CRF Kitty with hypertension

I just brought Molly, my CRF kitty back from the vet's. She's been doing
reasonably well with her CRF but over the weekend she started eating less
and seemed a bit wobbly. Today she actually fell over several times while
trying to navigate around and seemed very weak. Needless to say, I panicked
and we were off to the vet. Her bloodwork was actually not too bad--her BUN
is 51, Creatinine 3.0, Phosphorus is normal (5.0mg/dl) and her glucose,
which was low in December, is normal at 89 mg/dl. The kidney values are
actually a little less than they were in December. Everything else was
normal. The main finding is high blood pressure--average is 220 and the vet
said she's probably having mini-strokes.

My vet is trying her out on 1/2 cc amlodipine (0.625mg/ml) b.i.d. and I'm
taking her in for a recheck in a week if she does okay. The vet said to
keep to her routine as far as fluids (100ml sub-Q every other day) and
Potassium supplementation (Tumil-K powder 1/4 tsp bid).

Anyone out there with experience with hypertensive cats? What to expect?
Treatment? Long term prognosis? Am I over-reacting?

Molly has been through a lot and she really doesn't need this in her life!
She was a perfect patient today--everyone just loves her because she never
complains about anything. She just sits there and allows the vet staff to
do whatever they need her to do.

I'm going through quite a bit of stress in various areas of my life right
now and potentially losing Molly is added a LOT of stress.

Thanks for listening.
Bonnie

On Feb 13, 11:00 pm, "22brix" wrote:

Thanks for listening.
Bonnie

I don't have any experience with CRF, just wanted to congratulate you
on your new little friend! A KITTEN! Weeeeee

Did you get her from a shelter? What color is she and stuff Bonnie

now I have to go look up CRF, see what you're dealing with.

my Best

Barry

On Feb 13, 11:00 pm, "22brix" wrote:

Thanks for listening.
Bonnie

oh, chronic kidney failure... you're an angel to take a kitten.

Here is a large support group, http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/
Feline-CRF-Support/

it says sometimes they get up to 100 new messages per day.. woo woo

I'll stay tuned, maybe you end up telling about the treatments and how
well your kitty responds to the treatments.

Barry

http://tinyurl.com/2hsjnf

"Barry" wrote in message
ups.com...
http://tinyurl.com/2hsjnf


Barry,

Thanks for the link--I haven't seen that one yet. Molly is an old lady
kitty. We don't know old she is but close to 18. We've had her for about 9
years. She is the most laid back cat I think I've ever seen. We used to
take her on vacation with us--she doesn't mind the car ride at all. She
just curls up and goes to sleep in her carrier. She's just a little
thing--a little over 6 pounds. I have to give her sub-cutaneous fluids for
her kidney disease and she just purrs. I love her to pieces.

Thanks for responding!
Bonnie

My thoughts are with you. I know how tough this is.

I have a CRF cat and he also has hypertension. He's on a different
medication though - Lotensin, just started a couple of months ago. I don't
know if it's helping or not. He's due to have the full work up at the vets
again next month. He does look and act a little healthier to me. It's hard
to say. Although it appeared to me his appetite improved after starting it,
he has still continued to lose weight. He's just over 5 lbs.

He's an old guy too. Probably 18, not sure as he was a stray, but they
thought he could be 10 or 11 when I found him nearly 8 years ago.



"22brix" wrote in message
...
I just brought Molly, my CRF kitty back from the vet's. She's been doing
reasonably well with her CRF but over the weekend she started eating less
and seemed a bit wobbly. Today she actually fell over several times while
trying to navigate around and seemed very weak. Needless to say, I
panicked and we were off to the vet. Her bloodwork was actually not too
bad--her BUN is 51, Creatinine 3.0, Phosphorus is normal (5.0mg/dl) and her
glucose, which was low in December, is normal at 89 mg/dl. The kidney
values are actually a little less than they were in December. Everything
else was normal. The main finding is high blood pressure--average is 220
and the vet said she's probably having mini-strokes.

My vet is trying her out on 1/2 cc amlodipine (0.625mg/ml) b.i.d. and I'm
taking her in for a recheck in a week if she does okay. The vet said to
keep to her routine as far as fluids (100ml sub-Q every other day) and
Potassium supplementation (Tumil-K powder 1/4 tsp bid).

Anyone out there with experience with hypertensive cats? What to expect?
Treatment? Long term prognosis? Am I over-reacting?

Molly has been through a lot and she really doesn't need this in her life!
She was a perfect patient today--everyone just loves her because she never
complains about anything. She just sits there and allows the vet staff to
do whatever they need her to do.

I'm going through quite a bit of stress in various areas of my life right
now and potentially losing Molly is added a LOT of stress.

Thanks for listening.
Bonnie

On 14 Feb, 10:12, "Moongal" wrote:
My thoughts are with you. I know how tough this is.

I have a CRF cat and he also has hypertension. He's on a different
medication though - Lotensin, just started a couple of months ago. I don't
know if it's helping or not. He's due to have the full work up at the vets
again next month. He does look and act a little healthier to me. It's hard
to say. Although it appeared to me his appetite improved after starting it,
he has still continued to lose weight. He's just over 5 lbs.

