Need food rec for senior kitty

[myrnafaye]

Hello cat parents. Mittens is 16 and her SDMA is slightly elevated. BUN and Creatinine are not. We are trying to keep her healthy. She was on KD early support (canned) but seems to have lost interest in it. I wonder if any of you have recommendations. My vet is good with taking her off the KD for now, anyhow. She suggested Science Diet, Royal Canin or Proplan. I am clueless but I do know that low phosphorus is preferable. Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It seems as if it is not unusual for cats to lose interest in the prescription kidney care foods. And, in your case, your cat probably doesn't need to be on them anyway at this point, given what you have said about her kidney values.

Nonetheless, take a look at this link which lists a whole host of non-script canned food options in order of phosphorus level.
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease- Canned Food Data USA (felinecrf.org)

 

[myrnafaye]

But see, I have no way to evaluate this information. I have had cats for 50 years, and have had cats with Kidney issues, but I do not know how to evaluate nutritional information. If you do, I sure could use some suggestions!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am not sure what you mean. The link to the chart shows the phosphorus count in the very first column and I thought that was your driver in determining what you wanted to feed your cat. Personally, speaking, the rest of the data in that chart is not different enough to go crazy over assessing them. The other nutritional counts vary, but if you end up finding a few foods that she likes, it will pretty much all balance out in end. And, it is also a matter of what your cat will eat, so you may need to try many different foods.

Royal Canin, Science Diet, and ProPlan are all prescription foods with lower phosphorus counts. So, if all you want to do is get ones with lower phosphorus and don't mind buying them with a prescription, then try them out.

Blue Buffalo also has lower phosphorus foods, but they are also prescription -
BLUE BUFFALO NATURAL VETERINARY DIET K+M Kidney + Mobility Support Grain-Free Wet Cat Food, 5.5-oz, case of 24 - Chewy.com

Weruva also carries a line of lower phosphorus foods, that are not prescription, here is one of them.
WERUVA Wx Phos Focused Chicken Formula Grain-Free Puree Wet Cat Food, 3-oz can, case of 12 - Chewy.com
Dave's Pet Food has this one, that is not prescription -
DAVE'S PET FOOD Restricted Diet Phosphorus Chicken Liver & Chicken in Juice Pate Canned Cat Food, 5.5-oz, case of 24 - Chewy.com
Forza 10 also has a non-presciption line -
FORZA10 Nutraceutic Actiwet Renal Support Wet Cat Food, 3.5-oz, case of 32 - Chewy.com

 

[myrnafaye]

Thank you for this information!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello - I utilized Weruva for Poppycat and I had Forza10 on hand but didn't get a chance to use it for him. Evenger's is another one that has a low phosphorus variety

 

[stephanietx]

For my last CKD kitty, I never changed her food from what she had been eating for her whole life. She got a mix of Instinct chicken, venison, and rabbit canned and Taste of the Wild mountain stream dry.

 

[Mac and Cats]

If your kitty is in early stages, you may not need to totally go to prescription just yet. My cats never liked the early care options for whatever reason. There are a few options I like because they are low phosphorus, but not super low protein like the prescription, which if your kitty is in early stages, they may not need as low in protein as the prescriptions offer. Some kitties also tend to not like the prescription options anyway. I've had better luck with the Royal Canin prescription options than any of the other prescription options. I have those in the rotation for my cats as they won't eat them for every meal anyway. My last CKD cat ate only the prescription and I had zero idea how lucky I was that he was eating it willingly. I do think that when the time comes, it is worth trying to see if your cat will eat the other prescription options. You can't cure kidney disease but you can slow down the progression with keeping the phosphorous low (and later the protein on the lower side). Here are some options that my cats like and currently eat.

• Royal Canin Aging 12+, they have a pate version and a chunky version. My cats seem to like both of those options. This one is pretty low in phosphorus for a non-prescription -- about .56% on a dry matter basis. The prescription foods tend to be around .45%-ish on a dry matter basis.
• Hills Seared Tuna, this one is also pretty low -- about .57% on a dry matter basis.
• Hills Roasted Chicken Medley --.59% on a dry matter basis.

The Weurva WX Phos Focus are great options and are very low phosphorus. Unfortunately, my cats didn't really like any of the flavors beyond one-ish cans. There are quite a lot of options out there. I would probably pick a few that you think your cat might like and try to find them locally. This database was a big help to me when I was trying to find a low phosphrous food that my cats would eat, it's also updated pretty frequently. You may want to find a few options that she is willing to eat and rotate through them if she tends to get bored of the same thing for every meal. That's what I currently do.

I've also made a post in the past where I tried to compile some extra information I found. Good luck!

 

[myrnafaye]

This is a tough balancing act. My kitty's SDMA was 18; the top of the range for normal is 14. Its a sensitive measure, and both her BUN and Creatinine are normal. She is lightweight, and that actually concerns me more. I would like to put some weight on her without stressing her kidneys. Tanya recommends protein around 35%, and phosphorus belon .5%. I think the phosphorus measure is probably more important, and I dont care if the protein is higher, especially as I am trying to keep her weight up. I did purchase The Weruva Wx Phos chicken formula, and will see how she likes that. I do really appreciate the other recs, just in case...we all know how finicky cats can be...!

