Indy is on daily 225ml subcut, Cleo is on daily 175-200ml subcut and both are on Renal-N and Astro’s Oil’s fish oil and nitrogen-creatinine scrub. I started the Astro’s package on 19th September 2023, the moment I received the stock. So it’s coming to almost a month now.
But from the blood test readings, I don’t think anything is helping Cleo’s case much. Granted, she has been having CKD for more than four years now. So the disease would have progressed over the years and it is already at Stage 3 now, with proteinuria. She is also on Semintra for this.
Both of them are also on Amlodipine as both have high blood pressure.
As for Indy, his CKD came as a total surprise to me because there were no symptoms at all. It was during his annual (actually just 11 months after his previous check-up) that the CKD was discovered and it is also already at Stage 3. Indy’s hypertension also came as a total surprise to me. Again, there were no symptoms at all. But then again, what ARE the symptoms of hypertension in a cat, right? They hide pain so well.
But I think the supplements and subcut is doing Indy some good because his readings are gradually improving and Indy has no proteinuria yet.
Now, giving the supplements has become stressful for Cleo now. She doesn’t like any of it and I cannot open her mouth either. She refuses to lick the oil too. So I end up having to rub the oil on her mouth with the hope that she would eventually lick it all up. Then, for the powders, I have to mix it with Ciao paste and also rub it all over her mouth. This makes her mouth very “dirty” and sometimes the paste gets caked up. Poor Cleo. Cats like to be clean, so I have to wipe it all up after a few hours. I give it a few hours so that she can lick up whatever that’s left around her mouth, so I honestly doubt all of it gets in.
Seeing how stressful it is and how the supplements aren’t really making a significant difference to her condition, I am going to play it by ear and perhaps reduce the amount so that it reduces the stress on her.
Stress kills, we know this.
But Cleo’s SRR (sleeping respiratory rate) is good. It is only 20. So she can take up to 200ml subcut but I alternate this with 175ml.
Too much subcut fluids can also be taxing on the heart for elderly cats, hence the SRR must be taken once or twice a week.
We’re in this together, Indy and Cleo.
Chronic kidney disease, along with various terminal illnesses that afflict animals, are something we never wish on any animal and their parents. Yet, sometimes, they are inevitable because no living creature escapes aging, sickness and the eventual death. Everyone dies. So what matters is the time they have with us.
Make that time count. Make them happy.
The good thing with animals is that they do not know they are “sick”. There is no such concept for them. They might experience pain and discomfort, but they do not know what “sickness” (or for that matter, “death”) means.
I am thankful that the vets at the clinic I go to priortise pain management. That is the right thing to do. There are painkillers that we can give them or supplements to make them more comfortable so that they can live out their days in peace, comfort and serenity.
That is the mortality of life. And our purpose in life is to bring some comfort and happiness to others.