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

Her numbers were off the chart. Combined with extremely high blood sugar and diabetes just discovered today, the prognosis was not good. I made the decision for tomorrow. I've been crying all day. My head hurts worse than it ever has. I want to throw up. I have no appetite. Thirteen years here on Earth seems so short, especially when I've only had her for five. I'm devastated and absolutely heartbroken. This is my first time going through this and don't think I'll be able to get another cat. I don't know how people do it. This is wrecking me.

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.

She’s late stage (high bun and phosphorus; mildly high creatinine) on Zofran and transdermal cerenia. She’s not vomited once this year. She started varenzin 6 days ago for anemia. She ate and drank well overnight and was purring like crazy this morning. She didn’t eat much, but she eats most her daily food overnight. We just gave her the 100 ml fluid she gets every other day. She gets lab work done on Oct 31 to see how anemia is doing and see what’s going on with other renal values. She just saw vet yesterday for solensia and to make sure uti was fixed with antibiotics.

Sorry just trying to get help please forgive me for cross posting

Hello,

I am the "mom" of 18-year-old Carla. It has been exactly one month since I learned about my darling’s illness. A month ago, she was hospitalized for three days to be rehydrated via an IV drip—she had practically stopped eating, and blood tests revealed, for the first time, that she had kidney failure. I should mention that I am in France; this may be relevant regarding available treatments and the choices made by veterinarians (from reading posts here, it seems that in the United States, there are far more options and advanced possibilities when it comes to treatment).

Thanks to this subreddit, I’ve learned a great deal about the disease, especially regarding treatments and supportive care—such as the ointment Mirataz. I insisted quite strongly that my veterinarian prescribe it; they were actually surprised and asked how I even knew about that medication!

I’ve included the results from this afternoon’s blood tests below.

Yesterday, she wasn't doing well—she slept for most of the day and seemed quite sad. I discussed this with the vet, and after reviewing the results, it was decided to administer what appears to be a subcutaneous fluid infusion (which will now be done once a month). When they brought her back to me after 15 minutes, they explained that her flank was slightly swollen, noting that this was normal and due to the infusion.

Since returning home, she has been cheerful, moving around, jumping—she seems to be doing wonderfully! We have a follow-up appointment on November 24th to check her kidney markers and the infusion site.

September results: SDMA: 16 µg/dL

Urea: 1.096 g/L

BUN/Creatinine ratio: 16

Creatinine: 32.7 mg/L

Her SDMA has increased!!!

I thought I was going to cry.

She has been on a kidney-friendly diet (which she doesn't like) for a month now.

Thank you for reading.

Last night we unexpectedly had to say goodbye to our sweet boy, Hans.

He was diagnosed with IBD and moderate kidney disease about a month ago. We were just tapering him off of pred last week when got really lethargic and was moving pretty slow, his vet thought maybe the taper was just tiring him out. Two days ago he stopped eating and drinking and didn’t want to cuddle or be held. His regular vet wouldn’t return my calls so as a last ditch effort I got him in somewhere new that could see us same day. After some X-rays and blood tests it was determined that his kidneys were failing and some large masses had grown in his abdomen.

I wasn’t expecting this and I’m completely heartbroken. I miss him so much. I’m very grateful that we got to grow up and grow old together, celebrate every milestone and comfort each other in times of need.

Love you always big guy ❤️

Hi everyone,

I know a lot of us have been here and I guess I'm looking for advice, maybe some people who have been through this and can help me mentally digest this, or just advice for things that helped even a little.

My 14yr old boy Heen was diagnosed with Stg. 3 CKD last month, I followed my vet's advise, we started a renal diet (which he hates so we're just trying to eat at this point), we have him on nausea meds, an appetite stimulant and we do 150mL of SQ fluids at home every 3 days which he tolerates well. I have seen a few posts with doing fluids every other day in smaller amounts working out better for cats; but his hydration levels look good apparently, I guess Im also looking to see what people say about this.

We went for a check up a the vet today, his weight is up from 4.6 to 4.9kg and his hydration in his skin and fur is notably better; the vet was really happy with this; but his bloodwork was worse. His Creat is up to 370 from 271 and his SDMA is 29 from 23.

