Understanding Your Cat's Kidney Care

If your cat has been diagnosed with kidney disease, your vet has probably already set up a variety of medications and treatments for your pet to undergo. It can be a bit shocking for pet parents and leave them with a lot of questions when so many treatments are introduced all at once, so don't feel bad if you're feeling confused. Here are the three most common methods of treatment for kidney disease in cats and why your vet has prescribed them.

Subcutaneous Fluids

Subcutaneous fluids are IV fluids that are injected under your cat's skin, but not into a vein or artery. They temporarily give your cat a fluid pouch that resembles a camel's, allowing their body to gradually absorb the fluid and nutrients in the IV solution over a long period of time. Since your cat's kidneys aren't working at full capacity, this fluid helps the body to flush out toxins from the bloodstream without your cat having to spend all day drinking water.

Subcutaneous fluid IV bags, lines, and needles can generally be purchased from your veterinarian's office or your local pet pharmacy. It may be less expensive to pick them up from the pharmacy, as many vets' offices don't carry these items in bulk.

Appetite Stimulants

Another common prescription is an appetite stimulant for your cat to take. Cats who are going through kidney disease sometimes won't want to eat. As toxins build up in the blood, your cat may feel a bit nauseous, which will make them unwilling to eat.

Appetite stimulants are powerful pills or liquids that can be given to your cat to make them feel hungry. It won't help the nausea, but it should help your kitty to eat more for a while. Generally, you should only use this medication as needed: if your cat is feeling well enough to eat, there's no reason to medicate your cat. However, it's still good to keep on-hand for the bad days.

Stomach Acid Neutralizer

Lastly, your vet may prescribe a pepcid medication to reduce the amount of acid in your cat's stomach. This can help to reduce the nausea symptoms somewhat, as well as reducing the risk of your cat developing ulcers due to an overabundance of stomach acid.

While a healthy cat that's eating normally shouldn't have any problems with stomach acid, if your cat's stomach is chronically empty or close to empty, they may have too much acid. Pepcid medications can help with this and reduce your cat's risk of vomiting, too.

Kidney disease is a tough diagnosis, but it's possible to manage to give your cat the best life possible. Talk to your pet pharmacist to learn if buying your pet's medications in bulk is possible for a discount. For more information, talk to a professional like Foothills Animal Hospital.