3/4 Uncle AMPS 138, +3 92 +5 67, +7 89, +9 124, PMPS 170, +2.5 140, +5 110

[Taffysmama]

When you take a good look at the lines on a handful of needles

I know, I have had a few bags of syringes lately that are a mess!

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Thank you for taking the time to look at Uncle's labs and let me know your evaluations.
Unfortunately I'm already adding water to his food at every meal and have been since his diabetes dx. so I probably can't improve there. I make it the consistency of gravy.

The questions I have right now, and please just get back to me whenever is most convenient for you, are the following:
Have you heard of "Chitosan"? The Darwin's Kidney Support food we've been discussing says they use it as an ingredient for a P binder
Going forward, how often and/or at what intervals should I get blood work & urine tests done so that I can best keep track of Uncle's numbers?
Should I call Darwin's to ask them if they us feds as guaranteed analysis?

Chitosan helps with uremia and, theoretically, absorbs the toxins produced from the kidneys not working well. It is not a P binder in and of itself so I think they are stretching that a bit but it is often mixed with calcium carbonate which is a phosphorus binder. Egg whites lower the overall P level. They do mention they add extra Ca to minimize P absorption.

There are a lot of ingredients to thismfood that I think are unnecessary but not harmful. If I had a CKD cat, this food would be on my feeding list because of the other high quality ingredients and the fact that it is raw.

I never fed Darwin regular raw food because their P levels are so darn high due to the ground bone. A healthy cat can process the P in the food and a young cat needs the higher P. But I figure, why tax the kidneys more than they need to be with so much P even though the ground bone is good for cats. The exception is, of course, kittens, who need the high P and bone for their developing bones.

Now Darwin's has this renal diet with a lower P.

It would be good to find out if their as feds and DMB are the same as their GA or why they mentioned it like that. It would also be good to find out what the P is on a DMB in terms of mg of P/100 kcal. The other thing I would ask them is the source for all their minerals. Many companies state the food is made in the USA and it IS but the ingredients, particularly minerals, are sourced elsewhere and "elsewhere" is often China.

Your goal for his P level right now is no more than 2.57-4.59. At Stage 2, Tanya's suggests testing every six months as long as kitty is stable.

That gives you time to read through the essential sections on Tanya's. It is really an excellent resource.

 

[Barbara & Uncle (GA)]

Thank you again Marje for taking the time to evaluate Uncle's labs, answer my questions and point me to Tanya's website. This will allow me to have a more educated discussion with the vet and continue to search for food that will support his health as much as possible.

I went to Tanya's website to investigate food recommendations and now am leaning against the Darwin's Intelligent design Kidney Support. Too many unnecessary ingredients as you noted and a few she does not recommend. Also, it seems they have not been helpful to her when trying to figure dry matter analysis.
These comments were taken directly from the website "This is a raw food diet which contains lots of vegetables (unnecessary for CKD cats) and some questionable ingredients such as parsley and dandelion (diuretics), cranberries, and cod liver oil. None of these is recommended for CKD cats. Despite repeated requests, the manufacturer has not been able to provide me with the dry matter analysis figures for this food, so I can only tell you the minimum levels." Honestly it seems impossible to find a pre-made raw food that meets all of Uncle's requirements, but the above comments as well as the fact that they add salt (and as you now his sodium level is a bit high) makes it a deal breaker.
Seems like I'll be defaulting to canned food or looking into making my own.