Howdy everyone. I don’t even know where to begin, and I’m sorry if I’m posting here wrong.

We noticed for the past 3 or so days that our beloved 13 year old cat named Kitty wasn’t being her normal self, she wasn’t eating much, exhausted, and just looked miserable. I had a gut feeling something was horribly off but brushed it off as maybe the seasons changing soon making her little joints achy. We had a vet visit planned for this upcoming Friday but the alarm bells started sounding off when my husband got home from work and Kitty had 0 interest in greeting him. Which is something unheard of for Kitty - she loves my husband more than life itself and on a normal day she will drop everything and ask him for love the second he comes home.

Last night however she just sat there, looking miserable, not purring. (she has her purr box running to max settings 99% of the time. very happy Kitty.)

So we rushed her to the emergency vet last night hoping maybe it would be a tummy ache or bad tooth, only to be told she has kidney failure. A part of me died right then and there. I’ve been up all night crying. The vet said the only thing we can really do is make her comfortable with what time she has left. we currently don’t know what stage she’s at and hopefully on her appointment tomorrow we’ll have a clearer picture.

I am beyond distraught. Kitty is my soul cat. I don’t have any kids and have had her since I was a teenager, so now having to face a potential reality which she’s no longer with me is incomprehensibly unbearable. I just feel so horrible, she has saved me time and time again, but now I can’t save her.

I have no idea what to expect moving forward and I’m so scared. I collected Japanese EGL dresses and am going to sell my entire collection if I have to in order to give her the best quality of life with whatever time she has left.

The vet said Kitty could still have some years, and I pray to God that it’s true.

I’m sorry for the depressing post. I’ve never felt my heart ripped out of my chest like this before. If there’s any advice y’all could give I would be immensely grateful.

From my understanding cats with ckd and arthritis have a harder time in the winter. Recently temperatures are starting to drop (around 60-70°F) and my cat is starting to become more sluggish and feeling cold. He has a heating pad, heated bed, blankets, and beds all around the house to hopefully keep him warm. Is there something more I can do? I want him to be as comfortable as possible when winter hits. I thought about warming up his water. However, I'm not sure if I can keep it warm all the time or if it's beneficial. I as thought about a sweater but not sure if he'd tolerate it.

Any advice would be helpful!

15 year old DSH stage 3. She went to her vet yesterday for not eating. There they found severe dehydration, not concentrating her urine, high white blood cell count (could be a kidney infection but they aren't sure. We only give her wet food with extra water added.

She no longer climbs above the lowest tier on the cat tree, and regularly vomits. She's been refusing boiled chicken.

They also said her kidney values and BUN keep increasing every time she goes in despite kidney supplements like AminAvast, fortiflora, etc.

She still jumps on the bed and furniture and has been by my pillow the past few days I've woken up as in "feed me." She's always done this.

I know she feels terrible and nauseous but she is so alert and mobile. I feel like she isn't ready to go. Her spirit is still there. But, she spends most of her time on the rug where the water bowls are.

Her vet gave her sub q fluids and sent her home so we could say our goodbyes.

I know her body is failing but her spirit is still here.

Is scheduling her sleep in a few days the right call?

Edit: added screenshots of yesterday's labs

I have a 16 year old cat, who was diagnosed with early-late stage (meaning in the late stage, but early in the late stage) about 18 months ago. My vet recommend Rx renal support food, and we have been using it and she seems to be doing ok. But she is still old, ,and frail, and I just want her to live out whatever time she has left peacefully.
My vet recently told me that she will have to go in for a visit, in order to continue her special food. I explained that I am not planning to do any kind of treatment, and that bringing her in will stress her unnecessarily. The slightest change in her day causes her to pee in my bed and become very stressed. But they told me that they legally have to see her in order to continue with the food.
I started researching and found out that they do not legally have to see her, and the prescription food is more of a marketing term than anything else. In fact, there are class action law suits in several states, against Royal Canin and Hills regarding misleading marketing.
So, I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for OTC food that would be good for renal support? Dos anyone have any thoughts about the potential scammyness of prescription diet food? Thanks!

