More Pieces of Pearl
Thank you so much to everyone who left us a comment yesterday. I say "us" because yesterday John took time out to read my post and the comments. "Wow, " he told me, "the people commenting on your blog are really nice." I couldn't agree more. Y'all are awesome and you made us feel a lot better today -- even if I did get tears in my eyes reading most of the comments as they showed up in my mailbox. I really appreciated hearing about all of your stories and shared feelings about this kind of experience. I think my favorite blog posts are the ones where I touch on something that really cuts across many lines and gets people to share their own experiences. Thank you again and thank you thank you thank you.
As it turns out, today was a much better day for Sydney. He was a lot more active and actually ate some real food. He did some very normal Sydney sort of things and even jumped up on the counter (where he is not supposed to be) which he hadn't done since the weekend. So for the time being, we think that most of our cat is still with us. Only time will tell if this is just a temporary reprieve or a suggestion that he might have a little longer than we think. John has been looking for some low potassium, low protein food for Sydney and we are still trying to decide about the sub-cutaneous fluids.
It was a pretty good day for the humans, too. I had a good day at work and ended it with a trip to Frontera Grill for my favorite margarita, the best ceviche in Chicago and some extraordinary guacamole. We topped it off with a couple of mojitos (mojitos done Frontera style with tequila instead of rum) and some wonderful chocolate-Kahlua poundcake with a mocha cheesecake ice cream, blood oranges and a bit of a chocolate sauce. There should have been pictures, but I was too busy stuffing my face full of goodies to remember my camera.
And a bit of knitting can be reported on, too. On the first official knit-a-long day for the Pearl Buck Swing Jacket, I can report that I have made some more progress: no more Sleeve Island for me!
I thought about casting on for the back, but went for the right front piece instead so that I can block all of the small peices together (I've pinned them down but still haven't given them a good soaking yet). So far, this is a pleasant, easy cruising project, and I still haven't discovered any errors in the size I'm making. I'm so looking forward to having a new sweater in my collection as spring weather draws closer.
For what it's worth, my mom's old siamese was diagnosed with kidney failure at age 15. With oral medication and sub-cutaneous fluids, he lived to the ripe old age of 19, when he died peacefully in his sleep.
I'm so happy to hear that your little guy seems to have perked up. Yours is the first blog I clicked on in bloglines this morning so I could check on Syd!
I love the ceviche at Frontera!! (Even though I've only had it once there, it's the best ceviche I've had.) Do you ever try Topolobampo too?
I'm glad Sydney had a good day yesterday. I guess you just have to go with the flow with all of this and see what happens. I'm sure that's frustrating.
Hiya. I've been reading your blog for awhile, loving the Pearl Buck... but (typical me) I'm de-lurking here for the sake of your cat... Here's a great website with a lot of info about CRF. http://www.felinecrf.org/ I encourage you to try the fluids. It's the best thing you can do for Sydney, and you might be surprised at how he takes it. Kitties are smart, they realize pretty quickly that some of the odd stuff we do to them actually makes them feel better. Best wishes, whatever you decide.
Best wishes that your furbaby will have more good days to share with you. Having gone through a similar situation, I know how painful it is to see a beloved "pet" (read family member) suffer. You and John are great! Hope the spinning helped.
I am SO happy to hear that Sydney responded well to the fluids. My thoughts are with you Theresa, and those pieces of Pearl are lovely! It's on my to-do list too, and I think I even have the perfect yarn already, so you are inspiring me to finish my current sweater so I can "move on" to other things! :)
I am so glad to hear about Sydney! We too have an old guy that we worry about. Please tell Sydney what I keep telling Ed: hang in there, warmer weather is coming!
Yay Sydney!! Counter cruising definitely indicates interest in life. :)
Mmmmm... Frontera's on my list of places to eat at next time I'm in Chicago... Is 7:45 am too early to crave a margarita?!
Just want to reinforce what others have said about subcutaneous fluid. Some friends told me that in the last year of their cat's life, when the kidney failure got bad, their kitty came to accept the poke & hydrate ritual. My cat gets fiesty when I poke her, but she always feels so much better afterwards that I just have to take a firm "Mommy knows best" attitude. Bon courage!
I had my Aldo for 21 yrs. Many times he stopped eating, I was told might have kidney failure, on and on. I asked my vet for a small dose steriod for the worst of times. I would give him 1/2 a pill and his appetite would pick up, he's show interest in life and we'd be off again. Don't give up. You'll know when it's right.
Little Gidget was on subcutaneous fluids for her last 6 months. I had a harder time adjusting to poking her with that big honking needle than she did. I found it to be a two person manuever, it was easier to have Dan hold her and feed her chicken while I did the nursing stuff. Buy a small amount of the renal cat food if you can--reportedly it doesn't taste very good and not accepted well, which is why I never used a kidney diet with my dog.
I've done the SubQ fluids too, on a sick dachshund, and it really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I think he did realize pretty quickly that he felt better after getting the fluids.
Will keep thinking about Syd........
