Question about low potassium.

My cat's pottasium has been slowly dropping. it is one point below normal now. she did have chronic diarrhea but hasn't had that for a few weeks since she has been on a steroid. rest of blood work pretty normal. bun 38 but crea 1, no kidney disease as far i know.
what should i do about the low potassium. my vet says do nothing but he is a really bad vet. i'm worried it could affect her heart or kidneys. she is 14.5 years old. hypert, diabetic/remission mostly, previous chronic diarrhea.
if the low potassium was due to the diarrhea, i wonder how long it would take to go back up?
i know older cats sometimes just get low potassium. when and how should it be supplemented?
what is the risk in supplementing it?
what should i supplement with?
how often should it be checked after starting the supplement?

 

Low potassium (hypokalemia) can be caused by diarrhea, polyuria(excessive urination), diuretic therapy, reduced fluid intake and a least a dozen other factors I found. The metabolic disorder text I have also stated that the percentage of extracellular fluid in relation to body weight decreases as we age. In newborns fluid is about 75% of body weight and in elderly it is only about 55% of body weight. This may help explain why older people and animals get dehydrated more quickly and are prone to electrolyte imbalances. Hyper-T causes more frequent bowel movements, urination excess , vomiting and diarrhea due to increased GI mobility and peristalsis. This might be the link between the hypothyroidism and other symptoms?

In the PDR I found something even more interesting: it had a whole section on potassium deficit due to diuretic and CORTICOSTEROID therapy. Another possible cause of low potassium? In humans, supplements are potassium chloride and potassium gluconate (IV tx). There is a list of adverse effects two pages long for people.

I fortunately have never had a cat that had to take a potassium supplement. People on diuretics like lasix sometimes have to do potassium supplementation. Hopefully there are some members who have treated their cats with a potassium supplement. In people serum electrolytes, cardiac functioning and symptoms of possible GI ulceration are important to moniter.

This was a good review for me. I hope I didn't confuse the situation more. LOL

 

thanks janelle. that was interesting and informative. still not sure what to do about my cat though. : )
if anyone here has had a cat with low potassium, i'd be interested in what supplement they used, for how long and how it was montiored. i think i might have to try to get a specialist to answer this question. I have been bugging them so much lately... i think they are getting annoyed. my local vet should know this but i do not trust his judgement at all. thx for any advice anyone. thx janelle!

 

Potassium llevels have a fairly narrow range that is safe. If you over supplement it can cause hyperK which is also dangerious. The dose of a supplement would also be determined by the severity of the potassium deficiency, weight, renal functioning and levels of other electrolytes. To moniter the potassium levels, you would need to do blood work with an ellectrolyte panel. The answer is regulating potassium levels is something you might not be able to do on your own.

The olnly thing I could suggest is if buttercup has just a mild deficiency you could try to increase foods higher in potassium in her diet. Most of the foods I could find so far are fruits and vegetables. Maybe another member can give a better suggestion. Did you try Dr. Lisa's web site? She may have something on potassium levels or potassium rich foods that are appropriate for cats.

 

thx again Janelle. I will check Dr. Lisa's web site to see if there is some info on supplementing potassium.

 

i just checked dr. lisa's web site. www.catinfo.org right? i didn't see anything on supplementing low potassium. i could have missed it though. if it isn't there, is there another reputable source of into on this. i've done a quick internet search and couldn't find anything written by a veterinarian yet.
thanks a lot. i know it's esasy ot supplement but i don't know when, how much, when to recheck, what exact type, etc. and if i ask my local vet he will prob just say not to worry about it which is pretty much what he says about everything. thanks a lot.

 

I'd have the potassium rechecked via blood work. If still low talk to the vet about supplementing with Tumil-K, we used the pill form.

Low potassium can lead to muscle waisting and unexplained weight loss. Severe low potassium and your kitty would look very tired, unable to lift his/her head. That would require hospitalization with IV fluids with extra potassium added. Your kitty would probably have to be force fed during that time.

Once potassium is started you need to monitor via bloodwork, in the beginning every few weeks, then every few months. Heart problems could start if the potassium levels go too high, not sure how long they would have to be too high for before that happens.

If your cat seems tired, that could be a sign that potassium is low. Diabetics, hyperts, ibd, crf kitties, they can all be at risk for hypokalemia, I'm no expert on that, but excessive urination or diahrea could deplete potassium. For some kitties, it's just old age. When I first started researching this I read somewhere that 40% of senior kitties can become hypokalemic.

 

Hi Jennifer,

I have never actually compared the pricing of Tumil K against an OTC potassium supplement but most vet products are more expensive.

I just have my clients buy the otc products in either the pill form (never to be pulled but, instead, crushed and added to food) or in the loose powder form.

OTC=over the counter. NOW brand....GNC....etc....

 

This question might be one Dr. Lisa or Squemie3 could answer. Are there foods appropriate for cats that are richer in potassium? There is the DASH diet for people to increase K intake but most of these foods are fruits or vegetables. It would seem logical to try to make a dietary change first before going to supplements.

Sara and Buttercup I hope you get your answer. They can custom make prescription diets for people so I assume the same can be done for cats.

Ps Squemie3 sorry if I didn't spell your name right. You seem to be our resident diet person besides Dr. Lisa.

 

With all of the difficulty we had in keeping Tucker's potassium level close to normal, personally I could not have used anything for him other than from my vet, he was too special for me to mess around with getting the right dose and consistency from OTC.

I also hope that anyone who sees this doesn't think that it would be okay to go out on your own and supplement potassium with OTC products without consulting your vet and keeping up with the electrolyte blood work. I believe Dr. Lisa would agree with me on that, but please know this is just me talking and I do not speak for Dr. Lisa who I value greatly BTW and thank her for helping me with Tucker back in 2006 with our phone consult.

Tucker's K crashed three times before he passed away, he needed a high dose of K, but for others who may have just one blood work result showing low K, please do not supplement with OTC without your vet's instruction and care. Too much K can lead to heart problems.

 

Absolutely and thank you for stating the above very clearly since my post should have covered what you stated above.

I was very sad to read about Tucker's passing......hurts like hell to lose our furry buddies.....

 

Sara, I am afraid you are caught in another catch-22. Your vet isn't concerned about buttercup's decreasing potassium levels but you need a vet and lab work to safely supplement..

It keeps comming back to this same issue about the vet. I know you live in a rural area but you might want to start expanding out. For example, get a list of all vets within a fifty mile radius of your house. It sounds drastic to have to drive an hour each way for a new vet, but you might save buttercup's life if you do this. An even more drastic step might be to move if you are just renting.

This sounds drastic but I know some people with medical problems who have moved due to lousy hospitals in the area.