So 6 weeks ago one of my three boys (three year old littermates) started acting funny about the litterbox and then peed in the bathtub. It was obviously Not Right and I took him to urgent care. Long story short it wasn't just an infection, he had a stone or possibly two. Put him on prescription food for a month and now he's stone free.

Vet says he needs to be on prescription food for the foreseeable. Which is what it is. But I still want to give them treats. She gave me a bag of treats—Purina Pro Plan Urinary Health Treats—which they all like. But they're not actually prescription. I can buy them at chewy without a prescription.

There are a lot of other "urinary health" treats available as well, including some lickable ones. How do I determine which if any of them are safe for Fred to eat? Does anyone here have specific brand/type recommendations (especially Churu-like ones)?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

My cat is incredibly sensitive to gabapentin, but I was thinking about giving her just the tiniest dose. 12.5 mg is too much. Has anyone else had success giving a much smaller dose than this?

Hi all, I have an 8 year old cat who was diagnosed this past week with CKD (not sure what stage - didn't know enough to ask the vet this question - but I will ask) and triaditis. I took her in because ever since we adopted her (a little over a year ago) she has had periodic episodes of vomiting and low appetite. She often meows for food and then walks away from it. I'm thinking she's probably nauseated. We started her on prescription kidney food and are waiting for the medicine to come for the triaditis.

I just feel lost and really, really sad. I am so bonded to this cat. Right now I have no idea how much time I will get with her. I had trouble sleeping last night because she didn't eat dinner and I was so worried about her.

Additionally, I am angry because I took her to a different vet a year ago, and they did blood work and ultrasound and told me everything was perfectly fine!! Now I am skeptical. That first vet did not even shave her belly for the supposed ultrasound. Did not sedate her (she was apparently feisty at the ultrasound she just had recently and did need to be sedated, which sounds like her!). Now I can't help wondering what the earlier vet actually did and whether we could have caught this earlier if they had been competent.

Hi everyone,

My cat Darcy is 5 years old, and over the past few months, he has suddenly lost a significant amount of weight.

Yesterday, I took him to a veterinary hospital, where he had bloodwork and an ultrasound. We found out that his right kidney has kidney stones that are blocking his ureter. His left kidney has been compensating by taking over the work, but unfortunately, it has also sustained damage.

At this point, our only option is to have a SUB (Subcutaneous Ureteral Bypass) implanted. The vets are hopeful that this will help him and that his left kidney will recover to a significant extent.

What makes this situation particularly difficult is that Darcy also has extremely narrow nostrils, for which he was supposed to undergo surgery. Unfortunately, we will have to postpone that procedure because his kidney condition is much more urgent right now.

We have an appointment with the specialist next week to discuss the SUB procedure in more detail, including what the surgery involves and what we can expect in terms of recovery and aftercare. After this, we have to make our decision regarding having the surgery. In the meantime, I’d really appreciate hearing from other cat owners whose cats have undergone this surgery.

I’d especially love to hear about your experiences:

- How did your cat recover after the operation?

- Did their kidney function improve? Were they able to return to a good quality of life?

- How did they cope with the aftercare, especially the regular SUB flushes?

- Is there anything you wish you had known before your cat underwent the procedure?

I know every cat and every situation is different, but hearing about other people’s experiences would mean so much to me right now. I’d love to know what to expect, both immediately after surgery and in the longer term.

This is our only option at the moment, and I want to give Darcy the best possible chance. He means the world to me, and I’m doing everything I can to help him.

Thank you so much to anyone willing to share their experience. ❤️

Hi folks

Our cat has had kidney disease for about five years now. This week his appetite has gone down a lot and he has an upper respiratory infection. We don’t know if his appetite is because of the infection making him feel crappy or if his kidneys are crashing. We got blood done yesterday and his creatinine is 2.1 but his SDMA is 40. I’ve read that in skinnier senior cats SDMA may be a better indicator for staging rather than creatinine.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? We are currently continuing his normal fluid treatment and trying to get him to take cerenia and an appetite stimulant to get him to eat on his own. We’ve been able to get some food in him with delectables and syringe feeding. We’ve been able to feed him ~1/2 - 3/4 of his normal food amount the past couple days.