About Sydney - I had a cat with the same problem. Sadly, he died just a week ago, but that partly my fault. What I wanted to tell you is that he should have died a year ago, but I found a fabulous vet - Chinese - who practices a different kind of veterinary medicine. He did not give sub-cutaneous fluids (my regular vet did). I think he worried about edema. He gave my Mango some special capsules filled with Chinese herbs and some potassium to counteract the effects (weakness) of the dehydration. If Sydney is not too far along in his kidney failure, this may help him. I would suggest starting your search for this type of vet immediately. Mango also hated all kinds of treatments and before I found Dr. Wen (not in your area) I also felt I could only do so much without making the end of his life miserable. The capsules Dr. Wen gave me were easy, because instead of pilling Mango, I could empty the capsules on wet food along with the powdered potassium. (He never got wet food before, so he gobbled it up!) The effects were nearly immediate and we had one more lovely year with him. I think he would still be with us, but I decided my daughter (whose cat he actually was) should take over medicating him as I was dealing with many, many other things (Mother, dogs, other cats, other children) and I thought it would be a good lesson in responsibility. (Sounds good, right?) I would remind her and she would remember sometimes, and forget sometimes - school schedules, homework. He seemed fine for quite a while, and then he suddenly crashed so hard we couldn't bring him back. He had missed much more meds than I realized when I went over it with the vet. I tell you this primarily because I think these herbs are miraculous and that Mango would still be here and happy if we hadn't screwed up. I hope you can find the same for Sydney. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. I gave you my email address.
By the way, all his regular dry food was Prescription Diet for cats with kidney problems. I'm sure you can get in canned for giving the medicine as well. You can only get this from your vet. But he loved this, too.
I wish you lots of luck. We'll be thinking about and hoping for Sydney!
I'm so glad to hear that he had a good day! Here's hoping for many more.
I'm glad Sydney has perked up - I know how difficult this is.
And you jacket is looking wonderful! I can't wait to see her all together.
I am SO glad Syndey is acting better. See what fluids can do??
If you can find Hills Science diet k/d, it is low ash and low potassium. Made for kidney issues. Sydney may start feeling nauseus and vomit-ask your vet, but mine told me to give her 1/4 of a 10mg Pepcid every so often. It helps lower the acidy stomach that makes them ill (from the toxins floating around as kidneys can't work well). Did your vet give you a potassium binder (Amphogel, etc), or will you all wait to see what the fluid do??
I have to admit that I got a huge lump in my throat when I read your entry yesterday. Today's more positive note gives hope that perhaps the right combination of meds and food will help. Our furry friends become such a part of lives. Here's to a lot more wonderful days with Sydney.
If it helps...my late Teddy E wumpkins had kidney failure at ~11 yrs. He was rescued at ~9 yrs from a breeder out of control. He had probably spent much of his life in a cage, had not been handled much, had atrophied muscles, didn't know how to jump, play or purr. But that is not the story I want to tell. After I had him for several yrs he would sit on my lap (purr and play) but I could never pick him up. So when he was diagnosed with kidney failure we made a deal, I would give him subcutaneous fluids and ruin 15 mins of his day as long as the rest of his day was happy. I used a kitty control bag (Klaw Kontrol Bag from Drs foster and smith), which he liked (better than us sitting on him). We kept him going for more than a year when he decided he had enough and I kept my promise. Now I have Jester who is even worse and I know there is no way I can medicate him ever (the last pill I think I gave him involved my blood, a 10 cm rip in the couch and me covered in cat pee)
I've been so busy at work I haven't had time to read blogs very throughly. I'm so sorry for what your going through with your kitty. My friend just went through smoething similar, at several times they thought they were going to lose their kitty Honda, he's only 1 1/2. It's still not sure, he's had several bouts of illness, so they too may have to make that decision. It's a very hard decision to make. My thoughts are with you guys. Spinning definitely will help with the meditation.
I'm so happy Sydney has rallied!! I hope he has many, many more!
Pumpkin and I will keep sending postive thoughts since clealy they've done the trick :)
Good news. Our thoughts are with you.
The swing jacket is looking lovely!
Best wishes for your cat.
I too, am a Chicagoan working away on the Pearl Buck sweater. I started with the back (done), Yoke is done, left front is done. Very easygoing project. Enjoy!
Good luck with Sydney! Our pets become such an important part of our families, and it hurts to see them sick. I'm a dog person so I don't have any cat suggestions but it looks like you've gotten some good tips so far. Hopefully something will work out.
I'm so glad to hear that Sydney is doing better. Hang in there!
I glad Sydney is feeling better. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I'm looking forward to seeing Pearl all done.
Oh! I'm so sad to read your last post! I'm pulling for your little meow mixer, my cats, Chuck, Little Dude, Gladys and Guy are also sending him good thoughts. We're very happy to hear he's feeling better.
Oh, and that's the biggest blocking board I've ever seen. Yikes!
Hey there- give the subcutaneous fluids a try. It's not that hard and it's usually tolerated very well by kitties. If it's not, at least you gave it a try. You will absolutely "know" when the time is right, I am not sure how, but you will, have faith. My meow has been on the k/d for a long time and is doing well. His disease is not as serious as Sydney's, but he's been in failure a long time now. You're all in my thoughts.
Excellent, Sydney! I hope he continues to get better.