Kidney Disease

[LunasMom]

I'd have to travel 200 miles to find such a specialist, though I have been known to do telephone consults with veterinary specialists when I felt the need. Again, you need to find a vet with whom you can partner effectively, regardless of his/her professional credentials or specialties. All things being equal, though, if you found an internist or, better yet, a veterinary nephrologist with whom you could work well to handle Luna's case, that'd be great.

There is one about 40 minutes away from me that I have heard good reviews about from some people at my job that have a pet that is sick. So I am thinking about calling them and seeing if there is a difference in how she is handled vet wise.

I have been reading almost everything I can and jotting notes down none stop and I still feel "Iffy" about my Vet after my reading. I understand that Vets don't know 100% about everything but I still feel like some key things should have been discussed with me and told to me with Frankie and now Luna. I do like my Vet in retrospect he has been a vet for 40 plus years but I just feel like there is a small failure on his part. I will be deciding my actions within the next month, depending how things get handled after her next blood-work.

I also requested a copy of her blood-work from the vets today so I know exactly what all her counts are so that I now know how to process and handle her care better. I was shocked to see some of the counts of her blood-work ; BUN is 27 and Creatinine is 3.4 with a Urea Nitrogen level of 93 (really high). My mother has kidney diesease and had a transplant 3 years ago and told me that the things they focused on for her was BUN, Creatinine and her Potassium level. I am thinking that would be about the same for a cat?

I am now going to do some reading on what CPK is, I don't know if it is important or related to the kidneys but its really high and I want to know more about that to.

I still have a ton to learn but I hope and think I am making good progress. I want to learn and do the most I can for her because like all animales she deserves it.

Yes, you will need scripts for prescription foods. http://www.petfooddirect.com sells prescription foods, and I'm sure there are other sources you can find through a Google search or by checking at http://www.amazon.com. Don't waste your money on prescription food orders, though, until you know that Luna will eat them. I, personally, have never had one of my CRF cats be willing to eat any renal prescription foods. They are horrendously unpalatable for many cats. If you can find renal foods that Luna will eat, more power to her (and you), but if she refuses to eat them, then by all means feed her whatever food she will eat. The BEST foods for CRF cats are whatever foods they will eat ... period!

I feel blessed because she loves her KD food. She isn't a huge picky eater but she likes the KD so we are sticking with that until she signals to us that shes tired of it. She is the kind of cat that will take about 10 bites and she is done. Then she returns for more 30 minutes later, she has always been like that so we are making sure she has access to her food and water 24/7. The other cat sniffed the food and gave a head shake. Amiee thinks the food is icky wich works out perfectly because she wont touch it! She gets her "yummy" food and Luna gets her special diet.

[LunasMom]

Wanted to Clarify:

Bun/Creatinine Ratio is 27, Creatinine is 3.4 and the Urea Nitrogen is 93. Trying to figure out if I focus on the Bun/Creatinine or the Urea Nitrogen number?

[laurief]

Originally Posted by LunasMom

I still feel "Iffy" about my Vet after my reading. I understand that Vets don't know 100% about everything but I still feel like some key things should have been discussed with me and told to me

From what you've written about your vet, I'd feel plenty iffy about him, too. I've been through a number of vets, and I've experienced a lot of what I consider to be veterinary incompetence and/or negligence. You need to find a vet who you feel is worthy of your trust and with whom you can work effectively on Luna's behalf. Hopefully the specialist you've located will be a good veterinary partner for you.

I also requested a copy of her blood-work from the vets today so I know exactly what all her counts are

If you feel comfortable posting them here, I would be very interested in seeing her test results, and I may be able to offer some useful insights. If you do post them, please post ALL of the values, including the ones in "normal" range. Also, include the lab's reference ranges for each value, since reference ranges vary somewhat from lab to lab, and you need the ranges to put Luna's values into accurate perspective.

so that I now know how to process and handle her care better. I was shocked to see some of the counts of her blood-work ; BUN is 27 and Creatinine is 3.4 with a Urea Nitrogen level of 93 (really high).

Urea nitrogen is actually the BUN. Creatinine is the more important and relevant value, though, since BUN can elevate for both kidney and non-kidney related reasons, while creatinine is kidney-specific.

My mother has kidney diesease and had a transplant 3 years ago and told me that the things they focused on for her was BUN, Creatinine and her Potassium level. I am thinking that would be about the same for a cat?

Those values are important for CRF cats, along with phosphorus, total protein, HCT or PCV, and others. The following site will be very useful to you when evaluating Luna's bloodwork.

http://www.broadwayvh.com/site/view/...id=g92sm55i901

I feel blessed because she loves her KD food.

Is that canned or dry? If possible, Luna should be eating exclusively canned food to help with her hydration. Of course, if she refuses to eat canned food, then she should be fed whatever she will eat.

Laurie