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Before I talk about Random's vet visit last Saturday, I want to thank Shelley for her kind offer to come and make up Yuki's Lactated Ringer's Solution. Once we factored in the cost of the airfare, though, it became a little less competitive :) Thanks anyway, though :)

Now back to our regularly unscheduled blog. Since our household already includes one diabetic dog and one formerly diabetic cat now with chronic renal insufficiency, of course I jumped to conclusions when Random was seen drinking more water and visiting the litter box more often.

Apparently he was just thirsty :) There is also the possibility he has an as-yet-undetected mild bladder infection. His bloodwork and urinalysis looked good; blood glucose, BUN and creatinine were all within normal ranges. We'll just keep watching him to make sure things get back to normal. If not, we'll do another urinalysis this coming Saturday.

Just wanted to put in a "no news, good news" entry for a change!

The lab results are not very good :( and that's partly due to Yuki's resistance to receiving fluids.

Strangely enough, however, her weight is up almost half a pound from her last vet visit, which is a very positive development. She is still eating and drinking well on her own, without any nausea, stomach upset or vomiting -- also good. Although her appetite is not exactly hearty, she's eating most of what is set out for her, both dry and wet prescription food. "Output" seems fine (no constipation, no excessive or inappropriate urination) as well. In other words, despite the lab results, she's not showing many of the symptoms that might be expected with numbers that bad. And in terms of attitude (or should I say cat-titude?) she's still feisty and curious and still has the random scamper attack now and then.

So the good news, of course, is that her quality of life is apparently still quite high. Read MORE... if you'd like to see actual numbers and the continued plan for Yuki's treatment.

If you've been keeping tabs on the crew here for a while, you know that Yuki was diagnosed with chronic renal failure last year.

Although chronic renal failure is progressive, incurable at this time and ultimately terminal, the condition can be managed for months and even years with a decent quality of life. Yuki was originally diagnosed in April 2002 and since that time has had her diet changed twice; first to a lower-protein non-prescription premium diet, and then to a prescription kidney diet. She is still eating and drinking well on her own (in later stages of CRF it is likely she will not be able to do so) but she has lost quite a bit of weight and one kidney has atrophied quite a bit. Her blood work also indicates that it is now time for her to receive subcutaneous fluid therapy in order to help rehydration and to help her kidneys process waste. Want to know MORE... ?