Last October, Jerry, who is now seven, had insulinoma/adrenal surgery.  Her
BUN was then in the 50's.  After the operation, her glucose returned to
normal but her kidney function continued to deteriorate.  I'll tell you what
we're doing for Jerry.  I hope some of this will be of use to Belle.
 
We're feeding Jerry a mixture of turkey baby food, Sustacal, Nutri-Cal, and
Gerber's Banana Juice Medley with Yogurt.  Fran Wiles posted this recipe,
and we've modified it to reduce the protein.  We mix one jar of Heinz turkey
with 4 ounces of Sustacal and two jars of the banana yogurt and a couple of
inches of Nutri-Cal.  Jerry has been living on this since October.  Since
Belle is used to turkey baby food, you could slowly start adding the other
ingredients, a little at a time.  I don't think the exact proportions are
critical.  Dr. Weiss told us not to cut Jerry's protein too much; her said
the Merck Manual recommendation for cats with renal failure would provide
too little protein for ferrets.
 
It's good that you're doing the subcutaneous fluid injections.  Jerry is
getting one every other day.  To some extent, the frequency of the
injections is an individual decision, based on the balance between the
stress and the benefits it brings.
 
Does Belle drink water on her own?  Getting Jerry to drink enough, or even
any, fluids has been a problem.  For a while, she would drink from a small
bowl in her cage.  For some reason unknown to us, she has often preferred to
drink from the dog's bowl.  Often, she'll drink Deer Park water from a
bottle cap if we coax her.
 
Jerry is on many medications for the side effects of kidney failure.  Since
kidney failure causes gastrointestinal ulcerations, Jerry is on Carafate and
Amoxicillin.  Kidney failure causes anemia, so she gets Pet Tinic (iron and
vitamin supplement) daily.  She also gets one-eighth of a Tums every day to
counteract calcium depletion.  She also gets Amphojel to reduce the amount
of phosphorus she absorbs from her food.  (Amphojel is available over the
counter in the stomach medicine section of the drugstore.) Since the ulcers
have worsened recently, we've also added Zantac to the list.  About a month
ago, Jerry started getting a weekly injection of Winstrol V, an anabolic
steroid.  This helps the anemia and helps the body to build up muscle
instead of breaking it down.  Also, we're thinking of starting pain
medication since Jerry sometimes cries when she turns around or when another
ferret steps on her.
 
Maybe you could keep Belle more energetic and comfortable by starting some
of these medications and/or supplements before you start seeing symptoms.
 
You can probably expect many ups and downs with kidney failure.  When she
suddenly seems to be worse, don't give up.  In a few days she may improve.
 
If you have any more questions, maybe you could e-mail me and put something
like "cat with kidney failure" in the subject line.  If ferrets are not
mentioned in the correspondence, you wouldn't have to worry about someone
snooping.
 
Good luck to you and Belle,
Clare Sebok
[Posted in FML issue 1841]