29 September 2010

Cat on Dialysis?



Suddenly EJ's eyes opened at 4am and what came to the mind was Tortie. 
Something's not quite right with Tortie. EJ got up to check on him and saw him drinking water. He then walked to the meow-walk to sleep. 

EJ started to clean the meow toilet. It took a long while because the cats got that weird habit, 'hey, let's clear whatever we have in our belly to give work to our human servant now'. EJ had to wait for them to finish one by one before cleaning and then went back to bed.

Waking up a little later than normal, EJ realised the usual morning call did not happen. For years every morning, Tortie would scream on top of his voice, clamber on the grill and shake it, making such a racket that EJ had no choice but to get up.

Noticing that Tortie is losing weight, EJ decided that he had to see his vet.

Three doctors worked on him during his physical examination including urine test. Extracting his blood was tough and took some time as Tortie protested. 

Diagnosis was chronic kidney disease. Now we have to wait for the results of the blood test to confirm it.

Once confirmed, Tortie had to go for dialysis, either daily or on an alternate day basis. EJ has to learn how to do it.
PS: Sorry, not dialysis but fluid therapy which is something like dialysis for humans.

25 comments:

Drunk On Books And Adventure said...

Poor Tortie! Dialysis hurts and I can't imagine what it'll be like for a cat to have go through that! Blackie and Yin send lots of purrs and head-butts to Tortie & also EJ.

Linens and Royals said...

That sounds serious, cats do seem to have lots of kidney trouble. How old is Tortie? I will be looking for updates on Tortie's condition and how you are managing the dialysis. Please keep well, a lot of cats depend on you.

Boom Nisanart said...

We send lots of purrs to Tortie. And We wish his condition is not too bad.We looking forward to hear his results...Best of luck !

Ginger said...

I had 3 cats who had kidney failure and it was heartbreaking

Old Kitty said...

Oh sweet Tortie! :-( Me and Charlie are so so so sad!! Please be better, please be brave and please hang on! We are purring and purring for you! Take care
x

lupie said...

Please be well soon Tortie!

I pray it is not CKD. I hope it is something like bacterial infection that can be treated with antibiotic.

I seriously do not want to see Tortie suffer!!

Please keep us posted.

Give Tortie a big hug for me! And rest of the kitties send their purrs!

Brian's Home Blog said...

Purrs sweet Tortie from me and my sisters, we hope you are managing fine.

Kay L. Davies said...

Poor Tortie to have such a dreadful condition.
Lucky Tortie to have such a devoted human. Most people wouldn't even dream of doing dialysis for a cat.

And isn't it amazing how answers will come in the middle of the night even if we don't know the question?

Thinking of you, EJ, and of dear Tortie.

-- Kay and my dog Lindy
Alberta, Canada

Boo-Bah AKA Iris said...

Tortie you hang in there. My cat who lived to be 21 years, had kidney problems for many years but did very well with fluid therapy. We send lots of purrs and snuggles to you. You are such a pretty cat.

GRAÇA said...

Espero que o resultados das analises, não seja nesseçario fazer dialise...isso deve de ser muito bera fazer !!!umumum....
Ronronzinhos da Kika

Annie Bear said...

I'm so sorry to hear this about dear Tortie. I don't know if you were following my blog when I had Bucky, but I had gave him fluids daily and now do the same for Simba. If there's anything I can help with or and advice or info, I would be happy to help. Please know that this is not a death sentence. Oral water intake works just as well in a CRF cat as it did before CRF. The problem for cats with CRF is not that plain water doesn't work anymore, the
problem is in the amount of water needed. Cats with CRF don't concentrate their urine as well. That means every time they pee, they pee out more water than in
health. So they have to drink more to make up the difference. In early stages, they can do that. Eventually most can't so they need subQ fluids. Once you start doing it at home, the best thing you can do is warm up the water (you place the fluid bag in a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes). I've found that the vets don't always tell you about this and it makes a big difference for the comfort of the kitty.

ManekiNeko said...

I'm so sorry to read about Tortie's kidney woes, but it's really wonderful to read the amount of information and advice your other fans and cat-lovers are leaving here. I hope you and Tortie get all the support you need. My heart is with you!

Kilauea Poetry said...

This one reminds me of one I had once (Downy)..my friend went through the same too with hers. (Lol) got to love the litter box humor!
Wishing Tortie well though-and for the funds:)

We love Luna said...

Oh gosh, it really looks serious.I'm sending love and good energies for you and the sweet Tortie, I believe that everything will be okay.
Luna - We love Luna

Hannah and Lucy said...

We are sending special purrs to sweet Tortie.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

Marg said...

Poor Tortie, but our assistant has had lots of kitties with renal failure. And if they get their fluids regularly, Tortie will do just fine. You just put the needle under the skin which is not easy but doable. We send tons of purrs to Tortie and hope that she feels better soon.

The Chair Speaks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Tortie
WE are sure that EJ will learn how to make you feel so much better.

purrin
xo
Abby

cats of wildcat woods said...

Our Chica has renal failure too but getting fluids helps her a lot. Tortie will feel better after fluids. We are glad you noticed and wen to the vet.

Ashkarya said...

Oh nooooo! Poor Tortie. All the best to you both. :-( My sis' cat was diagnosed with FIV. It was very nerve-wracking for both the humans and cat. She's never returned to her normal self and is now on medication. The cat.

Kat said...

Poor Tortie. I do hope he gets well soon. Hope you didn't have any problem with the dialysis.

meowmeowmans said...

We are purring and praying for Tortie.

Catherine said...

Poor kitty ~ not fun! I hope everything turns out OK!

xo Catherine

lupie said...

Sending love to Tortie.

We are sad that it is a confirmed CKD. Then again it is always better to be diagnosed and move towards the right path.

Hugs to all ...

Kisses to Tortie, we hope the first fluid therapy will be smooth and not too uncomfortable for him.

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

OH!NO!