12/29 Hershey - Kidney Disease???

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Doug N Libby

Doug N Libby

Member Since 2012
When we went back for Hershey's extraction site check (12/23), the vet said he was concerned about some of Hershey's labwork, that it may show the beginning of kidney disease. WHAT?!?!?! :o He gave me a website to read and suggested some prescription foods. Then, he said to wait on any diet change until he can check out which is best for a diabetic cat.

He said he wanted to do repeat labs and Hershey's bladder was empty, so I tried to put it out of my mind (Yeah, right, Like THAT happened!) and focus of Christmas. A couple of days after Christmas, I came to FDMB and started reading condos, which led me to the kidney disease page, Tanya's?, I think. As I read, I just felt more and more lost, like I was drowning. I needed a little info now and time to process the rest. I had asked the vet about keeping Hershey on Wellness Turkey since it was lower in phos, but he said it was about more than just the phos content.

I'm trying to not full-out panic here, but I need to know what I can be doing now. What kind of food to look at? I'm guessing the treats are still the same? But, what about the MC or HC foods that I use. To be sure, they aren't appropriate.

I'm trying to reclaim my house post Christmas, trying to help Jessica get things started toward moving into school Jan 9th, Doug is down with his back and it seems I may now be having corneal erosions in my right eye (had them a few years ago in the left eye) - so I'm not seeing much out of that eye today, making being on the computer almost painful.

Hershey mostly seems well. All the P's and whatnot. His appy is off and he seems less steady the last few days, not sure what to make of it. But, he doesn't always land his jumps so well. His numbers are up and down, not sure if that's just Hershey or from all of the shot time changes. He went up after his dental, so we raised to .75u, but he's back down to .5u, fluctuating from green to yellow. Not really like Hershey, but hoping that part will settle down after the 9th, when we don't really have any other travel plans.

Sorry this isn't the usual condo format; I'll try to get back later and fix it, as well as visit, if my eye clears up.

Thanks for stopping by and for sharing any small, digestible nuggets of information that I can be chewing on.

Trying to breathe and not hyperventilate -

Libby (& Hershey, too!)
 
Oh, I'm sorry to hear about the CKD diagnosis. But there are many people on here managing it who can help you so much, like they did me :-D Marje is a wealth of info. Tanyas site is awesome...and very overwhelming so I hear you :o .

I did argue with my vet on using the prescription food, as it was way too high in carbs (and contains allergens for my cat). I was told by members to feed foods under 250mg/phos per kcal (under 200 is even better if you can) and ideally under 1% DM phos on Dr. Lisas charts. Of course, lower is better. Some mix the prescription food or other low phos foods that have higher carbs with LC food to even it out. We use a phosphorus binder now that her phosphorus levels are higher.

I know others will want to know, did they say what stage Hershey is in or give you his phosphorus/blood levels? I had to go buy new MC and HC foods, there are some lower phos ones. I bought Weruva cats in the kitchen pouches. I haven't changed my treats at all. We did add vitamins, since Chyna has anemia.

With Chynas allergies I am limited on many of the foods too. Several of the members have charts of the foods they feed in their signatures, I'm trying to remember who, I'm sorry I can't help more. I hope your eye heals soon. I just wanted to send you hugs :YMHUG:
 
Hi Libby,

My thoughts and prayers for a good outcome for Hershey. Also, he is repeating the labs so that will give you more information. I will pray

for better results. Anyway, I know that Weruva cat foods are lower in phosphorous. Paw lIckin chicken is under 200mg, peking ducken, nine liver, Nutro natural choice has lower phosphorous.

What carb percentage are you looking for? How about fat content does that matter? I hope someone more knowledge can help.
 
Libby --

I dropped Marje a note asking her to stop by. Do you happen to have Hershey's labs? That would be very helpful.

The info on Tanya's site is also available as a book if that's easier for you. There's a lot to learn about kidney issues but there was also a lot that you had to learn about FD. The front end of the learning curve is the toughest but you'll be able to get through it.
 
HI Libby,

Sorry for the CKD diagnosis. I think every kitty I ever owned came down with this, part of the routine with an aging kitty. There are several people on this forum that are very knowledgeable in this area and should be able to help you digest the avalanche of info. Tanya's site is also very good. I used that alot with my kitties.
 
(((Libby)))

Sienne sent me a note and I would be more than happy to help you any way I can. We've had four cats with kidney disease....3 were CKD and one was polycystic kidney disease which presents as CKD and is treated the same way but is a nasty beast; our kitty with PKD was the only one we lost to kidney disease. GA Gus was dx almost four years ago and when he just crossed (intestinal related), his CKD was still very stable and his phosphorus just about normal.

If you can put Hershey's labs on his SS (you can see how I've done Gracie's or Sienne has done Gabby's; Ann also has Tess's on there; Mariko has Lucy's just as some examples). I kept a SS on Gus and Teddi and monitored their bloodwork closely so it would be a good thing for you to have. I can look at his bloodwork and give you an indication of what you really are looking at and where you need to focus. I do think critical is phosphorus control, anemia control, and hydration. The first two need to be addressed as soon as you are seeing a change in numbers. We gave Gus subq fluids (150 mls/day) for three years but i didn't start until his creatinine got around 3.5. There are a lot of things you can do to be proactive and slow down the progression.

I never fed Gus any of the kidney diets. They are poor quality and, while the phosphorus and sodium are low, the protein is also not what it should be. As Rachel said, it's best to find foods as low in phosphorus as you can which are also low in carbs. The only foods which are actually "low phosphorus" are the prescription kidney diets but as long as I kept Gus on foods that were less than 1.00% phosphorus or under 200 mg P/100 kcal, and I used a binder, he did well. There are several LC foods to choose from.

So the first step is just being able to look at his bloodwork. BTW, Tanya's is the CKD bible and I've read just about every word and can find stuff pretty quickly now so if you need a reference and aren't sure where to find it, let me know and I can link it for you.
 
Strength and calming vines headed your way. At least you have some solid references to help you do the best you can for Hershey.
 
((((Libby)))) I know that there are lots of beans here who have dealt with CKD. Hershey will have lots of help. Tanya's site (and book) are terrific. Thinking of you and sending lots of vines to Hershey.

Hugs, scritches,

Ella & Rusty
 
LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU, LIBBY!!!!!!

I hope your eye(s) feel better and Doug's back feels better and Jessica gets all moved into school.

And then there's Hershey...well, I like the thought of being pro-active, but I don't want to put the cart before the horse, so to speak. So, therefore, I shall remain positively optimistic that your vet will redo the BW and realize that there was a glitch in the first set of BW and that Hershey is just being Hershey. However, if he is showing early signs of kidney disease...you couldn't be in better hands than Marje and most everyone else on this board.

For the time being, I will just send lots of love, cyber (((hugs))), kitty ***scritches*** and tons and tons of prayers and vines for you and your family (furry ones included)!

:YMHUG:
 
punkin also had the beginnings of CKD. When we switched to low-phosphorus food (Friskies Special Diet Turkey & Giblets) some of his numbers improved. That was the food that we could find locally that was low carb 4% and low phos, i think 168mg, perhaps. He liked it - i bought it at KMart. If you get it, make sure it's Special Diet, not senior diet.

His kidney values stayed fairly stable, never progressing to the point where we had to add a binder. We gave him 150ml of subq fluids every other day.

It's manageable. you'll be ok with it. sounds like your family has a lot going on right now, though. sending the best to all of you, Libby. :YMHUG:
 
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