Author Topic: PetSouth's Jemma  (Read 4243 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Pet South

  • Chatter Bug
  • Join Date: Jan 2015
  • Posts: 167
  • Country: us
  • Because pets are family...
    • Pet South on Facebook
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #15 on: July 23, 2015, 11:28:47 AM »
No vaccinations. But she really is more a kibble eater from the beginning. She won't touch the k/d wet but the others aren't supposed to eat hers which is a problem. Good thing about it is we have been able to reduce the kibbles for those that mostly eat that. The bad news is feeding Jemma seperate is kind of a problem. It would be best if they all got the same but the phosphor from most foods would not be good for her. On the other hand, how do I know she really has a kidney issue with 5 years? Maybe it was the banamine shot. I will wait and see what the blood tests on Wed say and feed her the k/d kibble until then (i did ask the vet if it wasnt paradox feeding a kidney patient dry food). May have to give her fluids as I think she is a bit dehydrated again. She doesn't drink that much either. Lola your input was spot on, I have read a lot about it lately and have to figure out how to change all their eating habits.
Because pets are family...

Offline Pookie

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 5441
  • Country: us
  • Proud member of the Wet Food Club
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #16 on: August 05, 2015, 01:59:59 PM »
How's Jemma doing?
2-4-6-8  Please don't over-vaccinate!
"Pass on what you have learned."  -- Yoda, Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi

Offline Middle Child

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jun 2011
  • Posts: 9556
  • Country: us
  • Just say No to declawing
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #17 on: August 05, 2015, 03:57:17 PM »
Sorry I am so late to this thread. First I do hope Jemma is feeling better, I know how awful it is to be worrying so over a beloved kitty.

 I am going to be backing up Lola here on the Hills junk.  The dry has NO MEAT in it at all.  It's a terrible food and, with the lack of meat, not to mention the reduced protein, she is heading for illness much worse than kidney disease.  Cats on these "diets" don't die from kidney failure, they die from muscle wasting and protein starvation.

The lack of moisture is also going to compromise her kidneys.

You can research foods that have lower phosphorus and you can use a phosphorous binder. Have you been to any of the ckd sites?  Sometimes when a cat gets CKD it's a genetic predisposition.  Acute kidney failure of course is a whole different thing, and if caught in time is sometimes reversible, depending on the cause.

I urge you, urgently, to ditch the Hills k/d kibble.  It's a terrible thing to give a cat.  Vets should be ashamed to sell it let alone recommend it.

Is she being given sub q fluids?

As for feeding the cats on a schedule, it's not all that hard to do really. It may seem like an overwhelming task, but the main issue is your own mental approach.  Just make up your mind that this is going to happen, and do it. :)

Incidentally, some believe (including myself) that, aside form how bad dry is to begin with, free feeding is very bad for cats, for a few reasons. 

Bad for the kidneys:  Every time a cat smells food the kidneys go into action, and prepare to work.  Even if the cat doesn't eat, the kidneys are working.  That's a lot of unnecessary stress on the kidneys. Along the same lines, it is thought to be bad for the urinary tract.

Cats, being carnivores, need their stomachs to be emptied periodically, to keep their motility working properly.  The stomach needs to be emptied of food, and the cat needs to feel hunger, to get the other stuff out of the stomach. For a house cat this means fur.  For a cat "in the wild" it works this way because carnivores eat a lot of stuff, including feathers and fur of their prey.  This stuff also has to be moved out.  So their bodies are designed to digest and empty the food, then a few hours later, as they start to get hungry, the other stuff moves through. Then off they go to hunt again.

Having said all that, I do hope Jemma is doing better.

 

Offline Pet South

  • Chatter Bug
  • Join Date: Jan 2015
  • Posts: 167
  • Country: us
  • Because pets are family...
    • Pet South on Facebook
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #18 on: August 05, 2015, 05:58:23 PM »
Thanks Middle Child for those words. Food for thought.

Went to vet again with Jemma. Her kidney levels are stable although she is NOT eating the Hills diet (she won't eat it anyways). Her bladder is still infected though and the vet said it seems to be a super bug and we are on the fourth antibiotic. She does get Sub Q fluid from time to time and looks way better the next day. Other than that she runs from us now especially in the evenings because she knows what's up.

Thank y'all for asking.

Meanwhile Tommie, our feral, has started throwing up his food. Thinking about what you just wrote about wild cats and wondering if that might be our fault feeding him. He needs to be neutered and I am thinking of letting the vet check him out beforehand. Have to figure something out soon after I sent animal control over to our neighbor they came over and mentioned the cat crapping on their porch. For one it is the raccoon doing this and second its not my cat, I just feed him and provide shelter from the rain. But he is a sweet guy and I like having him around.
Because pets are family...

