Raw food and kidney issues

[chalupa]

I adopted a nine year old cat this year in summer and she has some kidney damage that's not too bad yet. She had a URI and bad constipation in the beginning along with vomiting, loose stool. Fed her mostly wet food with some raw and it took along time to realize that it was the raw food causing her to vomit, it took months. At first I thought it was only certain foods like chicken, then turkey. Was only feeding rad cat raw lamb sometimes because it seemed to stay down, but then practically caused regurgitation like others. She seems completely intolerant to raw in all forms frozen, freeze dried. She does not vomit much at all so far without raw but as soon as raw is given, vomit starts. It seems very strange. I read this article and some others and I thought this raw was ideal diet for her http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-kidney-disease-phosphorus-and-raw-diets.
Have a relative with 3 kidney damaged cats and she said. They tried a sample of raw and there was also immediate vomit from at least two. I wonder why this happens and what do most vets think about raw and cats with kidney problems. Does anyone else have cats with kidney issues who can eat raw? Are there cats that are otherwise healthy that cannot tolerate raw?
I have a young healthy cat too and it's so hard to feed them separate. Really want to give them both the best. Don't have a lot of time though.
What is the next best thing for both?

 

[LTS3]

Kidney cats can eat raw food but the recipie has to be modified somewhat. Dr. Lisa does consultations on feeding such cats a raw diet: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood#Note:

I think there are some cats who just can't tolerate raw at all. Maybe raw is too rich for their commerical food happy tummies?

 

[chalupa]

Thanx @LTS3 will check out this link. Both of these cats (adopted this year) are definitely dry food fiends but I give dry only as rare treAts, farmina dry food would probably get an anorexic cat to eat, they go too nuts for it so it's cat treat only.

 

[stephanie42]

my piglet has kidney failure (on the border between iris stage 2 and 3) and has been doing well on a raw/home cooked diet.  i feed a combination of a partially cooked chicken recipe based on dr. pierson's and commercial raw (usually stella & chewy's or nature's variety frozen for cats).  i had been supplementing with merrick canned pate while i was unable to find stella & chewy's.  piglet was doing well on commercial raw but when we got the CKF diagnosis, i started the home cooked so i could limit her phosphorus.

i had to transition my cats from all kibble to almost all high quality canned before they'd eat raw.  

 

[chalupa]

Hi @stephgas thank you for your reply. Does your cat vomit ever after raw? Some tell me that cats with kidney issues just vomit a lot but I noticed my cat seems to have a cause usually. Thank you, just wanted to know if this raw intolerance is more a typical kidney issue or just a cats intolerance of raw meat. Maybe one of these days I wi give Lisa Piersons recipe a try and see if it stays down.

 

[stephanie42]

@chalupa  piglet doesn't really vomit often.  one of my other cats struggles with hairballs and vomits fairly regularly, but piglet does not.  

one of the things i tried at first was mixing raw with the canned they were used to.  i was using nature's variety instinct for cats, they're like little frozen nuggets.  i would let some of them thaw and then smush them in with the canned food i was feeding (usually merrick chicken pate).  that got them tasting and digesting raw.  i remember samantha used to throw up any raw that had any bit of fish in it.  piglet's the only cat with kidney issues and she does not really vomit ever, and i've never really heard that CKF/CKD kitties vomit more than healthy cats.

one thing to be very careful with is their water intake.  make sure your CKF kitty is drinking plenty of water.  i even add warm water to piglet's food to up the water intake.  are there other reasons that your CKF cat may be vomiting, like hairballs?  perhaps you could try some treatment for hairballs - like laxatone or something.  some cats eat too much and vomit.  or drink too much water and vomit.  another thing i've heard is that some cats vomit up anything that contains liver - maybe you could try feeding some meat without organs and see how it's tolerated?  

 

[chalupa]

@stephgas my cat rarely drinks water although I do add some to the food. My cat only vomits when raw food is given, any commercial brand in any form seems to cause it. I've tried laxatone it did nothing. When I do not feed raw, get no vomit. I will try the meat without organs. It was suggested by someone that I should give her probiotics for a while and try the raw again. They have regularly been getting a little goat yogurt each day since summer, but it did not stop vomit from raw either. Thanx for sharing info about your cat with raw and kidney. I've really been trying to figure this out. Might just be this cat and her history with food. Have no idea what she was fed for the 9 years that she lived before we met. Wish you and Piglet the best!! Piglet is a very lucky cat to have you.