Introduction

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common in elderly cats, and subcutaneous fluids (SQ) are a common therapy.

Objectives

To describe SQ administration practices of CKD cat owners to help more owners successfully give SQ fluids to their cats.

Methods

An anonymous web-based survey was performed. Owners of 468 cats with CKD participated. Eighty-seven percent of cats were 10 years or older. Cats were IRIS stage I (1%), II (20%), III (37%), IV (17%), and unknown (25%).

Results

Ninety-five percent of owners said they discussed giving fluids with their veterinarian. Three hundred ninety-nine respondents stated they gave SQ fluids, 57 did not, and 12 tried but could not. Only 42% of owners were given additional educational resources. Seventy-nine percent said the process was ok/easy to learn. Once experienced, 15% said it was still somewhat/highly stressful on them, and 11% said it was somewhat/highly stressful for the cat. To improve tolerance, 57% used food for positive reinforcement, with 59% stating this improved tolerance; 60% warmed the fluids, and 83% felt warming fluids increased tolerance. Seventy-four percent felt that length of time it took to administer fluids affected tolerance. Eighty-two percent said needle size affected tolerance. Forty percent of owners checked hydration status daily or twice daily, and 18% of owners did not know how. Forty-three percent said they skipped/added fluids based on hydration assessment.

Conclusions

The majority of owners were successful in administering fluids, but additional education materials could be provided. Variables such as needle size, warming fluids, and length of time of administration may improve tolerance.