learjetta
Member Since 2026
I was really hoping I wouldn't have to make an account here, but Boris had other plans!
Hi, my name is Melanie, and my cat is Boris. Boris showed up on my back porch one frigid PA January night in 2013 and decided to stay. Since then he's become a nomad who has traveled over half of the US by motorhome, almost died from DKA, been in and out of FD remission, has debilitating arthritis and is now newly diagnosed with CKD!
While the nomadic lifestyle is fantastic, consistency of care is almost impossible. We are currently visiting our home town for a few months, and have established ourselves with a veterinarian closer to our campground than the vet we used while living in our sticks and bricks back in 2019. On Monday Boris received his latest Solensia shot, and had bloodwork and a UPC test run to follow up flagged results from previous bloodwork and urine results.
I apologize, I am still waiting for the vet to approve sending over his actual lab results (I didn't realize this was actually a thing. Most vets our cats have seen will email test results immediately.), so I don't have exact numbers - just what I remember from phone conversations.
On Monday the vet called to inform us that Boris' UPC results were over 3 (highlighting normal is under .2, and anything over 1 is concerning). She explained that the excess protein in the urine could be related to diabetes or CKD, but would know more once his creatinine and BUN results come back.
On Wednesday she called back to tell me that both his creatinine and BUN have increased since his last bloodwork, and his pancreas enzymes are elevated (as well as other CBC numbers that are most likely related to his chronic inflammation from arthritis). She said he definitely has CKD. She would also like to start him on a med for the proteinuria and requested we drop him off for a BP and cystocentesis (Monday he peed in the carrier and there wasn't enough for a full urinalysis).
She also suggested we use one of the CKD prescription diets, but since I've been a member of FDMB I know most of the prescription diets will be too high in carbs. Anticipating positive CKD results we switched his dry food from Dr. Elsey's to Young Again last week, and after looking at the CKD Food List I will be picking up some Weruva BFF this afternoon to start ASAP.
I need to start reading up on CKD, but can admit to feeling totally overwhelmed right now. We lost our IBD cat less than 2 months ago, and managing his illness was incredibly challenging. I'm pretty nervous that we won't be able to effectively coordinate Boris' care across multiple providers during our travels. The Solensia shots are helping with his arthritis pain for approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the month, so we are bouncing between 1 and 1.5 units of Lantus depending on his pain levels. I was hoping that we could find a secondary arthritis pain solution for the last 1/3 of the month that would reduce this BG yoyo effect, but understand that most of the already limited pain management options will be off the table. I am going to follow up with a specialty clinic about Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. If he's a candidate, we might be able to reduce his pain for 6-12 months after administration. Still reading up on that too.
What am I missing? I'd like to be prepared to ask follow up questions when the vet calls back with his BP and urinalysis results Friday afternoon, and I especially want to make sure I'm not doing anything that places an extra load on his kidneys right now.
Thanks!
Hi, my name is Melanie, and my cat is Boris. Boris showed up on my back porch one frigid PA January night in 2013 and decided to stay. Since then he's become a nomad who has traveled over half of the US by motorhome, almost died from DKA, been in and out of FD remission, has debilitating arthritis and is now newly diagnosed with CKD!
While the nomadic lifestyle is fantastic, consistency of care is almost impossible. We are currently visiting our home town for a few months, and have established ourselves with a veterinarian closer to our campground than the vet we used while living in our sticks and bricks back in 2019. On Monday Boris received his latest Solensia shot, and had bloodwork and a UPC test run to follow up flagged results from previous bloodwork and urine results.
I apologize, I am still waiting for the vet to approve sending over his actual lab results (I didn't realize this was actually a thing. Most vets our cats have seen will email test results immediately.), so I don't have exact numbers - just what I remember from phone conversations.
On Monday the vet called to inform us that Boris' UPC results were over 3 (highlighting normal is under .2, and anything over 1 is concerning). She explained that the excess protein in the urine could be related to diabetes or CKD, but would know more once his creatinine and BUN results come back.
On Wednesday she called back to tell me that both his creatinine and BUN have increased since his last bloodwork, and his pancreas enzymes are elevated (as well as other CBC numbers that are most likely related to his chronic inflammation from arthritis). She said he definitely has CKD. She would also like to start him on a med for the proteinuria and requested we drop him off for a BP and cystocentesis (Monday he peed in the carrier and there wasn't enough for a full urinalysis).
She also suggested we use one of the CKD prescription diets, but since I've been a member of FDMB I know most of the prescription diets will be too high in carbs. Anticipating positive CKD results we switched his dry food from Dr. Elsey's to Young Again last week, and after looking at the CKD Food List I will be picking up some Weruva BFF this afternoon to start ASAP.
I need to start reading up on CKD, but can admit to feeling totally overwhelmed right now. We lost our IBD cat less than 2 months ago, and managing his illness was incredibly challenging. I'm pretty nervous that we won't be able to effectively coordinate Boris' care across multiple providers during our travels. The Solensia shots are helping with his arthritis pain for approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the month, so we are bouncing between 1 and 1.5 units of Lantus depending on his pain levels. I was hoping that we could find a secondary arthritis pain solution for the last 1/3 of the month that would reduce this BG yoyo effect, but understand that most of the already limited pain management options will be off the table. I am going to follow up with a specialty clinic about Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. If he's a candidate, we might be able to reduce his pain for 6-12 months after administration. Still reading up on that too.
What am I missing? I'd like to be prepared to ask follow up questions when the vet calls back with his BP and urinalysis results Friday afternoon, and I especially want to make sure I'm not doing anything that places an extra load on his kidneys right now.
Thanks!
