What Level Of Phosphorous In Food Is Ok For A Cat With Kidney Issues?

[Cara80]

My cat has ckd and now ibd or small cell lymphoma. I'm trying to find a food suitable for all his issues and wondering what level phosphorous I need to look for. My vet mentioned his kidney levels aren't that bad yet and I can feed regular, non prescription food. I know the prescription diets have a phos level of .5 on a dry matter analysis but that's fairly unrealistic to find in regular cat food, most have anywhere from .7-2.0

 

[orange&white]

It is also my understanding that you do not need to feed low phosphorus food until the later stages of CKD. As long as a good % of the kidneys are functioning, they can process the phosphorus. At some point in time, they will inevitably deteriorate and you will need a low-phosphorus food and/or a phosphorus binder. I'm sorry. (I lost a little dog to CKD in Jan 2017, but she had over 3 good years before moving to the later stages.)

For the near term, you may want to consider a low carbohydrate or zero carbohydrate diet. Carbs are really fairly harsh for cats' kidneys to process. Also, water, water, water should help. I'd feed only canned and wet food.

Tanya's site has a list of low-phos foods (though I'm not sure how much it has been updated): Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Cat Food Data Tables Overview

Dr. Pierson also has a list available which I think is current: https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geK.Wmde9aNIkAvQNXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByNXM5bzY5BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMzBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1525671463/RO=10/RU=http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf/RK=2/RS=dpR6kAa9qEBR6cVBgzAUfAVjdG4-

 

[Azazel]

I have a cat in early stages of CKD and I try to limit her phosphorus to less than 1.0%. The AAFCO recommendation for adults is .80% so I tend to go between .80 and 1.0%. I don’t like to go below .80 at this point because she is in early stages, but I’m not a doctor so make sure to check the amounts with your vet.

I also try to feed foods high in meat-based protein because a lot of low phosphorus foods are very lacking in protein which can be detrimental. The two foods I feed a lot for this cat are Rad Cat frozen raw and Weruva cans. Both have phosphorus values listed on their site and both are high in protein but low in phosphorus (about .80%).

Ziwipeak canned venison and lamb flavours are about 1.04% phosphorus and I will also feed these occasionally.

 

[duckpond]

I think i would feed what he likes and will eat well right now. That is maybe more important than a low phosphorus diet at this point? Work with your vet on that.

I think some of the Tiki cat is fairly low in phosphorus, the chicken. puka puka luau, and koolina luau. my guys really like these two. Also Weruva has a few that are good. I think a lot of people in your situation feed their Steak Frites, but several of the weruva foods should be good. These would be lower in phosphorus than many foods out there, also high in protein, and moisture, and hopefully he will like them.

Orange&white cat gave you some good links to check. Good luck, and do keep us updated on him.

 

[Cara80]

Wow, great info. I didn't realize carbs were bad for a cat's kidneys. I actually regret that I fed my cat a prescription diet for so long, the protein quality isn't great and there's so many carbs in it. I was wondering for a while if it wasn't a good choice, my cat who never has begged for human food would act ravenous when we were eating and gobble up the pieces of meat we would let him have off our plates. He's also tolerated the kidney diet, but never got excited anymore when he'd hear the can open, which I found pretty sad.

Great to know weruva and radcat have their phos levels listed. i'll check out the ziwipeak too.

 

[duckpond]

Wow, great info. I didn't realize carbs were bad for a cat's kidneys. I actually regret that I fed my cat a prescription diet for so long, the protein quality isn't great and there's so many carbs in it. I was wondering for a while if it wasn't a good choice, my cat who never has begged for human food would act ravenous when we were eating and gobble up the pieces of meat we would let him have off our plates. He's also tolerated the kidney diet, but never got excited anymore when he'd hear the can open, which I found pretty sad.

Great to know weruva and radcat have their phos levels listed. i'll check out the ziwipeak too.

Good, hopefully he will like them. My guys were all about the weruva for a while, but i think they got tired of it. they are all about the Tiki cat chicken formulas now. Those might work for you too. I have not tried the rad cat, might someday, but we cannot get it close, i would have to ship it in

 

[lisahe]

I have a cat in early stages of CKD and I try to limit her phosphorus to less than 1.0%. The AAFCO recommendation for adults is .80% so I tend to go between .80 and 1.0%. I don’t like to go below .80 at this point because she is in early stages, but I’m not a doctor so make sure to check the amounts with your vet.

I also try to feed foods high in meat-based protein because a lot of low phosphorus foods are very lacking in protein which can be detrimental. The two foods I feed a lot for this cat are Rad Cat frozen raw and Weruva cans. Both have phosphorus values listed on their site and both are high in protein but low in phosphorus (about .80%).

Ziwipeak canned venison and lamb flavours are about 1.04% phosphorus and I will also feed these occasionally.

This is exactly the approach that we took with our cat when she had early-stage CKD and IBD/lymphoma, C Cara80 . Feeding Brooksie mostly wet foods that didn't go much over 1% (I tried to make 1.2% my ceiling) dry matter phosphorus helped improve her (kidney-related) test results. I, too, went for high-protein, though I did also feed some foods from Weruva and Soulistic that had more carbs than I would have liked to feed. Rad Cat and certain Wellness Core foods were also key. In the end, it was the digestive issues that were most important -- Brooksie, who was a very elderly cat, weakened and developed a mass. Her diet in her last couple of months was a huge improvement over what we'd fed her for years (we hadn't known how to feed cats properly) and that also helped lessen her IBD symptoms.

