FU: [forums.macresource.com]

Yesterday we went to a specialist an hour away as they were the first ones that could see him. Owners still stay outside (in their cars) which makes sense as far as Omicron is concerned.

The vet reviewed his records and took notice of a couple of things BESIDES what I brought him in for. Annoying but I guess thats how it goes. The main concern were his kidneys. Our usual vet had mentioned that his kidney numbers were a bit high but she never emphasized that something should be done about it but the specialist put it front and center. The biggest pain was that she's telling me my cat is in stage 3 kidney failure but can't say a word about what it means for his remaining lifespan. I know WHY she doesn't want to say anything but this means I need to do a bunch of googling myself. I think its become expected.

I needed to figure out how his kidney concerns might impact how I want to approach his nasal problem. Initially it was a lot to take in that he had another problem to navigate but I've also come to admit that he's lived a good long life by any reasonable standard. This happens to most cats as they get older. Anyway, the vet wasn't much help in this kind of decision making.

As far as his nose is concerned, the vet really didn't lean one way or another on what it might be. (This might be professional caution) Considering that he could have a number of good years left I think we'll go ahead with the CT scan after we return from our holiday travels. I don't think the delay would change the course of treatment.

While he's suffering from a number of aging related indignities lately, he's still his normal self. He's 16 1/2 so these things aren't going to get any easier but maybe we can knock out this nasal problem in the new year.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2021 02:00PM by mattkime.

Thanks for the update.
The CT scan should let you know if there is anything going on in his nose, that you can’t see, and it’s noninvasive, so that’s a big plus for kitty.
Sorry you didn’t get more info from the new Doc about his kidneys. It seems odd that she didn’t address what that means going forward, in more detail.
Good vibes being sent for your senior kitty. He sounds like a really special boy.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

The biggest thing you can do now for kidney support is NO DRY FOOD.
High quality canned with minimal grain and lots of water - even if you have to give it to him with a syringe (no needle). Eventually kidney support involves giving fluids subcutaneously.

Quote
vicrock
The biggest thing you can do now for kidney support is NO DRY FOOD.
High quality canned with minimal grain and lots of water - even if you have to give it to him with a syringe (no needle). Eventually kidney support involves giving fluids subcutaneously.

On it. The prescription food is a weird racket. I had to go across town to our vet to the get prescription but they only had kidney diet food in DRY. Luckily another vet near our house had a nice variety in canned. Which reminds me, I'll need to pick up more shortly. Hopefully they'll enjoy their dinner.

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We lost one of our kitties to kidney failure a few months ago. She was only 9. She always ate dry food. Canned food was always a treat. We switched her over to the canned kidney food, which she liked for about a week. Then she stopped eating it. She still ate the dry food (we have 4 other cats and the food is always out). We figured as long as she was eating something it was better than nothing. The vet agreed.

When she was diagnosed, they told us she probably had 6 months or less. I think she lasted a little more than 2 months. We did the subcutaneous fluids every other day. It was torture for both her and us. If we ever have to face that again, we might decide against it.

First round of kidney food - put out two single serving cans of different flavors for our two cats. (our 'younger' cat can also benefit from the special food) Its hard for me to know _exactly_ what happened but younger cat chowed down on one can of food and both cats left the other untouched. We haven't been too consistent with what we've given them so a new flavor shouldn't be a surprise. Also, while they're good eaters they'll skip meals once in a while.

I read that there's also a medication that can help. Might be worth investigating.

He was curled up in my lap when I wrote the initial post and he's there again as I write this.

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I have no doubt you will take very good care of your sweet boy.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Good luck to your kitty! This guy on YouTube (channel "Helpful Vancouver Vet") had some interesting things to say about feline kidney disease that might give you ideas about what questions to ask your vet: [youtu.be]

If you want to look for kitty (actually, doggy too) food online, try Chewy.com.
Good prices, reasonable (/free?) delivery charges, online support chat/help line, and great customer service.

Happy kitties, happy camper.

We have an elderly diabetic shelter rescue kitty, and chewy.com has the DM brand and Tiki Cat brand low/no carbs cat foods that our vet recommended for him. The other two also like it, which is a plus.

Good luck with your cat man, do.

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=TC

I recently lost my last kitty. A month before her 19th birthday. She was diagnosed with early stage kidney failure 3 years prior. We immediately tried the vet formula wet food. My girl made it clear she’d die of starvation before eating that crap lol. So she only got Fancy Feast seafood pate after that. I also bought a water fountain and had bowls of water in several locations. Fortunately she was good at drinking and I didn’t need to do sub Q.

It’s hard to predict the progression. All you can do is go with the flow.