Meet new members Nadia and Kohl.

Nadia's story as told by Kerry:

Nadia was not yet six years old when she was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) in March 1998. In retrospect, she had been showing signs of the illness for over six months, but we didn't know it then. She had diahrrea for an extended period of time, and we brought her to the vet (vet #1). The vet suggested that she may have developed a sensitivity to her food, and suggested that we put her on a highly-digestible lamb and rice diet. Nadia was also a bit overweight at that time, and the new diet was also lower in fat. Well, we thought everything was okay, because the diahrrea went away within two weeks and she slowly began to drop the excess weight as well.

But about three months later, Nadia began vomiting clear, foamy fluid. She would have episodes where she would vomit a few times in one night, and then not again for weeks. Again, I took her to the vet. I was then told that "some cats just vomit more than others," and not to worry about it. They gave her a shot of Depro-Medrol and told me that this would clear it up for about three months. I didn't know it at the time, but Depro-Medrol is a very powerful steroid. Administering this medication is likely to have further compromised Nadia's failing kidneys. Only I also didn't yet know that they were failing at the time....

Nearly three months later, Nadia's vomiting episodes resumed. Around the same time she also became constipated, and I found some blood in her stool. We took her back to the vet. This time we were told that she probably had an inflamed colon. She was given an antibiotic.

Well, I'd had it. I had been beconing increasingly frustrated by the care that Nadia had received, and I finally made the decision to go to another vet. I immediately made an appointment for her at an office recommended by a co-worker. Within two days, Nadia had very suddenly become listless and had stopped eating. I was horribly upset. The new vet (vet #2) immediately did blood work on her, but guessed that by her excellent appearance (shiny coat, bright eyes, etc.), age, and symptoms, that she was probably suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. I brought Nadia home, feeling relieved that we were dealing with something manageable.

Until the next morning--a Saturday--when the phone call came. Vet #2 was shocked by Nadia's blood test results--she was in extreme kidney failure with a creatinine of 12.7 and a BUN of 125, several times the normal levels. I barely remember that phone call. The only thing that I can really remember is "she won't live a normal life span." I was crying so hard that I couldn't think straight and had no idea what questions to ask.

I immediately got onto the internet, and thankfully found the Chronic Renal Failure Information Center web-site and e-mail list. Within 24 hours I had printed out the website, read it 3x, subscribed to the e-mail list, and had received dozens of helpful messages instructing me as to what my next steps should be. By Sunday afternoon I had rushed Nadia to an emergency vet (vet #3) and she was put on IV Fluids to help flush the toxins out of her system. I don't think that I slept more than a few hours that weekend.

On Monday morning, Nadia had to be transferred back to the office of vet #2 to continue to receive IV fluids. I made the visit armed with my internet printouts and a whole page of questions. I had a very serious talk with vet #2 and explained that Nadia was a young cat who loved life. It was clear that she was not ready to die. I also explained that I wanted to do anything we could, assuming that it would not be extremely invasive or cause pain, to help improve the quality and prolong the quantity of her life. Vet #2 took me seriously, and has been wonderfully supportive since that day.

I'll admit that I thought that I might need to find a vet #4 at first. Because vet #2 hadn't given me much information when she called with Nadia's diagnosis. I didn't understand why she didn't tell me to bring Nadia in for IV fluid therapy immediately--I was angry that I had to go to the internet to figure out how sick she really was and to learn about what we could do. But after speaking with vet #2 on that Monday, she expressed that she was very impressed by what I had learned in just two days. She explained that many people are intimidated by the permanent care needed to manage a chronic disease. So, vets often have to be careful about when to introduce the many treatment options into the conversation, because people often feel immediately overwhelmed. And sadly, many people just don't care--and therefore chose no treatment options at all. I still think that vet #2 should have told me everything up-front. But now this whole experience has made me realize that it's important to be frank with your vet, to ask a lot of questions, and to learn everything that you can about the illness you are dealing with. I strongly believe that the research that I did (and still do) is critical to the excellent care that Nadia gets from our vet. Because the vet and I are "partners" in this. Sometimes she suggests things that I've never heard of. And sometimes I suggest things that she's never heard of. And there have been several times when she has gone and researched a medication or symptom for me. So--KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. And it is through knowledge that you can gain any control over a chronic illness at all.

I will avoid going into much more detail, but I'll mention that Nadia was on IV for five days (we took her home each night) before we saw an improvement in her toxin levels. Even then, they were still high, and the next three months were very tough -- a rollercoaster ride with her seeming to feel good, and then sick, all in the same day. I feared every day that she would crash and that I would lose her. In May 1998, her toxin levels jumped again, and she had to undergo three more days of IV fluid therapy (again, we brought her home each night). Finally, Nadia's condition stabilized to some degree, and she is still with us today, a happy and active cat who eats well and has gained all of her lost weight back. She gets meds and sub-q fluids everyday, but she takes them like a champ, with little complaining. CRF kitties often learn pretty quickly that these things help them to feel better.

I am still coming to terms with the fact that someday I will probably lose my precious Nadia to this disease. But in our eyes, she is already the champion. She is already the victor. And she has already beaten all the odds.

We've collected a lot of information about treating CRF over the past months, and we felt inclined to compile it in a way that could be shared. So, please visit Nadia's Feline CRF Site. We hope that what we've learned will be helpful to you too, and that Nadia's story will serve as an inspiration to those who find themselves in the same position that we were in/are in.

Oh, and we would be lacking if we didn't mention Kohl too. Kohl was diagnosed with a heart murmur and feline asthma in January 1999 at age 2 1/2. You'll find a lot of info about these health conditions on the same site.