klmama Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Just wondering. Our old cat has kidney disease and she needs another IV. We have the lactated ringers from giving sub-q fluids every other day. We have new line. We just need appropriate needles and whatever else is involved in setting the IV. If we could get that from the vet supply store, could we give the IV ourselves? Is it legal for us to do it, if we knew how? Would it be legal for a vet tech friend to do it? The cat's going to die in the next few months, probably, so spending a couple of hundred on IV in the clinic doesn't appeal at all. It just seems a shame to not do it at home, KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Yes it is legal and pretty common. We had to give our cat the fluids several times a week for a couple of years. We had a pet sitter who knew how to do it for her business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 We had to do it for a dog with parvo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Yep...its legal. My sister works at a vet and she's always bringing home some sort of IV to give to some animal she has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanamom Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Just sub Q fluids? That should be fine. Your vet may even sell you the items needed and give you some pointers on setting it all up and administering it. They should know you are doing it anyway. (I did this at home for one of my cats with full support from my vet. My laundry room was a tiny little cat hospital for about 4 weeks.) IV fluids? I wouldn't want to mess with finding a vein and securing the needle and all that without trained help. Sub Q is much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Just sub Q fluids? That should be fine. Your vet may even sell you the items needed and give you some pointers on setting it all up and administering it. They should know you are doing it anyway. (I did this at home for one of my cats with full support from my vet. My laundry room was a tiny little cat hospital for about 4 weeks.) IV fluids? I wouldn't want to mess with finding a vein and securing the needle and all that without trained help. Sub Q is much easier. I agree. I used to work for a vet and cats can be a booger to find a vein on. Especially ill kitties. :grouphug: Sub Q is much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Sub q fluids would be much easier and my vet almost had to teach me how to do this. Our kitty is prone to urinary crystals and keeping his fluid intake up keeps him healthy. He is really good about letting us give him extra fluids via a syringe of water orally a few times a day so that is all we need to do along with monitor his diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I have sent many clients home with an IV already in place and they have used them successfully, but I am very careful who gets entrusted with an IV. Putting an IV in a cat can be tricky, especially with chronic renal disease as their veins may not be great and can blow easily. They can also be difficult to restrain for the IV placement. My question for you is why not just do SQ fluids regularly? The fluid is still absorbed and is much safer for a kitty with kidney issues. Cats with renal disease are also prone to developing congestive heart failure and are easy to overload with IV fluids causing the lungs to fill up with fluids. If the cat is extremely azotemic and you are trying to diurese the cat then it should be hospitalized on IV fluids for 48 hrs. to see if that does it but in your case it does not sound like that is an option. I would caution you against trying to diurese (like dialysis) your cat at home as you may cause more problems than you have now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) My question for you is why not just do SQ fluids regularly? The fluid is still absorbed and is much safer for a kitty with kidney issues. Cats with renal disease are also prone to developing congestive heart failure and are easy to overload with IV fluids causing the lungs to fill up with fluids. When you say "regularly," what do you mean? We already give the sub-q fluids every other day. Do you think giving sub-q every day is safer than an IV in the clinic, or just an IV at home? Edited January 26, 2009 by klmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 When you say "regularly," what do you mean? We already give the sub-q fluids every other day. Do you think giving sub-q every day is safer than an IV in the clinic, or just an IV at home? I guess we are discussing safety vs. effectiveness. Do your every other day SQ fluids maintain your cat's hydration effectively? If so, there is no reason to switch to an IV. Either route is going to get fluids into your cat but IV is chosen over SQ for reasons including the need for speed (like an animal is in shock and we need to get blood pressure up quickly) or the kidney function values are so bad that we need to diurese (give twice daily maintenance rate of fluids) to flush those kidneys and get kidney numbers down again. So unless your cat is in dire straits I don't think doing an IV at home is the way to go. As I mentioned before, the risk of extravasation of fluid (going outside the vein) and overhydrating the cardiovascular system leading to pulmonary edema, etc. is too great in a cat. When cats are on IV in the hospital they are getting about 10-20 mls/hr. typically and are confined to a cage where they still get tangled up in their lines, chew on them ,etc. The troubleshooting of an IV catheter is just not worth it in my mind for an owner to do at home. If your vet really thinks your cat would be better off on IVs then have him put one in at the clinic, leave the cat for the day to receive what it needs, then cap it off and bring it home and go back the next day for the same thing if you are trying to do a 2 day diuresing. Otherwise, longterm doesn't work with catheters either because they should only be in the cat's leg for 3 days really. Long term caths are central lines placed in the jugular and can go 7-10 days or more depending on their material, but again, this is not something to manage at home. In a nutshell, SQ is the safest and probably more effective way to administer fluids to your cat at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Soph the Vet I never would have guessed that there would be anything more difficult than keeping a toddler from pulling a line at home (trust me, not fun), but now I can see that a cat would be worse. :glare: Hopefully the kitty will be able to continue treatment at home. It will probably be more comfortable there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Our vet taught us to give an IV and sent us home with fluids for our old cat. We gave these quite a bit, but I must say that once at the point where that becomes necessary, I'm not so sure it's not better to just go ahead and put them down. Mine got to the point where his skin was so broken down that the fluid just seeped back out when we were trying to administer the IV. I hated so to let him go, but I wouldn't ever want to do that to another animal. I'm sorry to tell you this. I just didn't want you to be sorry later if you keep your friend too long, as I did.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Do your every other day SQ fluids maintain your cat's hydration effectively? No. She's constipated, her skin has lost elasticity, and she sleeps a lot more than usual. That's why I think she needs the IV again. Dh doesn't want to spend any more significant amounts of money on a dying cat. I guess we'll try giving the fluids every day. Thanks for the explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Legal...yes. Fun, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 No. She's constipated, her skin has lost elasticity, and she sleeps a lot more than usual. That's why I think she needs the IV again. Dh doesn't want to spend any more significant amounts of money on a dying cat. I guess we'll try giving the fluids every day. Thanks for the explanation. Yes! Yes! Give them daily! It is worth a shot (no pun intended) and you may buy her kidneys a little more time. Does she look anemic, like really pale mucus membranes? That is often an indication that they are in end-stage kidney failure as the kidney is responsible for producing erythropoeitin which is the hormone that stimulates the bone marrow to produce red cells. Once they get to that point it is usually pretty far gone. Just trying to give you some benchmarks to go by. Also, if she is not peeing much she might be shutting down, especially if she is getting fluids daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Our vet taught us to give an IV and sent us home with fluids for our old cat. We gave these quite a bit, but I must say that once at the point where that becomes necessary, I'm not so sure it's not better to just go ahead and put them down. Mine got to the point where his skin was so broken down that the fluid just seeped back out when we were trying to administer the IV. I hated so to let him go, but I wouldn't ever want to do that to another animal. I'm sorry to tell you this. I just didn't want you to be sorry later if you keep your friend too long, as I did.... Regena, those are SubQ fluids that you are describing though, not intravenous (IV) even though they are the same fluids that you would give through an IV catheter in the vein. SQ is what is commonly prescribed for owners to give at home. You would not have been giving IV fluids unless the cat had a catheter in its leg or neck and then the fluid should not have seeped out in that case. Just wanted to clarify for other laypeople reading so there is no confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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