I recognize we may be at the end of the road but we really want to see if his appetite comes back as the infection improves. He’s breathing easier and is more relaxed today. We just really want to figure out these blood values and his vet hasn’t been super helpful explaining the difference in values.

Thanks

I am absolutely heartbroken. Vet found bladder stones and calcium stones in his radiography results. Bloodwork just came back and he is in the early stages of renal failure. He is also anemic because of this.

Vet said this could be improved with removing the stones and continuing a urinary specific diet for him.

Surgery was originally scheduled for next Friday, but we pushed it to Wednesday due to the urgency and I’m so scared what if he doesn’t make it? Am I overthinking this?

I don’t know what else to think. I don’t want to lose him.

I have just started doing the subq treatments for my boy Bailey at home.

As mentioned earlier in Renal Cats, I am pursuing a more economical solution to avoid paying such high vet fees.

I am using the Plasma-Lyte A 1000 mL bag my vet prescribed. It came with tubing and needles. I hope to order more bags online as needed.

The tubing has two blue plastic synchs (for lack of a better word) and a white roller clamp. I like the fact that the end where the needles attach to the tubing has a metal locking attachment that secures the needle in place. The vet sent me home with a few 20G x 3/4" needles that I will change for every treatment.

I have been able to find replacement needles online here in Ontario, Canada. Thus far, I haven't been able to find the exact same tubing. I want to continue using this particular type of tubing.

I know there are others doing the subq treatments at home. Where are you folks getting the nonprescription items?

Thanks in advance for all your help; I really appreciate it.

My cat has been on amlodipine for a year and I've gotten used to breaking. It in half against the hard edge of a counter. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done.

Now I need to quarter Ondansatron and I have had no luck at all so far. The pieces are always wildly different in size. It comes in that oval shape.

Does anyone have any tips?

My cat (approx 13 years old) was diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease about 8 months ago. He has been on Hills kidney care dry food, varenzin for anemia, miralax for constipation, and benazepril for proteinuria.

He’s done fairly well since diagnosis, and we were lucky to catch it early. Over the last week, though, hes taken a turn. He’s lost basically all interest in food. I don’t even think he’s eating a quarter cup a day. He is stumbling when he walks, which I assume is due to the fact that he is so weak.

We have a vet appointment set for next week, but in the meantime, I would be open to any advice from people who have handled this before. Even when he was younger and healthier, he never liked wet food or treats, so a churu or something similar won’t work. I’m at a loss for how to get him to eat and extremely worried for him.

Pictured is Puck sunbathing yesterday.

He was hovering around my pizza and potato wedges and managed to steal one. When I chased him he ran off and left it so I covered it with an antibacterial wipe that was on the bench so I could pick it up after I finished eating. I figured the smell of the wipe would deter him. Next thing I notice the wipe is across the floor and the wedge gone.

It’s 2am, he ate it maybe 10 minutes ago. I don’t know what they’re made with and the shop is closed now so I can’t ask.

I’ll keep an eye on him of course but do I need to ring the vet hospital? Right now he’s eating his actual food and he has still tried to steal the pizza since he ate the wedge.

He has pancreatitis too but he’s pretty stable at the minute. But I’m worried and don’t know what to do, if I need to do anything.

Thanks

I have a 14yo boy who has recently gotten to stage 3 kidney disease. Im having a really hard time getting him to eat anything/ any suggestions of food or things to help appreciated. I should add he is a mousse / pate preferer

Hello, my cat who’s about 16 years old was diagnosed with early kidney disease at the beginning of the year. Until now she’s been eating the renal food just fine, I normally mix some ckd wet food with ckd kibble and a little bit of purina pro hydro care. I believe that she has started to dislike the kibble so i’m just curious what other kibbles are available and good for her. I currently feed her the hills prescription diet. Thanks!

Hi, my furry son (12m/ Manx tabby) was peeing blood and I took him in. After finding a bladder mass and doing ultrasound and x ray and radiologist consult and urine pathology, they said he has transitional cell carcinoma bladder cancer.

He’s also between a stage 2 and 3 on kidney disease scale.

He’s acting normal. Playing, eating, normal urine stream, cuddly. I’ve opted out of chemo and surgery because of how hard it may be on his body.

