After months of having no interest in food (except kibble, occasionally), Indy’s appetite came back right after one subcut.
Just one.
I had been handfeeding (it is actually force feeding) Indy for months now, not knowing that the inappetence was a sign of kidney disease. he had no other symptoms. He wasn’t dehydrated at all and he was still his very active self. The thing is, he just did not want to eat any wet food, but he would eat kibble.
Indy had always been the kibble king all his life even though I converted everyone to a raw diet in September 2019. He was eating well until about 6-7 months ago this year when he did not want to eat wet food anymore. I thought it was a case of being mengada-ngada, which he can be. And since I could handfeed him, why not, right? He willingly eats the food when I place the blobs in his mouth. And that would be so much faster than offering various kinds of food and waiting for him to decide what he wants. And I did not want to give in to his demands for kibble, so I chose to handfeed him.
Maybe the kidney deterioration started then. I did not know.
And I often check his hydration with the pinch test and he was very well hydrated.
Now I know. Prolonged refusal to eat certain foods could be a sign of kidney disease too.
Indy was having bouts of vomiting last year as well, but all that had stopped. I called it his “morning sickness” because the vomiting would only happen after breakfast. At one time, he could only eat baby food in the mornings. This was the only food he could retain but he could eat raw food later in the day. And this morning vomiting was probably due to some gastro-intestinal issue which Indy had always had all his life.
But again, that’s in the past.
Now is what matters.
Indy is diagnosed with Stage 3 kidney degeneration last week, based on his blood test readings and the ultrasound scans of both kidneys. There is structural degeneration on both his kidneys.
So far, that one subcut has done wonders for his appetite and wellbeing. It gives me hope. What matters now is that he feels better. We know we cannot stop the kidney structural degeneration. Nobody can. Even in humans, dialysis or a kidney transplant is needed. For cats, the closest we have to dialysis is the subcut. Kidney transplants are not available here.
I’m offering a few types of food here for Indy to choose.
He preferred the Cubgrub CKD Chicken. Smart boy!