A Diet That Works For A Diabetic Cat With Renal Problems?

[Lau]

Momo is 15 years old and is on a high protein diet of mostly lightly cooked chicken, I don't think the meat I can get here is fresh enough to eat raw, and I give her two small portions of dry prescription food for diabetic cats to make sure she gets enough taurine. They don't sell a wet version of this kind of food here and I couldn't find any kind of vitamin supplements for cats neither. Currently, she is in remission and does not need insulin. She started having problems with her kidneys, all food for renal problems that I could find is high in carbs and this might be a problem for her. Does anyone have any ideas about what to feed her that works for both problems? I've been checking regular wet food and I'm surprised to see sugar listed as one of the ingredients.
Thank you!

 

[lisahe]

Hello, Lau and welcome to The Cat Site, though I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties finding foods for Momo!

Before I make any suggestions about foods, since you mentioned "the meat I can get here," I wanted to ask where "here" is so people can try to make suggestions that are realistic for where you live. There are huge differences in what's available where so that would be great to know!

 

[Lau]

Hello, Lau and welcome to The Cat Site, though I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties finding foods for Momo!

Before I make any suggestions about foods, since you mentioned "the meat I can get here," I wanted to ask where "here" is so people can try to make suggestions that are realistic for where you live. There are huge differences in what's available where so that would be great to know!

Hi! Thank you. I live in Argentina

 

[kittyluv387]

You want a wetfood that is low in carbs and low in phosphorus. Phosphorus hurts compromised kidneys. Carbs turn into sugars so low carb is the way to go.

 

[Lau]

You want a wetfood that is low in carbs and low in phosphorus. Phosphorus hurts compromised kidneys. Carbs turn into sugars so low carb is the way to go.

Thank you! That's really helpful I will try to find that kind of food

 

[kittyluv387]

Thank you! That's really helpful I will try to find that kind of food

No problem! Also 300-600mg of combined EPA and DHA per dayis beneficial for kidney cats because of the anti-inflammatory properties. And here's an interview of a cat specialist veterinarian on the subject of kidney disease.

 

[lisahe]

Thank you! That's really helpful I will try to find that kind of food

In terms of general advice, yes, definitely avoid that sugar (!!! I can't believe that's in cat food!) as well as anything like potato, peas, tapioca, and similar ingredients that have gotten so common in cat food. You also would want to avoid foods with a lot of bone, which could be included as a "byproduct."

This chart has carb and phosphorous values for hundreds of foods but of course I'm not sure which ones you would be able to buy in Argentina!

If you're interested in making food, you can start a thread in the
Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food sub-forum to get an idea of what nutrients you'd need to buy to make food for Momo.

 

[LTS3]

You may want to also ask on the FelineDiabetes.com message board. This old thread may be helpful: What do you feed cats with kidney disease? | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB

 

[Lau]

No problem! Also 300-600mg of combined EPA and DHA per dayis beneficial for kidney cats because of the anti-inflammatory properties. And here's an interview of a cat specialist veterinarian on the subject of kidney disease.

Thank you! It's a great interview with lots of useful info

 

[Lau]

In terms of general advice, yes, definitely avoid that sugar (!!! I can't believe that's in cat food!) as well as anything like potato, peas, tapioca, and similar ingredients that have gotten so common in cat food. You also would want to avoid foods with a lot of bone, which could be included as a "byproduct."

This chart has carb and phosphorous values for hundreds of foods but of course I'm not sure which ones you would be able to buy in Argentina!

If you're interested in making food, you can start a thread in the
Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food sub-forum to get an idea of what nutrients you'd need to buy to make food for Momo.

It would be amazing to have so many different types of food to choose from. So far all I could find here with less phosphorus that the one I'm currently feeding her is form royal canin. The wet version has sugar listed as one of the ingredients (According to their site is a natural not harmful kind) And the dry version does not but I assume it would have more carbohydrates. So I'm still not sure if try the dry or the wet version.

 

[Lau]

You may want to also ask on the FelineDiabetes.com message board. This old thread may be helpful: What do you feed cats with kidney disease? | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB

Thank you! there is useful info there

 

[jen]

The wet version has sugar listed as one of the ingredients (According to their site is a natural not harmful kind) And the dry version does not but I assume it would have more carbohydrates. So I'm still not sure if try the dry or the wet version.

Absolutely canned for kidney and diabetic cats. Never ever dry. Since their canned version has sugar as a listed ingredient I would avoid it. So that rules out the Royal Canin that you are feeding period. Their sight may SAY it is a natural kind of sugar but it is still sugar, still not anything a cat needs and most importantly something a diabetic cat (in remission or not) shouldn't be eating. Congrats on weaning your cat off the insulin btw. I did the same thing with my bf's cat and she is in much better health now. She eats Friskies pate which is VERY low carb but she doesn't have any renal issues.

Someone linked you to this: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf and I will also mention it and encourage you to look it over. She also goes into more specifically for each health issue so look at the other tabs on the main site and read about diabetes and renal issues. It is all very interesting and definitely applies to your cat's situation.

 

[Lau]

Absolutely canned for kidney and diabetic cats. Never ever dry. Since their canned version has sugar as a listed ingredient I would avoid it. So that rules out the Royal Canin that you are feeding period. Their sight may SAY it is a natural kind of sugar but it is still sugar, still not anything a cat needs and most importantly something a diabetic cat (in remission or not) shouldn't be eating. Congrats on weaning your cat off the insulin btw. I did the same thing with my bf's cat and she is in much better health now. She eats Friskies pate which is VERY low carb but she doesn't have any renal issues.

Someone linked you to this: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf and I will also mention it and encourage you to look it over. She also goes into more specifically for each health issue so look at the other tabs on the main site and read about diabetes and renal issues. It is all very interesting and definitely applies to your cat's situation.

So all the food that is available here is from royal canin for diabetic cats dry only (That's the one she is currently eating) some others prescription foods have a wet version. Purina dry only (with just regular pouches: kitten, adult cat and indoors) and another local brand that is not listed on that link but has canned food and I just sent them an email asking for nutritional facts. then there are 4 more brands that are super cheap food sold at supermarkets and that's it. I don't have many to choose from

 

[jen]

What are the super cheap supermarket foods? If they are fancy feast or friskies classics pate, those are actually VERY low carb and what I used to wean my diabetic cat off her insulin. It would take a little more digging to make sure the supermarket canned foods would be ok for renal cats too. If you post their names or check if they are on the chart linked above you never know!

 

[Lau]

What are the super cheap supermarket foods? If they are fancy feast or friskies classics pate, those are actually VERY low carb and what I used to wean my diabetic cat off her insulin. It would take a little more digging to make sure the supermarket canned foods would be ok for renal cats too. If you post their names or check if they are on the chart linked above you never know!

Sadly is all dry food, you can expect your cat to die from renal problems at 7 or 12 if you feed those and one kind of pouch that has sugar and phosphorus content is not even listed on the ingredients. I'm just sad that here royal canin only offers dry food or pouches with sugar the only canned food without sugar that they still make is for kittens or some super expensive liver recovery that's not recommended to feed for more than one month

 

[kittyluv387]

What are the super cheap supermarket foods? If they are fancy feast or friskies classics pate, those are actually VERY low carb and what I used to wean my diabetic cat off her insulin. It would take a little more digging to make sure the supermarket canned foods would be ok for renal cats too. If you post their names or check if they are on the chart linked above you never know!

Problem is the supermarket brands are always higher in phosphorus too. Like friskies and fancy feast. Plus she's in Argentina. Her best bet is making the food herself if she's able.