u/IndoorCat13

Hi everyone. My cat Valerie is 10 and was recently diagnosed with CKD after losing about 700g within a month. She was hospitalised on IV fluids for 72hours. Her creatinine was 361 on admission and came down to 224 after fluids. About five days after coming home it had risen back to 337, although her phosphorus and potassium are now normal.

The confusing part is that clinically she is actually doing really well when she isn’t constipated. She’s bright, affectionate, active, interested in food and generally very much herself. Yesterday she ate well all day and this morning ate a normal breakfast without needing her anti-nausea medication.

The big ongoing problem is constipation. She’s on Actilax/lactulose twice daily. We’ve also discovered she gets the dose much more reliably mixed into a small amount of food than when we syringe it into her mouth.

She had a Microlax enema earlier this week and went back to the vet today for two more, as two enemas an hour apart have worked for her in the past (constipation has been a problem for her the past couple of years on and off, but it was the recurrence of it that let us to discover her kidney diagnosis). She has passed some stool and diarrhoea today and the vet thinks everything is softening. If she still can’t clear everything herself, the next option they’ve mentioned is a more thorough enema/manual clearance under general anaesthetic. I’m a little hesitant about putting her through a GA unless it’s genuinely necessary.

My thinking at the moment is that I’d really like to get her colon properly cleared and establish a comfortable baseline, then see whether we can prevent this happening again rather than continually treating constipation crises. They’ve sent her home with cisapride to try, along with the actilax. I’m also going to try HydraCare to help boost her hydration.

I also have an appointment with a cat-only clinic on Monday for a second opinion on her overall CKD management and quality-of-life outlook.

I’m very conscious that CKD isn’t curable and I don’t want to put Valerie through treatments just to keep her here for me. But when she isn’t constipated she currently seems to have a genuinely good quality of life, so I also don’t want to give up on her without exploring reasonable supportive options.

Would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences, especially with chronic constipation. I’m exhausted and sad, but my best little friend is still here and I want to fight for her while she still wants to fight.

Let me preface by saying I have a very sweet and thoughtful 4.5yo girl, but there’s something that’s been happening lately that is really bothering me and I think I need some perspective from other parents as to whether this is super normal age behavior or something I need to address so it doesn’t become an issue. Being an only child I recognize she probably gets a bit more on average but has always been a pretty grateful kid!

Basically, she’s very indecisive and often has regret over something she’s chosen to buy or asked for as a present. A specific example is that about a week ago we offered to get her one of those tie-in colourful braids as a treat for after some tough dental work happening next week. I know she’s particular so I’m usually happy to let her have input on gifts and things so she gets what she actually wants. Anyway, she was excited about it and chose the colour she wanted.

Now she’s worried because she says she no longer wants the colour she picked and would rather have a different one (but in true kid fashion, the colour she told me she liked last night has changed to a different one this morning!). I explained I’d already spent the money on it and couldn’t replace it now and if she wanted something else we’d have to wait and save up for it. I also explained that this behaviour seems like she is ungrateful for being able to get the thing she wanted.

Obviously in the grand scheme of things this braid is small fish to fry but it’s the overall behaviour and lesson that I’m wanting to address. I want her to be able to express her opinions and not be afraid to tell me she doesn’t like something however grumbling and complaining is against our family values and gratitude is something we practice and try to instil.

I’m also cognizant she’s literally 4 years old and maybe I’m expecting too much from her. Thoughts? Experiences?

Let me preface by saying I have a very sweet and thoughtful 4.5yo girl, but there’s something that’s been happening lately that is really bothering me and I think I need some perspective from other parents as to whether this is super normal age behavior or something I need to address so it doesn’t become an issue.

Basically, she’s very indecisive and often has regret over something she’s chosen to buy or asked for as a present. A specific example is that about a week ago we offered to get her one of those tie-in colourful braids as a treat for after some tough dental work happening next week. I know she’s particular so I’m usually happy to let her have input on gifts and things so she gets what she actually wants. Anyway, she was excited about it and chose the colour she wanted.

Now she’s worried because she says she no longer wants the colour she picked and would rather have a different one (but in true kid fashion, the colour she told me she liked last night has changed to a different one this morning!). I explained I’d already spent the money on it and couldn’t replace it now and if she wanted something else we’d have to wait and save up for it. I also explained that this behaviour seems like she is ungrateful for being able to get the thing she wanted.

Obviously in the grand scheme of things this braid is small fish to fry but it’s the overall behaviour and lesson that I’m wanting to address. I want her to be able to express her opinions and not be afraid to tell me she doesn’t like something however grumbling and complaining is against our family values and gratitude is something we practice and try to instil.

I’m also cognizant she’s literally 4 years old and maybe I’m expecting too much from her. Thoughts? Experiences?