Hello,

I am new to this site and found you whilst searching for information on CRF.

My 15 year old ginger boy, Casper, has been diabetic for 18 months. He had a check up on Tuesday and my vet has just told me that his blood tests now show signs of Kidney Failure . She mentioned its not an overly high level but the signs are there nether the less. I have to pick up some tablets for him tomorrow.

What makes this more sad is that we are moving to Australia at the end of the year and are currently looking for a place to rehome my lovely boy.

The vets has given us the number for a place called Paws and Claws who take on elderly and difficult to rehome cats and they have a section for resident cats who can roam around. The question is will they take on a cat who needs insulin twice a day, tablets for CRF and regular check ups with the vets. We are happy to sponsor Casper and send money for his care.

I suppose I am worried that he will deteriorate quickly and I wouldn't be there to look after him and be there at the end for him. Should we consider putting him to sleep before we go? Is this a terrible option and he could spend many happy years in a new home?

If any of you have any thoughts and experience of this then I would truly appreciate your views.

Thank you for your time.

Nicky x

Hi there and welcome,

Firstly, Chronic Renal Failure is not a death sentence and can be very successfully managed if caught in the very early stages like Casper. It's possible with treatments to slow down the progression of the disease. Can you not take him with you to Australia?

The best place to direct you to is the following website-an excellent resource for any owner of CRF. Incidentally do you know what the Urea and Creatinine results were on the blood test? These, particularly the Creatinine values will tell you what stage of CRF you're looking at and it is possible to lower these readings with diet. Is Fortekor the medication the vets has prescribed.

Tanya's Feline CRF Information: Just Diagnosed? What you Need to Know First

Thank you so much for the link.

We cannot take him as he will not be classed as fit to travel so we have no option than to find him a lovely place to end his days. Trust me, if I could take him then I would. He hates travelling and can't even go 5 mins in the car without making a mess of himself!

Yes, the tablets that are being prescribed are Fortekor. I asume this is common to give with CRF? Do they have a good reputation?

His Urea level is 15.4 and his Creatinine level is 239, he is 15 years old.

How do this results look to you?

I will have a good look at the link you sent.

Nicky x

Thanks for the reply.

Looks like I nearly replied twice!

Nicky x

It depends slightly on the reference range of the machine but neither of those 2 results would be majorly concerning to me, both are a little raised but this is to be expected in a 15 year old cat with early signs of CRF and certainly nothing to panic about yet.