 

[FeebysOwner]

You are on the right track. Protein doesn't need to be restricted, especially in a cat that doesn't even have high creatinine. Tanya's site talks about protein restriction probably not being so important until the latter stages of CKD. And phosphorus as low as 5% is next to impossible to find. Anything around or under 8% is probably a more realistic number. Under 1% is probably even more realistic.

 

[Mac and Cats]

You are on the right track. Protein doesn't need to be restricted, especially in a cat that doesn't even have high creatinine. Tanya's site talks about protein restriction probably not being so important until the latter stages of CKD. And phosphorus as low as 5% is next to impossible to find. Anything around or under 8% is probably a more realistic number. Under 1% is probably even more realistic.

I second that the phosphorus level under .5% (dry matter basis) is impossible to find. Even some of the prescriptions aren't that low. I've tried just about everything under the sun for my two elder cats and so I was happy when I finally landed on the Royal Canin Aging 12+ and they actually eat it consistently.

 

[myrnafaye]

I second that the phosphorus level under .5% (dry matter basis) is impossible to find. Even some of the prescriptions aren't that low. I've tried just about everything under the sun for my two elder cats and so I was happy when I finally landed on the Royal Canin Aging 12+ and they actually eat it consistently.

I second that the phosphorus level under .5% (dry matter basis) is impossible to find. Even some of the prescriptions aren't that low. I've tried just about everything under the sun for my two elder cats and so I was happy when I finally landed on the Royal Canin Aging 12+ and they actually eat it consistently.

The problem for me with the diets for "older" cats, is that they are relatively low in calories. Mittens weighs in at just over 7 lbs. I would love for her to gain a pound or so. The "older cat" diets, I think, assume cats are sedentary and overweight. She is neither.

 

[Mac and Cats]

The problem for me with the diets for "older" cats, is that they are relatively low in calories. Mittens weighs in at just over 7 lbs. I would love for her to gain a pound or so. The "older cat" diets, I think, assume cats are sedentary and overweight. She is neither.

I had the same issue with one of my cats. The RC Aging 12+ actually has a pretty good amount of calories in it -- 122 Calories per can in the pate version and 71 calories in the chunky version. Tiny Tasters (pate) also have a pretty good amount of calories in them for their size (around 70-ish depending on the flavor), however, they are not as low in phosphorus and may have a higher sodium count. I had good luck with Weurva Press Your Dinner (93 calories for a 3oz can) when I needed my cat to gain weight, but the phos is 1% on a dmb. Warning on that one though, it looks like meat jello. The cat I needed to gain weight wasn't wanting any of the lower phos options anyway. 1% isn't terrible but it's not excellent either.

 

[myrnafaye]

I looked at the RC Aging 12+ diet (and my vet really likes the RC and Hills products). But look at these ingredients: Pork By-Products, Pork Liver, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Wheat Flour, Gelatin, Pork Plasma, Powdered Cellulose, Vegetable Oil, Natural Flavors, Fish Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Calcium Sulfate, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Calcium. Pork by-products are the first ingredient? what is that? Hoof, tongue, what?? and why pork, do cats eat pigs? I dont like that. Chicken and fish, OK; turkey, rabbit, OK . Especially "by-products" - not OK. That is just what I feel I am not saying I am right. And what about the other stuff, gelatin, pork plasma, powdered celllulose...Dang, no wonder so many cats wind up with IBD.

 

[Mac and Cats]

I looked at the RC Aging 12+ diet (and my vet really likes the RC and Hills products). But look at these ingredients: Pork By-Products, Pork Liver, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Wheat Flour, Gelatin, Pork Plasma, Powdered Cellulose, Vegetable Oil, Natural Flavors, Fish Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Calcium Sulfate, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Calcium. Pork by-products are the first ingredient? what is that? Hoof, tongue, what?? and why pork, do cats eat pigs? I dont like that. Chicken and fish, OK; turkey, rabbit, OK . Especially "by-products" - not OK. That is just what I feel I am not saying I am right. And what about the other stuff, gelatin, pork plasma, powdered celllulose...Dang, no wonder so many cats wind up with IBD.

I don't have a problem with by-products and don't think they are quite as bad as the mainstream makes them out to be. You're going to find a lot of different opinions out there. I went through about a million other "better" foods before trying this one. I tried every other food under the sun and this is one that my cats are willing eat. So, I realized after spending lots of money and throwing most of it in the trash, I had to make some compromises.

 

[myrnafaye]

Yes for sure, we have to give them what they will eat. I just dislike giving my cats pork, I dont think that is what cats should be eating, especially "by products - of anything, including chicken. But as I say, we have to feed them what they will eat. No judgement here at all.