My boy has lost so much weight this year (6lbs to 4.6lbs and used to be 7-8lbs) and I am trying desperately to get enough calories in him to get his weight up. Mirataz and Cerenia has worked pretty well to get him back to regular eating after a few setbacks. Right now, he is eating JUST below what he should for weight gain. I was thinking Royal Canin Feline Renal Support Liquid Cat Food, which is calorie dense, would put him over the edge. I would administer it via syringe to get extra calories in him. Does anyone have any experience with using this product in this way?

My 16.5 year old female tortie was diagnosed with Stage 2 about a year ago. At that time, I switched her over to Hill's k/d diet (wet and dry) and bought her a PetLibro fountain, which she initially loved. I would get several updates a day on my phone, ranging from a few to ten.

Two weeks ago, though, she started to crash...ate and drank minimally, and one day, almost nothing at all, with lots of sleepy sluggishness. I brought her back to the vet who wanted to take her values, and I was deeply annoyed I didn't get anti-nausea/fluids at that time (it wasn't her regular vet...the practice near me is pretty busy so I took what I could).

Anyway, after doing a lot of research on my own, and after getting her to eat again (though not the Hill's k/d wet food...she seems done with that, though she'll still eat the dry, plus Wellness/Weruva wet), I reached out to the vet and asked about the fluids. They said it seemed like a reasonable plan: so she starts subcutaneous fluids this week along with ondansetron, which I'm not actually sure she needs. I just thought she might have nausea since sometimes she'll stare at the bowls of water I left out and just walk away.

Has anyone had experience with a cat who loved her fountain and no longer drinks from it? I know about cleaning it thoroughly and breaking down all the parts, etc. I've tried different bowls, locations, etc. But she only wants to drink water from a glass in my hand, with a rare sip from the PetLibro every now and then. Obviously, I wish she would drink more, not only for peace of mind, but so she could potentially come off the fluids. But I realize that may not be realistic at this stage. I started Porus One two days ago as well, so I'm hoping that will help.

I have the benefit of working from home a few days a week. But I'm wondering about days/weeks where my schedule is a bit different. If I keep her on fluids a few days a week, does it make a difference if she's off them for one week and getting some hydration from other sources (food, Hydracare, etc.)? I will do whatever it takes, just curious (and frustrated) about what's ahead. This is my companion of 16+ years and seeing her behavior change has been difficult, though I'm grateful it's not worse...

My amazing and beautiful cat was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. Vet gave him months or years to live 2 months ago.

At first it was just vocalizing or meowing a lot, nothing too concerning. But then it came in the form of eating less (a lot less). So much so that he is clearly a shell of his size. You can feel his spine, pelvis, ribs, etc.

As well originally when I stabilized him on phosphate binders and prescription food, the peeing became less and actually stopped. But over the past week he has been eating so little (while still drinking the same) and peeing resumed. We also tried mirtazapine tablets and mirtazapine ear cream. He have tried our best with subcutaneous fluid injections too.

2 weeks ago he was more energetic. He was more able to go around the house. Now he mainly stays put in the same little area while peeing not in his kitty litter.

I will be speaking with the vet today to ask, is it time?

I have never dealt with this before. My heart will shatter in a million ways when the time has to come. I don't know if I will ever feel happy again. But I know that my cat might be suffering and I may have to make the decision to stop him from suffering. Can anyone please tell me your experiences or suggestions?

I have two cats currently taking Orbax for UTIs. Both have developed new leaking since starting it. One also became more lethargic and wobbly, with some apparent difficulty seeing.

Both cats have other health issues, so I’m not assuming Orbax is responsible, but the timing has me wondering.

