? My cat has gotten complicated

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Ruefrex

Member Since 2014
Hi folks! I haven't posted here in years because when my cat Travis was diagnosed with diabetes, everyone here was so helpful that he only needed insulin for a week and hasn't needed it since. But now I have a few new wrinkles. I took him to the vet last week because he's been vomiting every day. Usually a food log, and not right after he eats. Also usually on the bed, which is super awesome of him.

He got a shot of Cerenia and the vet gave me four 8mg tablets. No vomiting until yesterday, two days after he had the last pill. The vet is going to give me four more days' worth, but doesn't recommend him being on it longer than that. She said it's probably related to the fact that his kidney values are up (I don't have the labs yet but will get them today). His appetite is absolutely fine. No changes in behavior.

She wanted me to start him on Hill's k/d. She said it would be fine with the diabetes. IT IS NOT FINE. The carb level is horrifying! He's been stabilized on nothing but Fancy Feast classics. I'm not going to feed him something that will turn him back into a fella needing insulin. I've been doing a lot of research on food and it's super hard to find one that's low enough in carbs, phosphorous and protein. So I can't really control the vomiting if he can't be on Cerenia, and I can't feed him the k/d diet. Does anyone have any suggestions about how I can handle this?

Thank you in advance!

:-)

Kay
 
If kidney values are high feed low carb low phosphorus food. I feed Tiki cat and bff cans.
 
Unfortunately Fancy Feast classics are terrible for phosphorous levels :blackeye:. What country are you in Kay? Have you checked the updated FOOD CHART? You can use the Extensive filters option to search for low carb and lower phos foods :).
 
Yong said:
Unfortunately Fancy Feast classics are terrible for phosphorous levels :blackeye:. What country are you in Kay? Have you checked the updated FOOD CHART? You can use the Extensive filters option to search for low carb and lower phos foods :).
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I'm in the U.S. And yes, I've been all over the food charts!! What worries me a little is that a number of them have high protein, and that isn't recommended for the kidney issue. The Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore seems perfect but they don't make it anymore. Same with the Whole Earth Farms. I'm going to talk to the vet tomorrow about using a phosphorous binder. My biggest worry at the moment is the vomiting, and the fact that the vet won't let him stay on Cerenia, which works.

I did get his labs, and the two elevated values are SDMA (at 16, 2ug over the top range) and BUN (41mg, 4 over the top range).
 
Ruefrex said:
I'm in the U.S. And yes, I've been all over the food charts!! What worries me a little is that a number of them have high protein, and that isn't recommended for the kidney issue. The Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore seems perfect but they don't make it anymore. Same with the Whole Earth Farms. I'm going to talk to the vet tomorrow about using a phosphorous binder. My biggest worry at the moment is the vomiting, and the fact that the vet won't let him stay on Cerenia, which works.

I did get his labs, and the two elevated values are SDMA (at 16, 2ug over the top range) and BUN (41mg, 4 over the top range).
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What is the creatnine?
 
Ruefrex said:
I'm in the U.S. And yes, I've been all over the food charts!! What worries me a little is that a number of them have high protein, and that isn't recommended for the kidney issue. The Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore seems perfect but they don't make it anymore. Same with the Whole Earth Farms. I'm going to talk to the vet tomorrow about using a phosphorous binder. My biggest worry at the moment is the vomiting, and the fact that the vet won't let him stay on Cerenia, which works.

I did get his labs, and the two elevated values are SDMA (at 16, 2ug over the top range) and BUN (41mg, 4 over the top range).
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You don't need low protien until the cat is stage 4.
 
JanetNJ said:
Ok so only stage 2. Have you checked out Tanya's ckd site?

http://www.felinecrf.org/how_bad_is_it.htm
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Yep! I read everything and looked at her food chart as well. I'm relieved about the protein. That makes it easier! I've seen suggestions about adding baby food and probiotics, as well as phosphorous binders. I'm a little leery about trying something like that, although my vet hasn't been very helpful. I want to get his vomiting under control!
 
Ruefrex said:
Yep! I read everything and looked at her food chart as well. I'm relieved about the protein. That makes it easier! I've seen suggestions about adding baby food and probiotics, as well as phosphorous binders. I'm a little leery about trying something like that, although my vet hasn't been very helpful. I want to get his vomiting under control!
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I would wait on the binder. This early food Change to a lower phosphorus food is often enough to bring it down. What is the current phosphorus level?
 
BTW I'm in the same situation. Cc was recently found to have early ckd and I'm working on bringing her phosphorus down as well. My cat Zimmy had ckd.... For him a food Change brought his phosphorus from 4.9 to 3.9 in about 10 weeks. Hopefully cc will have the same kind of results. She's currently at 5.6. I want that down closer to 4-4.5
 
JanetNJ said:
I would wait on the binder. This early food Change to a lower phosphorus food is often enough to bring it down. What is the current phosphorus level?
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Phosphorous level is 4.1. He was doing so well on the Fancy Feast, I was wondering if a binder would bring that down to a decent level or if it's better to just try foods that are naturally lower in phosphorous.
 
