I have a FIV 9 yr. old cat who was diagnosed last month with idiopathic hypercalcemia. He has been receiving one 12.5 mg tablet of Lasix every 8 hours and 150 ml of Plasma Lyte A ph 7.4 twice daily. His isolated calcium originally dropped to 1.45 12 days ago but two days ago went up to 1.48. Also, his weight has dropped 1/2 pound in the last month. My vet. wants me to start him on Alendronate or Prednisone. I would like to try a low calcium canned food diet but Wellness has cranberries and carrageenan in it. I have been feeding him Fancy Feast Tender Beef Classic and Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets Classic and sometimes Fancy Feast Chunky Chicken Feast even though it does have Carrageen in it. Any suggestions on a low calcium diet with no added acids, carrageenan, and grain would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Low calcium diets
- Thread starter katznbunz
- Start Date
I read on FelineIHC.org that either Wellness or Nature's Variety was a good food to feed cats with this issue. From everything I have read, high protein, medium fat, high fiber, and LOW carb is the way to go. Also, I didn't see anywhere that you should steer clear of carrageenan, only dL-methionine, phosphoric acid, and fish oils. I also read you could add a little raw or cooked chicken to the canned food to up the protein level in it, thereby decreasing the calcium level a tad.
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- #3
Thanks! All of the cans of Wellness I looked at have cranberries in them which I read was bad for cats. I also read that carrageenan causes cancer and has been banned in several countries.
I did buy several cans of Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet and will see if he eats the turkey or lamb varieties.
I did buy several cans of Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet and will see if he eats the turkey or lamb varieties.
I would also suggest consulting with a veterinary nutritionist. It's a very specific diet you're looking for and they have an excellent working knowledge of what's available. You can find one through this website -
http://www.acvn.org/
Some of them have phone consultations too, so that might be a viable option, regardless of your location.
Good luck!
http://www.acvn.org/
Some of them have phone consultations too, so that might be a viable option, regardless of your location.
Good luck!
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- #5
Thank you Anne! I found the website link you sent me regarding veterinarian nutritionists very helpful. Actually, the holistic veterinarian that I consulted recently also recommended that I go to that site. It is good to know we are on the same page. 
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- #6
Just a follow up regarding my contacting a vet. nutritionist. Individualized recipes for a cat are expensive but in my case appear to be necessary since no commercially available canned cat foods are low in calcium.
I hope you have managed to get some suitable recipies from the nutritionist, or been given some suitable sources for them. Thank you for your up date.
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- #8
Not yet. Apparently, it takes one to two weeks to receive a specially formulated diet. I have been holding off on giving my cat Prednisolone and Alendronate. However, now that I convinced my cat's primary care vet. to reduce the amount of Salix he gets I may have to put him on Prednisolone if his calcium level goes up. Idiopathic Hypercalcemia is very frustrating for all!
Your cat is very lucky to have you caring for him. I hope you get the information you need soon.
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- #10
Dr. Mark Peterson, the go-to doctor for feline hyperthyroidism, also has many references/articles regarding hypercalcemia. The following are links you may find informative.
http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/10/whats-causing-idiopathic-hypercalcemia.html
Nutrition: http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/11/nutritional-management-of-idiopathic.html
Alendronate: http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2014/02/alendronate-dosing-protocol-for-cats.html
More Alendronate: http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/10/treating-idiopathic-hypercalcemia-in.html
You can also peruse his website to find other articles that focus on dogs, but may apply to cats as well. He also will discuss diet for hyperthyroidism, but mention hypercalcemia...
I've been doing a bit of research lately on alendronate, for people, and there are certainly side effects, including difficulty just in the process of taking the medicine... remaining upright, no other food or drink for 1/2 hour...
Obviously that would be a decision between you, your vet, and your cat.
http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/10/whats-causing-idiopathic-hypercalcemia.html
Nutrition: http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/11/nutritional-management-of-idiopathic.html
Alendronate: http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2014/02/alendronate-dosing-protocol-for-cats.html
More Alendronate: http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/10/treating-idiopathic-hypercalcemia-in.html
You can also peruse his website to find other articles that focus on dogs, but may apply to cats as well. He also will discuss diet for hyperthyroidism, but mention hypercalcemia...
I've been doing a bit of research lately on alendronate, for people, and there are certainly side effects, including difficulty just in the process of taking the medicine... remaining upright, no other food or drink for 1/2 hour...
Obviously that would be a decision between you, your vet, and your cat.
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- #12
Thank you for sharing the informative web links. While I had already seen the articles you sent - it was good to re-read and review them again. I sure hope I can get my cat's Idiopathic Hypercalcemia under control with a special diet. I feel guilty about holding off on starting him on Prednisolone and Alendronate but am concerned about the immune suppression of Prednisolone, since my cat is FIV positive, and the fasting and water chaser involved with Alendronate.
