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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2015 10:31:47 GMT
My cat Sam (who is 19) was diagnosed with kidney disease 3 months ago. The vet recommended she be fed Hills prescription K/D food, and this seems to have been beneficial. Her weight has stabilised at 4kg (after dropping 1kg over the previous year), and the recent blood test results were unchanged from 3 months ago. However, the vet noted that she is now somewhat anaemic, and has suggested the use of hormone injections to increase her red blood cell count.
Has anyone had any experience of this treatment ? I have read that there can be side effects, because the hormone used is actually a human hormone, which is ultimately rejected by the cat's immune system. Worse still, the immune system also rejects the cat's own hormone, leading to the need for blood transfusions.
Would a dietary supplement (particularly iron) be a viable alternative ?
Chris.
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Post by tonib on May 31, 2015 18:06:16 GMT
Sorry to hear Sam has got kidney disease but glad to hear the Hills K/D is working for her. That's very useful as our Penny (16) may have the start of kidney disease but could also be because she stopped eating properly, which has now been resolved & her weight is stable but no more blood tests yet. I've no knowledge of how to treat an anaemic cat so can't advise but this link might be of help www.icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/anaemia-catsit also has a link to CKD advice which does refer to anaemia. Lovely to hear about a cat of Sam's age By the way has the K/D replaced the chicken/turkey in white sauce or does she now have both?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2015 9:57:29 GMT
Sorry to hear Sam has got kidney disease but glad to hear the Hills K/D is working for her. That's very useful as our Penny (16) may have the start of kidney disease but could also be because she stopped eating properly, which has now been resolved & her weight is stable but no more blood tests yet. I've no knowledge of how to treat an anaemic cat so can't advise but this link might be of help www.icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/anaemia-catsit also has a link to CKD advice which does refer to anaemia. Lovely to hear about a cat of Sam's age By the way has the K/D replaced the chicken/turkey in white sauce or does she now have both? Many thanks for the link. Sam just has the dried Hills K/D food, along with the Purina Gourmet or Sheba wet food (one 85g tin per day). I did try her with the K/D wet food, but she wouldn't touch it. (PS. I tried adding an attachment photo of Sam, but it wouldn't work - file size 250kB).
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Post by tonib on Jun 1, 2015 19:56:52 GMT
Hi @cs2015 the photo wasn't too big just that there is very little space available for attachments provided as part of the forum & its all used up However you can use one of the free hosting services such as flickr or photobucket for the photo & then a link can be posted her so that it shows up in your post. If you need any help we have users of both those services here who can help, don't hesitate to ask - we've all had to learn . Also if you use facebook & the privacy settings are right then you can link photos from there as well. Hope you can post a photo of Sam soon. Shame she didn't like the K/D wet.
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Post by gypsy on Jun 1, 2015 22:30:04 GMT
Hi. Many cats with kidney disease are anaemic and there are a number of reasons for this. Low iron levels due to poor appetite, blood loss due to intestinal bleeding or decreased red blood cell production (the kidney produces a chemical called erythopoietin) which stimulates red blood cell production. I assume the hormone injections you refer to are erythopoietin? It sounds like the prescription food is working well for you. I can't recomend a specific iron supplement for Sam and to be honest iron supplements often cause gastrointestinal upsets anyway. But I can suggest this - www.amazon.co.uk/Bayer-Renalzin-50ml/dp/B003ZJCCHM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1433197939&sr=8-2&keywords=renalzin+for+catsIt works by absorbing phosphate in the gut so in turn puts less work on the kidneys and helps them to function better. And if they function better, iron can be absorbed and processed better from the diet. Please check with your vet first of course. Years ago I had a persian cat who was diagnosed at 17 and she lived until she was 21. So if you can find the right balance, cats can live a good life for years with CKD.
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Post by lotsofcats on Jun 2, 2015 11:47:13 GMT
19! Your cat Sam is an amazing age. Some good advice for you off the others. I've had cats with kidney disease in the past but the vet didn't recommend any other food (it was a long time ago). I hope that the prescription food works well for Sam.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2015 11:56:27 GMT
Hi @cs2015 the photo wasn't too big just that there is very little space available for attachments provided as part of the forum & its all used up However you can use one of the free hosting services such as flickr or photobucket for the photo & then a link can be posted her so that it shows up in your post. If you need any help we have users of both those services here who can help, don't hesitate to ask - we've all had to learn . Also if you use facebook & the privacy settings are right then you can link photos from there as well. Hope you can post a photo of Sam soon. Shame she didn't like the K/D wet. Thanks for the tip. I have created an album on photobucket with some pics of Sam. Hope this link works (If not, I may need some more help) : s1028.photobucket.com/user/cs2015/library/Sam?sort=3&page=1Thanks to gypsy about the phosphate absorber too.
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Post by lotsofcats on Jun 2, 2015 12:57:31 GMT
I've looked at the photos - she is gorgeous and doesn't look anywhere near her age.
Ooh! I just managed to get 2 of your photos on here for you - not sure how I did it!!
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Post by tonib on Jun 2, 2015 17:03:59 GMT
Thanks gypsy, that information is really useful as I suspect we may need something like that for Penny. It was interesting reading the comments on amazon. @cs2015 Sam looks really good, I agree with lotsofcats she doesn't look anywhere near 19
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