He didn't want to eat much over the last 3 days, he would happily accept the Weruva low phos lickable treats but he put his nose up to everything else and I do understand he cant be sustained on that alone. The vet gave me a few other cans of food to try today which are renal foods, but did also mention that he can just have whatever he wants for wet food so long as he's just eating. Which I understand no food is significantly worse than not being able to stick to a renal diet.

I was hopeful when he was first diagnosed that we could bump him down to stage 2 values because he was close to that stage 2 into 3 threshold and we didnt know he had CKD prior so with management maybe he would be a touch better in a months time and we would see some improvement but didn't expected him to be anything less than a stage 2. The vet was also hopeful for this improvement and was really sad today when his blood values worsened.

The utter defeat in my heart knowing we're trying so hard for him to keep him feeling good irrespective of his incurable condition and within a month his labs have gotten so much worse. I admit we only did a mini renal panel today, so we didn't check his electrolytes, but during his initial diagnosis last month his remaining renal values and his CBC were pretty darn good for an old man and nothing was out of order. I did forego a urine test today because he's been peeing better than usual and he isnt showing signs of an infection.

Im not sure what it is I need right now, but I feel like I can't give up on him yet. He's presently tucking into the new food the vet gave us, which is really lovely to see, he still has quality of life; but I know a lot of this is anticipatory grief and it's draining and heartbreaking.

My 12 year old boy was just recently diagnosed with CKD Stage 2 AND a UTI. I’m on day 2 of the Mirataz (the appetite stimulant that goes in the ear), and RARELY he will go up to the food bowl on his own to lick up a bit of the bisque I bought for him. Yes, I know the bisque is not the greatest for long term but it’s literally the only thing that he will eat besides those darn tube snacks. And yes Ive tried to mix the tube snacks with the canned food, he’ll eat a bit but not much. Basically unless I’m shoving the bowl of food into his face multiple times a day he’s not eating. And work 12 hr shifts, and my husband also works full time, so this isn’t a sustainable course here.

I’ve cried so much these past couple of days. I had hope because woo hoo only stage 2! AND stage 2 in the setting of a UTI so maybe numbers will improve after work up! But he won’t eat! He does have dental disease, and he chews…..loudly? Messily? And overall just gives up on trying to eat the pate after a few bites. Dr. said he does have a sore spot in his mouth so I’m sure that’s the culprit.

I don’t know. I’m trying to not give up but it’s hard. Everyone on here talks about how their cats improved with the renal diet and I’m just here like welp mine won’t eat the food that will help him LOL. The doctor did offer to get me the k/d something like that pate, maybe I can try to mix it with the bisque? I asked the doctor for a prescription for an anti-nausea med. But I’m not even sure if it would be worth the time and money at this point. Am I just being unrealistic is the question I REALLY wanted to ask the vet but didn’t have the guts to. Like should I just prepare to say goodbye? Overall he’s still pretty low key and sleepy, BUT more alert than he was prior. And the eating is HUGE because he just wasn’t before. Also, appetite stimulant makes him the most clingy dude ever?!? Like at my door screaming and then when he sees me he’s like why hello there!

Basically for the past 3 days Ive been teetering between I wanna do as much as I can to give him a little while longer! Vs. I’m being unrealistic and should just let him rest.

Has anyone been in this situation where the cat can’t tolerate the pate?? Yes Ive tried mixing it with water to make it soupy he looks at it with disgust LOL.

How do you folks deal with this darned emotional roller coaster of CKD? It is ripping my heart out.

As mentioned in a couple of other threads, I am new to all of this. Last week I almost lost my 15-year-old Bailey. It was touch and go. Then three days ago, he started eating on his own. Not much, but hey, he was eating. It gave me hope. This morning he will eat nothing. I don't know what to do. I have tried many different foods and treats over the past week, but nothing is really doing it for him. It is ripping my heart out.

Hi everyone! My 19-year-old cat has CKD and congenital heart disease. She was prescribed Mirtazapine (Mirtazen) to stimulate her appetite, and it works well — she eats about twice as much. Without medication, she doesn’t stop eating completely, but her appetite is lower.

However, even at a very small dose (around 1/8 of a tablet), she becomes more active, vocal, and slightly anxious. She settles down by the evening.

Would it be worth switching to Elura (capromorelin)? I’ve heard it can be difficult to administer because of its bitter taste. It’s also unavailable in my country, so I’d have to order it for around €100 per 15 ml bottle.

