Intro + Ideal Food Plan for a Senior Cat w/ Kidney Disease

[FatherToPrincess&Leila]

Hi Cat Lovers of the World

First time here but glad to have found this site I'm a dad to 2 senior sister cats who I adore and cherish very much I also plan on having more conversations with like-minded individuals as well as learning and helping with as much as I can!

So recently one of my babies (napping and being groomed by her sister in the photo below) had to go to the vet for an enema and thankfully was able to release a hard & stuck poop, as well as passing her blood test w/o any anemia. Bad news is she has a degree of kidney disease and some dehydration. At the moment I will have to administer her subcut fluids and meds every so often, though I'm not too sure what her ideal food plan should be...

She was usually on a dry/wet food diet before, but I'm worried she will ditch the doctor's recommended prescription food (very picky cat!) and so I was wondering if anyone could help me with a backup plan just in case. I was told her diet goals as a 6.22lb senior cat are as follows:

1. Low protein
2. High fiber
3. Low sodium
4. High moisture (of course)
5. Calorie intake??

I will definitely try the prescription food, but would it also be a good idea to use a plastic syringe to manual force feed her prescription food (or any other food) even if she doesn't want it? Is 6.22lb too low for a senior cat's weight? Is there a popular, non-prescription wet food brand that would most serve best as a 2nd option just in case?

Sorry for all the questions and any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated and remembered!!

 

[Mighty Orange]

What your looking for is low potassium wet foods. Weruva I wish you the best. I ended up trying everything under the sun the cat must eat. Eventually she ended up back on her favorite diet. I came to the conclusion the quality of life for wee-run was more important then me forcing her through medical hoops.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. There are a ton of non-prescription foods you can try. Here is a long list of ideas from Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease- Canned Food Data USA (felinecrf.org). This site is the best source of information about cats with kidney disease and should help you better understand the progression of it and what you can do along the way. But, you can begin with the section link I offered as a starting point.

It is pretty common for cats to either dislike, or quickly get tired of, the prescription foods for kidney disease, so I would not suggest forcing her in any manner to eat them if she doesn't do so willingly. Although most vets recommend low protein, you don't want to lower it too much as that can exacerbate muscle mass loss which is already an issue with aging cats. Tanya's web site discusses what is considered to be an acceptable range for protein, among all the other aspects of nutrition. Please don't let the comprehensiveness of this site scare you away - the valuable information is well worth the effort to read through it. I still reference it a lot, and my cat has had CKD (chronic kidney disease) for at least 3 years now.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I agree with everything above. As to her weight, what has been her normal weight throughout her life? If she has always been a petite little thing at 6.2 pounds, then she needs the same amount of calories she has always had. (typically 20 - 25 calories per pound of cat per day, so between 125 - 155, depending on her activity level)

I've had three kidney cats, and the last one was a petite little girl at 6 lbs, but her normal weight was around 8 pounds. No matter how we tried, we could never get her to gain back the lost weight But our Vet told us to let her eat any and every thing she wanted, so we did, no matter how much phosphorus was in the food. If the phosphorus gets too high when they test their blood, you can put phos. binders in their food to help with that, although it was never necessary with any of ours.

The website referenced above was definitely utilized a LOT by me. It is intimidating, but has so much useful information in it. Just take it slow.

 

[maggie101]

Hello FatherToPrincess&Leila ! I have a 6.3 pd cat. It's gone up to 6.5, her normal weight is 7 pds but she had trouble eating so it went down. She is eating a high cal food, no health issues. I agree with checking out the site. If you find something you like mention it to your vet before mixing with prescription

 

[Twylasmom]

What your looking for is low potassium wet foods. Weruva I wish you the best. I ended up trying everything under the sun the cat must eat. Eventually she ended up back on her favorite diet. I came to the conclusion the quality of life for wee-run was more important then me forcing her through medical hoops.

I believe you mean low phosphorus foods, not low potassium. High phosphorus makes cats with kidney disease feel bad and can hasten the progress of the disease. Finding the lowest phosphorus food your cat will eat is a process of trial and error. Kidney cats often need potassium supplementation.

The source that Feeby’s Owner shared is an excellent starting point for looking at food choices.

Did your vet share the bloodwork results or give you a stage for the kidney disease? If your cat is feeling nauseous or experiencing lack of appetite you can ask your vet about anti-nausea medication or an appetite stimulant.