I don't know much about cats (I only have one and he is my first) so thought I would ask to see if anyone has any advice.  My 6 year old male ragdoll cat has not been quite right for a little while, he has also been dropping weight but I attributed this to my attempts to introduce a greater range of food into his diet which he was appalled at.  He has only ever eaten RC dry food (kitten then indoor longhair) and wouldn't eat ANYTHING else.  Over the last few months I have been offering applaws pouches and bits of raw when I feed the dogs and restricting access to dry food.  He will lick at a teaspoon sized portion of the pouches but that's it, so I have had to bring back kibble too as he was refusing to eat for days but his appetite has been poor.  Anyway we have been back and forth to the vet due to his weight loss and him being unusually quiet and this evening have discovered he has kidney failure, with a high phosphorus level and low red blood cell count.  He is in intensive care and they've said that if he makes it through the next two days we might be looking at months long term.  Has anyone had any experience of this in a young cat? Am I right to think that should he make it to the weekend, that it will be a bleak outlook or do cats get through kidney failure? Are there any particular questions I should be asking? He is an indoor cat and not had any access to plants/chemicals etc.  the dogs have spent all evening looking for him as he loves to play and is a sucker for a warm dog body to snuggle against. :(

I know I and Christine W disagree strongly on this, but I tell all my kitten buyers that feed whatever you want but PLEASE, not Royal Canin. However, I don't think the food has anything at all to do with the issues here.

There are various types of kidney problems. Clearly your cat has acute renal failure at the moment, or he would not be as ill. Has the vet mentioned medication long term? Fortekor tablets work well for some cats, less well for others -but can add  years to the lifespan. I would suggest you get the kidneys scanned to see if there is any sign of cysts, in which case you will be looking at Polycystic Kidney Disease which is a genetic condition -the cats are born with cysts on the kidneys, and as the cat grows, the cysts become bigger and eventually stop the kidneys from working properly. It is a very well-known inherited problem in Persians and Exotics, hence there is now a DNA test for it and all good breeders have completely got rid of the problem as we only breed from negative cats, and two negative cats can only have negative kittens. However PKD can affect any cat and there has certainly been confirmed cases in Ragdolls -as well as in moggies and many other breeds. Unfortunately there is very little that can be done about PKD and my personal decision was that when my cats started showing symptoms, I let them go, as I knew time was limited. (When testing first became available, breeders like myself frequently found themselves with a lot of positive cats -the disease was unknown until 1999 and I started breeding in 1989.) However I do know cases where Fortekor has helped for a while even in PKD positive cats.

If it ISN'T PKD (and again, an ultrasound scan of the kidneys should show if there are any cysts or not -the DNA test is only available for Persians and related breeds) then the future is a bit more optimistic as treatment is more likely to work. Hills has a kidney diet and cats seems to absolutely love this (dry version, for some reason most hate the canned one) and it does help -that is available from vets only. My very first cat was a mog and he lived with kidney problems for 8 years, until he was 18.

Thanks Goldmali possibly not as hopeless as I first thought then. I will get some more information tomorrow on the points you have raised and ask for a scan if he has made it through the night. I was pretty sure it was unrelated to food but think I may have missed some of the first signs of illness as he was pulling a face at my attempts to switch him to raw/wet applaws.  It's funny isn't it-with puppies I always feed them whatever the breeder does (if not me) and then switch over to my usual part raw routine in time, whereas with my kitten I stuck with the breeders preferred food as I was a novice cat owner. 

Fingers crossed!

Just out of interest, what is it about RC that you don't like Marianne ?
I'm not wild about it myself, but thats just because I prefer a food to have more meat in it, Ive recently managed to get my two off RC and onto Canagan , plus wet food.

My 16 year old moggie has acute renal failure, she was diagnosed a year and a half ago after drastic weight loss and loss of appetite, the vet said her kidney's had shrunk by 70%.  I was sure I would lose her but she is still going strong due to switching to an appropriate food. I use

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/kattovit/kattovit_low_protein/61668

They also do a dry version if your cat prefers.  This food is much cheaper than the Hills or RC that your vet will recommend.

