Hi all,

Our cat in Turkey has some kidney problems.
Kidney stone, and kidney insufficiency started.
He is quite old 16, 17 years old.

Veterinar gave some special food, hills k/d and some medicine.
Do you know, if I can find this hills k/d in wet form, but not dried?
In Turkey there is only dry version, but he didn´t like it.
Is there any big petstore in Zurich or somewhere close to Zurich?
Can I find the medicine "Rubrenal" in Switzerland? Did you hear about it? he got the medicine called "renal essentials".

Do you have any other tips in this case?
Thanks.

Yup k/d does come in pouches but would need to be ordered from a veterinary practice. :-)

Rubenal is available here. Our vet here put our cat on it in addition to Fortekor. Unfortunately, our little guy is no longer with us, but we were able to manage his kidney issues for a number of years.

I found this site that has some useful info, too.

There's another thread on EF that helped me find this site where the prescription food can be purchased online.

Thanks so much for all this useful information.
We are also bringing a very elderly cat with us (18yrs old) who is on special kidney diet, hopefully I will also be able to buy her food (Royal Canin renal diet) there at the vet's also.

We fed our guy Royal Canin renal so I know it's available here. (It's also available on the website I linked here.)

Oh dear, you guys are falling into the same old trap, or is it the modern trap?

Let the dear old kitty "go". Give him/her permission to depart this earth and return to Nature!

We all seem to have developed this obsession to keep everything alive ... when the natural progression of life is to die ... eventually ... from something. "Special foods" ... Artificial life support ...... ?

In nature, when a creature is no longer able to fend for itself, it dies.
When it`s teeth decay and fall out ... it dies.
When body parts no longer function ... it dies.
That is Life.
Allow Nature to take its course.
When you cannot communicate - let nature take its course.
That is Natural Life.

Whilst agreeing with the sentiment, it is by no means easy to let dear old kitty (or whatever) go when they have been a dearly loved part of your family for many years.

Oh gosh. After all the trouble I`ve gone to over my "Living Will" .. I certainly hope my family treat me with more respect than they do the family kitty.

well, once my elderly cat starts looking as though she is in pain in any way, or becomes less mobile, that is the time to look at alternatives. But while she is still very active, can still explore her environment with minimal limitations, and can so obviously enjoy contact with her humans, it would be a premature consideration. She might be 18 with dodgy kidneys, but there is a lot of life in the old girl yet. The special diet has helped to maintain good quality of life for her after kidney problems developed 2 years ago. so thanks for your advice, but we won't be taking it at this stage!

it's all about the timing, and that is the most difficult.... at what stage in your Living Will would you like your family to intervene - when your teeth have gone then?

Our 20 year old cat died two weeks ago. She was diagnozed with stage one kidney failure seven years ago (stage four is terminal). Six years ago, it progressed to stage two & that's where it stayed until she passed away from heart failure.

We fed her the vet prescribed food, but she rejected it. Several vets told us that the most important thing is that she eats & that the protein in her food comes from meat, not vegetables. Most regular cat food proteins come from vegetables.

So, we supplemented her regular diet with meat only baby food. She also liked to eat cheesy scrambled eggs, turkey, chicken, poultry bolognas, & the occassional McDonald's cheeseburger (just the meat & cheese). Also, we couldn't keep her away from our lobster whenever she saw it

For her regular diet, she had open access to Royal Canin (sp?) cat food. They sell this brand in every pet food store I've been in here. We gave her the recipe for older cats, not the special vet-prescribed version.

Like I wrote above, she stayed in "stage two renal failure" for SIX years. And, two weeks before she died, she was chasing butterflies.

This condition is manageable. It is NOT a death sentence. When it was time for her to go, we knew the difference & you will, too.

Just curious...do you have pets or have you ever had pets as an adult?

Ha-ha-ha ... very witty!

Nein, that is to say I do not consent to having my dying process prolonged by artificial means, including any form of tube-feeding, and/or pace-maker, as well as the instructions to not resuscitate if my heart/breathing has stopped. (That is to make MY decision about myself, so my family know my wishes, and they do not have to make any)

But at the price of dentists, maybe I should try including the No Teeth part? (don`t fancy having to live on soups) But I doubt the medical fraternity, or my family, would uphold that. One of them will just have to make the soups, if they can`t trust me using the stove.

On a serious note ..... I had a dearly beloved cat, and moving to another province she contracted a vicious form of Billiary. The vet said her kidneys would never function again ... but ... he could do "something" about it, but he would not like to, as her quality of life would not be worth it, for her, and she would always have pain. That was a very sad decision to have to make.
I can understand the love of a pet - it is something so precious and pure.

Euthanasia is the final act of love, a step an owner takes with careful consideration.

The decision is not something that an outsider has any right to comment on. Only those who know the pet intimately, who live with the pet 24/7, who truly love the pet, who are in possession of the full facts - and guided by their veterinarian - are in a position to judge quality of life.

A loving owner knows when it is time - and also when it is not.



Smashe and Scottydog, wishing you and your feline friends all the best - may you enjoy each and every day that remains.



Kittycatcarlyle, I am very sorry to hear of your loss.

Thank you, meloncollie. It wasn't easy to let her go, but it was time. I feel, of course, that it was our duty but also that we were really fortunate to be able to help her have a long & happy life as well as a lovingly swift death (she was suffering from heart failure when we took her to the vet for euthanasia).

Doing nothing for our pet & watching her have a "natural death" via kidney failure as recommended above would have been horrible for us all