The Rise and Pause of Kittisaurus
You might have seen a video (or two or three or a hundred) of cats tackling all sorts of new and strange challenge. If so, chances are that you've watched the Kittisaurus channel.
The channel delighted millions of viewers with clips of cats navigating challenging obstacle courses, struggling to bypass invisible walls, and escaping from intricately built mazes. Cat owners around the world began to mimic the Kittisaurus formula, filling YouTube with their own twist on Kittisaurus’s cat challenges.
Until then, cat videos were cute, funny, and eccentric. Kittisaurus proved that cat videos could be entertainment.
7 cats - now 10 - were integral to the success of the channel, each with their own striking personalities. There was the handsome and intelligent CoCo, the gentle giant DD, the gruff but sentimental MoMo… but the two standout stars of the channel were TT and LuLu.
The two couldn’t be more different. The mature TT carried herself with a sense of grace. The slender and tall cat excelled at whatever she put her mind to, but was prone to sulking when things didn’t go her way. In contrast, young LuLu was an adorable Scottish Fold with a head as big as his appetite. A natural rule breaker and mischief-maker, LuLu charmed viewers with his unpredictable antics.
At the height of its popularity, the seemingly-unstoppable Kittisaurus channel began to slow down, before coming to a sudden halt. Weekly videos turned into monthly ones, before making way for a sporadic schedule with hiatuses that lasted over half a year. All the while, devoted fans wondered what could have happened.
The truth, unknown to them, was that TT and LuLu had developed chronic kidney disease (CKD).
The Vicious Cycle of CKD
Determined to save her cats, their caregiver Claire Luvcat made the decision to suspend channel activities and focus fully on TT and LuLu’s care.
Caring for a cat with CKD is a long and arduous process. Damage done to the kidneys cannot be undone, and there is no cure for the disease. If left unchecked, CKD continues to worsen, shutting down a cat’s kidney functions until their inevitable death. All caregivers can do for their cats is keep the disease from getting worse.
What makes CKD so dangerous is how hard it is to diagnose. Many symptoms of CKD do not reveal themselves until the later stages of the disease. Combined with the irreversible nature of the disease, this means that CKD is usually only detected once it has already wreaked havoc on a cat’s kidneys.
The greatest hurdle of CKD care is that even the proper measures to treat the disease can actually make it worse. A common symptom in cats with CKD is loss of appetite and weight loss, which can lead to malnutrition and cause the disease to worsen. Yet, measures taken to overcome these symptoms, such as assisted feeding and renal diets, can actually make cats even more unwilling to eat, exacerbating the issue.
Claire was faced with the seemingly impossible task of caring for 2 cats with CKD, while at the same time trying her best to keep her other 8 cats from also suffering from the disease. That’s where Greycoat Research’s AIM care protocol came in.
Why CKD Cats Needs AIM Care
Greycoat Research’s AIM care utilizes the latest research from Japan to target the root cause of CKD in cats. AIM (Apoptosis Inhibitor of Macrophage) is a protein that plays an important role in cleaning up waste from the kidneys and protecting the body from many diseases. Cats are inherently born with a disorder that prevents their AIM from working properly. This causes waste to accumulate in their kidneys, rendering them far more susceptible to kidney disease than any other animal.
Designed by Dr. Toru Miyazaki, who discovered AIM and its connection to CKD in cats, Greycoat Research’s Dr. Toru Protocol works by activating the dormant AIM in cats. This allows the AIM proteins to do what they were meant to do, making it ideal for managing chronic diseases such as CKD.
Greycoat Research’s AIM care didn’t end with just supplements. Utilizing the combined expertise of its veterinary and pharmaceutical experts around the world, Greycoat Research helped Claire create a sustainable and systematic CKD care manual that she could follow to care for both TT and LuLu without feeling overwhelmed. With help from their newly activated AIM and a customized schedule designed just for them, TT and LuLu began to regain their energy, appetite, and control over their lives.
Kittisaurus Is Back!
6 years later, both TT and LuLu still have stage 2 CKD. But they certainly don’t act like it.
TT’s energy levels have returned to normal, and she diligently zooms on the cat wheel for praise and the occasional snack. Her creatinine levels have gone from a peak of 2.9 to 1.7.
LuLu’s progress is even more astounding. Though his kidney functions are equivalent to that of a cat with stage 2 CKD, his kidney levels (creatinine, BUN, etc.) have actually gone down to the point where they are indistinguishable from a cat without CKD at all!
The two cats are living testament to the effectiveness of Greycoat Research’s AIM care for cat kidneys, and they’re not the only ones. All the Kittisaurus cats, even those without CKD, are healthier and happier than they’ve ever been.
Now, the Kittisaurus channel is back to doing what it was made to do - entertaining viewers around the world. Under Greycoat Research’s care, the channel and its cats look to be set for the future.
Greycoat Research understands the difficulties of caring for cats with CKD. That’s why we offer free 1:1 consultations customized to each cat and cat owner’s individual under the supervision of our panel of veterinary and pharmaceutical experts.
CKD doesn’t have to mean the end for your cat. With proper and timely care, your cat can live happily and healthily for years after a diagnosis.
- Read about Claire’s struggles to care for TT’s CKD!
- Learn more about LuLu’s triumph over CKD!
