George has a Mysterious Condition

Partner to many cats in our stay here. Sounds like initial stage kidney problems. Usually there are no initial symptoms beside a rather sudden weight los.
Im no expert on anything cept by xperience. Cats seem to los kidney function even before their teeth go bd. (Thats another thing, a little dental heckup may revel an absess or a kind of kitty gingivitis which keeps your bud from even eating.

good luck.

Sorry you are going thru this.

Of course you will do the humane thing and be sure the animal is not in pain.

Is that George in your avatar? Such a presence he has.
I know that sinking feeling, but don't have cat health advice. Maybe CowDoc will see this.

My sympathies on your cat's health.

Ditto on what FM wrote. I had 2 cats for 18 yrs. (at same time). The female at age 17 started dropping weight so the vet taught me how to push IV fluids. That lasted for about 1 month before she stopped eating. Cat's Kidneys are the first organ to go, apparently. My other cat passed on of old age at 19.

They're such good companions and never complain (much).

Sorry to hear that mate.

I agree with Farmerman. I see the labs came back normal, but there might be a further test. If in doubt, we always ask for a complete blood workup, but you may already have done that. Sadly, all such tests are rather expensive...

How old is your cat?

We rescue cats and have a large number living with us now. Most are over 10, some are over 15, one is now 20. Our oldest died at 23 or 24.

We recently switched all the cats over to kidney support food, and everyone's energy levels rose rather swiftly. Also, gingivitis and other mouth infections are common in older cats -- ours are checked regularly for mouth infections. We have 2 that have mouth infections and have to be kept separate from the others, as this is highly contagious.

Also, older cats seem to prefer more liquid in their food, like soupy foods or with lots of broth. Not so much made by adding water and mixing, as that which comes from the packet or can already mostly liquid. Especially if their teeth are bad or they have a painful mouth infection, they don't like to chew or crunch dry food and prefer something easier to eat.

Ask you vet about antibiotics, but be careful about the length of time to use them. Antibiotics are hard on the liver and kidneys for older cats, especially if they already have a renal problem.

Please keep us posted. There are a lot of people reading this who have far more expertise to share than I do...

I'm glad you saw this. I should have pm'd you on it.
Snood has been away for a while and probably doesn't know your story, re yourselves or Anna.

I'll try to find the Anna link..

Here is one -
https://able2know.org/topic/359642-1

More about them - https://able2know.org/topic/334286-1
Seizan a favorite poster I never skip over.

Sorry, I see I posted your link another time. Hey, it can't hurt.

good stuff . Ill have to keep reading your cat xperience and advice, we too seem to "rescue" cats that people actually toss out of cars as they go driving by our farm. some we get, some we dont. We are close to New Bolton vet hospital , a teaching hospital of the U of Pa vet school.
We hve to Coon cats nd one is now "napping" on the couch with Mrs F. They always seem to sleep in weirdly human-like positions

Thank you FM, Osso, Seizan, and everyone. George is over 15 years old. They did do a full blood workup and found nothing. The recommendations about antibiotics and soupy food will be looked into. I've been through two marriages and 4 states with these two cats - George and his brother. Truly scary how much they mean to me. Thank you again. You remind me of why I keep coming back to A2K. Some great hearts in here.

George and Joe

Ahhhh, the sunshine and the windows. Cat Nirvana.

The last two cats we had both died of kidney failure. If I remember correctly, the vet diagnosed it thru blood work or urine analysis, but maybe my cat was farther along. He also recommended the sonogram, which I did, then they just said yep, the sonogram verified the blood results. It did nothing to improve treatment options and I felt a little snookered. Don't feel guilty about the sonogram, they often recommend such tests to double check their diagnosis.

They other thing I noticed was a strong foul odor on her breath. Like Ragman, I administered IV fluids and that seemed to make her feel much better and got rid of the odor for awhile. She was a mellow cat and would sit on my lap while I pushed the fluids. It extended her life by about 4 - 5 months.

It's really not difficult to do, cats have loose skin and tolerate the fluids well. But the vet can teach you how to do it, they can demo it in the office.

Hope that helps a little. Best wishes to George

True, however hard it is to discern. You are dear to me, not to get mushy, I've known you a long time.
Anyway, you aren't alone.

Fab, strong, photos.

Very sorry to hear this.

He's comfortable?


((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

We may not see eye-to-eye politically, but you could try here:

https://www.gofundme.com/pet-animal-fundraising

A lot of animal lovers in the world that would be willing to help cover testing.

Aw, George (and his brother) are really gorgeous. Hoping for the best for the kitteh.

I did it, McG. Thank you.
www.gofundme.com/georges-exams

So sorry to hear that George is unwell. He and Joe have been your pals for a long time.

I'll chime in with another vote for soupy foods. My dogs were old around the same time as two of my best friend's cats. We were always comparing notes on soups and stews we were making for our furkids. Hers also had kidney troubles - seems to be a thing with older male cats - so it was kidney care food + homemade soup/mushy foods.

My pal Andrea went through this about a year ago. Got a kitten who seemed to pep her old guy up for about six months but then he got too tired for the play to amuse him. It's tough.

Scritches for George and Joe (and snood of course).