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When To Let Go?

© Stacey Monfils

My cat is dying and I am powerless to stop it. "Beastie Boy," a/k/a "Fat Boy," "Boy Boy," "Mama's Boy," "THE Boy," and most recently, "Fat Boy Slim," was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure (kidney disease) approximately 6 months ago. Having once been a large 16 pounds, he began losing weight about a year and a half ago. Six months earlier we had changed the type of food we were feeding the cats to a less active formula, so we attributed the weight loss to that fact. However, he began to look "not right" to me so I took him to see Steve, our vet.

Steve took one look at him and felt his underbelly. "Hmmm," he said as he was feeling around. "How old is he?" "Eleven," I answered growing more anxious by the minute. Having had many cats examined by Steve over the course of 16 years, I knew the difference between a good "Hmmm" and a bad one. After a barrage of questions, he quickly said to me that he was sure it was kidney disease. "They don't feel right," he said. He wanted to do a few tests to rule out other diseases but he seemed pretty set on his initial diagnosis.

A week later he called to say that it was most definitely kidney disease. He advised us on a special diet and to watch him carefully.

He also explained that nothing could be done for him.

After reading up on the disease I found that chronic kidney failure is a relatively common illness in both cats and dogs. Although it can occur in young animals, it is more predominant in the older pet.

The kidneys' function is waste product removal. The digestion of food results in the production of waste products. Blood containing these waste products, as well as water and minerals, specifically phosphorus, is taken to the kidney to be removed in the urine.

Diseased kidneys are no longer able to efficiently remove these waste products. The toxins accumulate in the blood and produce some of the clinical signs of the disease such as poor appetite, weight loss, increased thirst, and vomiting. The kidneys also become unable concentrate urine as they cannot reabsorb as much water back into the bloodstream. This eventually leads to dehydration and more dilute urine being produced.

Diet is important for a cat with kidney disease. A diet lower in protein can help reduce unwanted waste products. The protein provided needs to be of high quality to minimize waste and ensure that the amino acids are provided in proportion to the cat's needs. Steve also explained that the level of phosphorus in the diet needs to be reduced in order to slow the progression of the disease. Steve recommnded we begin feeding Beastie Boy a high-quality canned food at least three times a day. He also advised us to stay away from foods containing onion powder or onion salt. The smallest amount of either two of these ingredients may induce anemia in a cat.

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