Good luck, the combination of CKD and IBD isn't easy, particularly since it can be hard to balance wanting to feed what's best (I agree with orange&white about keeping carbs low for kidney cats) with the necessity for the cat to eat (I agree with duckpond about that, too!).

 

[Saf]

Problems of processing phosphorus go hand in hand with dilute urine. A phosphorus controlled diet isn't that important in the early stages of CKD but becomes more important as the disease progresses and particularly when the urine becomes dilute. When that happens it's kind of like having a leaking bucket, the cat drinks but the water just goes straight through them. If I can use a crude analogy, it's like trying to flush the toilet with a cup of water - it wouldn't flush away all gunk, and that's what happens in the kidneys, not enough water is flowing through them so levels of phosphorus rise.

Vets often overemphasize the importance of phosphorus control, whilst that does help, what helps more is maintaining good hydration by having an all wet diet, encouraging the cat to drink more and beggining sub qs when the urine reaches a certain point of dilution.

 

[Azazel]

Saf

Hopefully I’m not butting in by adding another question to this thread, but I’m wondering what you would make of a young cat (1 year old) with dilute urine (USG of 1.028) and a slightly high phoshphorus level (with trace amounts of protein in the urine) but normal BUN and creatinine? She does pee a lot, but she has no other symptoms.

 

[Saf]

Saf

Hopefully I’m not butting in by adding another question to this thread, but I’m wondering what you would make of a young cat (1 year old) with dilute urine (USG of 1.028) and a slightly high phoshphorus level (with trace amounts of protein in the urine) but normal BUN and creatinine? She does pee a lot, but she has no other symptoms.

I wouldn't call 1.028 dilute, more sub optimal. Ideally it would be mid 30s. Dilute is low teens or worse even. If she drinks well and has an all wet diet she should be OK. 1 is extremely young for CKD, did she have some kind of acute incident? I think most vets would be reluctant to diagnose CKD with normal creatinine. It's a bit of rock and hard place situation with a cat so young. Phosphorus is a vital nutrient but also one the most difficult things for the kidneys to process.

 

[Azazel]

I wouldn't call 1.028 dilute, more sub optimal. Ideally it would be mid 30s. Dilute is low teens or worse even. If she drinks well and has an all wet diet she should be OK. 1 is extremely young for CKD, did she have some kind of acute incident? I think most vets would be reluctant to diagnose CKD with normal creatinine. It's a bit of rock and hard place situation with a cat so young. Phosphorus is a vital nutrient but also one the most difficult things for the kidneys to process.

Thanks for your response. I guess my vet hasn't technically "diagnosed" her, but I'm just being cautious by trying to feed her high protein and low-moderate phosphorus foods. I don't feed her anything that is lower in phosphorus than .80% which is the AAFCO min. recommendation for adults. But I guess I stay on the lower-moderate side just to be safe.

I'm not sure if she's had an incident. She came from a hoarding situation and I do wonder sometimes if she did have some kind of traumatic incident. Both of her upper canines are chipped and we don't know much about her history except that she was able to go outdoors.

I just wonder why she pees so much. She is getting all wet food, but she pees about 6-7 times per 24 hours. The vet is being cautious and we have been monitoring her urine for the past few months. I guess all we can do is just to continue monitoring her.

Your response is very helpful though! I have been wanting to give her the occasional chicken neck for teeth and gum health but was worried that it would be too much phosphorus for her. Now I'm thinking that the occasional neck might not be so bad.

 

[Saf]

Thanks for your response. I guess my vet hasn't technically "diagnosed" her, but I'm just being cautious by trying to feed her high protein and low-moderate phosphorus foods. I don't feed her anything that is lower in phosphorus than .80% which is the AAFCO min. recommendation for adults. But I guess I stay on the lower-moderate side just to be safe.

I'm not sure if she's had an incident. She came from a hoarding situation and I do wonder sometimes if she did have some kind of traumatic incident. Both of her upper canines are chipped and we don't know much about her history except that she was able to go outdoors.

I just wonder why she pees so much. She is getting all wet food, but she pees about 6-7 times per 24 hours. The vet is being cautious and we have been monitoring her urine for the past few months. I guess all we can do is just to continue monitoring her.

Your response is very helpful though! I have been wanting to give her the occasional chicken neck for teeth and gum health but was worried that it would be too much phosphorus for her. Now I'm thinking that the occasional neck might not be so bad.

There's a really strong relationship between dental issues and kidney problems so the fundamental issue maybe to do with her teeth, and sorting out dental issues can in turn resolve the kidney issues.

 

[Azazel]

There's a really strong relationship between dental issues and kidney problems so the fundamental issue maybe to do with her teeth, and sorting out dental issues can in turn resolve the kidney issues.

Thanks, I will bring that up with her vet next time. We were told that the chips in her canines were not too bad and that we could just monitor her for now, but we will eventually get a cleaning and some dental x-rays done.