I loved all of your videos of Zack.. I'm sorry that he passed, he was a beautiful cat. They were very encouraging to me and I am sure others as well.
My nine year old cat (Tedda) has CKD.. per his numbers he is probably late stage three or possibly even four... but my vet , and myself both agreed to treat the cat , not the numbers... he is on various meds...
I lean holistic , but I will work in traditional also. His meds include azodyl, standard process renal support, b12 injections once per week, cat size dose of adult powdered b complex .. pet tinic and the chinese herb combo Rehmannia eight , sub q every other day 100 ml . he eats a commercial prepared raw diet for cats with kidney disease that was designed by a vet.
His appetite is good...sometimes it is better than other times. His last blood work showed some improvement, but not enough for me to drop the fluids down to twice per week, he was slightly anemic ... so we introduced the pet tinic at that time. His energy level is ok; when I say that I mean he is able to jump up on counters etc, and does so fairly quickly when there is food involved :)
My concern and the reason for my email is his behavior , since his illness was diagnosed in late july he tends to stay only in one room, the dining room or the kitchen.
He likes to either sit in the window or up on a wine cabinet that I have (so far he has not broken a glass but there have been close calls lol) he rarely if ever initiates any affection, although he will respond to it when I seek him out, sometimes when I go to medicate him , he shrinks from me, he never sleeps with me anymore, oddly enough he did once in september right after I was gone for a few days.
But not since then, this is a cat that I had a very close bond with .. he was always near me or on my lap, and slept with me almost every night...
I feel like treating him is a double edge sword. I love him and want to see him become one of the few cats that I have heard about that "beat the odds" and sometimes live quite long, even with high numbers.
Especially since he was diagnosed so young, but at the same time his behavior is alarming and sad.. do you have any thoughts on this?
There are so many great lessons in here, with observations that are true, exhilarating and heartbreaking all at the same time. This is the stuff of life.
So lets break it down:
My nine year old cat (Tedda) has CKD.. per his numbers he is probably late stage three or possibly even four... but my vet , and myself both agreed to treat the cat , not the numbers
Truer words were never spoken. Always treat the cat, not the numbers. And this is hard to do. We are a quantitatively biased, numbers based society. And we need more wax on, wax off…contemplation of the bigger goal we are trying to achieve. How a cat feels about his condition is more informative that what the numbers can show. This isn’t just airy fairy talk. This ties into quality of life, stress responses and physiological wind up. All real things.
I lean holistic , but I will work in traditional also..
A vet that I had the pleasure of working with (Eric Demedron) told me this once: Pragmatism over dogma.
This means you pursue what is relevant and true for your cat, regardless where those treatments are derived from. You do this so you can roll with the punches as life takes it’s shots.
His appetite is good.. sometimes it is better than other times.. his last blood work showed some improvement , but not enough for me to drop the fluids down to twice per week..
It’s always great to have a measurable goal with treatment. Now didn’t we just say treat the cat and not the numbers? Yes. We did. And you gotta know when to apply that, and when to expect observable changes. Feline medicine is like this - you gotta take concepts that don’t always go together, or even appear to contradict, and juggle them in the brain and make them work. In this situation, you might not see a change in urea/creatinine that correlates to SQ fluid frequency. See this post: Frustrated about kidneys. But there are other indicators that can tell you about frequency (appetite, activity level, vomiting etc. ).
… sometimes when I go to medicate him , he shrinks from me, he never sleeps with me anymore…I feel like treating him is a double edge sword... I love him and want to see him become one of the few cats that I have heard about that "beat the odds" and sometimes live quite long , even with high numbers. especially since he was diagnosed so young, but at the same time his behavior is alarming and sad..
…do you have any thoughts on this?
Honey, I got 4 hours of thoughts on this.
Traditionally in vet medicine, we do this thing called compliance. We talk, and you and your cat heed our advice and eventually get what we decide.
But cat’s don't work that way, right? Relationships don't work that way.
We need to work concordantly with them. What this means is that your cat, you and the vet all have equal say in the plan. And it also means that treatment is given in a way where your cats decision making process is taken into account.
Oh, many cats will let you give them medication. Many cats won’t. Regardless, the question is, can we do it in a way that retains the bond you have with them. Tedda has medical reasons that could him a bit despondent. You can give him his treatment in a way to battle against these dispirited feelings.
If you want to learn how to keep your cat emotionally sound while medicating them, then watch my videos here: http://iwillhelpyourcatcourses.com/stresstosuccess/
Your cat probably isn't feisty or grumpy, but he’s definitely emotional.
We can put back the right emotional nudges into our treatment plans.
You have a beautiful cat and approach.
Thanks for the question,
Dr. Kris