This last Monday, my newly adopted 11 year old Max was diagnosed with Stage 1 kidney disease. My vet said (in a brief conversation over the phone) that she recommends Hill's k/d or other renal diets as well as another exam and blood test in six months. I was in shock, and now I'm struggling with this advice, as I strongly believe in the value of high meat protein raw food, (Max is on Stella and Chewy's freeze dried raw right now, and he's still a very skinny cat), and very much dislike Hill's but also want to trust my vet.
The "prominent" vets that I am familiar with and respect (Dr. Pierson of CatInfo.org, Dr. Hofve of LittleBigCat and Dr. Hodgkins of Your Cat) recommend focusing on phosphorus levels and continuing to feed a high protein diet so that the cat doesn't catabolize muscle tissue for energy on a restricted protein diet. But they all say things like "many vets/some experts/research say(s) that a low protein diet is not helpful/can be detrimental." But in my own research so far, and after reading LDG's helpful compilation of research papers in the "High protein, seniors, kidney disease and CRF" thread, I'm still not finding an abundance of backing to support this, even though I am seeing problems with the studies that supposedly show a renal diet is better than a "maintenance" or high protein diet.
I plan to meet with my vet in the coming week to discus my concerns and talk further about diet. I know this is a grey area and forum members can only give advice but I'm getting really distraught in trying to decide the way forward. I'm reading all that I can (I've gone through FelineCRF.com and and working on Tanya's FelineCRF.org) but still feel no where near confident in understanding all the factors in this disease so that I can make an informed decision. Right now I'm leaning towards finding a high protein but low phosphorus food in conjunction with phosphate binders while we are in Stage 1 and 2, with reassessment when we hit Stage 3. (I unfortunately don't have the blood test numbers in front of me right now, but will get them). But with most research seemingly inconclusive and the low protein advice that's been instilled in the vet practice for kidney disease, I'm not sure how to broach this with my vet, and I feel like I need to be on the same page with her to have the best chance of managing this. I guess I'm looking for any advice or experiences with people in similar situations, or if anyone is aware of new/"hidden" studies (other than Finco et al's from 1998) that weigh in on high protein side (Google Scholar isn't giving me as much as I'd hoped). I'm just feeling very overwhelmed and unsure right now...
The "prominent" vets that I am familiar with and respect (Dr. Pierson of CatInfo.org, Dr. Hofve of LittleBigCat and Dr. Hodgkins of Your Cat) recommend focusing on phosphorus levels and continuing to feed a high protein diet so that the cat doesn't catabolize muscle tissue for energy on a restricted protein diet. But they all say things like "many vets/some experts/research say(s) that a low protein diet is not helpful/can be detrimental." But in my own research so far, and after reading LDG's helpful compilation of research papers in the "High protein, seniors, kidney disease and CRF" thread, I'm still not finding an abundance of backing to support this, even though I am seeing problems with the studies that supposedly show a renal diet is better than a "maintenance" or high protein diet.
I plan to meet with my vet in the coming week to discus my concerns and talk further about diet. I know this is a grey area and forum members can only give advice but I'm getting really distraught in trying to decide the way forward. I'm reading all that I can (I've gone through FelineCRF.com and and working on Tanya's FelineCRF.org) but still feel no where near confident in understanding all the factors in this disease so that I can make an informed decision. Right now I'm leaning towards finding a high protein but low phosphorus food in conjunction with phosphate binders while we are in Stage 1 and 2, with reassessment when we hit Stage 3. (I unfortunately don't have the blood test numbers in front of me right now, but will get them). But with most research seemingly inconclusive and the low protein advice that's been instilled in the vet practice for kidney disease, I'm not sure how to broach this with my vet, and I feel like I need to be on the same page with her to have the best chance of managing this. I guess I'm looking for any advice or experiences with people in similar situations, or if anyone is aware of new/"hidden" studies (other than Finco et al's from 1998) that weigh in on high protein side (Google Scholar isn't giving me as much as I'd hoped). I'm just feeling very overwhelmed and unsure right now...