The person my wife and I care for has had frequent bouts with incontinence, including while he's had a catheter in. It almost always involves explosive diarrhea and it's very difficult keeping one of those sterile when there's diarrhea all over it, but I digress. We've thrown away otherwise perfectly good jeans they were so completely engulfed in it. When he goes through these periods, we stock up on disposable underwear and make sure we buy the "underwear" type with an elastic waistband and elastic around the leg openings. Depends are the name most are familiar with but we typically buy the store brand from the local drug store, in our case, Walgreen's. They generally keep the worst of it inside, so the main issue is cleaning him up, which needs to be done regardless. We also buy him less expensive sweats and flannel pajama pants to wear so if we have an episode where it's very bad, we're not tossing $30-$40 jeans. Above all, don't be embarrassed. It's a fact of your life and something that is neither your or his fault. It's just a hand you and he have been dealt, something that life has given you to cope with. Caring for a loved one whose health is in decline and all the speed bumps it involves is something to be applauded(For lack of a better word), not to be ashamed of. It requires love and dedication that some can't bring themselves to deal with. The ones who can't cope or dedicate themselves are the ones that should be embarrassed. Good luck to you both.

Isn't it funny what different vets recommend? Mine told me that giving my cats canned food was the equivalent of feeding them cake all day long. I guess he meant the stuff you can buy at grocery stores. I did have a cat that ate exclusively canned food, and he was very, very fat. I feed my cats Kirkland Super Premium chicken dry cat food. I'm not sure what the ingredients are (I don't have the bag) but they thrive on it. Shiny, glossy coats, non-stinky boxes and few hair balls. I know it's not high grains, because the same brand dog food is really good stuff. On occasion I give the cats a tablespoon of wet stuff as a treat, but that definitely causes a stink factor. They really love cooked oatmeal as a treat, tho. Or pancakes. Or angelfood cake. Or Doritos. (not recommended, tho!!)

Just adding my ten cents worth, having read everybody's different experiences. I was seeing pink streaks of blood on the toilet paper after urinating, and at first thought it was a urinary tract infection. Antibiotics for that didn't make any difference. Then I tried to determine if it was really urinary, or perhaps vaginal instead. It seemed like it was both which seemed crazy and impossible and scared me half to death. And it was only apparent when I wiped after urinating. It wasn't like I was bleeding like with a period or anything like that. Long story short is doc explained that the urethra and the vagina share a wall, and that as I'm nearly 65 and about 13 years past menopause, it was probably that shared wall that was atrophying (drying out) and causing the light bleeding. Which made sense as my husband had major surgery about a year ago and as he's 78 years old, we just haven't gone back to regular sex which had probably been keeping my vagina well lubricated. Anyway, doc prescribed a pea sized amount of Estrace externally three times a week. I tried that for four weeks and it made no difference at all. I did some research and as I trust the Mayo Clinic, I went with their recommended dosage of 2 grams daily, some just inside the vagina with my finger, the rest externally, for one to two weeks. Halfway through the second week the bleeding had completely gone away. Mayo then says half that dosage for the next one to two weeks, which I'm trying now, and then 1 gram three times a week for three out of every four weeks as a maintenance dose. I'm going to try the pea sized amount three times a week instead and see if symptoms come back - hopefully they won't. I want to use the minimum amount possible, yet keep the problem under control. Only side effect I noticed was when I went to the 2 grams daily, my nipples were very sensitive but that has improved.

My 14 year old Persian kitty was diagnosed with crf about a month ago. He was prescribed subq fluids ( which I do myself) and gd canned renal food, as he has a heart murmur. He has eaten a raw homemade food all his life that I make myself..but it has bone in it..which I understand is not good for crf kitties as it contains too much phrosphuros. He likes the gd..but has lost weight and I suspect he needs more high quality protein..I have searched the web for info for a recipe using raw chicken..but I can't find any...I am fearful he is losing muscle mass...I have started adding cooked egg white to his gd food...not sure how much to add..so probably a while egg white per day..as he eats fairly often. It seems there are so many of us pet owners who are desperately looking for this info. I have found that a private consult with someone who says they can help is just too expensive! I was considering leaving out the bone on the recipe I normally use ...but not sure about adding bonemeal... A cbc done after several weeks on gd brought the bun way down..but creatinine is still high at 3.0... I even wonder how much a previous raw diet affected the original cbc levels... I weigh him every day...and he is slowly losing ... For now ...he is eating...but runs to the raw my others are eating every chance he gets..so I am a constant policeman. He also was presscribed Azodyl...I have read you can buy human probiotic at Whole Foods...but not sure how much to give..that would be so much cheaper..if it even helps..everyone on it seems to think so..but I have read poor reviews about it.. Also have read good things.about Renafood by Standard Process..it's a human supplement... B complex,omega 3 which I do put into my raw recipe...not sure what freezing does to the quality of it.. And what about Calcitriol??? The vet said he was in stage 3..but I guess that is where most cats are when not caught early...He sleeps non stop...does wake to eat fairly often..but doesn't stay awake for any length of time...when he does eat a fairly good amount..he is trying to paw into my plate...or finding his way into my one cats dry food..or the raw I am feeding the others...so does that say..what he is eating is not nutritious enough??? From what I am reading on the net the renal food is not sufficient enough for their carnavarl needs...canned food of any kind cannot be compared to a raw diet...I have feed this to my cats for 12 years...and they have always had excellent cbc's up until now... He and all the others had cbc's last year..and all were great.,but if all this happened within a year..I am going to have them all tested again.. I did take all the meat off a whole chicken..added..chicken liver..all raw..and froze this mixture into very small patties and have added a small amount to his gd food..but not sure this is enough....as you can see..I am determined to feed him raw ..if only I knew I wasn't harming him. I know there are canned foods that are not prescription..that can be low in phorphuros...right now his is 3.7.. down from 5.5 originally.. Would so appreciate your help. thanks, bev. ...