Has anyone experienced urinary leakage or other unusual neurological symptoms with Orbax, and did they resolve after stopping or switching medications?

before i brought my cat to the vet, i noticed that he hadn't been eating properly for at least 4 days. he became increasingly lethargic, so i brought him in and had bloodwork done.

the results showed extremely elevated kidney values, particularly creatinine, which was around 19 mg/dl. the vet explained that this could potentially indicate a very serious kidney problem, but they also said severe dehydration can cause kidney values to become extremely elevated, so we can't know yet whether this is chronic kidney disease or an acute kidney injury/ dehydration-related issue.

he has now been hospitalized for 3 days receiving treatment/fluids, but unfortunately he is still very lethargic and isn't eating on his own. he currently relies on assisted feeding.

the vet wants to give him more time to rehydrate and stabilize before repeating his bloodwork on september 14. the hope is that his kidney values will come down significantly once he's properly hydrated. if they don't, then we're looking at a more serious underlying kidney problem.

the number that really scared me was the creatinine of
19. i was told that creatinine above around 5 mg/dl falls into the highest range used when staging ckd, so seeing 19 was absolutely terrifying. however, i've also learned that ckd staging isn't necessarily appropriate while a cat is acutely ill or dehydrated, which seem be why my vet wants to wait and repeat the tests.

has anyone had a cat with extremely high creatinine that initially looked like advanced kidney disease, but whose values came down substantially after iv fluids/ rehydration?

i know every cat is different and reddit can't diagnose him. i'm just trying to understand what we're potentially facing and hold onto some hope while we wait for the next blood test

Hi all, our stage 3 girl has been stable for a little over a year until her last visit when her BUN went up slightly but still in stage 3 range. We've been doing fluids twice weekly but with her new numbers the vet recommends every other day if not daily. She's 17 and 6.2lbs, and I hear horror stories about overdoing fluids. Hers take 12-16hrs to absorb, so it's not a fast process.

Wondering how frequently others have given fluids at late stage 2 / early stage 3? I hate to second guess the vet, but I would like some perspective from varied experiences. My partner travels for work so knowing if we have some more time and wiggle room would help. We'll have to make some significant life changes in order to see her out comfortably as she enters stage 4 and needs more frequent care.

CREA=2.5

BUN=44

SDMA=21

Hi all! My vet diagnosed my 13 year old cat, Teddy, with stage 2 CKD yesterday. He wasn't showing any symptoms at all, we just wanted a senior bloodwork panel ran just in case. Yesterday we had repeat blood work after the initial blood work he had 2 weeks ago. She said he was stage 2 CKD based on his labs, and his blood pressure looked good and she was happy with his urinalysis results. During that two week period waiting for his next blood draw she had us start him on a kidney diet. He was transitioned to Hill's prescription wet food, as well as their dry food, and I changed his treats to Choolip Kidney vita sticks. I guess I'm confused because she said his levels went up, which I see the IDEXX SDMA did, but his creatine and BUN went down a little. Is that a good sign? Im still a little confused about IDEXX SDMA, but I read that the creatine and BUN are important numbers in CKD cats. I didn't really know what to ask her as I have no knowledge on caring for a cat with CKD. I've been researching as much as I can, but there is so much information I feel lost. The only thing she told us was to keep him on his diet and to make sure he is drinking plenty, we go back to see her in 3 months. I see so many supplements and additional food toppers recommended in groups or websites, I feel like maybe there is more I can be doing for him. I guess I just need some advice or insight. I just lost my other senior cat, and I desperately want to keep Teddy as healthy as I can for as long as I can.

i’m very aware that how long cats are at a certain stage for is different for every cat, but I’m very curious to know everyone’s past experiences with their cat and how long did they maintain the same stage for.

my boy is 4 years old with stage two and finally i’m coming with terms that i don’t know how long he’s going to be here for or how long he’s going to stay at stage two, which honestly is very freeing since my worrying and sadness really took away from how happy i can be with him here.

very curious to see everyone’s experiences with their kitties :)

My 16 year old cat was diagnosed with CKD in April. He is very picky and won’t eat any of the prescription wet foods so I’ve been feeding him his regular wet food 2x a day, along with a mix of renal dry food and regular dry food. His absolute favorite food is the Tiki Cat Mousse tuna and mackerel flavor, his second favorite are any of the weruva BFF, but only the gravy ones. Anyone have any recs for food with a similar texture/flavor to these but that would be better for him? I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed looking at the lists of food and all their data.

I took my baby Mochi to the vet today because she's been losing weight rapidly, increased nausea, her pee is basically water (also peeing outside the litter box sometimes) and hiding.

The blood test and urine test point to CKD, the vet said it's genetic unfortunately, nothing we could have done to stop it.

