Food for Kidney Disease

[Draco]

My vet just called and said Monet's kidney levels are a bit elevated at 2.8. She told me to watch him, make sure he eats and drinks and get him retested in a few months. She couldn't get an urine sample since he was empty nor did she do a blood pressure. (He's hyperthyroid and his levels are good with his meds)

So I am doing my own little research to see what I can do to help him along a bit. I'm little confused on food choices provided on Chewy.

There's the cheapest option: Weruva lowest phosphorous food.
Hills Diet- Kidney Care
And Royal Canin Renal support

I am thinking Renal Support isn't needed for him at this stage. But what's the difference between Weruva Low Phosphorous and Hill's Kidney Care? Is one better than the other? I'm trying not to look at the drastic price difference (Weruva is better priced for me)
From what I can understand, Weruva has better ingredients, but Hills has less protein?

I don't know if I'm going to put my cat full time on this, maybe one meal a day instead of his usual two, especially considering how expensive Hills is. Would that be enough?

I plan on calling the vet tomorrow to get her opinion, but I also want opinions from those with experience. I've never had to experience this and it's new to me. I just may be over thinking and being an overly worried cat mom, but I want to do right by my boy.

 

[iPappy]

I had the same thing happen with my 16 year old. Her levels were much higher though. The vet had me start giving her subQ fluids a few times a week and that helped her levels come way down and she's doing very well. If it's something you'd be comfortable doing at home, you could ask your vet about it.
You could also ask your vet about if it would be OK to rotate the Weruva and Hill's, or, see which one your cat finds most palatable if it comes to feeding a kidney diet.

 

[Draco]

I had the same thing happen with my 16 year old. Her levels were much higher though. The vet had me start giving her subQ fluids a few times a week and that helped her levels come way down and she's doing very well. If it's something you'd be comfortable doing at home, you could ask your vet about it.
You could also ask your vet about if it would be OK to rotate the Weruva and Hill's, or, see which one your cat finds most palatable if it comes to feeding a kidney diet.

I cant imagine him letting me give him fluids, and I hope it won't come to that.
Rotating the food is a good idea, I will bring that up too, thanks!

 

[stephanietx]

I have a CKD kitty and I give her a renal supplement daily and feed her a lower phosphorus canned food that she likes. You want to keep them eating and pooping, as constipation can become an issue with CKD kitties. If they are constipated, then they can develop nausea and the sensation of being full because their whole systems are backed up. Then they stop eating. We don't give fluids for our kitty and most likely won't as it's too stressful for her to be held or forced to stay still for the administration of the fluids. Here's a good list of foods.

Feline CKD Food Lists

 

[Draco]

thank you for the list!

 

[Draco]

I just saw Weruva isn't a complete diet. I can't feed it solely. Can I do like breakfast with Weruva, and his regular food for dinner?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I believe Weruva Wx (low phosphorus) is a complete cat food. What might make it look like it is not, is that the phosphorus it contains is below the AAFCO standard, but I don't think anything else is less than their food requirements.

2.8 creatinine, onto itself, is Stage 2 CKD, so while it is considered 'mild to moderate', treatment considerations are appropriate. What was Monet's phosphorus level (typically a normal part of the blood panels)? At Stage 2 her phos levels should be at or below 4.6, so it is important to know where her level is at to start with.

This website is the most comprehensive one I know about and while it is extensive, and sometimes people find it overwhelming, it is worth it to push through that and learn everything you can about CKD. It also includes a listing of commercial cat foods that are lower in phosphorus. I highly recommend you start reading - you can begin with portions of it that you are most interested in and then move on from there.
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat (felinecrf.org)

 

[Draco]

I believe Weruva Wx (low phosphorus) is a complete cat food. What might make it look like it is not, is that the phosphorus it contains is below the AAFCO standard, but I don't think anything else is less than their food requirements.

2.8 creatinine, onto itself, is Stage 2 CKD, so while it is considered 'mild to moderate', treatment considerations are appropriate. What was Monet's phosphorus level (typically a normal part of the blood panels)? At Stage 2 her phos levels should be at or below 4.6, so it is important to know where her level is at to start with.

This website is the most comprehensive one I know about and while it is extensive, and sometimes people find it overwhelming, it is worth it to push through that and learn everything you can about CKD. It also includes a listing of commercial cat foods that are lower in phosphorus. I highly recommend you start reading - you can begin with portions of it that you are most interested in and then move on from there.
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat (felinecrf.org)

on Chewy's website it says the food isn't balanced.
https://www.chewy.com/weruva-wx-phos-focused-chicken/dp/578046
That's the one Im looking at. Im waiting for my vet to call back to see if its OK
I don't hav ethe entire blood panel, i should ask for a copy.

thanks for the link! I will dive into that and see what I can pick up

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am surprised that Chewy doesn't offer any additional information as to why it isn't balanced. They are pretty good about offering information when asked, so you might consider asking them.

