Hi tigerbee
welcome to the forum
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Originally Posted by tigerbee
since he has moved in with me he has been put on a 100% grain-free canned diet (no more kibble!!).
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Awesome
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Originally Posted by tigerbee
They get a variety of flavors from Wellness, Nature's Variety, Weruva, Petcurean, and Evanger's. I am trying to familiarize myself with the lower phosphorous varieties as well as calculating dry matter
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Good to see you have the holistic brands already, there is a newly updated listing here
http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food...od_data_tables, the numbers are already ordered by phos level and are listed all in dry matter. From here you can find the lower phos flavours of the brands you know your cats already like.
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Originally Posted by tigerbee
The cats get 2-3 meals a day. His appetite is great, he is my secondary alarm clock which has saved me from being late a few times! I'm glad he is always eager for breakfast.
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Happy to hear he has a good appetite, I would suggest raising the food & water dishes up between 2-6 inches off the ground. Place a phonebook, box, planter stand/low table etc just be sure the dishes can't slip off & scare the cats while eating. Raising the dishes will ensure the cats head is above their stomach while eating, helps prevent nausea though it sounds like not an issue at this point.
Another tip is feed a snack before bed so there is something in the stomach to keep the digestive juices working properly & not causing trouble.
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Originally Posted by tigerbee
We have several water dishes across the apartment and he seems to drink a lot, perhaps a bit less after starting fluid therapy but I catch him drinking more than Asha. Living with a young and spunky (on the verge of violently insane) kitty has really livened up his life and activity level too.
Tiger went in for bloodwork last month. The following were the only things with abnormal ranges:
ABS Lymphs - 946 /uL L (1300 - 7000)
BUN/Urea - 51 mg/dL H (15 - 34)
CHOL - 274 mg/dL H (82 - 218)
CREA - 3.1 mg/dL H (0.8 - 2.3)
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Very good that Tiger is active & playful & has a friend to keep him amused.
Was there a urinalysis done?
Absolute Lymphocytes being low can be a result of a stressful blood draw, low grade inflammation, or certain medications.
The high cholesterol can be a result of having recently eaten, also can be due to stress. It doesn't have the same meaning as humans with high cholesterol.
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Originally Posted by tigerbee
My vet advised me to begin sub-q fluid therapy at home, 300cc's twice weekly. We did not discuss any medications. He is due for another blood profile in one week. Are we supposed to see a drop in his levels? I am uncertain whether or not 300cc's twice a week is better or worse than a smaller amount more frequently.
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Is that a total of 300cc per week or 300cc given two times a week?
Hopefully you will see the BUN & Cre blood levels start to drop, though it often takes sometime before you see large changes.
More frequency/lower volume vs less frequent/higher volume depends more on how Tiger is adjusting to getting fluids and how quickly he absorbs them. Also how does he feel fluid days vs non-fluid days - is he cranky & moody the day before fluids & feels much better after, perhaps more frequent might work better.
How is Tiger doing with having fluids given? Overall mood before/during/after fluids?
300cc is alot to give in one session & often people will divide that into two sessions per day. You can always speak to your vet about giving it more frequently so Tiger doesn't get so much at once. Be sure that all the fluids are absorbed prior to the next session.
Instead of 300cc two times a week, ask your vet about doing 150cc every other day. You would still be giving the same overall amount just less, more frequently, might be easier on Tiger with more even hydration levels from fluid to non-fluids days. *Please speak to your vet
prior to changing the fluid schedule, as they have seen your cat & can tell if there is need to change the dosage.*
Are you ordering fluids & supplies from your vet? What brand/size needle are you using?
If you can find a pharamacy or local medical supply company to order from it is usually much cheaper than buying from the vets.
Terumo Ultra Thin Wall (UTW) 20g is what I and many others have found to be the best brand/size. The ultra thin walls allows the fluids to flow as fast as the Monoject 18g but with much more comfort upon insertion as the point is also beveled & sharper.
Are you warming the fluids before application? I found an extra large ziplock bag the perfect size to place the bag, line & needle into, to place in a sink full of hot (not too hot) water for a few minutes. This allows the fluids to warm up to cats body temperature, so it's not such a shock to the system having room temp/cold fluids under the skin.
Feel free to ask any questions
for next weeks' blood results