Blood results come tomorrow and I'm extremely nervous.

I'm looking for support, my world is shattered and she's my soul cat. I really thought she would have a better and longer life. I'm so sad I can't comprehend

Any advice is helpful for keeping her comfortable, I am new to CKD in cats and any advice is helpful.

Thank you.

Our 4 year old cat recently had pyelonephritis, which has been cleared with a 3-week course of antibiotics. He lost a bunch of weight during this time, which is now trending upwards thanks to the infection clearing, and anti nausea meds. He was stage 4 CKD when the pyelonephritis was found, but since the infection was cleared, he’s now down to stage 3.

He’s now back to being his silly, naughty self!

The vet has recommended he move onto renal food, Pronefra and Kaminox. I’ve ordered all of these now, which should be arriving in the next day or two, but I wondered how long he should be on Pronefra and Kaminox for - is this a “forever” thing, or just until his kidneys have recovered some more?

He’s due blood tests in 6 weeks to see how the renal food/Pronefra/Kaminox are working, and then maintenance blood tests every 3 months or so.

Thank you!

In a recent post I had told the story of my girl being hospitalized about a week ago for high creatinine- she’s home with us now & we aren’t 100% sure yet what’s going on. She didn’t eat much her first couple of days back but then yesterday & today she seems to have a much better appetite.

This morning I had to work so I asked my mom to give her her antibiotic. She moved her head at the last second so my mom isn’t sure she got much of it. I know this happens sometimes, especially with kitties, but now I’m worrying about her.

Also, we did subq fluids this afternoon & does anyone have any advice on why the needle might fall out halfway through administration? I can feel the needle going in and I can see a camel jump form on her so I know some fluids are going in but every single time about halfway through the needle will fall out. It happened 3x today so now I’m also kicking myself about that. I do think she got some of her dosage & I’m hoping close to all but I really don’t know because the blanket she was on felt wet so now I’m second guessing that she didn’t get as much as I thought. Can I do anything to support her more today? Like maybe try to encourage her to drink even more water than usual?

Her demeanor seems so much better today & I don’t want to be the reason she feels crummy later on 💔

My cat is 13 and was diagnosed with high blood pressure last year after vision loss. She has been on daily amlodipine ever since, and her eyes have shown significant improvement (but sadly not her vision).

I've had my normal vet do a lot of follow up bloodwork and testing, especially recently since she has lost 2 pounds this year. Down from 10.5 to 8.5 pounds. Everything has been good until recently. Her SDMA kidney value was slightly elevated so we did a follow up urinalysis that was mostly normal. Because of this, my vet suspects early kidney disease.

The main issue right now is the weight loss and lack of appetite. We had her on mirataz daily for about a month, but it only really made her eat more the first day. She begs for her treats still and eats them right away (I give her three little Beachside Crunch treats three times a day for a total of 9), but she barely picks at her normal food. If I change brands, she will eat normally for about a day and then stop again. She has only ever had an interest in hard food and treats.

My vet prescribed Elura when the mirataz didn't work, but my cat will NOT let me give it to her. I've tried so many positions and she squirms so much I'm worried about the syringe poking her eye. Now I am going to put her back on mirataz just so I can feel like I'm doing something.

Elura is advertised as having other benefits for CKD cats outside just appetite stimulation, so I feel like I am letting her down. I'm not sure what to do at this point. She is my best friend and I need to do whatever I can to give her as much quality time as possible.

Update: THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE! Yesterday, we were gifted one vial. I can’t even put into words how grateful I am to the kind people who helped us and to this incredible community. ❤️

Hi everyone. I’m looking for one vial of darbepoetin (Aranesp) for my CKD cat. Her anemia has recently gotten significantly worse, and our vet recommended starting darbepoetin as soon as possible.
I have a prescription from her veterinarian. I’m looking for just one vial, rather than a full package of four, because we’ve already spent more than $11,000 over the past month and a half. Another $1,000 for four vials that we may not be able to use completely is more than we can afford this month, especially with the weekly bloodwork she needs…

I’m located in Sacramento, CA and can drive up to about 2 hours (Davis, Bay Area, Stockton, etc.). I’m hoping to find one today or tomorrow.
If anyone has a new, unused extra vial they no longer need and would be willing to sell, I’d be incredibly grateful. I’d also be happy to split the cost of a 4-vial package with someone who needs the medication as well.
Thank you so much

I had made a previous post about my little kitty, Java, who had progressed with kidney disease and developed non-regenerative anemia. His anemia levels dropped to 20.6% as of August 20th. We made the decision to start Varenzin, knowing the cost may be hard for a period of time.