It didn't matter for me in the long run. Feeby would not eat most of the low phosphorus foods and therefore, for her, any cat food that she would eat was better than the low phosphorus ones. Hence the reason she was eventually placed on a phosphorus binder to keep her phosphorus level down. So, there are alternatives to using the low phosphorus lines of food where the phos level falls under the AAFCO standards.

This, right from the Weruva website:
"The majority of our recipes for cats and dogs meet the nutritional standards of AAFCO to be a complete and balanced meal. Exceptions are Pumpkin Patch Up! pouches and Wx Phos Focused (which is complete and balanced but for phosphorus levels being too low per AAFCO)."

 

[Draco]

I guess that's why Chewy says it isn't balanced because the phosphorus levels being too low for AAFCO's standards.

my vet got back to me with some options. Due to budgeting, I decided on Purina's Pro Plan kidney support. Hills and Royal Canin's is just too expensive right now for me and she didn't suggest Wervua.

 

[FeebysOwner]

The majority of vets will almost always recommend the Hill's and RC brands, because generally speaking that is all they know from the salespeople that visit their office and tout their products. Purina is often next in line. Besides that, the vets who suggest other products are few and far between. There aren't too many companies that have sales folks visiting the vet to offer alternatives. I am not saying that the Hill's and RC, and even Purina, don't have decent foods in their line of products, but the more you learn about CKD and the needs of these cats, the better equipped you will become to use your knowledge and resources to expand your options if you need to.

CKD cats seem to become pretty picky about their food preferences, so if/when Monet might become a bit less than enamored with Purina, you will be prepared to try some other products.

 

[Draco]

The majority of vets will almost always recommend the Hill's and RC brands, because generally speaking that is all they know from the salespeople that visit their office and tout their products. Purina is often next in line. Besides that, the vets who suggest other products are few and far between. There aren't too many companies that have sales folks visiting the vet to offer alternatives. I am not saying that the Hill's and RC, and even Purina, don't have decent foods in their line of products, but the more you learn about CKD and the needs of these cats, the better equipped you will become to use your knowledge and resources to expand your options if you need to.

CKD cats seem to become pretty picky about their food preferences, so if/when Monet might become a bit less than enamored with Purina, you will be prepared to try some other products.

I noticed he's become more picky with his food and he never was before. He used to eat Tiny Tiger with gusto, now he won't even smell it. Im glad my vet gave me options and isn't stuck on one brand. I didn't even think about looking up Purina until she sent me links.

I am trying not to be a food snob, he is 15 and I feel at this point anything he's willing to eat, even if it's not the top of the line healthiest food, its better than him not eating at all. I feel like if they ate the best I can give them growing up, they can enjoy their senior years with food they enjoy most. Of course, within reason lol. i won't give them junk.

Decided on Purina's Early Care Kidney Function wet food. Im not sure if the advanced would be too much for him right now. reviews seem pretty decent. Im also ordering another water fountain to put in the bedroom where he spends most of his time to encourage him to drink.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I personally don't like all the fillers and meat substitutes for proteins in many of these foods - corn gluten meal, barley, soybean meal, for example in the case of the Purina you are selecting. The things used to replace protein are partially what helps with the phosphorus because there is a fair amount of phos in most meat proteins. But, you gotta start somewhere.

Feeby became her own food snob shortly after being diagnosed with hyper-T and then CKD. That was when I came to the same conclusion you have - her eating anything was better than her not eating enough. As I said before, that is why a phosphorus binder was added to her meals because she seemed to lean toward primarily meat sources for protein and the highest phosphorus foods out there!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I will tell you that with all three of my kidney cats, NONE of them ever eat any kidney diet, because they just wouldn't eat them, and our Vet was perfectly fine with that. She said just get them to eat, period. If their phosphorus gets to be too high, then, as mentioned above, you can add phos binders to their food. (we never needed to) And at stage two, no need to reduce protein yet.

Even though Monet is probably drinking more than he used to, you might try adding a little water to each of his meals, and also try feeding him smaller, more frequent meals. With kidney cats, the smaller meals seem to work better for some reason. I even fed two small meals in the middle of the night. And make use of appetite stimulants as needed. They are very helpful.