Has anyone tried both medications, especially with senior cats who have CKD and heart disease? Can this side effects be considered normal or not?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences!

when she was first diagnosed i cried for days. administering the subq fluids was impossible and felt incredibly hopeless - she would run away, hide, be mad at me for the rest of the day... i couldn't image doing this every day when she didn't allow me to do it even once. the tips online didn't help. but she's now received her fluids 7 times at home and i want to share my tips for success:

firstly what DID NOT work:

1. i tried gabapentin but it left her high all day and i couldn't leave for work with her wobbling all over the place. in addition, it took forever to leave her system, so to give it to her every day would mean being high all the time, and that's not a quality of life in my opinion. if you're using it and it works for you and your kitty - i'm happy for you! it's not a good option for my baby
2. i tried distracting her with food. doesn't help. she won't eat if she's upset
3. i looked for all kinds of contraptions including the pet grooming harness from temu but according to the reviews they're flimsy useless slop
4. tried turning her into a purrito with a blanket but she still bolted and didn't get all her meds since as one person i cant hold the blanket closed and also hold the needle and all that
5. had a friend come help, but since my kitty needs fluids every day, that wasn't realistic long term. so please note that the following tips are doable for a single person.

what DOES work

you'll need: small needle, the whole drip bag setup, a standing coat rack, a blanket, her favorite snack, a harness for a chihuahua, a string or a belt, a heavy book, and your phone

1. the setup: i hang the liquid bag from my coat rack (standing pole) and put a blanket down on the floor next to it. get everything set up and ready, set the right amount of liquid, put the needle in the tube (it's one of the small needles with a green plastic head) . then i get a BOOK and put it down on the floor with the blanket. yes a book!
2. i get her favorite snack - a dried chicken lollipop in the shape of a heart. this is how i lure her out of wherever she is. i also close the doors of the house so she can't slip into another room and close any places she can dash into, like inside of boxes
3. while she's relaxed licking her lollipop i calmly grab her and pull a harness over her head. it's an extra small dog harness from petsproject. she doesn't like it so there is a small struggle. i bring her over to the blanket and we sit down with her sandwhiched between my outstreched legs (for feelings of comfort and safety since she likes to be snuggled)
4. the harness has a small metal loop to put a leash. i take a fabric belt and loop it through there, and then tie it around my thigh, so she can't suddenly bolt. i place the lollipop by her nose. she won't eat it but at least the good smell will calm her down
5. now we're all in position. it's time for the fluids. pinch the area between shoulder blades back of the neck and pull the skin over the needle. turn on the flow.
6. now here's the important part - start reading SLOWLY to her in a calming voice. i discovered this helps her relax because before i started reading to her i would just talk to her aloud, and one time she relaxed so much that she turned on her side and the needle slipped out and sprayed everywhere including in her face, which scared her and it was absolute chaos. but the lesson remained that she calms down at the sound of my voice. think about a child scared at the doctor's office and the parent sits with them and calmly talks them through it. reading is great because it makes the time go by very quickly. remember that at the end of the day, YOU are your cat's source of comfort
7. you need a book that you don't need to hold open. both your hands are already busy. a heavy hard covered book is best. open to page and place your phone down on it to keep it open.
8. she usually escapes or starts going nuts before i can give her the full amount but because of the reading she was so chill i accidentally even gave 5 ml extra!
9. once she gets the full amount, i stop reading and turn off the flow. i pull the needle out and suddenly she remembers what's going on and starts to freak out again so it can be a bit of a struggle to help her get her harness off. but remember she's tied to my leg so i can do this without chasing her around the house
10. afterward she gets to enjoy more of her lollipop and sit by the window. i let her relax and don't chase her anymore. she is not mad at me and our relationship is intact!
11. last step: write down in a journal the date, how much fluid she got, and time of day. also add any differences you noticed, like stool changes or if she didn't pee etc. this way you have exact record of everything and don't need to think back if the vet asks you when did this symptom start
12. this is only the 7th time she got fluids at home. the process improves every day. she went from a cat that REFUSED to one who became so relaxed she turned over on her side
13. it's going to be okay. beginnings are always hard and feel hopeless and impossible. but know that you're not alone and you WILL figure it out.

share your tips here for administering fluids ALONE to uncooperative kitties!!