Suggestions for reducing phosphorous ratio for cat with kidney issues (powdered egg whites?)

samus

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2015
Messages
374
Purraise
27
Has anyone used powdered egg whites to reduce the phosphorous ratio for a cat with mild kidney issues (slightly high creatinine, still very early stage kidney disease)? My cat is still a dry food addict and I'm working on transitioning her to all wet, then hopefully home made. I've tried adding mashed up pieces of egg white (from my breakfast fried egg, nice and buttery) to her wet food, but she eats around them. Would powdered egg whites be easier to sneak into her food? Any other suggestions for diluting the phosphorous in commercial food?

Is it something that has to be done every meal, or can I alternate between low phosphorous and "standard" commercial phosphorous level? She doesn't eat if I put any kind of powders on her dry food, and she's at about half wet, half dry.

And am I understanding correctly that bones are high phosphorous, and that to reduce phosphorous in home made food I'd replace some/all of the bones with eggshell?
 

mschauer

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
6,753
Purraise
2,338
Location
Houston, Tx
And am I understanding correctly that bones are high phosphorous, and that to reduce phosphorous in home made food I'd replace some/all of the bones with eggshell?
I can answer this one - Yes, bone is high in phosphorus. You would want to use a calcium source other than bone. I have several home-made raw recipes with reduced phosphorus levels. PM me if your interested in them.
 

my cdk cat

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
2
Purraise
1
My kitty Ashley was diagnosed with kidney disease last year. The vet at first said stage 3 but after her antibiotics helped, they decided it might be late stage 2. They gave her 3 years and recommended me to feed her prescription food only so I am feeding her canned Hills KD diet and she also has purina NF kibble. I predominately give her wet food. Only have the dry there as sometimes she just won't eat.

Recently while searching on the net, I found Hills had 2 new KD formulas. The tuna stew and the chicken stew. I asked my vet to order some of the Tuna stew for me. They are a little more expensive than the regular KD chicken or ocean fish but my kitty LOVES it. They are the small cans and she eats 1.5-2 cans a day. She is a tiny cat. But the fact she loves the food is worth every penny. CDK cats can starve themselves to death....

I think the prescription diets are specially formulated for the right amount of protein and phosphorus levels so I stick with those. If you do make your own food, you have to ensure it is nutritionally balanced with the right amount of taurine etc. I don't know all the right amounts (sorry that I am not answering your question). I guess I just wanted to make sure you know that it's not just the phosphorus ratios that is important. Cats need a complex mix of nutrients. I know you are likely aware of this but I just wanted to make sure.

By the way, look at the website 'Tanya's comprehensive guide to feline chronic kidney disease'. There is SO much info there which you can discuss with your vet. There is a food list of available diets and the phosphorus/protein levels and I see that the prescription diets appear to be best.

My cat has been completely stabilized on the prescription food over the last year. Much less vomiting (rarely versus almost after every meal before the KD diet) and no issues with the litter box. She looks great and I think she will live beyond the predicted 15 if she continues this way! She turns 14 this may. I really think the KD helps and wanted you to consider it in hopes that your kitty lives a long happy life too.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

samus

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2015
Messages
374
Purraise
27
My cat also has food allergies that I'm also trying to figure out (her allergy markers were really high on her blood test), and all the mainstream kidney diets have stuff that would cause her intestinal inflammation to get worse. It's really hard to try to limit protein sources and treat kidney issues at the same time if I just get off the shelf foods. I'd love it if someone made a limited ingredient wet food suitable for cats with kidney issues! But since I haven't found one yet, I think that someone's going to end up being me.
 

mowsterbowster

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
2
Purraise
1
Samus, the Rad Cat frozen raw diets (discussed quite a bit elsewhere in this forum) are made with eggshell rather than bone. They're not all necessarily super-low in phosphorus, but all are under 1% (http://www.radfood.com/site/856/LabAnalysis2013b.pdf), and the Lamb variety is the lowest by far--which may also be good if a novel protein source helps with your kitty's sensitivity. They aren't limited-ingredient diets, though.

