Hi all, it has been a while since I was last asking for advice. When Reggie was 6, he had a horrid reaction after digging up some onions and started to reject his red blood cells. Luckily, we have a fantastic vet who instantly recognised the symptoms and it seemed that Reg made a full recovery. Now age 12 (13 in October) sadly, over Christmas, he started to lose weight, balance and bladder control. Tests have revealed an issue with his pancreas and more significantly, his kidney function is poor. His blood pressure was also at the highest reading. He is now on Benazecare for this which is ridiculously expensive, so I am hoping to get a prescription to make it more affordable.
But the biggest issue is food. He had an allergic reaction to the Royal Canin Renal, so they gave us the hyper allergenic. But he will not touch it. Went three full days without eating a single thing after we gradually phased out his other food. So then we tried everything we could think of to make it more palatable. I have sent my husband off miles away to try and get hold of some Nutriment low purine and phosphorous after reading a previous thread. But on the phone earlier, vet did say raw was absolutely not an option due to the protein content.
After losing our last cocker at 5 after a random back injury, my husband and I are in conflict. We spent thousands and put that cocker through awful unsuccessful operations (different vet), and I do not want this gorgeous lovely family member to suffer. If the Nutriment is not helpful, I would think we should let the poor love enjoy his time. He is so sad and depressed, and losing weight rapidly as food is his most favourite thing in the world. What I am asking is, what experience do others have with chronic kidney failure. The vet thinks that his kidneys and body went through so much at 6 years, that he has been lucky to stay well so long. I can't stand seeing him so sad. The blood pressure medication has picked him up. But the main issue is food. If he continues to lose weight he won't have the strength to carry on anyway, so should I just fed him his favourite things? And how long before I can expect a decline. At the moment, the levels are not severe, just mild to medium stage. We are seeing the vet tomorrow evening to check blood pressure and talk through care. He is like a child to us. Help! (His is also very deaf and partially sighted now, so very insecure out of the house)