard as it may seem.

The lactose free milk is good for him, Barney drinks it all the time. If you get chance, pop into Morrisons or Pets at Home/Waitrose and get a couple of little boxes of 'Lik-e-Lix' they come in 5 sachets a box at about £1.00 and consist of malt and vitamins, in a very liquidy soft thin paste which cats love, they have lots of nutrients especially for cats who find it difficult to eat or are off their food, just feed it from your finger or straight from the tube which mt fella goes mad for...x

http://www.waitrosepet.com/cat/cat-trea ... tAodsysAvQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Joanne_]

Thanks for all the advice. I actually bought a load of them in and he loves it:) I put his mediation in it and it goes down really well:)

A little update. Christmas day he ate NOTHING it was frustrating to say the least. Yesterday however he was much better. Ate a full tea plate of copped up pork with no issues and his tinned food. Today he ate more pork, a piece of liver and half a tin of food.

How was Christmas with yours?:)

[JulieandBarney]

Hi Joanne....

That's great news well done !!! and well done Jimmy too.....

Barney had a bit of a constipation issue, but I gave him a little Miralax with his food and seems better, PLUS I am now giving him a lot of 'raw' diet, so fresh cooked carrots mashed up into fine chopped raw beef with warm water and a little boiled rice, seems to have really helped his tummy problems, so fingers crossed !!

Glad Jimmy loves his pork Joanne, I know you mentioned he had a little constipation before, I think.....maybe put a little warm water in with it and really dice it finely with a little olive oil to stop it being a little too dry , sometimes just dried cooked meat alone can cause constpation, as I have discovered with Barney !!!!

Hope you had a great Christmas......x

[Joanne_]

Thanks I had a good christmas and you?

Update. So Jimmy had been doing great. He was eating loads, not crying with his teeth and just seemed more like his old self. Yesterday he ate loads but would not eat at night but i put it down to him already eating a bit. This morning there was sick on the floor and at first we assumed it was Erik as he is always a sicky cat but jimmys been off it all day:( not eaten, not drank, not used the litter tray etc. Any idea what this is? I think i need to get him to the vet first thing?

[bobbys girl]

No ideas, sorry, but I think you are right - he needs to see the vet. I really hope he's OK. Please let us know. He was making such good progress.

[Joanne_]

I don't get how one minute he is amazing and the next he seems like death:( i just forced water in his mouth and he made no attempt to even lick it. He seems quite out of it:/ hope he makes a recovery over night. I hate feeling so helpless.

[bobbys girl]

I'll be thinking about you. Gentle fusses to your boy.

[Joanne_]

Thank you. I am debating about over night care for him. Do I just leave him in his normal routine or is it best to bring him upstairs with me? My parents say either way we cannot do anything until morning.

[bobbys girl]

Whatever he is happy with.

[Joanne_]

My parents think the vet will put him down:( They say his kidney function must have totally gone for him to be not peeing:( I just caught him in the litter box being sick (was just bile). Not sure if he intended to go in there to be sick or he was trying to do something else:(

[JulieandBarney]

Oh Joanne, so sorry to hear this, I will be keeping everything crossed for you both today, please let us know what the vet says.....x

[Joanne_]

i'll update more when I can. but he has gone:(

[JulieandBarney]

Oh Joanne, words fail me, so unbelievably sorry...................x

[Batfink]

I'm so sorry Joanne. Huge hugs to you x

[bobbys girl]

Just got your post. Joanne, I am so very sorry. RIP sweet boy. Many (Hugs) to you.