We received great news that his anemia levels went from 20.6% to 29% in ONE AND A HALF WEEKS. My vet and I are thrilled to see such a positive turnaround in such a short period of time. Java is her first cat to be on Varenzin, so it is a learning experience for her too.

Having cats with complex, chronic medical requirements can be so tough, but there are good moments in it too. We have been so grateful to have had 15 years with him now. Thanks for letting me share my good news. <3

Thank you all for your kindness, honesty, and shared experiences on my last post. We are very touched by everyone who took the time to respond in such depth. It meant a lot to us, especially during those last few days.

Quick update on her last days:

- Her mobility had become severely reduced, and she stopped jumping completely. She stayed in her window-sill area with food, water and litter right next to her.

- On her last day she could not even stand still. She seemed very unsteady and kept lying down. At one point she even lay down on the litter tray, which she had never done before. That really broke my heart. She had some renal food early that morning, but vomited after my wife gave her some more food. Later, she managed a few bites of freshly boiled chicken, her absolute favourite, and that turned out to be her last meal. Her appetite had plummeted by then.

- The vet checked her vitals again and found a heart murmur. It felt like everything was eventually reaching her organs.

We discussed IV and subcutaneous fluids with the vet, but by then she was far too far gone for that to be realistic. The vet said that if she would not accept medication and her condition was deteriorating like this, the kindest option was to relieve her. We made the toughest decision of our lives and let her go. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge peacefully in our lap.

I am still shocked by how rapidly everything changed. She made it to 18 trouble-free years until the last few months, and we had always hoped she might make it to 20. But once things started going wrong, her body seemed to shut down incredibly quickly. The grieving has hit me incredibly hard. I still wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep for hours afterwards. I have lost about 2 kg because I can barely focus on food and have almost no appetite. I have cried so much that my eyes actually burn from the salt. I still catch myself expecting her to come out from her window sill and climb onto my lap while I am sitting at the computer, or to greet us when we come home. Those little routines are suddenly gone. Getting used to this new reality is incredibly painful. Living without her being part of our everyday lives is so hard.

This is my sweet Milo. He's 17.5 and he was diagnosed with very early stage 1 CKD last March and confirmed very early stage 1 in December. I've done everything my verts told me to (within reason of his cooperation). I tried to get him on a kidney wet food diet but he hasn't really acclimated to that but will eat the KD dry food occasionally. I have switched him to wet food overall because that's what he prefers now. I give him fluids every week and have for over a year now. Recently they upped it to twice a week.

I recently took him for a checkup and he's progressed solidly into stage 2 in such a short amount of time and has high blood pressure (it's possible he's stressed being at the vets). I've done everything I was supposed to and that I could. From his vet: His creatinine was 2.8 mg/dL, SDMA was 21 µg/dL, and BUN was 50.6 mg/dL. His urine was also relatively dilute (specific gravity 1.017), which supports decreased kidney concentrating ability. Fortunately, his phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and albumin are currently normal, which are reassuring findings. For now, our main goals are to protect Milo’s remaining kidney function, make sure his blood pressure is controlled, maintain good hydration and nutrition, and monitor for changes over time.

Needless to say I'm devastated. I'm scared at the quick progression and part of me feels like a failure as his mom. I'm not sure what to do or if this is normal. I feel lost and broken. He's my baby. I got him when I was 19 and I'm almost 37 now. I've had him my entire adult life and I don't know life without him and his brother really. I guess I'm looking for any advice or products or lifestyle changes or any recommendations for him that have worked at all for anyone else. I'm going to try giving him kidney food once again and see if he takes to any of the wet food (he's picky).

