Seeking advice or experience on kidney disease

[DeminPennswoods]

in cats.

I've read a lot of information via the internet on what's the best food for them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Bayard]

1. What is your vet recommending?

They usually recommend a food that has a very low ash content.

Unfortunately, kidney disease if very prevalent in older cats. Small amounts (like a quarter of a pill) of vitamin C can help keep kidney stones at bay. Like, once a month.

[irisblue]

2. Hi Can you give more specific info,

Are you asking about blood levels, food type, IVs?
Thanks

[at140]

3. Avoid alcohol, analgesics, dairy & smoking

in my opinion regular walking exercise and keeping hydrated will be beneficial to kidneys. A weak circulation system is not good for kidney health. I would eat more alkaline vegetables such as zucchini & other gourds. Soup made from beef bones and onions & garlic is good.

Best luck to you!

[Sanity Claws]

6. Yes, stop your cat from smoking and alcohol!

My dear at140, I think you didn't read the part about the cat. In case I am mistaken, I agree that cats should not drink alcohol and should not smoke. As for dairy, a little cream once is a nice indulgence that we should not deprive our cats of, at least once in a while.

[at140]

7. ooooops...missed the small word "cat"

my bad!

My previous dog died at age 14 of kidney disease.
My current dog (same breed, same gender) has already outlived the previous dog, and is active and healthy.

We fed both dogs same food...Purina One.
The difference? I brush the current dog's teeth twice
during each week. My theory is, the teeth build plaque,
then germs grow at gum line and those same germs
attack kidneys and heart.

[DeminPennswoods]

13. Trusting family DNA

for a long, disease-free life.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. I was wondering who was getting into my liquor cabinet

and why crushed catnip leaves were turning up at the bottom of what appeared to be a mint julep. I just can't get them interested in zucchinis and gourds.

[MontanaMama]

4. I have a 15 year old kitty

that is the beginning stages of kidney failure. My vet suggested a prescription diet as well as a daily dose of Enalapril both of which Louis has tolerated well. He has even put on a little weight which he needed to do. I think there are several prescription diet food brands out there formulated for kidney disease and, of course, vets tend to rec the brand they sell in their practices. I found the brand (Hill’s) that my vet had in the flavor Louis likes on Chewy.com and it was slightly less expensive than my vet and I get it sent to my house with free shipping. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to stop the food he was eating cold turkey and switch to the new kidney care food but it wasn’t a problem. Sometimes kitties can be finicky. I also got a heated cat bed from Chewy. It was cheap and Louis LOVES it. I have read that cats with kidney issues can feel cold. I plugged the bed in and he was in it in a flash.

I’m sorry you’ve got a sick kitty. Hope some of this helps!

[cyclonefence]

5. I've become a fan of "My Cat From Hell"

and Jackson Galaxy says that since cats get almost all their fluids from their food, it's important to make their food as wet as possible when a cat has kidney disease. He is not a fan of prescribed diets (although of course I think you should follow your vet's advice; just telling you what JG said) and believes in feeding cats raw meat, since that is what they evolved to eat.

I think the takeaway is to try to add a little water to whatever food you're giving your kitty, to get more fluid into him/her to flush those kidneys.

I'm sorry your cat is sick, and I hope whatever you do makes it feel--and get--better.

[at140]

8. Please see post #7

[SharonClark]

9. If you don't have confidence that your vet knows more about this than

online strangers then find a vet you do trust.

[More_Cowbell]

10. We babied a cat through six years of failing kidneys

Our usual vet (in a two-vet practice) told us that our cat's kidneys were failing when he was 17. He immediately started on a few medications that ended up switching around over the years because as one thing was fixed, another popped up (it's been a while now, but I think, for instance, that his heart and thyroid were working overtime but that was masked by other things). Our cat had been eating Science Diet wet food since a problem with ash when he was young, so we stuck with that.

Then a few months later, we had him in for blood work and happened to get the other vet. She said that she wouldn't have said that his kidneys were "failing"; he was just getting old and small and his kidneys were getting old and small. She was the one who turned out to be right.

For our cat's last two years, we hydrated him twice a day. At first we thought that we wouldn't be able to do it, but it's really easy, especially if your cat will tolerate it. We had a kitty heating pad for our little guy, and we'd put the bag of saline solution under it for a few minutes, to warm it up. He was great about tolerating things as long as he was the center of attention, so we were able to use the smallest needle. We'd hang the saline solution from the bookcase with a clothes hanger, use little post-it tabs to mark where we needed to let it go down to, slide the needle under his skin (you're not looking for a vein or anything) and just sit with him for a few minutes. I recommend trying it, when the time comes. You can see right away how much better they feel, which makes it easier. You'd want to know if you can do it and if your cat will tolerate it, and at least you'll know you tried.

Good luck!

[DeminPennswoods]

11. Thanks for all the replies

I lost my 19+ yr old cat 3 years ago to kidney disease at around 18, so I'm familiar with it. My vet's a believer in the prescription diets and that's what he was on, but he didn't like any of them. I finally went back to canned Friskies that he'd eaten his whole life.

My current cat is going on 12. He'd lost weight between his regular check ups, but not unexpected in a senior cat. Shortly thereafter, he went through a vomiting spell and I took him back to the vet who did bloodwork that showed his kidney function was slightly over the top "normal" value. I got him Hill's both dry and canned food which he would not eat. I also tried Royal Canin (they now make a sample box of all their kidney prescription food). He ate one of the dry foods, but once I bought it, he refused to eat it. I also tried Purina ProPlan canned, but he ate part of the can and then wouldn't eat it again. My vet isn't insisting on a prescription diet if he won't eat it.

Also a "My cat from hell" fan and saw the episode where Jackson recommended a high protein, grain-free diet and adding warm water to bring out the aroma. Right now I have settled on wet food, normal protein from meat and low phosphorous . The cat wolfed that down today and has kept everything down. That's where I'm at.

[Sedona]

12. I kept my kitty alive 5 years with subcutaneous irrigation

Google it