On Thursday morning she ventured out into the hallway and promptly plopped down on the floor. When she got up again to come into the bathroom, I noticed her back legs were not working properly. Her back end was low to the ground and she was "walking" more on her haunches instead of her feet. I called the vet's office as soon as they opened and was able to get her in at 8:30am.
After a thorough physical exam, the vet said she wanted to keep Panda to get a blood sample, a urine sample, and to give Panda sub-q fluids. The vet said it could be a number of things, including diabetes or kidney disease. She wouldn't know anything until the lab results came back.
Panda has been diagnosed with kidney disease and a UTI. I was so stunned yesterday when I got Panda's diagnosis. I didn't ask all of the questions that I should have asked. So here is what I found out today.
Panda has lost four pounds. She has gone from 16 lbs. to 12 lbs. She has always been a big girl, and it wouldn't hurt her to drop a pound or two, but not like this.
Her BUN number was 154 - way too high. Her creatin number was 9.5. I don't remember the potassium number and one other number, but they were both high. Add the UTI on top of that...not good at all.
Right now, Panda is on an oral antibiotic for 14 days. She gets a pill in the morning and one in the evening. She is to eat the same food that I feed Fred - a renal-LP. I have both canned and kibble. I don't remember the name of the powder I'm to add to her food, but it is suppose to help lower her potassium. This is just the beginning. Dr. Green said there are other meds she wants to try, but we are starting with this. If we can get rid of the UTI and get Panda's numbers down she can be with us a long time.
Panda has had sub-q fluids given to her on Thursday, Friday, and again this morning. The vet tech let me give them to her in the office this morning. Since I will be doing this at home, I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. Panda also received a B-12 shot. She is walking better, but still not what I would call normal. She is napping on the living room sofa, which is more like her.
My big girl has been a real trooper. She's held up much better than I have. I had a melt down after I got home this morning. I love my big beautiful girl with all my heart. I am praying for the best and preparing for the worse.
I took a few pictures of Panda on Thursday night. Her eyes are bright and she looks good - you'd never know something was wrong until she gets up and walks.