He's an old guy too. Probably 18, not sure as he was a stray, but they
thought he could be 10 or 11 when I found him nearly 8 years ago.

"22brix" wrote in message

...



I just brought Molly, my CRF kitty back from the vet's. She's been doing
reasonably well with her CRF but over the weekend she started eating less
and seemed a bit wobbly. Today she actually fell over several times while
trying to navigate around and seemed very weak. Needless to say, I
panicked and we were off to the vet. Her bloodwork was actually not too
bad--her BUN is 51, Creatinine 3.0, Phosphorus is normal (5.0mg/dl) and her
glucose, which was low in December, is normal at 89 mg/dl. The kidney
values are actually a little less than they were in December. Everything
else was normal. The main finding is high blood pressure--average is 220
and the vet said she's probably having mini-strokes.

My vet is trying her out on 1/2 cc amlodipine (0.625mg/ml) b.i.d. and I'm
taking her in for a recheck in a week if she does okay. The vet said to
keep to her routine as far as fluids (100ml sub-Q every other day) and
Potassium supplementation (Tumil-K powder 1/4 tsp bid).

Anyone out there with experience with hypertensive cats? What to expect?
Treatment? Long term prognosis? Am I over-reacting?

Molly has been through a lot and she really doesn't need this in her life!
She was a perfect patient today--everyone just loves her because she never
complains about anything. She just sits there and allows the vet staff to
do whatever they need her to do.

I'm going through quite a bit of stress in various areas of my life right
now and potentially losing Molly is added a LOT of stress.

Thanks for listening.
Bonnie- Hide quoted text -

Hi Bonnie,
so sorry to hear about your Kittie. I had a cat called Jasper who
suffered with the same problems too, so I understand the stress
involved & the worry and heartache associated as well.
She sounds a real Sweetie Pie and so gentle. Jasper was of a similar
disposition, & I found that it helped to talk to others that had
similar problems with their cats, because I truely feel that you need
to go through it to appreciate how hard life can be caring for a cat
with all those special needs. Most people don't realise what it
involves, so it is hard to discuss it with people who don't
understand.
I have tried to complied a list of links that you might find useful
( or at least I hope that they will!!)
It would be wonderful to see a photo of Kittie if you have one to
share with us when you get time? Thanks a bunch,
Sheelagh x
PS: sending soothing purrs for Kittie too

http://www.felinecrf.org/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FelineCRF/
http://cats.about.com/od/kidneydisea...ey_Disease.htm
http://www.feline-crf-support.org/
http://www.catster.com/group/grp_page.php?g=1258

"Moongal" wrote in message
news:8gBAh.992271$R63.879379@pd7urf1no...
My thoughts are with you. I know how tough this is.

I have a CRF cat and he also has hypertension. He's on a different
medication though - Lotensin, just started a couple of months ago. I
don't know if it's helping or not. He's due to have the full work up at
the vets again next month. He does look and act a little healthier to me.
It's hard to say. Although it appeared to me his appetite improved after
starting it, he has still continued to lose weight. He's just over 5 lbs.

He's an old guy too. Probably 18, not sure as he was a stray, but they
thought he could be 10 or 11 when I found him nearly 8 years ago.


Thanks for your reply! How did you discover he had high blood pressure?
Was it found during a regular vet visit or was he showing other symptoms?
Was he ever wobbly or unsteady on his feet? Molly has been losing and
gaining weight since she was diagnosed with CRF last summer--sometimes her
appetite is good, other times it's pretty poor but this was something
totally different.

I tend to panic with her since she's so old and has so many problems--I'm
afraid each time I take her to the vet that she's finally reached the point
where we have to euthanize her.

Good luck with your little guy--he's tiny and I though Molly was small!

Thanks again,
Bonnie

on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:56:18 GMT, "22brix"
wrote:

I tend to panic with her since she's so old and has so many
problems--I'm afraid each time I take her to the vet that she's
finally reached the point where we have to euthanize her.

I don't blame you for panicking. I am the same way with my animals. You
are doing everything right for her, and that's all you can do. I hope she
will be okay, Bonnie.

--
Lynne

Thanks for your reply! How did you discover he had high blood pressure?
Was it found during a regular vet visit or was he showing other symptoms?
Was he ever wobbly or unsteady on his feet? Molly has been losing and
gaining weight since she was diagnosed with CRF last summer--sometimes her
appetite is good, other times it's pretty poor but this was something
totally different.

I tend to panic with her since she's so old and has so many problems--I'm
afraid each time I take her to the vet that she's finally reached the
point where we have to euthanize her.

Good luck with your little guy--he's tiny and I though Molly was small!

Thanks again,
Bonnie

It was discovered when he had his last checkup and bloodwork done. His
appetite was definately poorer. He has also been unsteady on his feet at
times too.

I understand the panicing. I do it too. The vet is making a lot of money
off of me I also have this general anxiety about him getting worse
because I know at some point he's going to get worse.

I wish you well with Molly too! She's lucky to have you.