Protine levels in urine in relation to raw feeding

[Eatingiceman]

HI everyone hope you are all doing well. My cat had a urine sample taken a few days ago and it showed 4x the normal amount of protine in her urine. Does anyone know why this would be? I feed my cat a store bought raw blend from baily blu I started the diet after the vet assumed she might have IBD. Shes approximately 7 years old. Thanks for any links or advice.

 

[Azazel]

It is hard to say. Not all raw foods are created equal and it may not necessarily be anything due to the fact that the food is raw but rather what the food exactly is. On top of that, the baseline numbers that vets compare numbers to are based on cats fed primarily dry commercial diets. We know very little about normal levels in cats fed species-appropriate diets. Best thing to do is to find a vet who is informed on feline nutrition and raw diets to help you interpret the results.

 

[LTS3]

This may be helpful:

Looking for the links with info about elevated BUN/crea in raw fed cats

I know there are threads on this, but I cannot find them. I swear I remember reading and even participating in a thread where some of our most generous and helpful members posted links (studies?) that discuss these numbers being elevated in raw fed cats and why. I just am useless at searching...

thecatsite.com

Urine and blood work ranges are based on cats who eat a commercial dry / canned diet. Raw diets have only been popular in the last decade or so. Elevated levels of something for a raw fed cat doesn't always mean there is something medically wrong. Excess protein comes out with the urine.

 

[Azazel]

One thing that my vet sometimes does with my cats is take their urine twice. She asks me to feed them their normal homemade raw diet and take a sample, and then asks me to feed half dry food for a few days and then take a urine sample again. She has noticed that after being fed kibble for a few days their numbers on things like USG are more "normal." I guess she sort of uses my cats as case examples for how to interpret results for raw fed cats. So again, it's important to find a vet who supports raw feeding and understands feline nutrition who is willing to work with you. I actually had a different vet in her office once try to make my cats eat a prescirption diet because she didn't know how to interpret the numbers in light of their raw diet. Good thing my regular vet completely disagreed. Bottom line - my cats' numbers are also sometimes off but it's never worried my vet - try to find a vet willing to work with you.

 

[Eatingiceman]

Reading more into it raw diets do have different ranges but is it inherently safe to have these higher ranges? I guess what I'm asking is are the higher ranges associated with raw ok for long term? I need to do more tests and a blood test so I'm not expecting exact answers just curious on it in general.

 

[Azazel]

Reading more into it raw diets do have different ranges but is it inherently safe to have these higher ranges? I guess what I'm asking is are the higher ranges associated with raw ok for long term? I need to do more tests and a blood test so I'm not expecting exact answers just curious on it in general.

That is a really tough question to answer. I have been feeding a raw diet for 10 years to my cats and they are very healthy. We don't have much large-scale empirical research that shows long term effects of raw diets. We don't even really have that for kibble or canned food. Raw diets also vary so vastly. Homemade raw food is very different from commercial raw and so forth. I feed homemade raw under the advice of my vet and also based on research that I have done. I also base my decisions on inductive reasoning - cats are obligate carnivores and are physiologically made to eat certain kinds of foods and get certain nutrients. My homemade raw is also formulated to meet (and far exceed) AAFCO guidelines. So it's not just a simple answer. There are many factors to consider and lots of different things that come into play. In terms of the urine results - again, you need an expert who is knowledgeable about feline nutrition to help you interpret them. Numbers should always be interpreted in context. There really is no simple answer. It's also case specific - biology of individual cats also plays a role.