Molly - her kidneys are failing - doing much better

[SQ]

Molly is 2.5 years old.
She has lost 50 g since June 9 (Edited for accuracy).
Molly is on pred for hed, and although I suspect pt because she forgets to eat & has no interest in healthy treats, Molly can still handle a cheerio.
Last week I suspected that Molly had a small stroke because of weakness on one side of her body.
But Molly is ok now.

Molly is also on baytril & clavamox because of the pred (sweetened with strawberry nesquik) and also because of lung sounds that have greatly improved.
I have been giving Molly sub-Q fluids over the last couple of days as she has been dehydrated.
Molly no longer eats her mushy lab blocks so lately she has been eating soy infant formula thickened with a bit of baby cereal.
She eats little on her own as she has no interest in food, but Molly will eagerly take it from a syringe.

We went to the vet this afternoon.
Molly's urine is very diluted, and contains high levels of sugar and protien.
So ... no sugar (ie nesquik or sweet fruit) today and another vet apt tomorrow afternoon.
Molly was very dehydrated, has slight lung sounds and as previously mentioned has lost 50 g.

Any ideas or suggestions?
My heart is breaking .......

Molly in her younger days .... viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19022&p=261665&hilit=molly#p261665

 

[Godmother]

I'm sorry to think of her so frail and sick. She was a wild and lively girl when she was young.

 

[lilspaz68]

With renal failure the urine would be more concentrated so you can rule that out. How much fluids are you giving her a day?

 

[SQ]

Only 6 ml sub-Q / day
Going to try to increase that to 12 ml today because of her dehydration.
It has been extremely hot and humid (I have window fan but no AC)

Any ideas or info appreciated.

Edited to add:
The vet said her heart, her abdomen, mouth, etc are fine.
Her lungs are pretty good, but still a bit of noise.

Her stool was small and hard ... but she is eating little and is dehydrated so ...

 

[lilspaz68]

Do what I did with Zeus, 10 ml in the morning, 10 ml at night....that should top her up nicely.

Poor love.

 

[SQ]

ok .... thanks Lilspaz68 .... I was afraid of giving more then 6 ml at a time.

Starting to wean Molly off the pred tonight in the slim hope that her symptoms (sugar in the urine etc) may be being caused or worsened by the steriod.
Thinking of getting a blood test tomorrow if the vet thinks it will give useful info re the functioning of Molly's kidneys.
If they are shot, then I guess it would be time to have Molly pts .....

Any thoughts?

 

[jorats]

I'm so sorry...poor Molly. It's hard to see them that way.
I should add that almost all my PT rats passed the cheerio tests so for me, I don't rely on that to tell me if they possibly have it or not.

 

[temblabamomo]

Poor doll. Blood test will certainly shed some light if you still suspect renal failure. But consider if miss Molly is up for it, since it seems likely they'd need to knock her out a bit to get a vein and blood. Sending warm vibes and good thought her way.

 

[SQ]

Since I don't know what tomorrow holds, I took a few pictures of Molly and Alberta this evening.
Alberta and Molly were a bit unsure during the picture taking, but once safely back in their cage,
each girl grabbed her piece of corn and trotted off with it.

Alberta and Molly

Molly on the move

Since June 9, Molly has dropped from 420 g down to 370 g.
Molly is much more frail then she looks in the pictures ....
but she does not seem as ill as I would expect from results given by the vet today.

Any ideas re sugar & protien in Molly's diluted urine?

 

[lilspaz68]

She looks great for her age...if you can get her eating and drinking again, I would just do palliative care, because she sure doesn't look as ill as she sounds.

 

[mamarat]

She looks pretty good for her age. Like Shelagh said I would do palliative care and give her all the treats she wants. I really spoil my oldies.

 

[SQ]

Thank you.

Early this morning, I discovered that both girls had stashed their corn on the cob.
Once it became a bit less hot, Alberta became interested in eating the corn on the cob, but Molly did not eat any.
I am going to see if Molly will be interested in field greens .... she must feel awful not be interested in favorite treats .... corn, banana slices, organic puffed wheat etc.

 

[mamarat]

Some of my oldies also refuse certain treats, it seems their taste in food changes at some point.

 

[SQ]

Thank you for the info mamarat. I hadn't noticed that before.

Molly didn't have any sugar in her urine today! :joy:
(It isn't quite as hot today, which has to help a bit)

Molly seems a bit better today .... a bit more active,
She took 4 ml of formula thickened with baby cereal and was willing to lick a bit off my finger :thumbup:
Stool is sill small and hard.
Maybe she is feeling better as her sub_Q fluids have been greatly increased.

So ... pallative care and see if Molly will resume eating and drinking on her own (as suggested by lilspaz68).

Any thoughts re starting Molly on an ACE inhibitor?

 

[Godmother]

I know that they use ACE inhibitors for diabetic people to help their kidneys, but I've no idea how that works for rats. Those meds lower blood pressure.

 

[jorats]

Sending hungry vibes to Molly!!!

 

[SQ]

Thanks!
Molly is now happy to lick soy formula off the end of the syringe and off my finger
She has been willing to nibble field greens and I am hoping she will eat some of the broccoli I bought tonight.
(She normally loves broccoli so hopefully ......)
Molly seemed less dehydrated today when I gave her fluids so hopefully that means she is eating and drinking when I am not around.

 

[Godmother]

:joy: Go, Molly!

 

[mamarat]

Yay for your girl.

 

[temblabamomo]

Go Molly! I hope she is feeling better.