Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Toro Update - Hospitalisation Day 5



Dr T said that the reason his creatinine and BUN indicators were lower on Sunday was because of the dopamine that they had introduced into his system. This allowed more blood to go to his kidneys. However this would not be possible to do at home so his protocol would be the following per day:
-250 ml of fluids
-1 capsule Azodyl (to be swallowed whole and would dissolve in his intestines)
- 1/2 Apo-K for potassium per day
- 1/4 Alutab 2X a day
The hospital nurse, a professional, said that Toro is very good with his orals! This has not been my experience with him at all. I foresee troubling clouds in the future. Alternatively I can send him to the vet at T for several days to train him to accept his meds gracefully and myself on how to give the orals meds confidently. Of course we would get the pill popper for this as I had given my pill popper to R for Fatboy.
He was very perky as the nurse said and Dr L told me that he was also very chatty. When I came to see him, he was already on his 2nd bowl of kibble and he was eager to show me that he was good at eating them by eating more in my presence. After every several brush strokes, he would eat some kibble :) Then I had to go out as Dr L was helping another cat to breathe. When came back he allowed me to carry him while the nurse changed is pad but he was not as docile as the last time. Toro really does not like to be carried at all and so I knew he was on the mend.
Dr T told me that 3/4 of his kidneys are not in working order and indeed it was precisely because of this, that we managed to find out his troubles. If kidneys were not damaged to that extent, we would not even have known about his low creatinine and BUN levels as they would not appear in the reading. The irony of that dumbfounded me!
Dr T warned that he would be on medication all his life and asked me if I wanted them to do a last blood test for him today. He said blood tests are expensive and Crit C costs $175.00 per. I told him to go ahead as I do not want it to be because of one blood test not done that would unravel all the good that his hospitalisation had done for him.
He would have one ultra sound done at 3.30 pm and Dr T was confident that he could go home. The ultra sound would confirm the type of kidney disease he has, whether chronic or not.

Question:
I read online that cats on Azodyl do so much better when it is combined with Epakitin. Would anyone know where I can get Epakitin?

9 comments:

  1. The 3/4 thing you mentioned. Same thing my vet told me. Before it hits the 3/4 mark, we will never know from their behavior at all unless a blood test is done.

    You had earlier mentioned Nutro being contaminated with melamine. There was a same food scare on Natural Balance as well in 2007. I sent both XX and CC in immediately for a blood test. Nothing negative.

    But one year later, XX came down with CRF with bad blood test results. Seems like there is no way to prevent it unless we do a blood test on them every 6 months but that will be too stressful for everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous3:18 PM

    For my 5 kidney cats where creat is within normal range, blood tests are 2x a yr. New kidney cats-4x a yr (to adjust Sub-Q reqmt). Following yr 3x and then it's 2x yearly. Other non-kidney cats over 10yrs old-Prep Profile + T4 yearly. I tried cheaper blood tests at 2 other clinics, not worth it....long story.
    Our ECat did T4 twice (diff days & fast b4 test) at XClinic-no result-blank. No problem at a*** but it is 2x the cost.

    ReplyDelete
  3. keep my fingers cross that Toro's condition is not chronic. hope he will get used to the pills. i normally lay my cat on her back on my raised legs (thigh) while i sit on the floor and press on her gums gently with my finger to get her to open her mouth so that i can pop the pill in. dont know if it will work for Toro.

    ReplyDelete
  4. XX is on Fortekor for her kidneys, and Diltiazem & Taurine for her heart. Except for the taurine, the rest are prescribed drugs bought either from the vet or a pharmacy. Actually, Diltiazem is a human drug for those with heart diseases.

    Maybe you can check with your vet if you should feed Toro Epakitin as sometimes, the internet may not be as trustworthy as we think.

    Actually we may be able to get cheaper drugs online but these sites will require a prescription from a vet who is certified to practise in the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi San. If Epakitin is the same as Ipakitine, it's available in France. I used to give it to Ikkyu, my first cat, for his renal issues. I could probably get you some, but maybe not immediately as my vet is away. August is a difficult mont in France. Everyone is on holiday...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Get well sweet kitty!!!

    =^..^=

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous12:40 AM

    Epakitin is phosphorus binder for cat & dogs. Order online. Same manufacturer as Azodyl. I think E does the same job as Alutab(aluminium hydroxide)??

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was reading some resources and there was mention that rather than drawing blood regularly to check, a urinanalysis being non-invasive, would be better. It is supposed to also detect changes before it hits the blood stream so that you can take evasive action sooner.

    Now the only problem is collecting urine samples, esp when you have 6 cats sharing 3 litter boxes. I have never been successful in getting a urine sample, even when I isolate them for a day or 2.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous6:09 PM

    I have Epakitin (unopened, expiry 06/2011) if you need it for Toro.

    ReplyDelete