JanetNJ said:
BTW I'm in the same situation. Cc was recently found to have early ckd and I'm working on bringing her phosphorus down as well. My cat Zimmy had ckd.... For him a food Change brought his phosphorus from 4.9 to 3.9 in about 10 weeks. Hopefully cc will have the same kind of results. She's currently at 5.6. I want that down closer to 4-4.5
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I like hearing that changing the food worked!!!
 
One wants the phosphorus level to be below the middle of the normal range. I do not know the normal rand for your labs.
Do you know the urine specific gravity (USG)? USG is a very good indicator of kidney function.
 
Ruefrex said:
Phosphorous level is 4.1. He was doing so well on the Fancy Feast, I was wondering if a binder would bring that down to a decent level or if it's better to just try foods that are naturally lower in phosphorous.
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Ok so at 4.1 is not really high but you want to keep it that way. :) so best to switch to a lower phosphorus food. No binder needed until your over like 6. There's a good ckd cat forum on Facebook called Cats with Chronic Renal Failure. Very knowledgeable group
 
JanetNJ said:
Ok so at 4.1 is not really high but you want to keep it that way. :) so best to switch to a lower phosphorus food. No binder needed until your over like 6. There's a good ckd cat forum on Facebook called Cats with Chronic Renal Failure. Very knowledgeable group
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Thank you!!!
 
Larry and Kitties said:
One wants the phosphorus level to be below the middle of the normal range. I do not know the normal rand for your labs.
Do you know the urine specific gravity (USG)? USG is a very good indicator of kidney function.
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The range is 2.9-6.3. Specific gravity is 1.025, no range given for that one.
 
4.1 is around the middle so you really do not not need to lower it but you do need low phosphorus food or use a little binder to maintain the level around the middle of the range.
a USG of 1.025 indicate a moderate degree of kidney insufficiency
 
Larry and Kitties said:
4.1 is around the middle so you really do not not need to lower it but you do need low phosphorus food or use a little binder to maintain the level around the middle of the range.
a USG of 1.025 indicate a moderate degree of kidney insufficiency
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Thanks. Regarding the phosphorous, I'm looking at food under 200. Do you think going up a little would be okay? Just trying to find the best combo of low phosphorous and low carbs. And he's still vomiting. Does anyone know if there's something else I can do to combat that since the vet won't keep him on Cerenia?
 
Ruefrex said:
Thanks. Regarding the phosphorous, I'm looking at food under 200. Do you think going up a little would be okay? Just trying to find the best combo of low phosphorous and low carbs. And he's still vomiting. Does anyone know if there's something else I can do to combat that since the vet won't keep him on Cerenia?
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My CKD kitty (2nd stage) completely stopped vomiting with her first dose of pepcid AC - 1/4 of a 10 mg tab before breakfast and dinner. I give it to her in cooper sharp cheese, and she loves it. Now, she's down to only once a day, before dinner. (She also eats during the day, but the dose was only twice daily.) Also, you can buy the store brand of famotidine, and not the name brand. It's a lot cheaper.

She's eating low carb and low phosphorus, along with EZ complete raw chicken (which she loves). For canned food I use Weruva Chicken Frick-A-Zee and Dave's Beef and Chicken Pate. Dave's is low in protein, but Weruiva's and the raw chicken make up for that. Not all cats like Dave's but mine is not fussy. I mix it with other foods so my other fussy cats will eat it. (It's inexpensive, and Weruva is costly, so I need to balance it out a little.)

Edited to add: She did vomit one time from phosphorus binder, which is not a common side effect. She also stopped eating (for two meals) after two doses. I stopped the pho binder, and I won't try it again. She's eating great again, as usual.
 
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Ruefrex said:
Thanks. Regarding the phosphorous, I'm looking at food under 200. Do you think going up a little would be okay? Just trying to find the best combo of low phosphorous and low carbs. And he's still vomiting. Does anyone know if there's something else I can do to combat that since the vet won't keep him on Cerenia?
Click to expand...
When he pukes is it his food he's puking? Hairball? Or clear or yellow bile?
 
Daddy Jack's Mommy said:
My CKD kitty (2nd stage) completely stopped vomiting with her first dose of pepcid AC - 1/4 of a 10 mg tab before breakfast and dinner. I give it to her in cooper sharp cheese, and she loves it. Now, she's down to only once a day, before dinner. (She also eats during the day, but the dose was only twice daily.) Also, you can buy the store brand of famotidine, and not the name brand. It's a lot cheaper.

She's eating low carb and low phosphorus, along with EZ complete raw chicken (which she loves). For canned food I use Weruva Chicken Frick-A-Zee and Dave's Beef and Chicken Pate. Dave's is low in protein, but Weruiva's and the raw chicken make up for that. Not all cats like Dave's but mine is not fussy. I mix it with other foods so my other fussy cats will eat it. (It's inexpensive, and Weruva is costly, so I need to balance it out a little.)

Edited to add: She did vomit one time from phosphorus binder, which is not a common side effect. She also stopped eating (for two meals) after two doses. I stopped the pho binder, and I won't try it again. She's eating great again, as usual.
Click to expand...
Thank you!!! I just got the Dave's. He loves it. But I'm extremely lucky because he will literally eat ANYTHING.
 
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