My boy Ted

IMPORTANT: If your cat is in any distress or discomfort, please consult your own vet as your first priority.
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wendylovescats
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My boy Ted

Post by wendylovescats »

I am looking for anyone who has a cat with, both chronic kidney failure and FIV. Ted went to the vet to have a tooth extracted which was broken and had caused a large abscess on his gum, he had pre op. blood tests which detected the two conditions, vet called and the news was beyond awful, when asked I was told he would only have a few months to live, he was an unneutered stray living in an old greenhouse when I adopted him around two years ago, he is a beautiful big boy and estimated to be 3 to 5 years old, he doesn't even look unwell, needless to say he couldn't have dental surgery because of his kidney disease and is on antibiotics for the gum infection and medication for his kidneys, also they detected a heart murmur, I am looking for some hope from someone please x
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greenkitty
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Re: My boy Ted

Post by greenkitty »

I'd be surprised if they couldn't do the op, normally when kidney disease is present they would put the cat on fluids, pre, during and post op. I would also ask if the infection could be skewing his kidney results? It's really not good to leave an infected tooth in place that in itself can lead to further health problems, It might be worth getting a second opinion if you have another vet nearby.
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Ruth B
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Re: My boy Ted

Post by Ruth B »

What Greenkitty said about the infection skewing the results made me think of my old Ragdoll, Blue. When he was about 13 years old he needed some dental work doing, and because of his age he was given a full blood work prior to the surgery. The results came back showing early signs of kidney problems. Apparently there are 3 tests for kidney function, two showed that the kidneys weren't working properly, the 3rd was fine. We went ahead and had the surgery done as the tooth problem was affecting his eating and decided to monitor the kidney function, so for over a year he was back every couple of months at first then every three months and finally every 6 months to have his bloods checked. He never had any medication for the kidneys and never even went on the special diet, one vet recommended it, another (more experienced I think) didn't feel it was worth it with the results he had. Over the months the kidney function improved until it was back to normal. By the end of the surgeries (he had to go back for a second one a few weeks after the first to have the rest of his teeth out) he was eating fine and enjoyed his dried food right up to the end, he really prefered it to the wet. The conclusion the vet drew was that the infection in the teeth was what had lead to the loss of kidney function, his difficulty in eating probably didn't help the matter either.

Blue wasn't FIV+ so I don't have any clue how that might affect it, but it might be worth talking to your vet again particularly if his bad tooth is affecting him adversely. I feel there comes a point when the risk of the anaesthetic is outweighed by the possibility of an improvement in quality of life if all goes well.
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