Welcome to the Cat Forum. I'm sorry for the circumstances that have brought you here but am glad you found us. Several of us here have dealt with chronic renal failure in our cats. For my part, I've cared for three CRF cats, so I've been dealing with this disease on and off for a couple of decades.
Livin1naZoo said:
we took her back yesterday (her actual follow up was supposed to be next Tuesday) because she wasnt eating and had been vomiting a lot recently. They did her labs and when we went to pick her up they said it was not good.
As you'll quickly learn if you haven't already, CRF involves a very steep learning curve. It's a complex disease that affects all body systems in one way or other. Knowledge is a very powerful tool in the management of this disease and its associated conditions, and there are many strategies that may help improve and maintain a good quality of life for your cat for a significant period of time.
That said, in order to make sense of CRF information you find online and in order to solicit the most useful advice and guidance from forums such as this one, you really need to get copies of all of your cat's test results from your vet so that you can reference them and put acquired information into appropriate perspective for your particular cat. Without knowing exactly what your cat's labs are right now and exactly which meds she's receiving at what doses and frequencies, we really can't offer much specific input or advice. I urge you to get copies of her test results ASAP and post them here so that we can really see what's going on with her. If you do post her test results, please post ALL values (those out of normal range AND those in normal range), and include the lab's reference ranges.
They sent her home on 4 meds twice a day and twice a day IV fluids.
Again, we need to know exactly which meds, at what doses, and at what frequencies she is receiving them.
When you say "twice a day IV fluids", I assume you really mean subQ fluids administered twice daily at home. Or are you taking her to the vet twice a day for actual IV fluid administrations? Either way, what type of fluid is she receiving, and how much at each admin?
Well the issue I am having is I cannot get her to eat. This morning because she wouldnt eat we crushed her meds and used a syringe to give them to her but it was so hard, she didnt want them.
This may be causing more harm than good, depending on the meds she's receiving. Some meds must be given with food, like potassium, phosphorus binder, and some antibiotics. If these meds are given on an empty stomach, they may either cause significant stomach upset or they may be ineffective. Other meds should be given on an empty stomach. And of course some meds can interfere or interact with each other if given too close together, so you need to know about those possible issues.
But disregarding the meds for the moment (since I don't know what they are), here are several links to sources with lots of tips, tricks, and techniques to get nourishment into your girl (which is critically important), whether or not she's willing to eat on her own:
http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm
http://www.assistfeed.com/
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/Feline ... ed-Feeding
We are only doing this for about 4 days before her blood work is rechecked to see if she has had any improvements and if there isnt a big enough improvement they recommend putting her down.
I urge you to take the time to access the online CRF resources and study up on the various management options before making an irreversible decision like euthanasia. There is so much to learn about this disease and so much that can be done for cats living with it that you really need some time to get a handle on at least the basics. You will likely be overwhelmed at first as you start to read the available materials, but stick with it. The more you read, the more will "stick" and sink in. The rest can be absorbed over time. Here are two invaluable resources that many of us CRF caretakers consider to be our lifelines of information and support:
http://www.felinecrf.org/ - Tanya's Feline CRF Info Centre (our "bible")
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/ - Feline CRF Support Mailing List
Please post again with any specific questions and/or when you have her test results.
Laurie