Anyone had a cat on IV fluid treatments?
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| Fri, 04-08-2005 - 12:23am |
Has anyone had a cat on IV fluid treatments? My mom's cat, Sascha, was diagnosed with the early stages of renal failure 3 years ago. Mom has been giving Sascha IV fluid treatments weekly since then. The cat hates it. We have to trick her into it. Either someone grabs her when she's on their lap, and Mom quick sets up the IV bag and needle...or someone sneaks into the bathroom, sets it up, and then we try to catch the cat. If Sascha even thinks you might be heading to set up that bag, she disappears!
I was just wondering if anyone else had ever had to do this, and how long they were able to keep the cat going. OUr vet said she'd probably only last 6 months, but that was 3 years ago. She still going strong, playing with the other cat, etc. She's 13!
** Noelle


From my professional point of view...the longest I've seen a cat go on sub-q fluids (I'm assuming that your mom is giving the fluids subcutaneously - under the skin and not intravenously (IV) in a vein) is about 4 years.
Yeah, that's it. She sticks a needle under the skin on Sascha's neck. Sorry, I didn't remember what exactly it was called.
Mom's only been taking Sascha to the vet once a year. I'd assume they checked the levels then, but I haven't gone with her to the appointments, so I don't know for sure. I know that the vet had prescribed 1.5 (millaliters, I think) of fluid twice a week, but none of us can catch the cat that often. We're lucky if we can catch her once a week. She's skinny, but still runs through the house and plays with toys.
I think it'll be 3 yrs in June, that Mom has been "juicing" the cat. (Our nickname for it.) What we can't get, is the video the vet made us watch on how to do this...showed people who plunked their cat on the bathroom counter, put the needle in the back of the cat's neck...and the cat just sat there calmly. Didn't need to be held or anything. With Sascha, she has to be wrapped in a towel and my mom has to hum and rock her, to try and keep her calm. It's a huge ordeal, but we all adore the cat. (She was the first feline in the family.)
** Noelle