Sunday, January 18, 2015

My FIV Cat Has Kidney Failure

My cat Sam was rescued after he was abandoned in the woods by my home. It took us less than a year to catch him because he was so scared. By the time we got him, he was skin and bones and from the looks of his coat, he had been in one too many fights.

We took him to the veterinarian and he tested positive for feline leukemia and aides. The veterinarian at the time wanted to put Sam down but I said no and that was in 2008. To make a long story short I nursed Sam back to health and have enjoyed this talkative, playful, and very loving Siamese cat for the last seven years.
Everything was great in fact in August of 2014 his medical exam and blood work should not have changes, but come to the end of November it was clear that something was wrong. Sam who loves to eat, decided he was not going to eat anymore. We thought maybe he suddenly did not like his only natural food by Merrick.  We fed him the best-canned cat food; de-boned chicken canned cat food that was grain free and had no corn wheat, soy, or gluten so we spiced up his food and gave him Merrick Purrfect Bistro Surf and Turf canned cat food and my cat turned away from his food bowl.
The next day he went to the veterinarian because if Sam is not eating there is something wrong. Well sure enough he had fervor, and an infection from an unknown source, his blood work came back fine but his urine showed that his kidneys were not working properly. Sam was in the veterinarian hospital for 10 days and when he was discharged we were told that his teeth due to feline stomatitis had to be removed but the surgery day was unclear due to his renal failure.
Sam has been home now for two weeks and he is doing better, but the veterinarian told me that he needs a follow-up exam and then he will decide if they will go ahead to remove his teeth. I will know more on Tuesday as it is Sams's next appointment.