Today was Cleo and Indy’s appointment which is the check-up after 10 days of being on the CKD regimen.
The result, in short: Cleo has maintained her readings while Indy has shown improvement.
I was really hoping both would have shown improvement, but Cleo has been having CKD since September 2019 so she’s been living with it for 4 years now. So, it is understandable that once it progresses, deterioration will set in, sooner or later. There is really no escape from CKD once it starts. It’s just a happen of how fast it progresses.
The vet said on the average, a CKD cat will have a remaining lifespan of about 2-3 years after diagnosis. But this also depends on what stage the cat is at upon diagnosis.
Cleo’s readings:
Creatinine: From 467 to 430 (insignificant change)
Urea: From 24.7 to 22.8 (also insignificant)
Phosphate: 1.55 (normal)
Blood PCV: From 27% to 25% (drop) – starts on Darbepoetin today, then weekly.
Treatment: Continue with the oral supplements. Subcut 175ml and 200ml, alternately. Monitor breathing. Darbepoetin jab weekly and monitor PCV.
The vet checked her heart today and it sounds fine, so the fluids have not affected the heart. Sometimes, too much fluids can be bad for the heart.
Indy’s readings:
Creatinine: From 573 to 455 (significant improvement)
Urea: From 36.8 to 23.5 (significant)
Phosphate: 1.90 (normal)
Blood PCV: From 28% to 25% (drop) – starts on Darbepoetin today, then weekly.
Treatment: Continue with the oral supplements. Subcut 200ml daily. Darbepoetin jab weekly and monitor PCV.
The vet checked his heart and it’s fine too.
So, that’s that in a nutshell.
On the brighter side, at least Cleo managed to maintain her readings (there’s actually a slight improvement, but it’s insignificant). It did not become worse. Hopefully with time, it might improve a little?
Indy’s improved significantly and this is probably his CKD just started. But even then, it was already Stage 3 and there’s shrinkage in both his kidneys already.
We’ve had 3 kidney patients who have left us now. It started with Vincent, who was already in a bad state when diagnosed. From diagnosis until departure, it was about 8 months. Pole’s was 1.5 years. Bunny’s was CKD plus lymphoma and he went on for 4 years after diagnosis.
Chronic kidney disease is a nightmare for cat parents. There is no cure for it, only supportive management. And yet, CKD is quite common in geriatric cats.
Look at Akira hounding Indy, waiting for scraps. Sometimes, I even have to cage her because she has no qualms snatching renal kibble from the seniors.
Meanwhile, the renal food that I’m trying to get Cleo and Indy to eat are: Cubgrub’s CKD Chicken, Hill’s KD (canned) and RC’s renal kibble.
Their supplements are: Renal-N and Astro’s Oil’s package. And of course, subcut fluids.
Cleo and Indy do not know they are sick. What matters is their wellbeing and so far, both are active, alert and as normal as any other cat. I do not think they are in any pain or discomfort.