Offline Pookie

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 5441
  • Country: us
  • Proud member of the Wet Food Club
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #19 on: August 05, 2015, 06:47:39 PM »
AWESOME post, MC!   DrLisaPiersonWorthy DrLisaPiersonWorthy DrLisaPiersonWorthy

Meanwhile Tommie, our feral, has started throwing up his food. Thinking about what you just wrote about wild cats and wondering if that might be our fault feeding him. He needs to be neutered and I am thinking of letting the vet check him out beforehand. Have to figure something out soon after I sent animal control over to our neighbor they came over and mentioned the cat crapping on their porch. For one it is the raccoon doing this and second its not my cat, I just feed him and provide shelter from the rain. But he is a sweet guy and I like having him around.

The first thing that comes to mind, because this was the case with my 2 furkids, is that it's the food.  If he's eating dry food, that may be causing the vomiting.  Once I removed the dry and started feeding grain-free wet food only, the vomiting and regurgitating went WAY down.  They did still have issues, but I believe that's because they were on the dry food for so long that the damage was done.  If Tommie is just starting with this, then there may be time to reverse the problem.

Of course, it could be something else, e.g. a virus, but I would start with the food.  Think of it this way:  if you eat something that's bad (spoiled), for example, and you throw it up, it's because your body wants it OUT.  He's vomiting for a reason.  It certainly won't hurt to try changing the food, if in fact he's getting dry food.  Just my  2cents.
« Last Edit: August 05, 2015, 06:52:21 PM by Pookie »
2-4-6-8  Please don't over-vaccinate!
"Pass on what you have learned."  -- Yoda, Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi

Offline Pet South

  • Chatter Bug
  • Join Date: Jan 2015
  • Posts: 167
  • Country: us
  • Because pets are family...
    • Pet South on Facebook
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #20 on: August 05, 2015, 08:00:47 PM »
He gets both, but its the wet food he vomits out. Been very picky eater lately too
Because pets are family...

Offline DeeDee

  • P-F's Twitter-er
  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 6013
  • Country: us
  • Barkly & Vlad
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #21 on: August 05, 2015, 08:10:51 PM »
How can you tell it's just the canned he's throwing up?
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Pookie

  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 5441
  • Country: us
  • Proud member of the Wet Food Club
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #22 on: August 05, 2015, 08:22:18 PM »
He gets both, but its the wet food he vomits out. Been very picky eater lately too

It may still be the dry food.  My cats got both as well, and would vomit both.  I suspect that's because the dry food takes much longer to digest, and it may still have been in the stomach when they ate the wet.  Also, sometimes they would eat the dry after I gave them the wet (I didn't feed much wet food at the time), and that may have caused the upset as well.

Just for fits and giggles, try feeding just the wet for a couple of days and see what happens.  If you can, try to feed a grain-free wet, or one with as little grains as possible (I'm including rice, cellulose, etc.), or making sure they are wayyyy down on the ingredient list.  If he's still vomiting, then it may not be the food.  But it's worth a try to rule it out as an issue.
2-4-6-8  Please don't over-vaccinate!
"Pass on what you have learned."  -- Yoda, Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi

Offline Pet South

  • Chatter Bug
  • Join Date: Jan 2015
  • Posts: 167
  • Country: us
  • Because pets are family...
    • Pet South on Facebook
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2015, 08:58:00 AM »
It looks just like the wet and usually comes out right after feeding. Tried a different kind yesterday and that seemed to stay in but I can't see what happens when he is on tour. Need to take him to the vet anyway and get him neutered, he isn't gonna like that. Need to figure out what to do with him, scared my dumbass neighbors might do something.
Because pets are family...

Offline DeeDee

  • P-F's Twitter-er
  • Charter Member
  • Motor Mouth
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 6013
  • Country: us
  • Barkly & Vlad
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #24 on: August 06, 2015, 09:38:24 AM »
When we moved out here, I had a rescuer I know come out and observe the ferals here. I was told to leave them alone, and I have. They're just another form of wildlife in their feral state, and they give all appearance to be healthy living on the other wildlife out here.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Pet South

  • Chatter Bug
  • Join Date: Jan 2015
  • Posts: 167
  • Country: us
  • Because pets are family...
    • Pet South on Facebook
Re: PetSouth's Jemma
« Reply #25 on: August 06, 2015, 09:47:18 AM »
He isn't that feral. Kinda like Teddy, he was outside too and we fed him and were able to touch him like Tommie. I have more feral like cats inside lol. Like Jemma. Supposed to give her this liquid antibiotic twice a day that doesn't taste good. Omg, i just got a 10th in and she was foaming so much I thought she would suffocate. This is not gonna work.
Because pets are family...

Tags: