Kidney disease and food

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andtiggertoo
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Kidney disease and food

Post by andtiggertoo »

Hi guys. Haven't been on here for a looooong time. However, our 16 year old cat, Millie, has just been diagnosed with kidney disease and I'm looking for a bit of advice.

The kidney disease was discovered through blood tests because apparently she needs a dental and needs to have four teeth out. Apparently there is no protein in her urine at the moment, which is good, but her kidneys definitely aren't functioning as they should be.

Two questions really. We have to get her on to a kidney diet. Easier said than done. She is allergic to lamb, oats, potato, peas, yeast and soya. She is also fussy. She doesn't like the Hills K/D in tins, which is apparently the only one of theirs she could have because the sachets and biscuits contain some of her allergens. I've tried her on the Integra food, which she seems to quite like, and Beaphar, which she hates. Any ideas for anything else we could try her on?

And about the dental. I have no idea what the prognosis for her is. I did ask the vet, but he wasn't very forthcoming. I don't want to put her through the pain of having a big operation if she only has a few months left with us, but obviously I want to do what's best for her. The vet says go ahead with the dental, but as it's Medivet, I'm slightly suspicious of their motives for wanting to do it.

I would be really grateful for any advice or suggestions anyone has.
andtiggertoo
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by andtiggertoo »

I should add as well that I know Integra contains potato. She can eat small quantities of this from time to time, but it's not something I can feed her on a daily basis.
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by booktigger »

I'm guessing you have already tried Zooplus with the brands you mentioned, I've just put Lucy on Kattovit. I'd do the dental, as they can affect kidney levels, but I'd ask for a drip before, during and after
andtiggertoo
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by andtiggertoo »

Yes, have been getting just about all my food info from Zooplus. Can't give her Kattovit because I think it has soy in it, oil/flour. It's really difficult because almost everything has one or more of her allergens in it, plus she would win any competition for fussiness hands/paws down.
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by booktigger »

The turkey pouch I have doesn't mention soy. What food did she eat before?

Do you know what her urea and creatnine are?
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by Antonio »

Hi, my cat on the Bridge suffered from kidney failure and had been suffering from it for nearly 11 years.
I tried different wet and dry diets and she accepted them all but in the last five years she was on Trovet renal and oxalate diet, dry and wet (chicken) and she absolutely loved it.
It can be hard to find, but I and her were definitely happy with it.
I'd do the dental, you say that urine is alright and kidneys show signs of failure. Probably she's at an early stage and your cat can live many more years.
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by andtiggertoo »

Thanks for your replies. Booktigger, I don't know the numbers, unfortunately. She was eating Applaws, Carny senior, Butchers Choice (actually I don't think it's called that, but it's the cheapish food with orange labels!), HiLife, and a couple of others, with Josera Culinesse kibble occasionally.

Which of your foods doesn't have soy? It's potato that seems to be in just about everything. A couple of times a week is OK, but no more than that.

And thanks Antonio. I'll seek out Trovet.
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by booktigger »

It'd be worth asking to see how advanced it is. If you can't change her food because of her allergies, you could try using either medication (although some vets don't like using that unless there is protein in the urine) or a supplement like Ipatikine, as long as she's ok with the ingredients
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by andtiggertoo »

Thanks for that. She is being particularly difficult with the food. Nothing is good enough and clearly we are trying to poison her.

I think we're going to go ahead with the dental, so will speak to the vet about food at the same time. She will still eat the Carny senior, which I gather is better than a lot of ordinary food because it's made for older cats and because so many older cats have kidney problems, it has lower levels of phosphorus and salt at least.

And I checked out Trovet, but it seems that the main ingredient for most of them is lamb, so that's another one crossed off the list. One smell of lamb and she's throwing up everywhere!
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by Antonio »

andtiggertoo wrote: And I checked out Trovet, but it seems that the main ingredient for most of them is lamb, so that's another one crossed off the list. One smell of lamb and she's throwing up everywhere!
Trovet wet food for kidney failure comes in two types, lamb and chicken. I always purchased chicken, I used to find it online.
Are you saying that lamb is an ingredient for both wet food and dry?
I didn't know that, I am going to check it out :shock:
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by greenkitty »

Nice to see you back, sorry to hear about Millie.

Have your tried Purina NF pouches? I'm not sure of the ingredients but might be worth a try. When dealing with this problem with Tig, I found Fortiflora sprinkled on renal food sometimes worked, it's highly palatable (supposedly but you know cats have their own views on this!). I also found the k/d dry seemed to go down better than the wet, although not sure again they would suit Millie with her allergies.

There's a great website and forum, not sure if you've found it, it's full of useful information and the forum contributors are really helpful.

http://www.felinecrf.org/
(There's a link to join the forum)

I seem to remember dentals are mentioned on there too.

Don't forget it's more important she eats something, even if it isn't the renal food, she needs to keep eating. I gave up on renal food and just gave Tig whatever he would eat in the end.
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by andtiggertoo »

Hello greenkitty. Nice to see you're still on here!

It's allergies that are a bit of a problem with renal food. She can have the Hills k/d tins, but not pouches or dry. I've written/emailed/phoned most manufacturers and waiting to hear back from one or two of them. Will try the Fortiflora as well. And yes, I have to get her to eat something. At the moment she's holding out for fresh chicken, which has always been her meal of choice (unless there's some rump steak in the offing), so I guess that's better than nothing. She will eat some senior food too, so hopefully she'll eat enough. She doesn't seem to have much of an appetite though.

And thanks so much for the link. I'll investigate this minute.
x
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greenkitty
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by greenkitty »

Again senior food is better than nothing.

Have you spoken to the vet about phosphate binders? That might help her numbers if all she will eat is "normal" food. Is she feeling nauseous? That can really affect their appetite, getting this under control really helped buy Tig a few more months. He was on Ranitidine to start then swapped to Famotidine (both for excess stomach acid) plus Cerenia (anti nausea).
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by andtiggertoo »

I'm going to ask about phosphate binders. Difficult to know if she's nauseous or not. She trots happily out into the garden every morning and eats plants that she then promptly throws up when she comes back inside, but she's always done that!

Got back this evening to find she has something wrong with one of her eyes, so she's going to have to go to the vet tomorrow anyway... They should be well on course for hefty profits this year.
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by greenkitty »

Among signs for nausea are lip licking, showing interest in food but sniffing and then walking away and sitting in the meatloaf position (you know with all four legs tucked under), these were the most noticeable signs with Tig.
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Re: Kidney disease and food

Post by greenkitty »

How did the vet visit go?
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