10/27 Loudogg AMPS 78 +3 87 +6 56 +9 59 - Bella Update

Amanda and a Loudogg

Amanda and a Loudogg

Member Since 2017
October 6 2019 Condo

Hello everyone,
I can't believe how long it's been since my last update. I was hoping to get on the ball, but it didn't quite work out. Lou's still cruising on the 1.25u dose. As of 10/24, he's officially been on this dose for 2 months, which is annoying. He's only just shown some promise in the last couple of days. We'll see how that goes.

On the plus side, we gave civvie Bella her last Denamarin pill a week ago, and took her in to have her labs rechecked on Wednesday. Generally good news all around. Her ALT test was at 104 three months ago (slightly elevated), and it was down to 40! So we do not have to continue the Denamarin. :joyful: I asked to check her for hyperthyroidism, and her T4 was normal. Unfortunately, she lost almost 3 pounds in 3 months and I'm not sure how worrisome that is (12.8 lbs down to 10.0 lbs). She seems skeletal to me, but she's always been overweight. Some of her symptoms seem to have gotten better since we stopped the pill, but since they could come and go, it's hard to say for sure. On the plus side, her coat, which was dull and greasy a month or so ago feels absolutely fantastic today. Where my concerns are here is when/if I should be concerned about her kidney values. 3 months ago her BUN was 30.3 (ref range: 15-32) and her creatinine was 1.4 (ref range: 0.8-1.8). Now her BUN was at 26.8 (hooray), but her creatinine went up to 1.8. Obviously it's still within normal range, but I'm not sure when it's time to worry. I'll have to keep an eye on her going forward. I hope it was just a blip on her radar, but considering she'll be 13 in a couple weeks, it's good to be cautious.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and your kitties surf safely. Sending some extra healing and comfort vines out to Dan's Luna (@For_Luna). :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
It has been a while since I have dealt with kidney issues, but I recall that dehydration can influence. Did they ever run an SDMA? While creatinine can be an indicator of loss of kidney function, the SDMA test run by IDEXX labs can identify early stages of CKD better than creatinine or BUN. The fact that she has lost weight is a bit troubling, my girls did that too in early stage kidney disease. It is possible that creatinine is higher in more muscular male cats, which is not the case here.

I'm sure Marje will add/correct ;) as required, since my memory of CKD isn't very fresh...that would be going on 10 years now!
 
Christie & Maverick said:
It has been a while since I have dealt with kidney issues, but I recall that dehydration can influence. Did they ever run an SDMA? While creatinine can be an indicator of loss of kidney function, the SDMA test run by IDEXX labs can identify early stages of CKD better than creatinine or BUN. The fact that she has lost weight is a bit troubling, my girls did that too in early stage kidney disease. It is possible that creatinine is higher in more muscular male cats, which is not the case here.

I'm sure Marje will add/correct ;) as required, since my memory of CKD isn't very fresh...that would be going on 10 years now!
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They haven't run a SDMA test, nor has anyone suggested it or brought up any concern with DKA. I just noticed it was on the high end of normal and started to look into it a bit myself. She had been vomiting, had some diarrhea, has been drinking water even though she's on wet food and we add water to it, and has been losing weight. Originally, she was around 15 lbs last year (or two), was at 12.8 three months ago, and is now at 10 lbs. She gets the same amount of food and is on the same feeding schedule as Lou, so I kind of thought she might have gained weight instead of lost. I asked for the weight check during this blood draw (it was just a draw, not an appointment), and when I got the results, I was just told "we don't know why she's losing weight." I thought hyperthyroidism matched the symptoms, including the slightly increased liver tests, so I had asked to add that test specifically. Bella's always been a vomiter (hairballs), but recently she's had more bouts without hairballs in them. It's possible that the Denamarin didn't agree with her since the vomiting and diarrhea increased or starting during the 3 months she was on it. Something feels off, but she seems perfectly fine; she's happy, bathing herself, asking for cuddles, etc. I'm not sure how much to push or keep bringing her in when the vet doesn't seem concerned and testing is coming back normal. :confused: Obviously with Lou being extra sweet I've learned so much about other conditions that can happen to cats. So I don't know if I'm being properly cautious or just overly anxious. :nailbiting:
 
My cats’ creatinine goes up and down a bit and they are healthy and young. Was a urinalysis done? One way to tell if the creatinine increase “might” be significant is if her urine specific gravity is dilute (below 1.035). It’s best to take in the first urine of the day and let them run a USG to see if her urine is concentrated. If it isn’t, it’s possible it’s a very early indicator of CKD.

It’s best, though, to not look at one parameter on its own. There are a lot of other values that give an idea of the total picture of the kidneys.
 
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