I am new to the forum ,so hello everyone,

6 years ago i answered an ad for kittens free to good home, and went along and picked a beautiful big ginger male kitten (Perry) while there we saw his very tiny sister & we felt sorry for her (Molly) and took them both.
Molly had problems from the word go,her head would twitch constantly, we took her to our vet & we were informed that she was as good as blind, and could probably just see shadows,apart from that and her tiny size she thrived until a year later well she suddenly became very ill,with lots of blood tests ,she was diagnosed with IMHA which is an autoimmune disease where her body is attacking itself. it is called immune mediated haemolytic anemia.at the time we were told to take her home as she was not expected to last the night.quite a few injections later and with corticosteriods treatment she has beaten the odds , she was given a poor prognosis and was not expected to survive more than a year or two at the very least,her most marked symptoms are her jaundiced ears and her liver is enlarged, but after an increase in the dose of her meds her liver had actually shrunk! so that's really good, she is such a sweet soul and so happy & full of life despite her awful illness, her illness is not curable but very month that goes by is a bonus our new vet is amazed that she is still with us 5 years after her diagnosis.
Sadly this last week has been a nightmare, Perry her brother from the same litter has became ill. He is a large ginger cat a real softie & very sweet, he stated to lose weight rapidly and was sick a few times.the vet did a lot of blood tests ,and he has been diagnosed with renal failure,i am absolutely devastated by this news,and he has deteriorated within one week has been kept in and is presently on a drip to try to flush the toxins from his kidneys,he also had some bleeding into his eye as a result of high blood pressure which is a complication of crf, it seems so unfair that both my dear cats are enduring such dreadful illnesses, things don't look good for Perry as by the time this illness is showing symptoms he would have lost approx 75% of his kidney function, but as he is only 6 years old we wanted the vet to try and help him. the vet thinks that genetic may be a major factor in both my cats illnessess. I can't beleive that Perry has gone from a big healthy cat to having which is now a terminal illness.I hope he has the fighting spirit of his tiny sister he will need it. thank you for reading this post.i can't sleep worrying about him

Very unfair

I'm so sorry about Perry. We're going through a similar thing with one of our beloved babies and he's only just over 1 year old

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http://www.elmstarbengals.co.uk



Our darling Foxy is now at Rainbow Bridge. R.I.P. little one, you'll always be loved.

So sorry to hear about your poor cats. I hope that Perry pulls through.
Seems like you and the vet are doing your best.
Perry sounds like he is well loved and cared for and that counts a lot.
Also Perry doesn't know how ill he is. It's us humans that do the worrying for them!
We have a one year old that we adopted in April this year and we found that he has a heart murmur that's graded 5 which is not good. Like you i was devastated but there is not a lot i can do, so rather then worry about him every day i just make sure every day is a special day. He has everything he wants. After all he doesn't know that he has it and if he can have treatment he will get it.
Hope this helps and will be keeping my fingers crossed that he will pull through!!

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Thankyou Elmstar for your reply. I have just taken a peek at your website, i have not come across a bengal cat before although i have heard name before.They are lovely what beautiful markings,i am sorry to hear that one of your cats is poorly i hope he/she gets well soon.
We have cared for sick pets on many occasions over the years but it is always hard to deal with, with Perry is came right out of the blue, Little Molly has been wandering around looking for her brother they have always been together they are my little & large Molly is around the size of a 6 month kittein & Perry was a very big boy, i am going to check with the vet this afternoon to see how he is doing

Hello Jill, Thanks for your advice & reply,i am sorry that your little on has a heart murmur,was he born with it ,i wonder is there any treatment for him?.
Perry's illness came as a shock as it was so sudden ,he had always been so well & healthy up to now,He is a very laid back cat and takes everything in his stride,yes you are right he won't know how ill he is,i hope they can stabilise him and he has some quality time left.

Just spoke to the vet, Perry is doing ok & is responding to treatment he has eaten today and is on a special renal diet food. Although there is no cure i hope he will have a good quality of life in the short termlong term we don't know
they are going to repeat his bloods tomorrow and hopefully the toxin levels will be reduced.bless him .

Poor Perry. It's horrid when they are ill.

This is a great website for you to look at.

Tanya's Feline CRF Information Centre

My cat had CRF following problems with high calcium levels in his blood. Fabes passed away last year but he had a great quality of life right up to the end.

My friend's cat had CRF and lived until he was 21 years old!!

thanyou, i will take a look at tanya's website i am sorry to hear about your cat i'm pleased that you had some quality time with him, the vet told me that she was alarmed how quick the toxin levels in his blood had risen in one week, that didn't really fill me with hope, but i'm hoping with the treatment he is having at the moment that his condition will be manageable.

Glad to hear that perry is responding to treatment and that he is eating his special diet.
I think it's just a matter of getting as much info so you can to decide whats best for him. I think you have come to the right site. There are a lot of friendly people on here with a lot of good advice.
As for my little one i think he must have been born with it. As i only adopted him 5 months ago i have no history. The vet told me if he starts to cough or pant and become breathless then bring him to the surgery Asap.
Keep in touch and let us know how he's doing and when you have a minute pop their photos on here so we can see them.

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