MY CREATIVE SELF

Its been over a year since brady was diagnosed with CKD or chronic Kidney Disease. He has had ups and downs but seemed at a steady rate for awhile. But he has had 2 set backs. Earlier in the summer it was hot and extremely humid. It was alot for him and he got run down. Would not eat much, lost weight, slept alot. Not much interaction. House was cool but still it got to him. So I got him some cooling pads which surprisingly worked and he loved, tried different foods. It helped

Things improved but it took awhile for him to bounce back. Couple weeks ago he took another turn. He had lost weight again, more muscle wasting. Which the CkD will do that. And he had developed a severe limp. I thought he had broken a leg or dislocated his shoulder some how. With the muscle wasting he’s not always the sturdiest when he jumps.

Off to the vet we go. Brady hates going, he gets stressed, he drools and some of his numbers on his blood work go up. And he gets the nickname Grumpy Cat at clinic and probably worse when I am not within ear shot. He does NOT like to be carried, especially by strangers through a loud scary place. Second time they took him back for blood, said take him in his carrier, everyone will be happier. He gets checked over, xrays, full bloodwork. I wait forever. Vet comes back.

Good news/Bad news. He did not break or dis locate anything But he has Osteoarthritis and his Kidney values have worsened. He is stage 3/4. And hes slightly anemic.

My heart sank, you try not to panic or think its over as you look at him and see he is in pain and not doing good. I can’t fix him, no one can. We can just do our best to not let it get worse and to make him comortable and happy. Hard to do when he is kind of a Grump tho.

My vet gave me a checklist she has for the different stages of CKD that list basically what needs to be changed, added or adjusted based on where he is at. Which is Food, vitamins, supplements, phos binder. I have hopefully made changes in the right direction. Will do blood work again in a few months to see if theres any more changes good or bad.

The pics of the handwritten items, those are my list of, well some, of the good and bad cat food. CkD cats need a low phosphorus food, which most dont like the prescription diets, it can cause them to lose muscle tone but not sure what it is about the food they dont like. Brady is on the fence with most. So I went through alot of the food he does like, well he no longer can eat it except every once in awhile with the phos binder.

It can all be confusing, overwhelming and scary cause you do not want to screw up and do the wrong thing. But for now he is still plugging along and fighting beside me. And I hope I have a few more years with him.

Have a great weekend everyone!

~ by Lencrest on October 21, 2023.

Posted in animals, cats, CKD, family, Feline Anemia, Feline Diseases, Feline kidney disease, iowa, life, Osteoarthritis, Photography
Tags: Arthritis, blogtober, Cat diseases, cats, Low phosphorus, Pet food