Cat's not-so-good bw results

[droidus]

I got back my cat's bloodwork results. His kidney values were slightly elevated (by .1) and his white blood count was down. I have been working on transitioning him to a raw diet (ground chicken). The vet advised against this, saying it's a high protein diet ,and very taxing for the kidneys, and will make it worse, and recommended some of the special kidney-diet brands that they sell there.
What could be going on? Is protein really taxing for the kidneys, as they claim? He's on a steroid, but it's an anti-inflammatory dose. He's also got a heart murmur and GI issues, as well as dental issues. Is there anything I can do?

 

[FeebysOwner]

There is more than just one kidney value involved, the main ones are creatinine and BUN. So, I am not sure what "by .1" means. You may want to start getting copies of the blood work results so you can analyze them now and going forward. You are also free to share them here if you would like.

What are the steroids for - his GI tract issues? What does the vet say about using them with his heart murmur - as well, as his CKD (chronic kidney disease)? All of these things are intertwined, so there is no one simple answer - like putting your cat on renal diet food, for example.

In a simple nutshell, to answer what I think is your primary question - high protein foods do make the kidneys work harder but, nowadays, it is usually not considered as big of an issue until a cat reaches the end phases of kidney disease. Kidney diet foods do tend to contain less protein, but that is no longer necessarily the best way to go - neither with CKD cats and/or those that are older. As a cat ages, muscle mass loss occurs 'naturally', so less protein can attribute to/escalate that process. Besides, it seems that a lot of cats either won't eat the renal foods or grow tired of them quickly/easily. The other thing that renal diets often offer is less phosphorus which helps with keeping a cat's toxin level down as they kidney disease progresses, and they cannot function/filter as well. There are phosphorus binders that can help with that - but just like lowering the protein, it usually isn't something one does until the kidney values warrant action.

I am not sure what to suggest to you because I am not terribly familiar with GI tract issues, especially if they are suspected to be related to IBD. But I will tell you of a website that is primarily for CKD cats but covers a wide range of issues associated to conditions that many cats often have hand-in-hand with CKD. It is an extensive website and requires willingness to get past the depth of information that does tend to overwhelm folks when they first start reading it. It is well worth the effort. Scroll through the topics and read what interests you most - that will entice you to read more, trust me.
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat (felinecrf.org)

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well, all I can tell you is that when one of my elderly cats had elevated kidney values and was fed raw, we kept it up, with our Vet's blessing. The only thing that we changed was to switch from having bone in the food to using eggshell powder for the calcium because it has less phosphorus. Less protein is what "they" now think causes muscle wasting and my Vet said that the new way of thinking is that as long as you are feeding a highly digestable high protein, all is good. This was several years ago now.

Now in the later stages of kidney disease, lower protein is probably warrantly as the kidney's are majorly stressed and unable to process much. But .1 over the normal values isn't there.

 

[droidus]

There is more than just one kidney value involved, the main ones are creatinine and BUN. So, I am not sure what "by .1" means. You may want to start getting copies of the blood work results so you can analyze them now and going forward. You are also free to share them here if you would like.

What are the steroids for - his GI tract issues? What does the vet say about using them with his heart murmur - as well, as his CKD (chronic kidney disease)? All of these things are intertwined, so there is no one simple answer - like putting your cat on renal diet food, for example.

In a simple nutshell, to answer what I think is your primary question - high protein foods do make the kidneys work harder but, nowadays, it is usually not considered as big of an issue until a cat reaches the end phases of kidney disease. Kidney diet foods do tend to contain less protein, but that is no longer necessarily the best way to go - neither with CKD cats and/or those that are older. As a cat ages, muscle mass loss occurs 'naturally', so less protein can attribute to/escalate that process. Besides, it seems that a lot of cats either won't eat the renal foods or grow tired of them quickly/easily. The other thing that renal diets often offer is less phosphorus which helps with keeping a cat's toxin level down as they kidney disease progresses, and they cannot function/filter as well. There are phosphorus binders that can help with that - but just like lowering the protein, it usually isn't something one does until the kidney values warrant action.

I am not sure what to suggest to you because I am not terribly familiar with GI tract issues, especially if they are suspected to be related to IBD. But I will tell you of a website that is primarily for CKD cats but covers a wide range of issues associated to conditions that many cats often have hand-in-hand with CKD. It is an extensive website and requires willingness to get past the depth of information that does tend to overwhelm folks when they first start reading it. It is well worth the effort. Scroll through the topics and read what interests you most - that will entice you to read more, trust me.
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat (felinecrf.org)

It was his creatine level.
I've requested a copy of the report. I'll share it here once as I receive it.
Yes; either IBD or IBS. Not sure what the difference is. But he's on budesonide and vit b12 for that.
I've heard that the steroid/budesonide can compound/make worse the heart condition. Is this true? I've been told not to ween him off the Atenolol, but I can ween him off the other two and see how it goes.
As far as the CKD does, they gave recommendations to re-test in another month to see where he's at. They also have hills/science diet, etc. kidney-specific food that they recommend (of course).
Thank you for sharing that website. I will check it out.
I think I'd like to try and transition him from canned chicken pate to ground chicken with this: EZComplete Fur Cats 450g - Makes 24.2 lbs of food.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

TCFeline makes a premix specifically for kidney cats. It's their Special Formula premix. Just in case you're interested.

 

[FeebysOwner]

But he's on budesonide and vit b12 for that. I've heard that the steroid/budesonide can compound/make worse the heart condition. Is this true? I've been told not to ween him off the Atenolol, but I can ween him off the other two and see how it goes.

I am not a vet, but I agree not to mess with Atenolol. Budesonide is a steroid that has less impacts on the heart than other steroids, so that is good. Nothing wrong with B-12, it is a vitamin that can help a cat's intestines better absorb food. Injection is better, more effective than oral, but either way whatever the body doesn't use is excreted through urine, and I have heard nothing about it being a negative for the kidneys.

Take a look at what mrsgreenjeens is suggesting in lieu of EZ Complete, it sounds like a good alternative.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Now that I have looked at EZ Complete, it looks like it would be fine for kidney cats too. They use eggshell powder for their source of calcium. Good to know!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Now that I have looked at EZ Complete, it looks like it would be fine for kidney cats too. They use eggshell powder for their source of calcium. Good to know!

The other thing to note about the TCFeline Special Formula is that it contains calcium carbonate, which is one of the many phosphorus binder options, so that need to be taken into consideration too!