I'll share that my three senior cats (two of which were early-stage renal) all developed chronic diarrhea within a few years after switching to a veterinary prescription renal diet (canned and dry). One day the delivery of the dry hadn't arrived in time so they went without for a day or two and *bam* no more diarrhea. When the new bag arrived and I filled the bowl, *bam* the diarrhea came back. We've since stopped the prescription diet altogether and tried limited-ingredient, grain-free, raw, and novel protein, but with my guys at least, the biggest irritating factor seemed to be the dry food. They'd had some form of dry food all their lives (as well as canned) so who knows if it was only the veterinary diet

to blame, or the cumulative effect of years of dry.

Of course, once you have chronic inflammation in the intestines, it can be hard to tell what ingredients are truly aggravating them vs. the aggravating effect of a diet change vs. just residual inflammation/damage.  

There is a raw section here:

http://frombeakstobarks.me/2012/11/28/cat-nutrition-part-iii-diets-for-cats-with-kidney-disease/

and a section on "Foods for cats with other conditions (diabetes, food allergies, or IBD)" on Tanya's site:

http://www.felinecrf.org/which_foods.htm

Hope this helps,

Maya
 

mowsterbowster

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
2
Purraise
1
(edited to remove external links)

Samus, the Rad Cat frozen raw diets (discussed quite a bit elsewhere in this forum) are made with eggshell rather than bone. They're not all necessarily super-low in phosphorus, but all are under 1% (search for "Rad Cat dry matter analysis"), and the Lamb variety is the lowest by far--which may also be good if a novel protein source helps with your kitty's sensitivity. They aren't limited-ingredient diets, though. 

I'll share that my three senior cats (two of which were early-stage renal) all developed chronic diarrhea within a few years after switching to a veterinary prescription renal diet (canned and dry). One day the delivery of the dry hadn't arrived in time so they went without for a day or two and *bam* no more diarrhea. When the new bag arrived and I filled the bowl, *bam* the diarrhea came back. We've since stopped the prescription diet altogether and tried limited-ingredient, grain-free, raw, and novel protein, but with my guys at least, the biggest irritating factor seemed to be the dry food. They'd had some form of dry food all their lives (as well as canned) so who knows if it was only the veterinary diet

to blame, or the cumulative effect of years of dry. 

Of course, once you have chronic inflammation in the intestines, it can be hard to tell what ingredients are truly aggravating them vs. the aggravating effect of a diet change vs. just residual inflammation/damage.  

There is a raw section on the From Beaks to Barks site ("2012/11/28/cat-nutrition-part-iii-diets-for-cats-with-kidney-disease")

and a section on "Foods for cats with other conditions (diabetes, food allergies, or IBD)" on Tanya's Feline CRF site under "What to Feed (and What to Avoid)."

Hope this helps,

Maya
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

samus

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2015
Messages
374
Purraise
27
Thanks for the links, Maya. I read a lot of stuff on Tanya's CRF site, but the Beaks to Barks was new info. One site I was reading said for renal issues to get food with 0.4 - 0.7% phosphorous, which seems pretty hard to do with commercial food, but if just getting down to 0.8 - 0.9% is low enough that makes it a lot less daunting. My cat's phosphorous levels aren't high yet, I think she's around early stage 2.

The vet first recommended a "hypoallergenic" diet, whose protein source was hydrolyzed soy protein (and I think it also had corn). How is that hypoallergenic??
 

stephanie42

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
232
Purraise
21
Location
Long Island, NY
 
The vet first recommended a "hypoallergenic" diet, whose protein source was hydrolyzed soy protein (and I think it also had corn). How is that hypoallergenic??
cats are obligate carnivores.  the idea of feeding a diet based on soy protein sounds crazy to me.  additionally, cats can have an allergy to soy, so...
 

mschauer

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 17, 2007
Messages
6,753
Purraise
2,338
Location
Houston, Tx
 
Thanks for the links, Maya. I read a lot of stuff on Tanya's CRF site, but the Beaks to Barks was new info. One site I was reading said for renal issues to get food with 0.4 - 0.7% phosphorous, which seems pretty hard to do with commercial food, but if just getting down to 0.8 - 0.9% is low enough that makes it a lot less daunting. My cat's phosphorous levels aren't high yet, I think she's around early stage 2.

The vet first recommended a "hypoallergenic" diet, whose protein source was hydrolyzed soy protein (and I think it also had corn). How is that hypoallergenic??
A hydrolyzed food is one in which the protein molecules have been broken down to a level where the bodies immune doesn't recognize it as an allergen. It doesn't have to be soy. 
 
Last edited:
Top