[Lilith]

Very very sorry to hear x

[Crewella]

I'm so very sorry - that must have been an awful night and a worse day. (((hugs)))

Rest in peace lovely Jimmy xx

[Joanne_]

Thanks. Worse day as i have a sickness bug too:(

[JulieandBarney]

Oh Joanne......what a rotten time for you.......you did EVERYTHING you could for Jimmy and finally showed him the ultimate kindness....he would thank you if he could...I reassure myself about my lovely boy CC who I had to let go last year to mouth cancer......the message below helped a little, though I know how raw the emotions will be :-



The poem The Last Battle does a wonderful job expressing the idea that euthanizing a pet who is suffering (or when suffering is imminent) should be viewed as the ultimate expression of love. Beware, it’s a tearjerker.
The Last Battle

If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then will you do what must be done,
For this — the last battle — can't be won.
You will be sad I understand,
But don't let grief then stay your hand,
For on this day, more than the rest,
Your love and friendship must stand the test.

We have had so many happy years,
You wouldn't want me to suffer so.
When the time comes, please, let me go.
Take me to where to my needs they'll tend,
Only, stay with me till the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time you will agree
It is a kindness you do to me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I have been saved.
Don't grieve that it must be you
Who has to decide this thing to do;
We've been so close — we two — these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.

— Unknown

Another important piece of information I convey to owners who are struggling during this time is this: In over 14 years of being a veterinarian I have never had an owner tell me that that they regretted the decision to euthanize.

Not once.

Grief is different than regret. We all grieve when a loved one is no longer physically present, but once the raw emotions of the immediate loss have passed, owners report a sense of peace, knowing that they were there for their companions when they needed them most. With time, the happy memories of lives shared are what endure.

To quote Dr. Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

Dr. Jennifer Coates

[Joanne_]

Thank you so much. Thankfully I am feeling a little better after lots of sleep. Now I an update.

We took him to the vets at 8.50 and he was seen to by a lovey vet who felt him all over. He said he could feel what seemed like a mass in his abdomen. He said he didn't seem constipated etc but they would need to know what that mass was. He spoke about xrays but then said that they do not always show up a mass so then he would need an ultrasound at a different vets if this was the case and then if it was a mass, they could operate but then if they found it was cancer he would be put to sleep. It just seemed a lot of money to throw away if at the end of the day he was still not eating etc. In the mean time he suggested bloods to be taken to assess his kidney functioning, The wait for his results seemed a life time. As we sat there this beautiful golden retriever came up to me and gave me his paw as if he was trying to say 'it will be okay don't worry'. We were then called in and were given his results. His kidneys had basically failed:( his reading when very first diagnosed was around 700 today they were a whopping 1556. The vet said he was clearly a very very sick cat:( I hugged him and spent time with him sobbing away and the whole time he just sat up looking at me like 'why are you crying can we go home yet??' The vet came to put him to sleep and I could not watch and had to sit in the car. Thankfully my father was with him the whole time, they were both the best of friends. Jimmy and my dad worshiped it each other it was the funniest of friendships.
After we planned to take him ourselves to get him cremated. We were both on the way to pick his body up when my sickness started:( so my dad took him by himself. He left him to be cremated as he said he was too upset to hang around so we will go pick him up in a few days when everything is done. We planned on a lovely casket with his photo and his name engraved and my dad wants written underneath ' A star, a legend' as that's what we always said he was.
I am thankful for everyone's support and advice with Jimmy. He certainly took over a big part of our lives and I still have yet to fully introduce you all to my other two cats:)

[JulieandBarney]

Joanne......what a lovely tribute you paid to his life.......you put him out of pain as I had to do with 'CC' last yearand you gave him a lovely few years with you.....he looked so happy, bless you for giving that to him.... and no doubt now he is with my boy at the Bridge,...who I lost far too early at about 7 years old from cancer....I had to do the same for him too and it broke my heart but was the kindest thing I ever done for him........I.x

[Fran_ki]

Joanne I'm so so sorry to hear about wee Jimmy
Just catching up on hear and reading your posts. The wee darling . RIP Jimmy , you'll be missed so so much darling boy.
Thinking about you, sending hugs xxx

[bobbys girl]

Thanks for the update Joanne. A lovely tribute to a lovely boy. RIP Jimmy.X

[Joanne_]

Thank you so much everyone x