Hi all

I was just wondering if any of you or members of your (human) Bengal household have been on home dialysis and how you managed the general nosiness of your Bengal(s) as they do like to be involved in everything at all times?!

My worry is the risk of infection and/or the pesky critters interfering with the leads and tubes that are associated with the equipment. I'm guessing we will have to shut them out when Jon is connected to the equipment but to close them entirely out of a room won't be easy as I imagine Jon will want the treatment in a nice comfy chair whilst watching TV or something and they like to be with us etc and all their 'furniture' is also in the main areas we spend time.

Whilst we are not quite there yet, it is starting to look imminent and I'm trying to work out how best to organise the house and if we will need to somehow close the equipment away - at this point all I know is probably a whole room will be taken up with supplies but where to place the actual equipment and how much room this will take up isn't really known to me just yet.

We are getting closer to the point he will be on dialysis and I don't want to be unprepared when this will be quite a life changing event in itself and I'd like it to be as stress free as possible for all concerned...

Any tips or other people's experiences would be gratefully received!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Clare, I am so sorry you're having to contemplate something like this for Jon. Prayers are with you and Jon. As for the kitties ... you have no idea how amazingly smart bengals are. Of course you do!!! I'm guessing if there is a nice comfortable chair for the situation, there may be a way for the tubes to be placed in the crevices and away from any area the cats may get into or place a blanket or throw over Jon. I don't know if the machine makes any noise, but that may startle the cats if they do. The most important thing, as you know, is to make the "change" as inconspicuous as possible as Hendrix and Jagger do not like change.

Are the treatments only going to be in the evening? You've said Hendrix and Jagger are outside during the day. And how is this going to affect Jon being away or is he going to be coming back home for good?

I don't know of any member who has gone through something like this ... but know we are here to support you and Jon. Sending {{{HUGS}}}.

Thanks Sherry. Jon isn't allowed to sea right now which is for the best!! He is on the transplant list and we were hoping he would get a transplant before needing dialysis but who knows how long it will take for him to get a kidney! It is looking like this is something that will be happening shortly although we are doing what we can to delay and keep him healthy without it. He's still working and is fine and barely even thinks about it, it's me that does the worrying

I saw this on twitter recently and nearly passed out:

Dialysis first delivery (425x500).jpg

Where on earth do you put all this 'stuff'??!! Obviously we'll find somewhere and I'd rather he had dialysis at home as going into the hospital three or four times a week can be pretty tough and life is more normal. Plus because you can do it every day, its less intense and hard on your body.

But yes, the reason I'm trying to plan now is to limit any huge changes all at once and be comfortable with how to deal with interfering Bengals

And they do love boxes....!!!!!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Hey Clare, is Jon doing peritoneal or hemodyalisis?
I can only speak to peritoneal as my Mum does this at home. Mum and Dad catsit our boys for us when we go on holidays.
I know that with peritoneal dialysis it is absolutely imperative that everything in the area is completely sterile and when connecting the tubing to the abdominal port you can't even have a window open or talk in case germs are on the wind.
Mum's bedroom is big enough for her to have a dedicated chair, bag stand and equipment trolley in there, so they just make sure to keep the bedroom door closed at all times when they're cat sitting.
Once everything is hooked up and either draining or infusing it would probably be ok to let the cats have a look around, but Mum and Dad just never wanted to chance their inquisitiveness.
Now that Mum and Dad as a team are pretty efficient at everything, the whole process takes less than half an hour, so it doesn't seem that long to "lock" the boys out.
Not sure if I've been any help at all, but I hope all goes well with Jon and your lives aren't disrupted too much.
Happy for you to PM me if I can help with anything.

Oh thank you, Tracey, that is really helpful! Jon has elected for peritoneal dialysis as well, and that has given me peace of mind that your mum has coped well when cat sitting.

It's all bit of an unknown at the moment until we get there. But he's down to 10% kidney function now and his potassium levels are all over the shop. In fact he's at the hospital now having a blood test to see if this is under control again after this being dangerously high last week. So it is all looking imminent.

I'll have a chat with him tonight and see how we can get this all set up. I might treat him to a new comfy chair that we can tuck the bag stand and equipment trolley behind and I will start to scrub the house to within an inch of its life in an attempt to make the place totally sterile!!

Good news it only takes half an hour too - although I expect it will take us a while to be that efficient with everything!! Hopefully we can start a routine of doing this when the boys are outside playing as they are pretty predictable with their routines!

I feel more optimistic now, so thank you again!!!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

Tracey, how wonderful that you have chimed in with experience with this!!! Sorry to hear your mom is on dialysis. I have a friend in Florida who is also on a transplant list and has dialysis, but goes to the hospital to have it done.

Clare, I hope they can find a kidney for Jon. I know things will work out having the dialysis at home. In the beginning, it may seem weird but after a while, normalcy will kick in and you will be pros at this.

Good luck and know that I'm praying for you both.

I'm so glad to hear that I could put your mind somewhat at ease Clare. It seemed quite daunting at first, but Mum's kidney's have failed (down to 6%) as a result of her having Multiple Myeloma. Her having to go on dialysis is helping to keep her alive a bit longer and didn't seem like such a massive deal after everything else she is going through. Unfortunately she can never get a transplant because the MM would just go on and damage the new kidney, so there's no point.
Clare, I'll PM you with my email address so that you can feel free to ask absolutely anything. I'm a medical scientist as well, so may be able to answer stuff both about dialysis and blood results if you ever need a sounding board.

And thank you Sherry for your kind words. I love that this forum is not only a place for us to share about our fur babies, but a support network as well.

Thank you so much, Tracey, I really appreciate it.

Things seem to be happening quite quickly this year. We were always told that his kidneys would 'fall off the cliff' suddenly and until this year, we were pretty much in denial I think and he was just on blood pressure tablets to support his kidneys. With all my medicines and injections for psoriatic arthritis and now his for his kidneys, our house is being taken over with medical supplies without the home dialysis

He got through yesterday though which gives me more time to think about where to put everything and feel more relaxed about the Jagger and Hendrix situation!

Sending my very best wishes to both you and your mum xxx

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

This is truly a support group! Tracey, you are one in a million!!! Clare, I know things will work out okay. Everything is daunting in the beginning. I will keep you and Jon in my prayers and hope a kidney becomes available. In the mean time, hang in there. I'm sure Hendrix and Jagger will get used to having all the equipment around. I think it is wonderful Jon can have the dialysis at home.