Gary - diabetes and kidney problems

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Timjs17

Member Since 2017
Hi,

I've just joined up so that I can help my 6 year old cat, Gary, as much as possible. Gary is diabetic (diagnosed last September) and recently he was in hospital for around three weeks over two separate occasions as he had severe problems with his Kidneys. At one point we were fearing for him not making it, but thankfully he is back home and doing okay.

I worry about his blood levels getting worse again, so I'm keen on doing everything I can to help him. The main thing at the moment is his food. He's currently eating a mixtures of Hills i/d and k/d dry, alongside wet pouches of Sheba (in gravy). Now I know the sheba isn't probably the best thing for him, so my question is, what do you feed a diabetic cat with kidney problems?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

Tim & Gary
 
Hi Tim, welcome to you and Gary. Most of us that have kitties with both problems feed a wet, low carb, low Phosphorus food. We add extra water to it and, if necessary, a phos binder. The Hills dry you're feeding is very high in carbs, and dry food is not the best for any cat, but especially one with kidney issues. If you want to post your latest bloodwork numbers we have several members that are great at reading them and can give you more info.
 
Hi Tim,
What part of the world are you in? Foods available varies from country to country.

Getting him onto a wet low carb low phos diet would be ideal, though choices are limited. (NB the protein in his diet should be good quality protein too)

FWIW My George has stage 2 CKD, so I feed Granata pet, chicken. Thrive chicken, Terra faelis turkey, Terra faelis chicken, ferringa chicken and catnip. They are all under 1% P and range from 2-5% carbs. But these are only available in UK and Europe not the US/Canada/Aus.
Another option is to prepare a home diet and use a supplement which is phosphorus free like Felini Renal supplement
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Timjs17 said:
recently he was in hospital for around three weeks over two separate occasions as he had severe problems with his Kidneys
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Did he have DKA? If he did and his blood glucose is still running high I would recommend that you monitor his urine for ketones regularly, as kitties who have suffered DKA are more prone to developing ketones again (and they can come on fast), particularly if he has other things going on, eg a kitty that has an infection, is not eating, BG is running high, not enough insulin, has all the ingredients for developing DKA.
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for the quick replies!

He was suffering from DKA for quite some time whilst he was in hospital yes. His glucose was running high most of the time he was in hospital to, although now it is more reasonable (although still high from time to time).

I'll get a copy of the bloodwork tomorrow when I go back to the vets and then post this.

I have just bought some new wet food for him based on another forums' advice: Integra Protect Renal wet food. I think by the sounds of things it may be best to change his dry food again.

I'll get ge results posted tomorrow - thanks for all the help and advise in advance.

Many thanks,

Tim & Gary
 
Timjs17 said:
Hi everyone,

Thanks for the quick replies!

He was suffering from DKA for quite some time whilst he was in hospital yes. His glucose was running high most of the time he was in hospital to, although now it is more reasonable (although still high from time to time).

I'll get a copy of the bloodwork tomorrow when I go back to the vets and then post this.

I have just bought some new wet food for him based on another forums' advice: Integra Protect Renal wet food. I think by the sounds of things it may be best to change his dry food again.

I'll get ge results posted tomorrow - thanks for all the help and advise in advance.

Many thanks,

Tim & Gary
Click to expand...
Hi Tim, I also have a diabetic cat with kidney disease. I feed her a combination of Fancy Feast pates and Wellness Core Lamb, Beef & Venison. The Fancy Feast is high in phosphorous, but it's what she will eat and I add a phos binder which has brough her phos value down.

You definitely want to get Gary off of the dry food and onto a low phos/low carb caanned food. The choices are somewhat limited, but it is doable. Weruva is a good option if that is available to you. And if his phos is high, start giving a phos binder (you must mix that into the food).

There is a good Feline Chronic Kidney Disease group on Facebook if you are interested.

Jeanette
 
Weruva makes good low carb/low phosphorus foods.

Dry foods and food in gravy are not good for diabetic cats.

Are you open to learning how to test your cats bg at home?
 
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