My sweet 19-year-old kitteh India has kidney failure...CRF

[politicat]

22. You'll both be okay. It's up and down, but it is manageable.

Our CRF kitty is almost 22 and is almost 2 years into her diagnosis. We did sub-q fluids for most of the first year. When she started resisting, then refusing fluids, we figured that her biting/scratching/struggling was her way of saying she was ready to be done. So we decided to go on a hospice model of care for her, given that she was then 21.

That was most of a year ago. Since then, her numbers have remained stable, her appetite is good, and she's maintained both her weight and her mental acuity. Her sole treatment is 1 capsule of dasequin split between her 3 meals a day and abundant water, both in bowls and mixed into her food. She's our Timex.

It's not advised to take a cat off of fluids unless you're ready to say goodbye, so this is absolutely not a (lack of) treatment to be considered lightly. CRF is manageable, and it's pretty common in geriatric cats. While old age is not a disease, it is the natural consequence of aging. Every day you get is a bonus day. And listen to her -- she'll tell you what she needs. If fluids make her feel better, she'll take them very well and come to want them. If they don't, she'll tell you.

One other thing -- dry food is really hard on CRF cats. If you can possibly get her to take most of her calories through canned food, you'll both be better off. It does not have to be the vet prescribed kidney diet. A lot of cats don't consider that stuff to even be food. The best diet is whatever your cat will eat. (Ours has tried everything -- as far as she's concerned, the only actual foods in the world are the mammal-based Fancy Feasts, rotisserie chicken breast, and bacon. So that's what she eats.)