This site is a wealth of information....

http://www.felinecrf.org/index.htm

Hope this helps

Well he is still going, a little brighter but still refusing all food.  He is finding being in the hospital very stressful which I don't think is helping.  I went to visit earlier there were 8 different foods in his cage including pilchards etc but he won't touch them, they have tried force feeding him with a syringe but apparently he fought them wildly and spat it out at them two minutes later.  I've left a supply of his usual food and an applaws sachet as he will sometimes touch that as at this rate he will die of starvation not the renal failure.  He climbed all over us wanting fuss and lay in my arms for ages bless him.  He is due to be scanned Monday (upon my request,as if nothing else I need to know if its PKD as I want to let his breeder know) and have more bloods done tomorrow morning so at least we will know a bit more about where we are.  Thanks for the advice. 

Just out of interest, what is it about RC that you don't like Marianne ?

It's a long story, maybe best taken in private (PM me if you want the full story), but I had 2 cats die (well having to be put to sleep) after problems that I hadn't associated with the food, but when during a visit to Sweden I met up with the vet I used to work for as a nurse, she brought the subject up and asked what I fed my cats on, as all cats she'd seen with it had been fed on RC. I've since heard of similar cases and again always RC. I spoke to an RC rep and when I told her the full story she said that if she was me she would change food as well as whether it was the case or not, after something like that you wouldn't want to risk it.

Right, he is still with us.  When I went to visit Sunday he was still not eating and was finding being in the hospital so stressful that they decided to send him home to see if he would eat there. He went back in Monday for as short a time as possible to be scanned and then came home again. He does not have PKD as it turns out, but it all points to a sudden assault on the kidneys (by causes unknown) that has caused them to shrink hugely and result in renal failure.  He is SO much happier at home-he and my youngest oes have been inseparable since the weekend and he is more like his normal self. However he is still not eating, we have nelio tablets and a phosphate inhibitor paste to put on his food so he can have normal food but he has just lost interest in all food.  He will eat two or three Whiskers treats (the only 'treat' he has ever eaten) a couple of times a day but nothing else, though he does keep asking for food and then just looks at it.  It isn't the phosphate inhibitor because he will eat the treats with these on, I've only given him these few treats as we were trying everything after days of not eating. As I said before he has always been a very particular eater but he just doesn't seem to know what to do as he sits and stares at his food bowl. His blood work yesterday showed an improvement in the anaemia and a tiny improvement in kidney levels.  Any ideas how I can stimulate him? He has had appetite stimulators (steroids I think) but is very thin.  My vet and I have agreed that is he isn't eating by Monday then we will have to make a decision whether to persevere but he doesn't appear to be in pain as such at the moment-if only the bloody sod wasn't trying so hard to be cheerful as apart from his weight and him not bombing around playing with the dogs I don't think anyone would know he was ill.

Catnip is natural apetite stimulant for cats or Nutri-Cal for cats

When Stinky our tortie girl was very ill after what we think was a human attack to break both jaws , she just didn't like being at the vets. She had a major op to pin her jaws ( bottom and top ) together.

Our vet took her home and kept the hand feeding regime up.

Seven days in she showed no signs of wanting to eat or be active.
We brought her home and within the bowl of food being put in the crate she perked up and we didn't look back.

The old time cat breeders recommended 'scraped beef' as an appetite stimulant, which I think was raw lean beef scraped with a sharp knife into a kind of lickable paste.

There was also a certain B vitamin given that could help with appetite.  I don't know if things have moved on, but in your position I'd try anything.  Will he drink? Could you make up some broth?

Will try the broth as he is drinking water happily and scraped beef and look for a vit b supplement - I did force feed him a bit earlier in the same way I give him his tablets, but after the first two bits he fought me off :) ! He isn't interested in me hand feeding but he wouldn't have taken food off me before. Thanks all, I am trying every suggestion given and if nothing else the dogs are enjoying cleaning up after he has walked off in disgust! Also heard somewhere that grooming can stimulate appetite so have been giving him extra brushes.

Would he take kitten food? as he'd just need to eat a tiny bit to get the same calorific value of adult cat food.

The vit B supplement is like a brewers yeast.
Trouble is he will feel nauseous with any kidney/renal problems so is less likely to feel like eating.

