Need advice to help my cat

[mimimari]

Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone might have some advice on how I can help my cat. His name is Jo and he is 15 years old. He is very ill, the vet says that he has a tumor on his kidney. It has gotten very bad very quickly.

Some background: About a week and a half ago I noticed that he was having problems eating. It seemed that his teeth and gums were hurting. He became unable to eat or drink without pawing at his mouth. I was concerned that he was getting dehydrated so I took him to the vet, and they said that it seemed like he might have a tumor on his kidneys. So they gave him an subcutaneous fluid injection for the dehydration and told me that anything I do at this point would be palliative, sent me home with three different types of medication, consisting of an anti-biotic, a steroid, and a pain reliever, all to be administered orally.

I was giving him these meds for the first couple of days and they did not seem to make him any more comfortable. In fact, they seemed to be really be messing him up. All he would do is hide behind the toilet, looking drugged and miserable. He seem to really hate the meds and he was still not eating or drinking. I was concerned that he will get dehydrated again so I took him to the vet again, about a day and half later, to see if they will give him another water shot, until I can figure out what to do. Then this vet said that he is in the advanced stages of cancer, or renal failure, but they wouldn't know for sure without an x-ray and blood work. I told him that I could not afford the x-ray and blood work at that time.

He suggested that I get a loan from 'Care-Credit' (an apparent predatory lending company). At this point I decided to go to another vet and see what they had to say. In the mean time I was looking into homeopathic remedies for his teeth and gums to get him eating and drinking again. It seemed to be working because he started eating and drinking a lot. I was putting extra water, trace minerals, and electrolytes in all of his food to help him get hydrated. I was looking into oral re-hydration therapy and made a mixture, similar to the pedialite mixture vets use, but I used mango rather than sugar, because it has low glycemic index. I was giving 1ml about three times a day, either in his food or from a plastic syringe.

He was eating and drinking and using the bathroom. Then the next day, I noticed that his belly looked really big, he was having trouble laying down and couldn’t seem to get comfortable. So I schedule with another vet, but the next morning he was having trouble breathing so I had to go to the vet right away. They did an x-ray and the x-ray was just all white. They said they could not see anything because his body is full of fluid in his abdomen and around his lungs and that is what is causing the difficulty in breathing.

There is a procedure where they can take fluid out of the abdomen, but they could not do that for Jo because he needs an ultra sound and surgery to get the fluid out of his chest, which they said only an emergency vet hospital could do, which I would need the 'Care Credit' for.

Research from the internet says that edema in the abdomen is usually treated with diuretics, so I am giving him dandelion extract, which some claim to be just as powerful as the medical diuretic vets prescribe. Dandelion will not remove the minerals from the body and cause dehydration like the medical diuretics will. I've also started supplementing him with CoQ-10, sodium ascorbate, and milk thistle.

The first vet mentioned a possible heart murmur, but wasn't sure if Jo had one. Then about a week later the other vet said he had an irregular heartbeat. From research on the internet it seems that he might be going through heart failure, which could be the cause of all the fluid. The vet also thought that the fluid could be from inflammation due to possible multiple tumors. There are homeopathic remedies for cardiomyopathy.

I don't know if it is a good idea to get surgery, or maybe the homeopathic, herbal, and DMSO will help. All the vets I have seen are trying to end his life because he is an elderly cat. Going to the vet or surgery would put so much stress on him, he really does not like it, but he is having trouble breathing. I don't know what to do. It all happened so fast. I just don't know what to do.

 

[Keit]

I don't know if it is a good idea to get surgery, or maybe the homeopathic, herbal, and DMSO will help. All the vets I have seen are trying to end his life because he is an elderly cat. Going to the vet or surgery would put so much stress on him, he really does not like it, but he is having trouble breathing. I don't know what to do. It all happened so fast. I just don't know what to do.

I am very sorry Melissa that your cat has so many problems. :(

Regarding possible renal tumor, or a tumor on kidney. You see, kidneys, along with the liver are the main organs of detoxification either in humans or cats. If there is any serious problem with the kidneys, it leads to an accumulation of toxins in the body, among other things. And as a result the body tries to get rid of the toxins in other ways, like through mouth, the skin, etc. That's why it is very common for cats with kidney problems to have also all kind problems with their gums, teeth, mouth mucous, etc. It is actually one of the diagnostic signs.

What is also common is when toxic accumulation starts to affect other organs, primarily the heart, liver, lungs, and it also can lead to a fluid accumulation in chest or abdomen, or even lead to a pulmonary edema.

As for dehydration, also it's important to remember that there are all kind of situations and sometimes saline solution can do more harm than good. For example, in cases there is water retention in the body due to heart problems, etc., simple (not standardized) saline solution can lead even to greater water retention, as it accumulates in the extracellular level (between cells and vessels).

