16 is a very good age.

Outcomes are very very variable with CRF. Although my 8 year old cat mentioned above lasted only a few weeks after diagnosis (with fairly intensive treatment), I also had a childhood cat who was diagnosed with CRF when he was 12. He lived to be 20, with no special diet (none offered 40 years ago) and no treatment except occasional steroids to stimulate his appetite. I hope other cats are as lucky.

Hi Chris

Sorry both of your cats have been diagnosed with crf. I have had 3 cats over the years with this and there is so much you can do for them now.

My girl has been fighting it for over a year now and she is 20 years old she has a Fortekor tablet a day, she isn't struck on renal food apart from a dried one I get from www.zooplus.co.uk called Happy Cat they are a German firm who have various food to suit renal cats and their delivery and postage costs are very good.

I feed my girl on most Senior wet food and my vet prescribed a powder called Ipakitine which you mix in the food it's purpose is to bind the phosphorous in the food so to help spare the kidneys you can find more info www.ipakitine.com

Trying to feed a renal kitty requires such patience and trial and error but I know I will do everything I can to tempt her palate.

piper

My cat had kidney and heart problems and had been eating both Royal Canin (pouches and dried) and Hills KD (pouches and dried) for almost two years. Despite the variety he, perhaps temporarily, stopped eating them. (He still likes KD but there's only one flavour in pouches)

My vet said that the next best diet would be Senior food and she also gave me a powder called Ipakitine to mix through his food. He's eating well again on a diet of mainly Felix as good as it looks Senior and an odd pouch or two of other senior food for more variety.

The vet also taught me how to give my cat some fluid under the skin. With someone else there just to hold him gently to reassure him, it's easy to insert the drip and ensure he gets a little boost of fluid.

I'm pretty sure the latter kept him alive for the last half of 2010. I was on holiday last May and all through it, I was expecting the cattery to contact to give me the worst news possible.

He's like a different cat now, much more alert, and as active as most older cats.

I noticed an ad for Renalzin recently and have just looked at the website, the ad was about using it from age 7 for prevention, but the site seems more focussed on CKD itself. Anyway, it has a recipes section, including such feline culinary delights as fish cookies Although it makes me smile, I know I'd have tried anything to get a renal cat I had to eat, so it might be worth bookmarking at least for any moments of desperation. Or just for a treat

My renal puss HATED the renal diets with a passion & there was no way she was getting adequate nutrition from them. The vet said to feed her anything, it was more important that she ate & maybe try the renal stuff again when she was feeling better (but she continued to hate it). Meal times were a bit of a nightmare, it seemed every time I managed to find something she kin of liked, she stopped liking it & it was commonplace to go through 5, 6 or more different types & flavours in the hope she'd eat anything. Thankfully she liked Applaws which comes in a great variety of flavours & although it sometimes went out of favour for a while, it was THE most reliable food for her. It is quite 'healthy' for renal cats too & is overall a great food and definitely something to consider to boost any ailing cats appetite. Could probably use it all the time for 'normal' mogs, but it is quite expensive! Most cat food brands have an age 7+ range, but noticed Royal Canin now have one for 12+ (dry & in pouches) which has lower phosphorous in it & something to stimulate appetite. The kibbles look a bit like treats too, so that might an advantage?!

My mog was also on Fortekor, with monthly jabs of an anabolic steroid & Vitamin B12. She got weighed on her monthly vet visit, but as her condition could fluctuate so much (initially) I got into the habit of weighing her at least weekly at home & the vet showed me how to do a gentle pinch of her neck fold to determine dehydration. They were both useful things to do, especially as she could crash quite quickly sometimes - if the pinch wasn't too bad I'd have a go at trying to encourage her to eat & drink more, but I got to know the threshold to know when not even try & just get her in asap for treatment (fluids). Having (as far as possible) the same vet each time was also useful, especially as her bloods were totally off the scale & often bore no correlation with how she was in herself. The vet was fabulous with her too, they were like a mutual fan club together

Good luck with your mogs, Op. Caring for any poorly puss can be difficult & coping with a chronic illness is a different entity. It's tough to start with and a steep learning curve, but you WILL get there. Just remember to be kind to yourself as well as to those lovely pussycats

Unfortunately he has decided not to eat again and after a checkup today it seems that his kidneys have now switched off.

I have sat with him on my bed since returning at mid day and he looks so at peace.

The vet is doing a home visit tomorrow morning where I am expecting the worse, think I have shed enough tears to last a lifetime... just have to keep thinking what a great 16 years we have had together.

...is going to be a long night ahead.

That is so sad, really sorry to hear that your cat is not doing so good, poor little darling. Thinking of you both.

So sorry to read that, thinking of you both.

I have come to this thread late but will still post this link
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KidneyDiet/ as this is one of the best groups around for information and support for our pets with kidney problems.

It is with great sadness that Barney went to sleep at 12:51 this afternoon. He was in his favourite place and in my arms, with the family around. While we knew it was coming it didn't make it any easier when it was time.

Last night was the longest night, didn't sleep for more than 20 mins at a time and each time I woke he was beside me, I kept praying he was going to take the decision but alas he didn't. This morning I took him to the garden where he enjoyed the morning sun before he made his way back in the house, pausing for a moment as he walked in - looking back to the garden. He walked backup stairs, had a sip of water and went to sleep on my bed on an old t-shirt.

Thank you to everyone who provided help and support, it was very much appreciated.

Rest in Peace Barney.

Sorry to hear this news.

Take comfort that you were there with him at the end.