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- #14
Feeling mixed emotions today. My cat's Ionized calcium level is at 1.30 which is in the normal range and cause for celebration. My cat is now being weaned off the Salix and subcutaneous fluids that he has been on for over two months. However, the expensive recipe for a home prepared diet that I purchased, in advance, and have not yet received because I was hoping it would meet the specifications of the diet for Idiopathic Hypercalcemic cats that Dr. Peterson describes in his Nov. 2012 article. Unfortunately, I am being told by the UC Davis Vet. Nutritionist that they cannot formulate a 40-60% protein diet and maintain a low and proportionally correct calcium to phosphorus level. However, they can formulate a diet with 30% protein. Thus, they cannot follow the Idiopathic Hypercalcemic dietary percentages for protein that Dr. Peterson recommends. They reminded me that Dr. Peterson is not a nutritionist and that they do not agree with his high protein recommendation for my cat. Since I don't want my cat to have muscle wasting due to low protein levels and I was hoping to control and manage his Idiopathic hypercalcemia with the home prepared diet I am feeling confused and frustrated. I have put the diet formulation temporarily on hold until I gather more facts.
i'm very late in reading this thread, but wanted to reply. my snick had idiopathic hypercalcemia, but no longer does. in snick's case, we did treat with prednisone long term which may have prevented her calcium level from elevating even more but did not lower the level either. eventually, after a year or so (i'd have to take a look at my records to see exactly how long snick was on the pred) snick developed very high blood sugar/borderline diabetic level -- a side effect of the long term pred. under our vet's continued supervision, snick was started on weaning off the pred immediately. we were very lucky that snick's borderline diabetes didn't develop into full-blown diabetes. my vet told me that once it had developed into actual diabetes, weaning off the pred would not have reversed it. shortly after snick was completely off the pred, her calcium level returned to the normal range -- of course we have no idea why, just like we had no idea why her calcium level was elevated. we never did have an ionized calcium test run, though that was only because at one of snick's regular blood draws the vet wasn't able to draw enough blood for the usual tests (snick has CKD) plus the ionized calcium testing.
may i ask -- have you considered making your own homemade diet using a recipe from dr peterson? i'm not sure dr peterson formulates these diets though. if interested, you might try consulting with dr lisa pierson, who does formulate diets specifically for cats who have medical condition/have specific dietary needs or restrictions. dr pierson can do phone consultations, once she has the patient info she needs from your vet. there is a cost for the phone consultations, which generally run about 2 hours long. here's a link to the webpage at catinfo dot org where she mentions this (you'll see where phone consultations are mentioned about 2/3rds of the way down that webpage, between "the recipe" section and "putting the recipe together" section -- just above the "putting the recipe together" section, in "Note: I do not recommend this recipe for CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) cats.....") -- http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood#The_Recipe my understanding is that dr pierson can formulate a recipe for home cooked diets too, not just for raw diets. i had considered switching my snick to a home cooked diet at one point, but my girl is a very picky eater and i felt that trying to switch her diet might be too stressful for her given her age (14 years old) and medical issues. however, all of my future cats will be served a nutritionally balanced homemade diet. i feel this is the least i can do to do my best in trying to prevent IBD, CKD and diabetes (which was the cause of our mickey's, snick's brother, death) for all my future cats.
is your boy a picky eater?
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- #16
Thanks for the suggestions regarding contacting Dr. Peterson and or Dr. Pierson for a recipe. Since my cat now has a normal Ionized calcium level and I have already paid in advance for the UC Davis home prepared recipe - I am wondering how frequently Idiopathic Hypercalcemia re-occurs and if I should request that the recipe I will be receiving be modified to focus more on supporting my cat's kidneys and his immune system since he is FIV positive.
Fortunately, he is not a picky eater but he does like variety.
Fortunately, he is not a picky eater but he does like variety.
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- #17
Update on my idiopathic hypercalcemic cat. I ended up not purchasing the recipe from UC Davis Vet. School due to my cat no longer being hypercalcemic and the recipe they were proposing to formulate for me would be low in protein and have rice in it. Thus, I have decided to buy a meat grinder and follow Dr. Lisa Pierson's cat food recipe. After reviewing her recipe numerous times, I have one question regarding the vitamin to meat/bones/skin/liver ratio. Dr. Pierson starts with 3 pounds of antibiotic free chicken or turkey high (in the recipe I plan to follow). Then she recommends removing 25% of the bones prior to grinding and adding the supplement slurry. My question is regarding whether or not the supplement slurry IS based on the 3 pounds of antibiotic free chicken or turkey thighs BEFORE or AFTER 25% of the bones are removed? It is critical to me and my cat to get the calcium to prosperous ratio correct. Also, I am tempted to remove 50% of the bones since my cat was hypercalcemic But I don't want to make any mistakes where my cat's health is concerned. Please advise ASAP since I intend to start making my cat's food as soon as I receive the meat grinder. Thanks!
I'm glad your kitty is doing better!
I asked that your post be moved to the raw/cooked home-made forum because your question is really best answered here. Unfortunately they moved the entire thread rather than just your last post.
To answer your question about Dr. P's recipe, I think the 3 lbs refers to what you have after removing any skin or bone. I say that because the rabbit recipe calls for 3 lbs of rabbit and uses the same supplement amounts.
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- #19
I realize this post is somewhat old but, Renee, what are you feeding your cat now? I recently am running into the same with my kitty. If anyone else has ANY advice on finding a low calcium diet please chime in... Thanks for any advice!
Hello,
My kitten was recently diagnosed with Ideopathic Hypercalcemia (15 mos). I have done a lot of reading. It is important to have diet low in phosphorus as well. Diets also lower in calcium and D. Fancy Feast has high phosphorus. Most likely this is why calcium went up again. Please see cat food chart on catinfo.org for this info. In addition, you should NOT have the following in your food: [if gte mso 9]><xml> <o
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