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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / September 2006prescription foods for Kidney disease/failure
We just found out that Jasmine, our 13-yr-old cuddle-cat has (at a minimum) kidney disease. We are waiting on the urine test to find out if it has progressed to CRF yet. But both her vets prescribed low-protein cat food because of the elevated creatin levels in her blood test (her BUN level is exactly at the high end of "normal"). I have samples of several brands, but I wondered if anyone in the group has any decided opinions based on experience (good or bad) with various brands of the special low-protein Rx foods for kidney disease and failure. > We just found out that Jasmine, our 13-yr-old cuddle-cat has (at a > minimum) kidney disease. We are waiting on the urine test to find out [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > brands of the special low-protein Rx foods for kidney disease and > failure. HI Elizabeth, I've been using Hill's K/D chicken canned food. Molly, my geriatric kitty seems to like it. I've heard the regular K/D isn't as palatable Good luck, Bonnie > HI Elizabeth, > I've been using Hill's K/D chicken canned food. Molly, my geriatric kitty > seems to like it. I've heard the regular K/D isn't as palatable > > Good luck, Bonnie Hi Bonnie, Thanks! The vet gave me samples of four different wet foods. Today we're trying the second food -- the K/D chicken. JazzyCat seems to like it a bit better than the Eukanuba (sp?)! Elizabeth >> HI Elizabeth, >> I've been using Hill's K/D chicken canned food. Molly, my geriatric [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Elizabeth Molly wasn't too crazy about it at first but I mixed it with her favorite food til now she's eating it without adding any other cat food. Good luck finding a food she likes! They sure can be picky! Bonnie > > Hi Bonnie, > > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Bonnie I've started "rating" the various brands (writing on the can with a marks-alot marker, so I don't forget -- I'm also a bit on the "geriatric" side ;)). Thus far, Eukanuba Multi-stage Renal gets a C- from the JazzyGirl; Hills k/d with Chicken gets a B-; and Purina NF Kidney Function (which she almost gobbled!) gets a B+ to an A- (she'll get two more feedings from this can before I decide a final rating :)). Tomorrow, she'll get to try a pouch food, Royal Canin Renal LP -- made by the same folks who make the IVD modified. They told me on the phone that the difference is palitability and acceptablitiy to individual cats -- the IVD is, like the other three brands we've tried, a canned food with the normal "mush" texture of most canned food; while the Renal LP is chunks and gravy (and also requires twice as many 3-oz pouches as we would need of 6-oz cans). I'm saving the Royal Canin Renal LP for last, since Jazzy has eaten chunks and gravy food all of her life, so she's likely to be most disposed to it. However -- her raction to the Purina NF this morning really brought a smile to my heart! BTW, Jasmine seems to be feeling better since she started on these foods (Monday evening) -- she's more active and seems to want to be part of whatever is going on with the other two cats, and also seems to be peeing less (while her nose continues to be cold and wet [which has been characteristic of her since we've had her], so I'm not concerned that she's dehydrating). Did Molly show a discernable improvement when she started the Rx diet? Elizabeth PS -- our young male cat (RugRat) has just discovered that I had the "empty" cans here on the desk while I was typing, and has begun to lick every remaining hint of the k/d chicken out of it's can. The Eukanba --eh...not so much! Maybe I'll have to consider raising the Hills k/d rating to a full B ;) Ah, the joys of multi-cat families!! > I've started "rating" the various brands (writing on the can with a > marks-alot marker, so I don't forget -- I'm also a bit on the > "geriatric" side ;)). Great idea! Thus far, Eukanuba Multi-stage Renal gets a C- > from the JazzyGirl; Hills k/d with Chicken gets a B-; and Purina NF > Kidney Function (which she almost gobbled!) gets a B+ to an A- (she'll > get two more feedings from this can before I decide a final rating :)). I'd like to try the Purina--I don't know if my vet carries it. Molly so far is doing well with the k/d. She's even eating the regular k/d which isn't supposed to be as palatible. > Tomorrow, she'll get to try a pouch food, Royal Canin Renal LP -- made > by the same folks who make the IVD modified. They told me on the phone [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > raction to the Purina NF this morning really brought a smile to my > heart! Fabulous! > BTW, Jasmine seems to be feeling better since she started on these > foods (Monday evening) -- she's more active and seems to want to be > part of whatever is going on with the other two cats, and also seems to > be peeing less (while her nose continues to be cold and wet [which has > been characteristic of her since we've had her], so I'm not concerned > that she's dehydrating). That's great! Are you going to be giving fluids at all? > Did Molly show a discernable improvement when she started the Rx diet? > Elizabeth Molly was pretty dehydrated when she was diagnosed and wasn't eating very much. She showed the biggest improvement once we got her on fluids--intially my vet was mainly concerned she wasn't getting enough calories so we were feeding Molly whatever she would eat. We've been gradually adding the k/d and now she's getting just k/d so I haven't seen a dramatic difference just from the food. She's obviously feeling much better since the new regime began so something's working! > PS -- our young male