Living with a CRF Cat: Overview

All her life, Cleo vomited more than Puss; in fact, Puss never vomited. Cleo was strictly an indoors cat, and she ate only dry food — and people food. The vets thought she just ate too fast, inhaling too much air with her food. She seemed happy and healthy otherwise, so I accepted this "diagnosis".

When she was fourteen, Cleo began to vomit more often; several times a month. She also began to lose weight, but it was slow and we really didn't notice it until one day we looked at her and realized that Buddhacat was now Skinnycat. At about that time, when she was fifteen, I noticed she had a small lump on one side. I took her to the vet, but it turned out it was just a cyst. The vet drained it, and said it would probably come back at some point.

As the months went on, Cleo began to vomit more and more. We took her to the vet, who suspected either CRF or Hyperthyroid, but she tested normal. The vet gave us oral Reglan, and at first it seemed to help. But the vomiting became worse, becoming a weekly event around May. In May we also went on a two week vacation, our first in ten years.

While we were gone, our petsitter realized that Cleo was dangerously dehydrated, so she took her to the vet. The vet put her on IV fluids, and we picked her up when we got home. Poor Cleo was so thin and frail. Reglan didn't seem to be doing anything anymore. She continued to vomit after we took her home, so I took her back to the vet who did bloodwork again and an ultrasound. The verdict this time was CRF. The vet gave us some K/D food, more Reglan, and Winstrol V, an anabolic steroid which sometimes helps stimulate the appetite.

Not long after this I found the CRF Support list, which I joined. I credit the incredible people on this list with saving Cleo's life. On the list I learned that low potassium can make a cat's hind legs weak; I'd already observed that Cleo was having trouble jumping onto things. So I got a potassium supplement, Tumil-K, from my vet.

I also learned that subcutaneous fluids, or subqs, could really help CRF cats feel better. My vet had mentioned these in passing, but never emphasized how much they could help, only said that she didn't think "Cleo was a good candidate for them". I pressed her to show me how to do them, anyway. While they didn't seem to have an effect at first, eventually they helped Cleo a great deal.

When my vet offered to refer me to an Internal Medicine specialist, the listmembers urged me to do it, and I did. I'd also started to research vomiting. When Cleo vomited, it was usually several hours after eating; it was large amounts; it was very dark, mostly digested food and liquid. I'd begun to suspect IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).

The IM thought Cleo was Hyperthyroid, but since she tested normal for it she wouldn't put her on Tapazole. Cleo continued to do terribly; not eating, vomiting, losing weight. At her lowest, this 12 pound cat weighed just a little over 5 pounds. At this point I brought up IBD with the IM, who agreed to try steroids (Dexamethasone).

The change was immediate and amazing. She stopped vomiting so much; she began to eat; and she began to put on weight. From this point on, Cleo began to do better. We began to call her Wondercat. The IM originally gave Cleo 6 months to live, and I was devastated. But now it looked like she could live a long time. Her CRF was just in the beginning stages.

It was about this time that Puss, my 16 year old cat, was diagnosed with CRF, too. Although her numbers were higher, she didn't have the problems Cleo had. In fact, I'd taken her in for bloodwork to get a "base", never suspecting that she was ill. We tried to give her fluids, but she resisted too much.

Cleo continued to do very well. By March, she weighed 8 pounds. But all of the sudden she began to have diarrhea. Once a week at first, but then more frequently. We finally gave her Flagyl, and she seemed fine. My parents came for a visit in April; they hadn't seen Cleo since before she became sick. They were amazed — if they didn't know all I'd been through, they would have never suspected that she was sick.

As soon as they left, Cleo became very ill, vomiting and diarrhea. She began to lose weight quickly. After an ultrasound, the diagnosis was Pancreatitis and possibly Lymphona. The vet prescribed Leukeran, a chemotherapy drug, but she wouldn't eat and couldn't keep anything down. After about a week and a half, she spiked a 105 fever one day. This made the cancer suspicion even stronger, but she rallied and for some reason her temperature came down.

Still, she was almost as skinny as she'd been in the beginning. Injectible Reglan finally controlled the vomiting, but despite massive doses of steroids, she no longer wanted to eat. Finally, I knew the time I'd dreaded had come. Just 2 weeks after my parents visited, on April 23, we put Cleo to sleep. She now lies under a rosebush in the backyard. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I've never regretted a single moment of her life. She gave me so much, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. She was 16.

My battle still continues with Puss. Puss has remained pretty stable, with a BUN in the low 60s and a Creatinine around 4.3. Her Phosphorus has begun to creep up, though, and after the addition of 2 kittens to our household, we've had to resort to Cypro to keep her eating. But it works — she's gained almost 2 pounds this year.

The best news is that we finally worked out a way to give her fluids in July. I'm now actually giving her fluids three times a week on my own, something I never thought I'd write. The trick for her was putting her on the bathroom counter, and holding her by the scruff of the neck.

Still, Puss is 17 (now 19). I know that she won't live forever. My gut feeling is that someday she'll develop a heart condition. But in the meantime I try to give her as much loving as possible (she lies on her little bed next to me as I write this), and I thank God for every day I have with her, and pray for her 18th (now 20th) birthday.

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