Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi I have a nearly 13 year old cat. Diagnosed last week with stage 4 ckd. Came down to just outside normal levels after 48 hours on fluids. Is eating RC wet mixed with senior AGAIL, not too keen on RC biscuits. Haven’t seen him drink much or any today. Due to go to Rhodes weds but think will probably cancel. Due at vets tomorrow for blood & urine levels after coming off fluids Friday afternoon. I am very stressed & emotional about the whole thing. All the time he is eating is that a good thing? What about water? Does he need to drink more? Help!!!

Hi there and welcome, but sorry it's on such a sad occasion.

My Emily (avatar cat) left me a month ago; she was diagnosed in February and like you I went to pieces. I'm not an expert on ckd diet/procedure and I decided she should have what she wanted, as there's no way to regenerate kidneys, sadly. I knew she wouldn't eat bland food - not even cold chicken - and to try and get her to eat a special diet while my other two cats were getting normal food would have started a riot, or a hunger strike, and I wanted her to go on eating as much as possible for as long as possible. The vet did say that senior diet is an alternative for cats with ckd as it's lower in potassium.

Emmy drank a lot of water, but I've read of people adding water to wet food to ensure enough fluid intake. There seem to be two schools of thought - a strict ckd regime (if the cat will eat it) will maintain the kidneys for longer; a more flexible diet can keep a cat interested in eating ... they're all different, and I can't advise but plenty of people on here are much more knowledgeable than me. Hopefully there will be others along soon with more specific advice.

I wouldn't want to leave him either in your place - I think keeping up their spirits is important too. Emmy was 17 - at 13 your lad will have a better chance of survival for longer and I do hope you both have a good while together yet.

After the first shock, Emily and I got used to it and spent a happy summer together; I knew every day was precious and tried to make the most of it, and she knew she'd got me twisted round her little paw and was a right demanding madam lol.

Sorry, this is an emotional response to your query and I hope you get more concrete advice soon, but all the very best to you and the lad, and good luck x

thank you for your reply. I feel like there needs to be 2 of me at the moment. One for my boy & one for my husband who was looking forward to his holiday. It just seems such a long way if anything happens. We are retired so everyday is a holiday really!! He's just had a bit more to eat but is really just mooching around. I'll try adding the water to his food & see if it gets eaten. Hopefully the results from the tests tomorrow will show an improvement. X

My darling Tommy had CKD. Like Lilith we made the most of every moment. He was up one day and down the next. But we had a good last year with him. He didn't like the special diet food either so he got what he DID like. Tommy loved meat. If we went out for Sunday dinner some had to have the beef so Tommy could have some. It seems he lived on beef, chicken, cod and sardines for most of that time.

We have a filter tap for our water and Tommy would drink that or 'fresh' pond water, not tap water - most of our cats prefer that (our tap water is pretty yucky)

I hope you get some good news tomorrow.

He's eating the RC & felix senior so that's a good sign. I've found a recipe for chicken stock for cats so will have a go at making some & freezing it in the ice cube trays so I can add to his wet food to get more fluids into him. He likes his water outside so he has a bowl in the kitchen & one outside which he usually drinks from.
Fingers crossed for good results today

Good luck for his results today. While eating renal food will help keep numbers down and give them longer, the most important thing is quality of life. It is good that he is eating wet, most cats prefer renal dry to wet. If he is mainly eating wet, he won't need as much water.

Thanks for all messages. Results were good today phophorous levels good so no binder for now. check up in a month, then 3 monthly. Eaten a whole renal pouch this morning. Never been a kibble cat only as last resort!!

This is a really good website for all things kidney disease related https://www.felinecrf.org/ helped me no end in dealing with PKD in my cat.

That's grand news - all power to the lad and congrats on getting him to eat the diet

That is excellent news - hope all continues well.

That's good. I use Kattovit renal from zooplus, better meat content, cheaper and you can buy 6 pouches to check which of the three flavours they prefer

I’ll try that if he goes off the RC. Had a whole pouch overnight & this morning. Is back up to just over 5kgs.
Does anyone know of any renal cat treats that I can buy? I bought some Beaphar but not interested. Have to say they look & smell like cardboard & so hard.

I cheat with renal treats - RC do a dry that I think is called Select, they look like dreamies, so that is what Lucy gets in her treat ball, she hasn't noticed the difference! They aren't cheap, but RC do a pack that contains a small bag of all 3 dry flavours, some pouches and one of the tins, so you can see what they like, I bought one for Lucy when she was first diagnosed.

Have orders a small bag of RC Select for a treat option. Spoke uto the vet & he can have the Thrive treats as well.

My vet has said my boy can have a couple of thrive dry treats...can anyone advise if this is okay. 100% chicken but I’m doubtful if this is right. Help!!!