cat (RugRat) has just discovered that I had the > "empty" cans here on the desk while I was typing, and has begun to lick > every remaining hint of the k/d chicken out of it's can. The Eukanba > --eh...not so much! Maybe I'll have to consider raising the Hills k/d > rating to a full B ;) My other cats love licking out the empty cans as well. > Ah, the joys of multi-cat families!! How well I know--I have 7! Mealtimes can be fun with two or three on different diets for various reasons! Bonnie > > BTW, Jasmine seems to be feeling better since she started on these > > foods (Monday evening) -- she's more active and seems to want to be [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > That's great! Are you going to be giving fluids at all? No fluids yet. She doesn't seem to be dehydrated at all yet. > Molly was pretty dehydrated when she was diagnosed and wasn't eating very > much. She showed the biggest improvement once we got her on [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > dramatic difference just from the food. She's obviously feeling much better > since the new regime began so something's working! That's terrific. When I first found out that Jasmine's blood work indicated that she should be on the kidney diet for the rest of her life, I began looking up suppliers on the web, and found myself in various web sites for CRF. Jazzy has a number of the symptoms -- like drinking alot, peeing so much that it overwhelms the clumping cat litter, retinal problems, dental problems (she had most of her teeth extracted a couple of months ago), constipation and possible hypertension. I felt devistated at first when I read about CRF-- but hearing that Molly is doing well give me much needed peace. Jazzy's blood work was on the high side of normal two months ago (when she had her teeth extracted), and only now is in the "elevated" stage. The vet is waiting for the specific gravity test on the urine to determine if Jazzy actually has CRFailure or "simply" renal disease. The three symptoms of CRF that Jazz does not have yet are apitite loss, weight loss (in fact she is still grossly overweight) or dehydration. The vet also indicated that some of the other blood results which were normal in Jasmine's blood, would be expected to be elevated if she had CRF. So... the vet said that her BUN and creatinine levels were high enough to indicate that she should be on the prescription kidney diet for the rest of her life. Do you administer the sub-Q fluids at home, or do you take Molly to the vet? If you administer at home, what's involved in the process? Does it seem to cause pain to Molly? Will she come to you for the treatment, or do you have to hunt her down in some hide-i-hole in the back corner under the bed? Elizabeth >> > BTW, Jasmine seems to be feeling better since she started on these >> > foods (Monday evening) -- she's more active and seems to want to be [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Elizabeth Hi Elizabeth, I've been giving Molly her fluids at home and so far she's tolerated it very well. She sits on my lap and purrs! Am I lucky or what! She's a very mellow cat and has always been easy to handle. They love her at the vet's. Occasionally she will flinch a bit but mostly is just happy to be petted. I give her treats as the fluid goes in--she really likes that. I'm using 18 gauge needles which are quite large--the main benefit is that the fluid goes in quicker. I warm up the fluid bag in a bowl of warm water--more comfortable for the kitty. I find it easier with two people--we hang the fluid bag on a nail over a door, I hold Molly on my lap and poke her and my husband watches the level of the fluid. Some people like a smaller needle because it doesn't hurt as much but it does take longer to administer the fluid. I really am not an expert on this--we just started this CFR journey this August but she's doing so much better that right now I'm very pleased. I'm also giving Molly Omega-3 supplementation--it's an anti-inflammatory as well and anti-oxidant and is supposed to be good for kidney issues. I don't know if that would help Jazzy or not--she seems to be at an earlier stage of disease than Molly. We've been supplementing her diet with potassium for a while now and with the increase in fluids we're increased her dosage of that as well. For several years Molly's BUN and Creatinine have been slightly on the high side--it may be that Jazzy won't need fluids for quite a while! Good luck! Bonnie My Isabelle is on IVD Modified dry and wet. She likes both. The vet suggested that because he said, in his experience, a lot of cats don't like the K/D dry. W > We just found out that Jasmine, our 13-yr-old cuddle-cat has (at a > minimum) kidney disease. We are waiting on the urine test to find out [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > brands of the special low-protein Rx foods for kidney disease and > failure. > My Isabelle is on IVD Modified dry and wet. She likes both. The vet > suggested that because he said, in his experience, a lot of cats don't like > the K/D dry. > > W Thanks! My vet gave us four wet foods to try (my JazzyGirl recently had most of her teeth pulled, so wet food is the food of choice!). But she didn't give me a sample of IVD Modified wet. I'll be sure to check with her to see if she thinks it would work for Jazzy and if she has any samples on hand. Do you order yours on line or buy it locally? >> My Isabelle is on IVD Modified dry and wet. She likes both. The vet >> suggested that because he said, in his experience, a lot of cats don't [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Do you order yours on line or buy it locally? I get it from the vet. I haven't found a source online yet. W
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