My senior cat with kidney disease is lethargic. What helps low energy?

Warming up the food often will entice cats to eat better. Be sure not to make it too hot. The heating of the food increases the smell and stimulates their olfactory system. I would try that. You can also try feeding some human organic baby food (meat flavors).

Hello, sorry to hear about Tony. A low potassium may be secondary to a decrease dietary intake. However, if Tony is on amlodipine, then this can cause a low potassium as well. If his kidney values are normal, then it is less likely that he has kidney disease. I would recommend continuing to monitor him and if he is otherwise eating, drinking, and acting normally then you may not need to pursue an abdominal ultrasound at this point. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi there, and thanks for posting this question. With Addison’s disease the potassium levels are actually high, not low. And Addison’s disease is very rare in cats as well, but yes It causes a variety of gastrointestinal problems. However, low potassium levels is commonly seen in older cats with chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease eventually decreases appetite because either they are slightly nauseated and just don’t feel like eating or sometimes they become anemic and weak and don’t want to eat. I hope this answers your question and I hope Tony does well. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Listlessness and lethargy in an older cat could be due to acute renal failure, metabolic disease, pancreatitis (possibly secondary to the sardines) or even neoplasia. Since this is an acute event, it is important to get The Fruits checked out by a veterinarian since blood work abnormalities can come on very suddenly. Please do not give your cat sodium chloride fluid since this could impact the kidneys, especially when there is a possibility of acute kidney disease. Your veterinarian will be able to advise you whether or not fluid administration is appropriate depending on the underlying disease process and if so, what fluid and in what amounts would be suitable.

No it is not safe to give your cat Vitamin B human grade b/c this would overdose him. In fact Vitamin B12 is not absorbed readily by mouth and must be given by injection to pets. This also isn't much of an appetite stimulant, but mostly helps with intestinal malabsorption. I would suggest that you ask your vet for anti-nausea medication (Cerenia) which is actually labeled to use for cats with kidney problems that have decreased appetite. It also help with nausea, which in turn can increase his appetite. Also you can look into Azodyl supplements to help lower his kidney values, which in turn can help with the nausea as well and manage his kidney disease better. https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=azodyl&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=241645664779&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14854120277917394511&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028263&hvtargid=kwd-3477607953&ref=pd_sl_7qkvgeqbgm_e Best of luck with your pet Tikvichko and I hope he manages his kidney disease well here moving forward! Take care.

These signs are probably not due to old age alone and there is likely something going on with Shadoe. Unfortunately, without a full physical exam and diagnostic testing, it is not possible to determine what could be causing these signs. However, lethargy and eating and drinking very little along with weight loss are very concerning signs that warrant a visit to the veterinarian. Here are some resources that will hopefully help you afford a vet for Shadoe: 1) You can see if your vet accepts payment plans. 2) Look for a low cost clinic in your area 3) Try to apply for Care Credit online (www.carecredit.com) 4) There is an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants (redrover.org) 5) Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website (bestfriends.org)

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Tony. I agree that he is in the early stages of kidney failure based on the lab results you have provided. Kidney disease can cause low levels of potassium so it is good that you are supplementing him. Kidney values can fluctuate up and down a bit, but you want to assess trends over time to see how he is doing. SDMA and creatinine are more sensitive indicators than BUN. I would ask if his phosphorus level is in the target range for his degree of kidney disease (based on the IRIS staging) and make sure he has had his blood pressure measured recently. I hope this information helps!