Young cat with kidney failure

[waitingwithhope]

We noticed our young, 4 year old indoor cat was losing weight and we took her to the vet only to discover after blood work that she is in kidney failure (she has not been exposed to any anti-freeze, is young and the vet could offer no reason for it). She has been still purring, trying to be her normal self (although she was a bit clingy and we thought something was wrong). We have gone ahead with fluids through IV, 2 days at the vet hospital and she is going to continue to be monitored with her blood work. All her other blood work values came back within the normal range (except for her red blood cell count) and they said it was not an infection (which sadly would have been easier to treat). What are the chances of recovery from this? We all love her very much, my two year old adores her and we thought we would try and save her. The vet said she has never seen kidney failure in a cat so young and could not give us a prognosis.

[opus88]

just logged on tonight to see if there was an update on little Riggs....

it sure sounds strange that he isn't showing more signs of kidney failure...asymptomatic even when so advanced. that does give hope and there are miracles everyday.
don't give up on him too quickly Emma, it doesn't sound like he is ready to go just yet:))
sending more prayers for that miracle. ♥♥

[CatCopCombo]

Well without getting my hopes up too much there was good news today. Riggs' s blood work is showing improvement by HALF what his values were yesterday albeit still high. However the improvement is enough for the vets to consider letting him come home tomorrow if he does well over night, see how he is over the weekend and get him re-evaluated Monday.  There's some concern he's getting a bit stressed being at the vets and their hope is his appetite might improve being in his own environment. They're confident his kidneys are working but just need that extra push to heal themselves. Like I said, I know his prognosis is still guarded and it can all still go **** up for him so I'm going to keep praying and praying for that miracle :-) xxx

[opus88]

well isn't that ever great news....some improvement!!!! YIPEE for Riggs....
I'm sure he will feel much better at home with his family....sending continued prayers for an appetite improvement and come on kidneys keep healing:))))

heres another real good site to do some studying up on chronic renal failure....follow all Tanyas links she has alot of knowledge on this subject.

keep us posted:)

http://www.felinecrf.org/

[opus88]

found a link to a book that was written by a Vet...."a possible link to CRF and Vaccines" not sure where this book is avail. you could try amazon.com...interesting

Feline Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) and Vaccine Link
By Jean Hofve, DVM

It has long been known that chronic renal failure (CRF) in cats has an inflammatory component. Chronic low-grade inflammation causes gradual destruction and scarring of the kidney, eventually resulting in loss of function and failure of the organ. However, what was not known was what caused the inflammation in the first place. Recent research from Colorado State University suggests a link between vaccination for feline distemper (panleukopenia) and the development of chronic renal failure. The distemper virus is grown in a feline kidney cell culture to make the vaccine. Earlier research at Purdue University showed that puppies given a vaccine grown in calf serum developed antibodies to calf proteins that also reacted against the puppies' own cells. These auto-antibodies (antibodies to self, or to one's own tissues) may contribute to later development of autoimmune diseases. Every subsequent vaccine caused the puppies to form even more antibodies
- See more at: http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/AnimalWellness/PetVacc.aspx#Loops

[CatCopCombo]

He's home but oh is it heart breaking to see him look so poorly :-( I'm really doubtful he's going to make it but don't want to give up on him yet. He's just stubbornly refusing to eat (saying that, with the stress I'm feeling I'm not eating either). He's getting fluids still, vetergesic and alucaps (to bind his phosphates). He's only been home a few hours so I know I'm being impatient expecting too much from him. His brother Murtaugh is having a bit of an adverse reaction to the vets smell Riggs has came home with. Such a shame :-(

Oh no, the article doesn't paint a good picture about vaccines. It's devastating to think that something designed to keep them healthy has the potential to cause grave damage to vital organs over their lifetime :-( It's awful to think that if Riggs does get better he's potentially going to have problems with his kidneys forever and vaccines may be the cause.

So he's back in on Monday for check up and bloods. As always, fingers crossed for that miracle xxx

[opus88]

yes it is so very heartbreaking I sure can agree to that....
I do hope he had a good evening and will soon start to feel like eating...the clinical smell should soon be gone and his brother will recognize his once again:)

don't know if vaccines are to blame, this was just one Vets thoughts....however they may well be, that we don't really know do we. the more I've read on the topic I decided to d/c for my boys, but they are also totally indoor cats..
I do believe even for outdoor cats we can drastically reduce the frequency recommended by most Vets...

sending some warm healing ((hugs)) to little Riggs....and more miracles too♥