Lisa Pierson diet for cat with stage 1 kidney disease?

[Ollivander]

Hi, I have a cat who is 8 years old and recently diagnosed with stage 1 kidney disease. He has a "blister" type abnormality found on his kidney via ultrasound, but all his bloodwork looks normal. I want to start making the Lisa Pierson diet again (I did many years ago probably when he was 3-5 years old, but stopped), but saw that she doesn't recommend this diet for cats with chronic kidney disease.

Would it be dangerous for me to go ahead and make her recipe as normal? Or should I do something to make it lower in phosphorus? (Right now, I am feeding him 50% chicken thighs with Balance It supplement and 50% canned food). Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi

Granted, there are phosphorus binders, and you can feed commercial brands such as Weruva (including Weruva WX - but I'm saying all of this with the assumption of ongoing discussions with your vet).

However, your cat is at Stage 1 with a kidney abnormality.

Since Dr Pierson doesn't recommend it, and if I recall the site owner for felinecrf.org doesn't recommend raw feeding either, I don't think I would.

You could consider talking with a veterinary nutritionist who is familiar with ckd and has access to your vet's note regarding your cat. You might also look into this if you haven't seen it yet. The links are for felinecrf.org;

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - What You Need to Know First

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Diet and Nutrition Overview

 

[tyleete]

I'm not suggesting one diet over the other, but would like to add a comment on how I feel about 'kidney' diets.
I'm going through my 4th cat with kidney failure (I do rescue, so have a lot of kitties) & after reading all the research and watching the Perryvill previous 3 wither away to nothing; decided to go in the opposite direction of what's been said all these many years.
Some now say that killing the protein levels in cats is a bad thing and leads go muscle wasting. Which is why they end up skeletons. Cats need high protein, and without it fade away.
I watched this latest one (Hayate) diagnosed with very early Stage 1 in June, 1.5mo later to late Stage 2 and needing total of 270ml of fluids throughout the week, and shedding weight; to a miraculous turn around when I let him start eating what all the others eat. He was on Fancy Feast classic pates, separated into 3 feedings with a total of 4 CUPS of water mixed in it a day. And still needed foods 3x a week.
After almost 2mo on the new diet (which is actually Kibble!), I took him back to the vet. He'd been gaining a lot of weight and I didn't think he was dehydrated anymore. He started fighting me with the subq.
Not only did he no longer need fluids, but she said his numbers looked back to early Stage 1 and he'd gained a massive 4lbs! Since then he's gained another 2 and I now have him on a diet! She said he's not acting like a kidney cat at all and is confused about his turn around.
I say you with your gut if you have good instincts. I've learned while my vet is certainly more knowledgeable than I, she can sometimes not be as up to date and informed. How can they possibly keep up with every single subject matter on different species? But we have the time to do individual research on our own. Research, all advice from your vet, but go with your gut. It's helped several of my cats in doing

 

[Furballsmom]

Cats need high protein, and without it fade away.

Just a note, that while it is now suggested to try and maintain protein for muscle mass, when cats reach Stage 4 it can be a different situation. Additionally, every cat is different, including the OP's cat that has a kidney abnormality.

 

[Ollivander]

Thanks for the replies! (for anyone stumbling on this page), I emailed my vet and she said that cats with stage 1 kidney disease do not need to change their diets. She said that it is fine for me to follow the Dr. Lisa Pierson diet. That being said, I was interested in getting a custom recipe from a nutritionist in UC Davis and my vet will also help me with that route.