RIP xx

I'm sorry to hear you've had such a sad outcome. I hope you can take comfort from the fact Barney had a wonderful 16 years and went to sleep for the last time in the surroundings where he was most at ease and with the people who loved him.

Aww I am so sorry for your loss.

R.I,P. Barney. xxxxxxx

Sorry to hear your news, Chris.

What a poignant & touching description of his final hours - such loveliness amongst the sadness.

RIP Barney xxx

Chris, I am really sorry for your loss. I hope you and your other cat are bearing up well. It sounds like Barney had a peaceful death and he knew he was loved.

Chris, so very sorry.

My little baby has just been diagnosed with kidney disease and I just don't know what to do. The vet has ordered some renal food for her to try but said she may not take to it.

Until then I am giving her standard wet senior pouches and adding extra water to them. The first pouch was a huge success and she has drunk all the gravy, which I guess is good? My understanding is I need to get her to drink as much water as possible to help flush her kidneys.

The consensus on here seems to be that that she needs to eat at all costs and if she eats the renal stuff it's a bonus??

Chris, so sorry to hear your news.

Stargazer - yes, eating anything is better than not eating at all and if your puss eats renal food, even better.

And yes, great idea to add extra water to food, that's what I did with little Jingle. I gave her Felix Senior in Jelly (normal meaty/fishy ones rather than As Good as it Looks) as that had a relatively low phosphorous level compares with a lot of the other easily-available brands.

Presumably your little one has been prescribed Fortekor? Jingle used to eat them likes sweets so giving them to her was never a problem! However the Felimazole she had to take for her thyroid wasn't a sweetie to her so had to use the pill popping device!

Best of luck with your little girl. Even though she has been diagnosed with kidney disease, you may have many years left with her yet - I had my little Jingle for about 2 years after she was diagnosed and until the end, she had a very happy and comfortable life.

Thanks for that. She wolfed down the wet food but sadly threw it up overnight. So I may have to rethink that. My friend has mentioned water fountains and I wondered what experiences people had had of them?

I never used a water fountain, but alwasy made sure she had water available inside and outside (she always preferred the outside water!).

Jingle was sick on occasion so don't worry about that (it's a normal cat thing), just make sure she has some more food to replace it with. Or if it becomes a continuing problem, maybe just try and feed her a small amount at a time.

Unfortunately my boy wasn't with me long enough after diagnosis to know if the water fountain I got him was making any difference, but he did take to using it pretty well and seemed to drink more from it than his normal bowl.

I have kept using it with my other cat in the hope that it can go some way to reducing his risk of kidney failure in the future, although he does enjoy splashing in it with his paws just as much as drinking from it!

I got a water fountain for mine, the vet recommended it. Shadow wouldn't go near it for about 2 weeks and just when I was about to give up he decided he would drink from it after all . So if you do get one, don't be disappointed if it takes her a while to accept it - you know what cats are like with change. Just make sure there are lots of bowls of water around for her to drink from, which I am sure you do anyway.

I guess I will find out when Shadow has his next check up how much good the fountain is doing (it's only been 2 months since he was diagnosed).

He is refusing his renal diet at the moment, and stealing the other cat's food. And to make it more frustrating, the other cat is stealing the renal diet. Cats eh?

Personally I think water fountains are noisy, they use electricity and they are plastic which I gather gives some cats problems. I go for two large steel dog bowls of water, in two different places. They need cleaning and refilling most days in summer, they last a bit longer in winter. They can go in the dish washer if necessary.

I've got the Pet Mate fountain and it is really quiet, I don't even notice it at night. But I do worry about the electricity bit and I switch it off when I go out as I have paranoid visions of it short circuiting and electrocuting the cat or burning the house down.

I wonder whether getting a water filter jug would do the same job, and then giving the cat the filtered water in their bowl.

Cats with kidney disease don't usually need encouragement to drink water, they do it voluntarily. When my cat had kidney disease I left three bowls of water down in the house, so he always had one nearby. Like cats_five I don't use plastic, I use ceramic bowls.

Hello *stargazer* . I hope your baby has been prescribed Fortekor tablets by your vet, which takes the stress off the kidney function? Plse don't be bitterly disappointed if she doesn't take readily to the specialised food. None of my cats ever did!
She will drink a lot, this is the natural way a cat with kidney failure detoxifies all the lousy urea and creatinine levels in the blood, or in simple terms the 'rubbish' that her kidneys, (as a flltering system) can no longer cope with. Make sure she has several water bowls available and in reach of where she likes to be in your house or flat.
Cats with kidney failure are often sick. It means the 'filtering' system cannot cope with the overload of food which the body cannot breakdown properly.
My aged cats with renal failure could always manage fish, such as Coley. Not a lot of nutrient value but fairly bland, and the smell would entice them to eat. The important thing is to get her eat while trying to avoid the very high protein foods like, liver, beef and heart cat food recipes. Chicken, fish, rabbit and white meats won't prove so demanding on her.

Finally, I wish you the very best with your endeavours. I'm afraid, kidney failure is prevalent in older cats.

I am very sorry to hear that your little one has the same problem as my Barney did.

We had water bowls around the house - we placed them where we found he went to hide in the house so it was always close to him and found that if we woke him and placed the water bowl in front of him he would get up and drink from it.

When trying to get him to eat we always tried the renal food first but always had chicken and fish on standby. Sometimes chicken by itself sometimes with a small drop of gravy to change the taste. When we cooked it we good it in a bowl with water to ensure it was very moist for him.

I wish you every bit of luck and success with your little one.

One little bit of advice - take lots of photos of your cat while they are well - it make it so much easier later on.