Early-stage Kidney Disease

My beautiful Candy was diagnosed yesterday with early-stage kidney disease, but the vet did say that she's seen early cases reversed through the use of probiotics. I certainly hope that's the case here. I love that little girl, and I don't want to lose her.

Jim

Hi! I'm so sorry to hear this!
When you have a chance, this website may be of help;
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

Thank you.

I've never heard of probiotics reversing early CKD...I'm going to have to look into that! That would be amazing if it works!
One thing I do know though is that in an early stage you do want to start feeding your kitty a wet food that has a good high quality protein but also is low in phosphorus. This list might be a little out of date but check out this link, it has a long list of canned foods that show the protein, fat, carb and phosphorus content. It might help point you in the right direction for food choices.
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Thank you, my friends. I have saved a copy of the chart.

Jim

Here's an update. I have begun Candy on probiotics. The dosage is two small scoops a day (according to her weight) sprinkled and mixed in her food. One question. How do I give the probiotics to her so that she ingests them right away? When I feed her, she doesn't eat all of her food in one sitting, so there will be food with probiotics on it just sitting there uneaten and I don't want the probiotics to lose their effectiveness as a result. Thank you, friends.

Jim

You could give her the probiotics mixed in with a treat! My cats love Whiskas Catmilk, I'm wondering if you could mix the powder in with something like that and have her drink a small amount in one sitting? Other liquids include goats milk and plain bone broth.

EmersonandEvie said:

You could give her the probiotics mixed in with a treat! My cats love Whiskas Catmilk, I'm wondering if you could mix the powder in with something like that and have her drink a small amount in one sitting? Other liquids include goats milk and plain bone broth.

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Thank you. I'll give those ideas a try.

Jim

For now, I put some of the probiotic powder into two Pill Pockets, and she ate them.

I just picked up some Whiskas Catmilk and some bone broth. I'll report back with what I learn. Also, I picked up three packages of Churu lickable chicken cat treats and put some of the probiotic powder on a plate. I then squeezed the chicken treat on top and mixed it well. Candy ate it, well, like candy.

I mentioned at the beginning of this thread that the vet mentioned she has seen early kidney disease reversed through the use of probiotics. I took Candy to the vet for another issue (see below), and I am happy to report her kidney disease has indeed been reversed. Her kidney levels are normal.

However, Candy is facing a new issue: pancreatitis. She stopped eating suddenly, and has had an increase in vomiting lately, so I took her to the vet immediately. They did a full blood test (this is the test where her kidney levels were normal) and noticed her amylase level was high. They asked for my permission to do a test specifically looking for pancreatitis. Of course, loving my little girl as I do, I told them to do the test. It confirmed she has pancreatitis. They kept her at the vet overnight and send me home with Cerenia, Clavaseptin and Buprenorphine.

As soon as I took her home and got her out of her carrier, she started rubbing her head all over my face and purring non-stop. She's eating well again, and she is a very happy little girl. Seeing how happy she is now reminds me of how she was when I first got her, and looking back to when she was sick, she, while still happy, wasn't as happy as she is now.

What are some of your experiences with pancreatitis? Thanks.

Jim