my cat has bad kidneys, please help :( - Page 2

lady_r0gue · #11 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by journogirl

do u have any tips? im worried about her choking? how to you administer tablets successfully?
thanks!
xx

be confident and try and do this quickly. cuddle her up tight in a towel so she doesn't scratch you or leg it, tilt her head right back, gently but firmly squeeze either side of the jawbone, you may have to prise a finger and thumb between her teeth at the sides of the mouth ie the palm of your hand is kind of over her forehead, try and make sure you can see right down the thoat (tongue's not in the way) take aim and drop the pill as far down as poss. keep head tilted up now close her mouth with your fingers and stroke her throat downwards to encourage it to go down. Might help if you coat it with marmite or butter. but it might not. good luck xxx

Here's a pic I found. I'm guessing this cat doesn't mind too much. I would always go for the swaddling tho

if the cat's not happy to be medicated...

Lulu's owner · #12 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_r0gue

be confident and try and do this quickly. cuddle her up tight in a towel so she doesn't scratch you or leg it, tilt her head right back, prise a finger and thumb between her teeth at the sides of the mouth ie the palm of your hand is kind of over her forehead, try and make sure you can see right down the thoat (tongue's not in the way) take aim and drop the pill as far down as poss. keep head tilted up now close her mouth with your fingers and stroke her throat downwards to encourage it to go down. Might help if you coat it with marmite or butter. but it might not. good luck xxx

Great advice, I see you've had years of practice too!

journogirl · #13 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 12:40 PM

i will give it a go
does anyone know any herbal medicines or alternative ways of helping? or are these not worth it? x

mollythecollie · #14 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_r0gue

I'm really no expert on cats with kidney probs but from what other ppl have been saying on here and from what I've heard over the years, dry food is the cause of these problems (yes I know the vet will sell you dry food of untold variety til it's coming out of your ears, but still) and a very well researched raw food diet may be far better. (You can even buy whole chicks and mice frozen for your cats if you want to go totally natural). As I say I'm no expert, but theres a lot on the forum about this, search cat kidneys or something, or cat raw xx here's an example, there's a few ppl on that thread that know their stuff x Diet help for CRF, hyperthyroid, sensitive stomach kitty If it was my cat and I wasn't sure enough to feed exclusively raw I would probably be using as a staple a high quality moist wet food like feline fayre (asda) or hi-life tins. At a guess the FF has the highest moisture content of the two. Good luck lovey x so sorry to hear about your other cat xxx

And as far as the pills go - all I can say is wrap the cat in a towel, prise mouth open and try and drop it straight down the back of the throat, shut the mouth and stroke the chin to help it down. It's bloody annoying how hard it is, are the drugs she's on not available in paste or syrup form like wormers?

Hi Iv not really got much advice about the pills sorry, except keep trying!
As far as the food goes, the post above is misinformed im afraid.
The dry food from your vet is specially developed to be low in protein and phospherous- because the kidneys are needed to get rid of protein and phospherous, they will start to build up in your cats body causing all sorts of problems.
However its important that she still eats so its really a balancing act.
You could try mixing the dry food with normal wet food you know she likes- if she will eat it, try mixing as much of the dry food with as little of the normal food as possible.
It really is worth trying with the dry food as it can really extend a cat with kidney disease life, and make them feel much better.
Good luck

lady_r0gue · #15 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 12:44 PM

Oh ok sorry! as I said I'm no expert on cats with kidney probs, just seen a lot of posts about cats that were fed exclusively dry dying of kidney failure and recommending wet and raw food as a preventative x thought I'd link to that other thread as there seemed to be some interesting links on the subject x

And one other thing - I've often found especially in older cats or kittens that if you mix the wet and dry they'll just barf it up undigested.

journogirl · #16 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 12:47 PM

thanks for the picture
i hope she doesnt react too badly!
thankyou! x

Lulu's owner · #17 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mollythecollie

Hi Iv not really got much advice about the pills sorry, except keep trying!

Might be a good idea to ask the vet for a few spares if you're very unsure of your abilities, specially with small pills as they end up under the sofa never to be seen again or just in a nasty, soggy, disintegrating mess with a load of foam coming out of the cat's mouth as you keep trying with same pill.

Saikou · #18 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 02:27 PM

Coating in butter (not fully salted) definitely helps. I wouldn't do marmite as that is too salty and not good for CRF cats. Is it Fortekor you have ? The pills are quite large for that, but if you coat them in butter first, and most cat love the taste of butter it will help the pill going down. Dry swallowing pills is awful. If you have a small 2ml syringe ready with some water in it too, pop the pill in as described, hold until she has swallowed, then a quick squirt of water. If you can do it without a towel then all the better. If she has to be on these for the rest of her life, you don't want to make it like a battle right from the start.

My cat Jazz lived with CRF for over 5 yrs. He had to be syringe fed for the last few months of his life, but up until then, he had a normal happy life. That was pre fortekor, when all they offered was dry food diet and steriod injections. Now theres a greater choice of foods including wet which makes much more sense for CRF.

journogirl · #19 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 03:31 PM

thanks saikou
that gives me hope
the vet didnt know how advanced it was he said its hard to tell as they dont display any signs for so long but something showed up on her blood tests

he didnt say that it was terrible tho so i guess we can try and stabilise it with the food and tablets he just said that it showed up that they werent right etc

can cats still live a happy long life with kidney problems if kept under control?
butter is a good idea too!

xxx

Lulu's owner · #20 (**permalink**) 20-11-2009, 03:35 PM

I think my aunt's cat lived about two more years after diagnosis. I seem to remember it had to live on chicken and rice, I don't know what drugs it was on.

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