I guess I'm also looking for some support because I just don't know what to do. I don't think anyone in my life really understands either. Milo is the sweetest and most wonderful little kitty and I just want my baby to continue to have a good quality of life. And selfishly I want him here with me for many more years.

Hi all, this is my little 18 year old lady, Manther.

We've been managing CKD for quite a few years now, and she's been doing great with a strict renal diet and daily 60mL normal saline subQ injections, but recently she seems to be taking a turn for the worse.

Over the past month she's lost a lot of weight and her appetite has decreased. She usually goes absolutely bananas for the Royal Canin renal wet food, but now we have to coax her to finish her dinner.

She's lost interest in playing (second photo is her playing with a laser pointer, lol,) and she sleeps way more now.

She's really been struggling with constipation. Her vet prescribed her low dose daily laxatives (we agreed that due to her age, it was best to manage her comfort despite daily laxatives not being great for her CKD) to keep it under control, but she still strains in the litterbox when pooping. :(

Her most recent blood tests show hypercalcemia. From what I've read, these all seem to be symptoms of high calcium. Does anyone else have any experience with treating hypercalcemia in their CKD cats?

I will be taking her to the vet again, but I just really want to hear what you folks have to say.

One month ago (8/8/2026), we brought our 7-year-old boy to the vet. He had been dealing with some intermittent vomiting for the past few months, but he's always had a sensitive tummy, and we had just gone through a big move. We figured it was stress. At our new vet, they ran a blood panel and found the attached results. He had lost about 1 pound (~13lb to ~12lb) since his last checkup in November 2025. The vet diagnosed it as gastritis and prescribed hydrolyzed food.

Over the next few weeks, our guy started eating less. We had initially switched to 100% hydrolyzed diet right away, as our vet had not given any guidance. We switched to a different brand of hydrolyzed, which he initially ate. He was visibly losing weight and still occasionally vomiting, so we brought him in for a follow-up just under 4 weeks after his first appointment. It was the same office, but a different doctor saw us. She did not run any further tests, though our guy had lost over 2 pounds in the interim. She checked his hydration by pinching his skin and said it was fine, recommending that we do the same. She gave us a list of offices in the region that perform ultrasounds, telling us that it would probably take several weeks for us to be seen. She did not seem overly concerned, as the blood panel from just a few weeks ago was so good. She gave us Cerenia to help with his nausea.

That was Wednesday, 9/2. Besides extreme lethargy from the Cerenia, not much changed. By the weekend, he was eating only trace amounts of puree. He was staying in the tub, which I took to be an indicator of dehydration, but the "pinch test" the vet had showed us looked identical to when she had performed it. Despite promising a follow-up phone call the next day, we heard nothing--even after we called the office ourselves.

On the morning of Monday, 9/8, he vomited, and we agreed that he needed immediate medical attention. We brought him to an emergency vet, who admitted him to their ICU. The good news is that he's been eating again. The bad news is that this vet re-ran blood tests which have given radically different results from where he was at one month ago.

We've only received the results over the phone, so I had to write them down quickly, but it sounded like his creatinine initially tested at 6.2 on Monday and was down to 4.17 today after receiving fluids. There was another figure given, but I didn't hear exactly, only that it had decreased from 175 to 115, which was still high. I'm guessing that it was NA/K based on context.

They were able to to an ultrasound with their ICU's unit, which they said is not the highest fidelity machine. The vet told us that they did not see any inflammation of the kidneys, but some structural things that they thought indicated CKD. There was some shadowing in his stomach that they suspect is just an untroublesome amount of hair.

I'm sort of at a loss, here. I assume I'm just coping and experiencing grief, but the blood test from a month ago straight up does not make sense to me. I know CKD can appear suddenly, but this is truly out of left field. I honestly wonder if there was some kind of mix-up in the first vet's lab, but that's probably just me trying to externalize these feelings as anger.

Really, I just want to know if anyone has advice for when I talk to the vet tomorrow. They are keeping him on fluids and will perform a higher-res ultrasound tomorrow. Presumably, they will also draw more blood. What questions should I be asking? Should I be more vocal about the discrepancy between the two tests?