By Dr. Ellen Friedman Published: 2:00 AM – 06/29/11

Biggie Jeffrey is 12 years old, an orange cat whose kidneys don’t work well anymore. in February, along with chronic pancreatic problems, he began to show classic signs of kidney failure: thirst, vomiting, weight loss, dilute urine.

Biggie’s owner had missed the symptoms of a routine urinary tract infection years ago. the infection climbed from his bladder to his kidneys, where bacteria found a toehold, and over time, caused irreversible damage to both organs.

Now things were going downhill fast. he was thin and toxic and really, really ill.

We tried all the things you do for renal cats: IV fluids, iron injections, anti-nausea drugs, and on and on.

His kidneys got worse every day. he was a skeleton. Biggie J wasn’t going to make it. we held long, soul-searching discussions with the loving owner — how long should we keep trying, what was in Big’s best interest, was there any hope?

His veins collapsed, scarred from catheters. he cried when left in the hospital, rejoiced when he went home at night “on furlough.” the nurses used laser therapy to try to heal his sad little arms, to try and thread another painful catheter. he hissed, he complained, he purred.

He got worse. his lab results were frightening; he was dangerously anemic. the owner cried. her husband was frustrated and sad. Six weeks into treatment, we as a group decided that it was time to put him to sleep. the nurses, who doted on him, thought it was the right decision. One was on vacation; we decided to wait until she came back to be with him.

There was a tiny single vein that still looked usable. More fluids, just another few days to try.

He looked a little better. he ate a bit more. we fed him every type of junk food we could think of; the worse it was, the more he ate. his vomiting stopped. he gained a little weight. we were four months into treatment. Biggie’s kidneys stabilized. All the intensive care, labwork, syringe feeding, injections, ultrasounds, cultures.

Biggie is my cat. I am fortunate to be able to provide all this care for him. I wonder at night, while he purrs himself to sleep, how we can find a way to provide this kind of care for all pets.

Dr. Ellen Friedman is in general practice, with an interest in geriatric feline medicine, at Newburgh Veterinary Hospital and All Creatures Veterinary Hospital in New Paltz. Visit facebook.com/people/Newburgh-Veterinary-Hospital/576787764.

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