potassium levels

[joeyjr]

My cat Daisy who is 11 yrs. old had her yearly vet check with blood work that showed her potassium low and her Na;K Ratio
high. Is there any way to improve these levels without going on a prescription cat food that sells for $6.25 lb.?

 

[abyeb]

Did your vet say what the cause of the low potassium (hypokalemia) is? The most common cause of hypokalemia, according to this article: Hypokalemia or Low Potassium Levels in Cats, is kidney disease. So, if that is the case with your cat, my guess would be that the food your vet prescribed is a kidney diet. My advice would definitely be to follow whatever your vet says. You can get a second opinion, if you want, but you should always listen to your vet.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

There are definitely supplements that can be given to increase potassium, but as stated above, it's always good to know WHY it's low. AND, the dosage needs to be given in conjunction with your Vet. Time to have further discussions with them. If it IS kidney issues though, and your cat won't eat the kidney foods, there are other foods available that are still "suitable" for kidney cats. but don't have added Potassium in them.
Here's an entire section about it for Kidney cats if that's the issue: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - All About Potassium

 

[joeyjr]

Did your vet say what the cause of the low potassium (hypokalemia) is? The most common cause of hypokalemia, according to this article: Hypokalemia or Low Potassium Levels in Cats, is kidney disease. So, if that is the case with your cat, my guess would be that the food your vet prescribed is a kidney diet. My advice would definitely be to follow whatever your vet says. You can get a second opinion, if you want, but you should always listen to your vet.

 

[joeyjr]

Thank you for your message, I appreciate the information. The potassium was the only test that came back below the normal levels, so the vet suggested having the test taken again in several months to compare.
I said good-bye to my cat I had for 18 yrs due to kidney disease and from that experience I know dry food is the worst thing you could feed a cat suffering from renal disease and disagreed with the vet about the prescription KD. Will check her blood work in several months and in the mean time will add some vitamin D3 to her food.
I adopted Daisy 4 yrs ago at the age of 7 and only fed her gain free canned food so this blood test is
very concerning to me.

 

[joeyjr]

There are definitely supplements that can be given to increase potassium, but as stated above, it's always good to know WHY it's low. AND, the dosage needs to be given in conjunction with your Vet. Time to have further discussions with them. If it IS kidney issues though, and your cat won't eat the kidney foods, there are other foods available that are still "suitable" for kidney cats. but don't have added Potassium in them.
Here's an entire section about it for Kidney cats if that's the issue: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - All About Potassium

 

[joeyjr]

Thank you for your rely and for the web site to Tanya’s guide to feline kidney disease, I’ll check it out.
Went through this six yrs ago with my cat who lived to be eighteen with kidney disease. Never thought I’d
adopt another cat so I discarded all the health notes I compiled with him, now back to doing research on
this awful disease. Thanks again.