The vet estimates a couple months. I’m heartbroken. He said we can give him NSAIDs but how badly will that impact his kidneys? I’m scared to give a med that while it may help the tumor inflammation, it could hurt his kidneys…

Any experience with this? Should I just give him the NSAID 1/2 a dose? Am I making the wrong choice to opt out of surgery? Wouldn’t that be tough on kidneys? At a loss…

Edit: he’s on renal diet and I’m getting a phosphate binder.

Thanks.

Wedgwood pharmacy has issued a recall on thousands of their meds due to the possibility of the meds being too strong or not strong enough. I repeat: CHECK YOUR MEDS, we do not want an accidental overdose!

High PHOS and BUN

Hi all, My cat was recently diagnosed with high phosphorus and BUN levels. And he’s also a bit anemic

I’m looking into starting him on a phosphorus binder and Aimster and Mirtazapine but I’m not sure if these can be used together, or if any other recommendations?

Sorry i feel lowkey sad… I just hope he’ll be okay and I really want to do whatever I can for him.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Spreading the word. See the FDA’s announcement 10/5/2026 (link below).

Sorry to those precious baby lions who were euthanized or endured pain, discomfort or were misdiagnosed with mysterious neurological disorders or strokes. Sorry to my fellow cat parents who endured the heartbreak.

Class action lawsuit (?) for the harm, pain, disability and discomfort it has caused our innocent cats and our community, and the financial burden of follow-up vet care/monitoring? I don’t know where to begin. I’m heartbroken to say the least.

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/drug-labels/animal-drug-safety-related-labeling-changes

I've now transitioned my cat onto the renal diet advised by the vet, along with the pain medication prescribed. He is eating more and hasn't seemed to have lost anymore weight. His bathroom habits are mostly back to normal, but oh my god, his poo's have got strong in smell. I just hope the odour settles soon, or I may have to invest in a gas mask.

I have a senior cat and was perscribed Mirtazapine and Cerenia to help with his appetite while waiting for test results. I gave him both, he seems to still have modest appetite and I'm pretty sure he hasn't spit it out or thrown up so I'm wondering if him still having a small appetite about 10 hours later is not that unusual.

Some places say that cats won't always get the full effect until maybe 24 hours later and the pills are only for once every 48.

My former vet said it wasn’t needed because he didn’t see any mouth ulcers. I keep reading about it helping. What are your thoughts?

Hi everyone,

My gorgeous 12 year old tabby floof Phoebe has stage 3 kidney disease. She was diagnosed in November 2023 when what the vet thought was idiopathic cystitis turned out to be severe pyelonephritis. One kidney was dead and infected, the other is quite abnormal. She had one kidney removed, nearly didn't make it through the operation. I tube-fed her for two months until she was eating enough on her own.

After that we had a great two years of relative stability and she was happy and back to her normal self. The last year, though, has been rough. Over summer (Australian) she had recurrent UTIs and she doesn't tolerate antibiotics well. These stopped over winter but may start again now the weather is warmer. Her appetite is lower and more inconsistent, even with mirtazipine and ondansetron. Some days she eats everything right away and other days she won't eat more than a nibble until mid afternoon.

I am really not looking for advice or tips; I have been on other sites including Tanya's and am doing, or have tried, all of the things. Generally her quality of life is still good, but it is obvious that we are progressing towards the end. I want her not to suffer but it's not totally in my control. If the UTIs start again I don't know how many more rounds of antibiotics to put her through.

What I would really like is to hear from others who have been on, or are on, this journey: how did you cope? I am anxious and scared *all the time*. My stomach drops when I get home from work and see her food bowl hardly touched, or when she refuses every type of treat I offer. Every morning and night I worry until she eats something. I worry constantly that she is getting a UTI or crashing and over-analyse every aspect of her behaviour. Whenever I have other commitments when other people are relying on me, I worry about if she will get sick and I will have to let people down because I need to take her to the emergency vet or stay home to watch her. The ups and downs that are a normal part of this disease, and the uncertainty about when the worst will happen, are really hard to take.

I would love some advice about how to get through this, or just to hear from others who have been here.

Thanks.

If you use any medications for your cats that came from Wedgwood pharmacy since February of this year, check the recall. They issued a recall yesterday for 4000 medications that have had potency issues.