As for sugar, I guess you refer to glucose, right? Well, actually, vets use glucose (the 5% solution) not for the sugar or energy, but in order to create "free water" in the tissues. That's because glucose is being very quickly metabolized by the cells, and what remains is the "free water". Also, in cases of water retention vets use "hypertonic" solutions, like glucose 10%, because it helps to draw water from the extracellular level.

I am sorry if maybe you don't really need this physiology lesson right now, but I think it's important for you to understand that your cat is in a very tricky situation. The moment fluid starts to accumulate, unless you can remove it successfully as part of complex therapy designed to "jump start" the kidneys, live and heart, it will continue to accumulate. And the moment your vet will drain the fluid once, you can be sure that you will continue to bring your cat to the vet for repeated similar procedures. And that's not taking into account that Jo may actually have tumors that can only get worse.

Jo's age is also problematic. And I guess he wasn't on the raw diet?

In any case, things you can do to help. To remove fluid you can use a drug called spironolactone. It maybe called differently in your country, but that's the active ingredient. It is a potassium-sparing diuretic used to treat congestive heart failure or high blood pressure, or to remove fluids from the body in general. You can of course take another diuretic, like furosemide, but it washes away potassium, and if your cat's heart is compromised it can create a problem.

As for treating kidney and liver, here there are good all natural products that contain a big collection of all kind of herbs compressed into a tablet or infusion. But I don't know if you have something like this where you live. What's important to do is to help the body to detox all the accumulated toxins.

 

[MusicMan]

I would suggest that you stop feeding the cat any tinned fish, which affects their kidneys.
Use the veterinary formula.

The other thing is parsley water, which helps kill kidney parasites.
Boil up the parsley and when it has cooled give the fluid to the cat to drink; throw away the parsley.

I had thought of furballs, which is a remote possibility, you can get some paraffin for cats, which is gunky, and rub some on its front legs. The cat will have to lick it off, and it will help it to pass any furballs.

15 years is a long time for a cat, and this may be its ninth life.

 

[mimimari]

Thank you so much, Keit and MusicMan. All thoughts are helpful and greatly appreciated.

I am sorry if maybe you don't really need this physiology lesson right now, but I think it's important for you to understand that your cat is in a very tricky situation. The moment fluid starts to accumulate, unless you can remove it successfully as part of complex therapy designed to "jump start" the kidneys, live and heart, it will continue to accumulate. And the moment your vet will drain the fluid once, you can be sure that you will continue to bring your cat to the vet for repeated similar procedures. And that's not taking into account that Jo may actually have tumors that can only get worse.

I agree this is very important. I am looking into some homeopathic remedies that might help jumpstart his system. I went to the PathwithPaws website and there they offer some Chinese herb mixture that are helpful with cancer, tumors, ect.. Lena, creator of that site, says that cats respond well to Chinese herbs, even a bit better than dogs.

My thinking was that if I could remove the fluid from his body, the pressure on his lungs will be removed and he will be able to breath. His blood will be able to circulate better and get nutrients to his organs. Then give him some remedies to jumpstart his heart, and liver. One thing I thought was strange was, that the three different vets I went to, they all took him temperature and Jo did not have a fever. Does this mean that his immune system is not working or maybe is unable to work?

Jo's age is also problematic. And I guess he wasn't on the raw diet?

No, he was not on the raw food diet. I tried last year to get him on a raw diet. I would hide small amounts in his canned wet food, but he would eat around it or not eat it at all. I would put salmon oil in it, but that didn't make much of a difference. I even had a standoff, but it still didn't work. I am trying again, putting even smaller amounts of raw food.

In any case, things you can do to help. To remove fluid you can use a drug called spironolactone. It maybe called differently in your country, but that's the active ingredient. It is a potassium-sparing diuretic used to treat congestive heart failure or high blood pressure, or to remove fluids from the body in general. You can of course take another diuretic, like furosemide, but it washes away potassium, and if your cat's heart is compromised it can create a problem.

As for treating kidney and liver, here there are good all natural products that contain a big collection of all kind of herbs compressed into a tablet or infusion. But I don't know if you have something like this where you live. What's important to do is to help the body to detox all the accumulated toxins.

I have heard of furosemide, but not spironolactone. I will check this out and look into more natural products. At the vet the last time they didn't even mention possibly using diuretics to remove the fluid in the abdomen.

I would suggest that you stop feeding the cat any tinned fish, which affects their kidneys.
Use the veterinary formula.

This is good advice, right now Jo mostly eats sardines that have been canned. I can buy fresh sardines from the store and cook them.


Again, thank you very much.

 

[Keit]

One thing I thought was strange was, that the three different vets I went to, they all took him temperature and Jo did not have a fever. Does this mean that his immune system is not working or maybe is unable to work?

Well, fever may not appear (at least constantly) in cases of cancer. It may be also an indication that the process has been going on for a while, and only now the symptoms are more vivid. Pretty common with cats, actually. As predators they will do their best to appear normal as long as possible. Hard to say, really. But watch out for the body temperature going down. It's an indicator that you really should start worrying.