To Epakittin Or Not To Epakittin

brittpatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
63
Purraise
94
My kitty has kidney failure and I've read about the benefits of phosphate binders. I ordered EPAKITIN online and then read that there might be side effects. Has anyone used EPAKITIN? Did it work for you and your cat?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #2

brittpatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
63
Purraise
94
Okay, I gave her the recommended Epakitin dosage. For some reason I'm terrified and I'm treating it like poison. I really hope all goes well.
 

furmonster mom

Lap #2
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Messages
2,764
Purraise
3,959
Location
Mohave Desert
I hadn't even heard of this product until now. Did your vet prescribe/recommend it?

When I had a cat diagnosed with CKD (or CRF), my vet recommended Aluminum Hydroxide as a phosphorus binder.

Calcium is also a binder, but should be used carefully as over using it can cause other issues. From the little I gleaned via a quick search, it looks as if Epakitin is a calcium based product. I'm guessing that is why there are a lot of cautions regarding dosage.

You might want to talk to your vet about Aluminum Hydroxide as an alternative.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

brittpatt

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
63
Purraise
94
My vet did not prescribe it and I'm so grateful to get your feedback. I will look into aluminum hydroxide. Thanks!

Do you have a recommended alternative to Epakitin?

Do you know what brand you used?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

mani

Moderator and fervent feline fan
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
46,566
Purraise
23,328
Location
Australia
Do you have a recommended alternative to Epakitin?
I think that the aluminum hydroxide serves the same purpose.

My cat has recently been diagnosed with CRD, but none of this was recommended.. he's doing really well on a low protein diet and Semintra. But it's early days and this regime is working so well.

I'm very wary of giving him anything the vet hasn't recommended. It's such a fine balancing act with kidneys, I think I'd be concerned about throwing anything into the equation without knowing absolutely all the facts. You probably do too, judging by your fear of poisoning her. :)
 

happilyretired

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
564
Purraise
264
Location
Upstate New York
I lost a CKD cat last year. When he was diagnosed, I tried every low phosphorus food--both prescription and commercial, and he would not touch any of them. I found out about phosphorus binders from Tanya's website, ordered EPAKITIN from Amazon--and told my vet what I was doing. She said it was worth a try, but she was doubtful that it would help.

I don't know whether it helped because my poor guy only lasted another 2 years. I had a previous cat with CKD, and he lived much longer (8 years from diagnosis) simply eating his Fancy Feast--no binder. He, too, refused low phosphorus food.

I don't think this is pro or con EPAKITIN--i.e., I mention the difference between my two boys and their CKD because I think cats will respond differently despite what we try to do for them.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
It sounds pretty harmless from what I can tell. I'm not sure it will help but it probably won't hurt either.
 

Saf

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Messages
97
Purraise
85
The biggest thing you can do to help your cat is an all wet diet. Proper hydration is more important than phosphorus control. Both the veterinary and pet food industry have a tendency to overstate the role of phosphorus in kidney disease rather than confront the biggest cause of CKD in cats, the dessicated, carbohydrate laden quasi vegan food they make and promote.

The amount of phosphorus in cat food has been declining year on year and normal food and renal foods are becoming indistinguishable from one another. Most foods nowadays seem to have a phosphorus content of below 0.8% (as dry matter analysis), which is not far off what renal foods have. I suspect health problems in the future maybe associated with a phosphorus deficient diet, and I personally aim to feed an average of 1.5%

I'd only use a binder if your cat has high levels of phosphorus. If not I'd just feed him an all wet diet with a phosphorus content on the low side - there's many different options:

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease- Canned Food Data USA
 

Azazel

Time spent with cats is never wasted.
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
2,844
Purraise
3,465
The amount of phosphorus in cat food has been declining year on year and normal food and renal foods are becoming indistinguishable from one another. Most foods nowadays seem to have a phosphorus content of below 0.8% (as dry matter analysis), which is not far off what renal foods have.
.
Really? I had a very hard time recently finding any wet foods with phosphorus levels lower than 1.00.

I also would use Tanya’s site with caution because the list hasn’t been updated in a long time. I found most of her numbers to be wrong.
 

Saf

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Messages
97
Purraise
85
.
Really? I had a very hard time recently finding any wet foods with phosphorus levels lower than 1.00.

I also would use Tanya’s site with caution because the list hasn’t been updated in a long time. I found most of her numbers to be wrong.
It was updated about 18 months ago - it's the UK canned food which hasn't been updated for a long time. Which ones in particular were wrong? If you find any errors you can notify Helen, the site owner.

If you look at the AAFCO guidelines you can see the minimum amount of phosphorus deemed necessary for a food to be complete is 0.5% which in my opinion is too low. Phosphorus is a vital nutrient that plays a part in many bodily functions.

PetCoach - Ask a Vet Online for Free, 24/7

AAFCO is basiclly the big food companies meeting up and deciding what should go in pet food, not qualified cat/dog nutritionists.

And there was some recent dubious research trying to pin the blame on phosphorus for causing CKD in cats:

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research

Very typical of pet food industry backed research - small number of cats used to reach a preordained conclusion. They're basically saying every cat should be on renal food!

It's an attempt to divert attention away from the real cause of many cases of CKD in cats, chronic dehydration from eating dry food.

Like in humans, phosphorus control is a part of managing CKD, particularly in the latter stages - but it's a long way behind proper hydration.
 
Top