Looking for advice for cat with CRF

[Granny M]

Hello, all,
We got a shock yesterday. We took our much-loved, 13-year-old cat, Guinness, to the vet because he had a mouth ulcer. They tested him, and he has chronic renal failure.

I understand this is incurable, but manageable, and he could have a few more years. He is staying at the vet's this weekend for some treatment, and will be retested on Monday to see how he is responding.

This is the complication: We are moving house on Tuesday. It's a complicated move. First we need to drive 7 hours on Tuesday to our other home in Holland. Guinness doesn't enjoy the trip, but he's made it so many times that he behaves beautifully and is allowed to be free in the car. He's no trouble.
But, after 3 days there, we are packing up again for the final leg of the journey: an 8-hour drive to the ferry in Cherbourg, then 19 hours on the ferry to Ireland, followed by another 3-hour drive to the new home.

I am so worried about how we will keep him hydrated for this marathon. He will be confined to a kennel on the ferry, and we will be unable to keep him with us. Is this going to be too stressful for him? I don't want to lose him, but I don't want him to suffer. This is excruciating for me. I feel guilty because I mistook his recent lethargy for stress reaction to the packing.

Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[virgdem]

1. I empathize with your situation...

I have had CRF cats and they need extra care. I would definitely talk to your Vet to see what he/she recommends. I think that your extended travel plans would be very stressful for your cat, but I would talk to your Vet first. Is it possible for you to leave your cat with the Vet and come back and fly with him to Ireland? Keep us posted on what you decide to do and I wish you the best of luck in your move.

[Granny M]

2. Thanks for your suggestion.

I looked at flying before and ruled it out because of various complications. Things have changed since we brought Guinness from Cork to Amsterdam 9 years ago, and it's a lot more complicated. That's why we opted for the ferry. But, I will recheck the possibilities today. And I will talk to the vet tomorrow. A lot will depend on how he has responded and just how advanced the disease is. I was thinking if we could get him a subQ fluid treatment the day before travel, it might keep him hydrated enough to make it. And maybe if he could have an appetite booster, he would be willing to eat. Will know more tomorrow.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. I am so sorry to hear about your cat. This is a difficult diagnosis.

Many of us here have been there, and the results have been mixed. My cat made it only a few months after the diagnosis, but many have had a good life after. This thread has so many great suggestions that I got from many DUers when I first found out about my kitty and was freaking out.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=9498170

Your vet will be able to give you better advise than we can regarding what you should do on the trip. The most important things for you to concern yourself with are food and water. The cat has to eat and will need to drink water. Sub-q may also be an option, and actually may be a necessity, but it is not a big deal. Good luck with your kitty and I hope this works out for you.

[Granny M]

4. Thanks for the link to the thread.

So sorry that you lost yours so quickly. I am hoping for good news tomorrow, that he is not too advanced. Wonder if the vet will prescribe special food? For years, all he'll eat is tuna cat food, a couple of different kinds. but must be tuna. I hope these prescription foods come in tuna flavor.
Thanks, and I'll post when I find out more.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I found none of the special diets were tuna. No fish at all.

All of the ones I found were chicken or pork based.

A suggestion for what it is worth...feed your baby what he will eat. I regret putting my cat through all the problems with food she hated, and that is besides the amount of money I spent buying every special renal diet on the market. If I have to do it over, I will continue to feed the normal food and take the consequences, if there are any. A happy kitty for a shorter time trumps a miserable kitty living longer. But that is my opinion at this point---I did not think that way before this. But if they will not eat the food, they will decline quickly anyways.

[glinda]

6. Sorry to hear about kitty. We have a CRF kitty also and moves are very hard on them.

Consult with your Vet. Perhaps you will need to have SUBQ IV drips with? Definitely feed him wet food and I would also suggest that renal failure foods really are better for cats in this situation with their kidneys.
I would also suggest joining the CRF cat Group on Yahoo. I find it very helpful and people from all over are in it.
Learn how to administer drips just in case. Talk to the Ferry people and tell them your cat has a medical condition. Perhaps they will allow you to keep him in a small carry case. You need to have litter for him to be able to go. Being able to pee is key.
Good luck. I gave you a heart and I don't care if anyone knows.

[Granny M]

7. Thanks......

Good idea to speak to the ferry people. At least maybe they will allow him to stay in the car, which he is used to, and his box and food/water will be there.

Thanks for the heart.

[Granny M]

8. Sad news.

We had to say good-bye to our beloved Guinness, just an hour ago.

This morning I called the vet at 8am. She told me that Guinness had a great day yesterday, ate the special kidney food without problems, and seemed to be picking up. I heard him meowing in the background. So, she said she would keep him on the IV for another couple of hours, and then would take another blood test. We started making plans for the trip, and the best way to manage everything. So, things were looking up.

In literally 15 minutes she called back - Guinness had started having trouble breathing. I rushed over and spent some time with him. He didn't look good. The vet had taken an x-ray. The lungs were clear, except for a very small amount of congestion in the bronchia (?). She thought it might be his heart, so she gave him some drugs for that, and started him on oxygen. She said she would give the drugs a chance to work and then see how his breathing was. The oxygen would keep him comfortable.

So I went back to packing up the house, and waited. We talked again about 12, and she said he was doing much better, but she still had him on the oxygen.

At 3 she called me and said that as soon as she took him out of the oxygen tent, he started to struggle again. Painfully, I knew this was the end for him, and we had to do the right thing. Bob and I went over. They took him out of the tent, and put him in my arms. He purred for a few minutes but then struggled. We had to put him back in for more oxygen. The vet came in a few minutes later, we held him one last time, and then let him go. My heart is broken but I know we have done the right thing. He let us know it was time. My only regret is that he had to spend the last few days in the clinic, but we did the best we could.

Thank you all so much for your help and support this weekend.

[CountAllVotes]

9. I am so sorry!

:hug:

May Guinness rest in peace!

And as for you and your husband, may both of you find solace knowing that you did everything you could for him.

[ceile]

10. So sorry, Granny M

:hug:

[virgdem]

11. I'm so sorry to hear this..

my heart goes out to you on your loss of beloved Guinness. You did everything you could-it was just his time to go and there was very little you could do other than what you and the Vet did for him. It's so hard losing fur children. I've lost five cats since 2003 and it never gets easier. I wish you the best of luck in your move - who knows what the future will bring in Ireland. You may just get a little Irish cat down the road when you are ready to welcome another cat into your home.

[Curmudgeoness]

12. So sorry, Granny M. My heart goes out to you.

We all know the pain you are going through, but you did everything by the book. No one knows when the time will come, and at least you were doing all that you could for him. I am glad that you were able to be there with him, that was important for him---and for you (even though it was painful).

Guinness will be waiting at the Rainbow Bridge for you. RIP Guinness. And peace to you, Granny M.

:cry: :hug: :cry: :hug:

[alstephenson]

13. I'm so sorry for your loss of Guinness.

My 17-year old kitty is going downhill fast. But I've had four extra months with him - last October the vet didn't expect that he would survive more than another week or two. He's been doing really well until the last week or two and I know now that it's only a matter of time. I hope, like you, that I will know when the time has come...

[Granny M]

14. Thanks to everyone for the comforting messages.

We managed to get our furniture and ourselves out of the apartment, and we made the first part of our journey to Holland. Our crazy 13-year-old Welsh Terrier seems to really miss his kitty 'brother'. They grew up together. But, he seems to be ok, as we both are, in spite of the sadness.
We have another long trip ahead on Saturday/Sunday before we are finally at home, back in Ireland. Who knows, someday there could be another Irish kitty in our future.