Diet Problems

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JBHajos - 11 Jul 2004 15:20 GMT

Some of you have had problems keeping special-diet food separated from
kitties with different dietary needs. It can be daunting, can't it?
Hobo is diabetic and on a high-protein diet. He has a special
prescription DM food, both dry and canned, and fortunately likes it
and eats both with gusto. However, Speckles has a kidney problem,
currently has lost over two-thirds of kidney function. She also likes
Hobo's food, which is, of course, the complete opposite of what's good
for her. They are fed in different rooms but Speckles finds ways to
get to it. She was prescribed K/D food last summer but refused to
touch it, still does. Her vet says that's not uncommon and has given
her a special prescription food, which she ate heartily the first
couple of days. No more!! She won't even sniff at it!! So, while I
feel like I'm murdering my kitty, I've given in and reverted to her
beloved Fancy Feast, which isn't good for her but beats starving, and
believe me, she *does* starve herself rather than give in to K/D or
the special Eukanaba. But I think FF is better than the
diabetes-management food and try to keep her out of *that*.

Once a vet would give my non-eating cat a dose of Valium which would
make a cat eat *anything*. It worked but was only a temporary
Band-Aid treatment. Maybe I should try that and *force* her to eat
the prescribed food.

Jeanne
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Karen Chuplis - 11 Jul 2004 17:42 GMT

> Some of you have had problems keeping special-diet food separated from
> kitties with different dietary needs. It can be daunting, can't it?
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> My SETI team:
> http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/stats/team/team_125874.html

My vet said she used to prescibe strict prescription diet for her kidney
kits, but after a while with the number that wouldn't eat at all, it has
become her policy to get them to eat period whatever they will as that
causes less complications than not eating at all, which is what can happen.
If it eases your mind any, I believe there is a healthy debate going on in
the vet community that it is perhaps NOT a low protien diet that is the
answer and some believe higher protien diets are more important. I say as
long as you get her to eat it is better than not.

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JBHajos - 12 Jul 2004 13:35 GMT

>If it eases your mind any, I believe there is a healthy debate going on in
>the vet community that it is perhaps NOT a low protien diet that is the
>answer and some believe higher protien diets are more important. I say as
>long as you get her to eat it is better than not.

Yes, it *does* ease my mind. Thank you. I've been truly concerned
about it - we've resigned ourselves to the fact that we're going to
lose Speckles since she has only 1/3 kidney function and has lost a
pound in the past month - but I want her last to be "happy meals" and
if she enjoys what allegedly is not good for her, well, I guess that's
all right.

Jeanne

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Howard Berkowitz - 15 Jul 2004 09:26 GMT

> >If it eases your mind any, I believe there is a healthy debate going on
> >in
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Jeanne

Terry, my dog through my middle years and early adolescence, was
diagnosed with kidney failure and put on K/D. He hated it, and had been
given only six months to live even with it.

My mother decided to put him on Gravy Train, simply because he loved it.
He filled out, and lived almost 3 years longer, dying of cardiac, not
renal disease.

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JPHobbs - 15 Jul 2004 13:01 GMT

> > >If it eases your mind any, I believe there is a healthy debate going on
> > >in
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> >
> > Jeanne

> .>snip thats what my Henri died of, you have my sympathy Jeanne Jean.P.

> Terry, my dog through my middle years and early adolescence, was
> diagnosed with kidney failure and put on K/D. He hated it, and had been
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> renal disease
>.thats great, they used to say a little bit of what you fancy does you good

Jean.P.

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JBHajos - 16 Jul 2004 14:15 GMT

>Terry, my dog through my middle years and early adolescence, was
>diagnosed with kidney failure and put on K/D. He hated it, and had been
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>He filled out, and lived almost 3 years longer, dying of cardiac, not
>renal disease.

That's a wonderful story! And encouraging to hear. Good for your
Mom!!! So if Speckles is happier with her Fancy Feast, that's what
we'll do. Thanks for posting.

Jeanne

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Christine Burel - 12 Jul 2004 13:49 GMT

Jeanne, I sort of had to face that with my RB kitty Frodo who had both
kidney and liver problems. They started to show up when he was around 15.
He wouldn't eat the special foods either so I decided that quality of life
was most important for him and I let him eat his food. In other ways I
managed his conditions with daily lactacted ringer fluids for his kidneys
and prednisone for his liver. He lived to be 3 weeks shy of 21 and actually
had a good quality of life up until the last few months.
Christine

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zuzu22@webtv.net - 16 Jul 2004 15:32 GMT

The big issue with feeding a CRF cat is phosphorus levels in food. Most
brands of Fancy Feast are much too high. This following chart has
phosphorus levels for a variety of different foods:
http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/jmpeerson/canfood.html
You may be able to find something that has lower phosphorus levels that
Fancy Feast that your cat will eat. Wellness or Innova Light are good
options you might want to try.

Megan

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JBHajos - 17 Jul 2004 15:27 GMT

>The big issue with feeding a CRF cat is phosphorus levels in food. Most
>brands of Fancy Feast are much too high. This following chart has
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>Fancy Feast that your cat will eat. Wellness or Innova Light are good
>options you might want to try.

Thank you so much!!! I didn't know about the phosphorus angle.
I've checked out the chart and will go by that. There *are* some
flavors of Fancy Feast that Speckles won't eat and I can avoid those
with higher phosphorus content. She's so darn picky she won't eat the
Iams or others prepared for "mature" cats. I'll most definitely try
the Wellness/Innova Light. The prescription foods are so dense she
acts as though she's trying to gag down peanut butter! I do want her
to have what's best for her. I'm already moved to tears sometimes
when I think of what's ahead for her.

(As an aside, I'm indebted to Megan for her help when I was a
terrified newby with Hobo's diabetes. I knew absolutely zilch about
the disease. Megan spent hours of her time talking with me and
gathering and sending invaluable information, which I still keep handy
and refer to. Hobo is stable now, doing very well, gained back the
four pounds he'd lost, and looks and acts great. Also I found a vet
who not only OKs home testing but recommends the best testers!)

Jeanne

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