Will get some kitten food today-I discovered last night that if I open his mouth and put a large pinch of food in (fish based wet) and hold his mouth closed he does swallow it and he doesn't resist me doing it so I'm going to keep doing that for now.  I can only get about a heaped teaspoon down him at each sitting but have done this several times.  I don't really want to have to force feed but maybe it will get him back in the habit as he does sort of look like he is nauseous when he leans over his food. He is so much more active today so the medication must be making him feel brighter. Thanks again for your help, I have felt so useless, I can always get a poorly dog to eat with coaxing as they are more desperate to please but cats are a whole different ball game!

When I had a dog that wouldn't eat, I used Hills AD tinned food, it's suitable for dogs and cats, is very high in calories. It's very smooth and moist, I found that of I smeared it into his top palate, he'd swallow it, it's so pappy, it was impossible to spit it out.

Hills AD is great stuff, after Hope had her 7 kittens she looked a bit on the lean side and all she would eat was pate type cat foods so I got some of this via my vet and she wolfed it down.

Have you tried tinned pink salmon mashed up, bones included?   I give this to my kittens and they love it or cooked chicken thighs, meat stripped off the bone and diced up into small pieces.  Also they love Animonda Carny kitten food from Zooplus, smells very meaty. Have you tried the Webbox Lick-e-Lix sachets (or whatever they are called?), Miamor (On Zooplus also) do a vitamin sachet very like this.

I second Hills AD, most cats love it and in extreme circumstances if all else fails it can be mixed with water or milk to make it into a broth to syringe feed.

rabbit mine always went mad over- not rabbit cat food but real rabbit- for prefrence wild rather then farmed.

My dog had a proteus infection which destroyed her immune system.....she lost 7 kilos in weight...I hand fed her hills ad for three months..it saved her life. I used to smear it onto the top of her mouth...she actually was so grateful for this she would open her mouth in anticipation. she regained her weight but has always been delicate...when she has her down days I return to the hills so that she at least has something in her system...the vet didn't think she would get to 3 yrs...she will be eleven this Christmas. I also mix her multi meds into the hills and she takes them happily like this...( steroid,thyroid pills and an antibiotic,plus now an incontinence hormone).

Thank you everyone, your advice has been great -as always on champdogs!  I couldn't get hold of any hills ad immediately so whilst I'm waiting for my nine order to arrive have been doing the same with some pâté style kitten food and he is taking it well.  We all did a little dance today as he woke up, stretched and sauntered over to the bowl of dry food and ate some.  Only about four bits but its a start!  It is the first time he has voluntarily sought out food so hopefully we have turned a corner for now.  I know long term the prognosis might be bleak but good news for now.

That's great news and I understand the happy dance...we've done this so many times. the hills ad is for dogs and cats so I bet the cat version you found is very similar.I keep ten cans on hand in my cupboard amd we use them up within a month to keep the dog going on her "off "days.Without this food my dog would not have made it,I am convinced of this.

Another thing that has helped my dog is Zantac...ranitidine, to help combat nausea...I give this before the meds,and it helps the animal stabilize. You can get it in tablet form...I prefer the injectable form,as it is better tolerated when the dog  or cat ,can't take anything on the stomach.
By the way...my dog also has been diagnosed as having only 40 percent kidney function(echo gram)She
has  a splenic cyst,a kidney cyst and a decimated immune system...hey ho....day to day..we treasure them and so far have cheated the odds against her.

Just an update to say that I had to let my little boy go yesterday afternoon. He hated being force fed and was still losing weight despite all our efforts as we just couldn't get enough in him. The last few days he had taken to curling under the curtains and avoiding even his favourite of our dogs and it was obvious our in-your-face cuddle monster had gone for good. He did muster the energy to hang around our new pup at times but it exhausted him. Thanks again to all for their advice.

I'm so sorry. :( You did everything you could.

I'm so sorry.

I also know what you are feeling.   We went through something similar recently, but never did find out the cause - all the tests came back fine.

Trying to feed a much-loved pet who refuses to even swallow is hard to bear, especially when they are wasting away in front of you. 

You did all you could, no-one can do more than that.

Thinking of you

Thinking of you all xx

Very sad news :-( so sorry x