renal failure

[drkitty99]

My cat, Miss Kitty has just died from renal failure.  We did not notice any symptoms except weight loss and as she was about 14,, we attributed this to being older. She was still active and eating, until one Friday night when she collapsed.  We took her to an excellent vet who gave her aggressive treatment over a period of weeks, including IV fluids, saline,blood supplements,  phosphorus blocker, CCRF supplements, KD cat food, and we also gave her Astro Oil.

Her levels were better for a couple of weeks , still critical..She was checked each week and additional fluid treatment was provided twice within weeks..She died this morning. It was a devastating loss. Help me and my family understand this, please.  We take excellent care of our cats.

My questions are what causes this ...environmental factors, immunizations, particular cat food?

Also, how can I prevent my other cats from this disese or help them to avoid it as long as possible?

[Jade59]

I am deeply sorry for your loss, drkitty99.  Opus is right, kidney disease is not easy to spot and it's easy to think your kitty was simply getting on in years.  Both links Opus gave you are chock full of great info.  If your other cats are on dry food, switch to wet as soon as possible which will be a great start in the battle against this disease.

RIP, Miss Kitty.

[opus88]

Oh I am so very sorry for the loss of your little one, all of us parents here have been through that at one time or many...and its never easy.
don't blame yourself, kidney disease isn't easy to spot....almost 70% of kidney function is lost before symptoms get bad enough to recognize.
CRF can be caused by many factors among them diet, dental disease and age...chronically dehydrated cats that eat dry food is a huge contributing factor. I lost one to this too before I knew the truth about dry foods...we carry on and yes we do learn so we can help the others we have.
I will send you two sites, one on kidney disease (crf) and the other on diet.....scroll down to 'kidney disease'
I hope what you learn on these sites and ours too...will help you prevent health issues with your other cats.
again I am so very sorry for your loss ♥

www.catinfo.org/#kidney_failure

http://www.felinecrf.com/what0.htm