Bobcat's Kidney Diary: Day 2
Nov 14, '08 | 2149 Views | (0) Comments
Wednesday I went to the vet's office to pick up Bob's new kidney-diet food and to ask more questions about his treatment. Dr. S wasn't in, so I talked to Dr. F. He described some of the possible causes of Bob's kidney disease (birth defect, an illness, antifreeze poisoning), but we agreed that the important thing now was to get busy treating it.
Dr. F went over Bob's blood test results with me in detail, and recommended that Bob's urine be tested also. This matched what I'd read about feline kidney disease diagnosis, and certainly made sense since it's apparently one of the easiest ways to see how well the kidneys were functioning. I made an appointment to drop Bob off on Monday for this test — a relief to me, since I had no idea how I would get a urine sample!
We discussed his new food and how much to give him, and I asked what symptoms I should watch for: in order of appearance, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy. Dr. F also recommended follow-up blood tests in two and four weeks.
Finally I asked how Bob's lifespan would be affected. "Shortened," Dr. F said, but pointed out that it was impossible to tell by how much. Kidney disease usually occurs in older cats, so those cats are already facing fewer years remaining. Bob still looks and acts like the young kitty he is, so I'm feeling positive about his prognosis, and am determined not to worry about it.
On the way home from the vet's office, I purchased a bathroom scale to use in monitoring Bob's weight. I do regret not having taken this step in July, when his weight was a pound less than at his previous year's checkup. On Wednesday evening he weighed exactly nine pounds.
One very good development: Bob loves his new dry food! He snarfed it up like he was eating gourmet, and snapped up bits that hubby tossed for him to chase. I hope he likes his new canned food as well as he likes this.
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This post is part of a series. Past entries can be found on BethW's page at KC Pets.
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