GrahamL
Wise Old Thumper
I totally feel for you, totally, 100% empathise.
Did Basil have blood tests, to test for anaemia at all? If he does have anaemia, that will account for why he's been so tired. We have this with Ginger.
Whilst im sure you trust your vet, and there is no way i would TELL you to do otherwise, i dont agree with stopping all pellets. I've had this discussion. There are nutrients etc in pellets that he could do with keeping in his system.
Glad he's drinking so much - thats amazingly important - all the time he's drinking loads and loads, he's flushing his system of the toxins that his kidneys can't take out on their own any more Thats actually a really good thing. We are on ~1l of water per day now.
Keep an eye on his weight - he may struggle to hold it with kidney issues. Profibre pellets we use to maintain weight. I can't get Gingers weight UP but i can now hold it fairly steady with a mix of foods and the special pellets.
Make sure he doesnt have herbs or greens that are diuretics - eg, dandelions, parsleys and some other weeds/herbs/greens (i'll have to find the link again i was reading, leave it with me...) as you need to NOT remove water from his system forcefully like that.
Does Basil have a friend? It can be helpful, in my mind and my vets that, whilst Ginger has Biscuit, we have early warning signs almost that Gingers going to get bad. Biscuit prods her a lot and seems to chase/nip a little a day or so before she has a 'quiet' day.
I dont know how bad Basil is right now - i hope he still has plenty of time left with you.
I won't profess to know everything, i wont even profess to know anything - i just know what we're doing right now and it seems to be working.
Lacing water with a small amount of freshly squeezed orange juice or apple juice works well, if you want different flavours to tempt him if needs be.
Loads of vibes for your special little man.
Did Basil have blood tests, to test for anaemia at all? If he does have anaemia, that will account for why he's been so tired. We have this with Ginger.
Whilst im sure you trust your vet, and there is no way i would TELL you to do otherwise, i dont agree with stopping all pellets. I've had this discussion. There are nutrients etc in pellets that he could do with keeping in his system.
Glad he's drinking so much - thats amazingly important - all the time he's drinking loads and loads, he's flushing his system of the toxins that his kidneys can't take out on their own any more Thats actually a really good thing. We are on ~1l of water per day now.
Keep an eye on his weight - he may struggle to hold it with kidney issues. Profibre pellets we use to maintain weight. I can't get Gingers weight UP but i can now hold it fairly steady with a mix of foods and the special pellets.
Make sure he doesnt have herbs or greens that are diuretics - eg, dandelions, parsleys and some other weeds/herbs/greens (i'll have to find the link again i was reading, leave it with me...) as you need to NOT remove water from his system forcefully like that.
Does Basil have a friend? It can be helpful, in my mind and my vets that, whilst Ginger has Biscuit, we have early warning signs almost that Gingers going to get bad. Biscuit prods her a lot and seems to chase/nip a little a day or so before she has a 'quiet' day.
I dont know how bad Basil is right now - i hope he still has plenty of time left with you.
I won't profess to know everything, i wont even profess to know anything - i just know what we're doing right now and it seems to be working.
Lacing water with a small amount of freshly squeezed orange juice or apple juice works well, if you want different flavours to tempt him if needs be.
Loads of vibes for your special little man.
Hi and thanks everyone! The good news today is that Basil has drunk a whole bottle of water, which is amazing for him I must admit I did take the vets advice and add a little blackcurrant juice. It worked though and at the moment I will try anything to get him drinking properly. They also advised me to encourage him to run about as much possible because this will help his gut to keep moving. He does free range downstairs for most of the day, but he has been really tired recently and just sits and sleeps., but today we had binky's which is also great.
I am keeping him on a diet of hay and herbs as advised. He loves celery and cucumber etc. but these are out as well. I also have to wean him off all pellets. He never had many, about 20grams per day, but now we are down to less than 10grams. The plan is to get him off them completely if possible. He won't like it, but if it's going to help him to keep well, it will be worth it. I am not sure really how he will be affected long term with this condition (only one kidney working properly). The vet has advised us to bring him in periodically to be re-assessed, even during times when he appears well. So, I think we will just have to go one day at a time