Hi Sandy,
Without knowing what's going on with Spud or how far advanced his kidney disease is, its hard to say how long he will benefit from them. What I can tell you is that - for however much time he has left, the sub q fluids will definitely make him feel more comfortable and improve the quality of his life. In most cases it will also jump start the appetite a bit too.
No one particularly likes to give the fluids, but I've seen people give them on chi's and they're always tiny and skinny little things. There are also things you can do to make getting fluids a little easier on Spud, and if you decide to do them I'll share some of my little tips I picked up over the years. My little guy would pad right over and stand at the foot of the bed waiting when he saw me get the fluid bag out. He quickly learned that there was high value in it for him because he always got extra snuggles, one on one time with mom, and special treats that he only got at fluid time. Also these little guys are so small that you don't have to give much fluid so its quick. I gave my Scooby 100 ml per day and could get the fluids into him in less than five minutes. So even if he'd hated it, five minutes for 23 hours and 55 minutes of feeling better was well worth it! (And honestly, he didn't hate it.)
Diana |