One of my cats has kidney disease.

He was diagnosed on Tuesday. It keeps hitting me over and over throughout the day. We have only had him almost 8 years. We brought him in from the street in 2016 before a hurricane, and I thought we would have him longer than this. I thought I could get him to at least age 16 or 18. But that will not be the case. We are devastated. And yes, he is a senior cat, but that doesn’t make it hurt less.

He has a big personality, and I am going to miss him terribly. Being told that his levels are not coming down after a week of fluids every day, was disappointing, and I wanted to break down right there. The majority of his kidney functions have stopped working. All of this happened so fast. Now, all we can do is try to get the levels down from home with subcutaneous fluids, and try to keep him comfortable until the time comes. I am heartbroken.

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beermeplease · M

i'm a cat dad myself and reading your post has put a tear in my eye. i am so sorry you're going through this. i had a cat that lived to 18. i hope my little one now (she's 2) lasts as long. i feel your pain as i will be heart broken if she goes early...

i am truly sorry you are going through this.

PoisonLace · 41-45, F

@beermeplease Please check out Jackson Galaxy on YouTube. He is a known cat behaviorist. His videos have been helping me understand more, and also the importance of feeding cats the right diet...such as wet food, as it is apparently better than dry, and will also keep them hydrated. He will also talk about which canned food not to feed them due to specific ingredients...but of course, he does not name the brands because of liability. This will be a step in the right direction to help your young kitty live a long, healthy life. It has been a long road for me, learning how to properly care for my pets. Unfortunately, we cannot save them all, but we can learn from our mistakes, and we can learn from them. I am definitely learning from my sick kitty, even though he is dying. It is breaking my heart, but I will take what I have from this experience and apply my knowledge to my other cat, and any future pets.

beermeplease · M

@PoisonLace thank you so much for thinking about me and telling me this. i will definitely check it out. you're a sweet heart...thank you 🫂

PoisonLace · 41-45, F

@beermeplease You're very welcome. I do anything I can from afar to help people. And Jackson Galaxy is an amazing source.