Food Suggestions For 18 Yr Old With Beginning Kidney Issues( Dr. Wants Prescription Kd)

[cvelasq16]

HI all,
I posted on the health board, but now that I have seen the results of the blood work, I was hoping for suggestions. The Dr. wants my 18 yr old on a prescription diet for kidney issues, as she is beginning to have issues. She eats well and drinks water okay, but he feels that her kidneys are beginning to have issues and she has high blood pressure. The prescription food I picked up was Royal Canon sample pack and already I know she is not going to like the wet food at all because of the dryness( she prefers a wet food that has lots of gravy and morsels). I have heard good things about Hi-Tor canned food, but does anyone have any other recommendations? Tia
Cheryl

 

[happilyretired]

You might want to check out Dr. Lisa Pierson's view on this. She believes that the prescription foods are outdated in being too low in protein. She also provides information on lower phosphorus commercial canned food. If you Google CKD cats, you'll find Tanya's website--which is invaluable for kidney issues, and she, too, has good information about food.

I have had two CKD cats and neither one of them would eat any of the prescription foods, including Hi-Tor. My vet told me that it was key that the cat continue to eat as long as possible and to feed them whatever they wanted. With my second boy, I added a phosphorus binder to his wet food, but I don't know whether it helped much.

When my first cat was 18 and generally failing, I considered us in 'hospice mode,' and my goal was to keep her as comfortable as possible until the end. My vet agreed with me, and although he checked her regularly, we did no invasive procedures and kept meds to a minimum.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I, too, have had kidney cats, (three of them), and find Tanya's site invaluable. Here is the link: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease- Canned Food Data USA. I wholeheartedly agree that putting your old girl on a kidney diet may not be the best thing right now, especially if she isn't going to like it. NONE of my cats ever ate the prescription diet, with our Vet's blessing. The most important thing is to keep them eating! And until they reach Stage 3, low protein isn't really necessary, per the new way of thinking (at least per our Vet).

The only thing I tried to do is buy food as low in phosphorus as I could, but still high protein. I wanted high protein, moderate fat, low carb, low salt, low phos. Sometimes my old girl would eat that, sometimes she wouldn't. Sometimes the food she liked was very high in phos. Our Vet said since she ate a variety of foods, that was fine because she figured it all evened itself out in the longrun. And none of my guys ever even needed phosphorus binders.

What stage is your girl in, do you know? If not, do you have a copy of her bloodwork? If so, what is her BUN and Creatinine?

 

[cvelasq16]

Thank you for the info. Her BUN says 51 and creatinine 2.2. Her protein levels are high at 9.3 and her platelet count is low. Her glucose is 175.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

OK, so based on her creatinine level, she's Stage 2, which isn't bad for an 18 year old! Platelet count being low can be caused by stress of a Vet visit BTW. The high protein is what I'm not sure of. Was this in her urine, or what? Did the Vet say anything about it? There is something called Proteinuria that would need to be addressed, if that is what she has, because it truly does requires lower protein in their diet, but not sure if that is related to that 9.3 number of not . That's something you would need to ask your Vet. In the meantime, is she on meds for her high blood pressure. That is essential.

Now,, here is a link to the specific area of Tanya's website about the different Stages, which also then links to a section on Proteinuria that you might like to see: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - How Bad Is It?