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- Nov 15, 2014
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Hi!
I have a kitty who was diagnosed with early CKD last year. She is 13 years old.She has dental extractions due to resorptive disease last December. Other than the dental situation and the early CKD, she is otherwise doing good health wise.
She was picky about her food before surgery, presumably because of the pain from the disease. At that time, she would even go and hide if I offered her shredded foods or something that did not smell nice enough for her to bother trying to eat. Then, after surgery, she continued to be picky and want only smooth textures and foods with strong, good odor. I tried so many foods, and I was determined to find her a food or foods that did not have fish and was relatively low in phosphorus with a texture and smell she enjoyed. During the food trials, she had severe constipation with so many foods with low phosphorus- guessing due to her being 13 and less active or due to many of those foods not having even one vegetable as a source of fiber and using gums or a combination of gums as fiber instead. Adding water to the foods does not seem to help that constipation. Adding enough pumpkin to some changed the flavor in her eyes.
I finally found a food that, with adding just a tad of pumkin, she is not constipated, dependably eats several flavors in rotation, and her tummy seems happy (no puking or reflux like some other foods). The phosphorus is not as low as I would like, but most are under 1. She is eating B.F.F. OMG, several flavors of the Land & Sea (Caio Baby, Shazaam, etc.), but of course, they all have not only fish but the fish is TUNA. I swore I would never feed my cats fish and definitly not tuna, but here I am.
I don't dread feeding time now and do not miss praying at feeding time like before that she won't sniff and go hide or making sure I have several other options to offer if she walks away. I don't miss having to watch her struggle to use the litter box from constipation and then give her a food to help her go which leads to diarrhea and cramping even in small amounts. I tell myself that she should be able to enjoy eating (that I would not want to hate my food or be afraid the texture would be uncomfortable), and I know that she needs to eat to live - and that her kidneys need fluid, which this food has more of. However, I still feel guilty about feeding this pretty much every meal, and I find myself worried about her getting hyperthyroid from the tuna.
At the end of the day, there are quite a few foods with tuna in them out there that have lower phosphorus. In early CKD, is it better to choose a food that is higher in phosphorus but with no fish (if i find one that she would like) or one that is lower in phosphorus but has some fish (though I am at least avoiding any foods where fish is the first ingredient, at least, though that does not make me feel better really)? Everyone here is so great! I appreciate your comments.
I have a kitty who was diagnosed with early CKD last year. She is 13 years old.She has dental extractions due to resorptive disease last December. Other than the dental situation and the early CKD, she is otherwise doing good health wise.
She was picky about her food before surgery, presumably because of the pain from the disease. At that time, she would even go and hide if I offered her shredded foods or something that did not smell nice enough for her to bother trying to eat. Then, after surgery, she continued to be picky and want only smooth textures and foods with strong, good odor. I tried so many foods, and I was determined to find her a food or foods that did not have fish and was relatively low in phosphorus with a texture and smell she enjoyed. During the food trials, she had severe constipation with so many foods with low phosphorus- guessing due to her being 13 and less active or due to many of those foods not having even one vegetable as a source of fiber and using gums or a combination of gums as fiber instead. Adding water to the foods does not seem to help that constipation. Adding enough pumpkin to some changed the flavor in her eyes.
I finally found a food that, with adding just a tad of pumkin, she is not constipated, dependably eats several flavors in rotation, and her tummy seems happy (no puking or reflux like some other foods). The phosphorus is not as low as I would like, but most are under 1. She is eating B.F.F. OMG, several flavors of the Land & Sea (Caio Baby, Shazaam, etc.), but of course, they all have not only fish but the fish is TUNA. I swore I would never feed my cats fish and definitly not tuna, but here I am.
I don't dread feeding time now and do not miss praying at feeding time like before that she won't sniff and go hide or making sure I have several other options to offer if she walks away. I don't miss having to watch her struggle to use the litter box from constipation and then give her a food to help her go which leads to diarrhea and cramping even in small amounts. I tell myself that she should be able to enjoy eating (that I would not want to hate my food or be afraid the texture would be uncomfortable), and I know that she needs to eat to live - and that her kidneys need fluid, which this food has more of. However, I still feel guilty about feeding this pretty much every meal, and I find myself worried about her getting hyperthyroid from the tuna.
At the end of the day, there are quite a few foods with tuna in them out there that have lower phosphorus. In early CKD, is it better to choose a food that is higher in phosphorus but with no fish (if i find one that she would like) or one that is lower in phosphorus but has some fish (though I am at least avoiding any foods where fish is the first ingredient, at least, though that does not make me feel better really)? Everyone here is so great! I appreciate your comments.