Fancy Feast Senior varieties

So after a recent trip to the vet where we discussed our cats' differing nutritional needs it is clear we need to make some adjustments.

Specifically for Roxy (who is 14, not 12 as I thought), Shylo and Hendrick. This is quite distressing as we only just went through a massive diet change and tried so many different types and brands of wet food to find the varieties that we feed today. But the problem is, at least according to my vet, a kitty Roxy's age should be fed a lower-protein, lower-phosphorus diet. We have been been feeding lower carb options to all the cats and it seems these tend to be higher protein/higher phosphorus -- at least the FF ones anyway.

So I am now looking into so-called Senior wet foods and I see FF has a couple. But I am struggling to understand what FF considers "senior" about these pates.

Take this one for example:
https://www.chewy.com/fancy-feast-chicken-feast-pate-senior/dp/243988

The spiel says it is packed with the protein older cats need. Has MORE protein than non-senior. But my vet said lower protein so less work for the kidneys is good for a cat Roxy's age.

And with Hendrick and Shylo both 10 years old, time to start feeding them a lower phosphorus, lower-protein diet as well she said. I hesitate to purchase this FF Senior without knowing the phosphorus level, which I cannot find.


Thoughts or suggestions? Feeding a lower-protein diet seems at odds with feeding low-carb. Low-carb and high-protein go hand-in-hand do they not? I thought this was the case but maybe not.

 

Hey Kyle, interesting that you posted this because I had a similar conversation with my Vet about Cleo since she's 10yrs old now. I'm not inclined to switch anything right now, not until she's regulated. Hendricks is regulated (very tightly!).
I found this link https://feline-nutrition.org/nutrition/dont-let-your-senior-cat-become-a-skinny-old-kitty perfect in answering your question and a ton of mine when it comes to Cleo's nutrition.
Interesting read.

 

Thank you! And of course, the more I read the less I know what I should do. This contradicts my vet's assertion that Roxy should be fed a diet reduced in protein. I wish I had been more informed, when my vet asserted that Roxy needs a lower-protein diet I would have countered with this info and it would have been interesting to see what she responded with.

"As cats age and reach 11 to 12 years of age, both caloric and protein intake should be progressively increased by a factor of 1.1 to 1.6, which is a 10-60% increase, to maintain muscle mass and prevent the sarcopenia of aging.⁶ ⁸ For geriatric cats, this increased need calculates to at least 6.0-8.5 g/kg/day"

[edit] I emailed my vet to ask for clarification. Referenced the above. We'll see what she says.

 

I tend to nod my head and smile at that Vet then do my own research. I realized this later than I should have when it came to managing FD. I was feeding the rx food, dosing based on Vet's sporatic spot checks not curves...I could go on and on. FYI I actually like my Vet Group Practice. I just wouldn't take my family doctor's advice on nutrition and meal prep since it's not his specialty. Just my $0.02 fwiw.

 

that's a good approach. I mean, I know she's right about the phosphorus and that is something we haven't worried about very much until now. We were just focused on finding LC canned/raw options Hendrick would actually eat.

but now that I look at phosphorus, some of Hen's favorite FF LC varieties have phosphorus numbers in the 400-500 range! Yikes!

 

Yikes! Maybe a phosphorus binder ? I'll throw it out there only because I started looking into it but really more experienced member would be better to answer.

 

I'm in the same boat. My vet told me low protein & low phosphorus for both of my boys. @Chris & China (GA) posted a small list on the FB group the other day, maybe she can help?

 

more on this, my vet called with the labs.

I will post them once she emails them to me. She said both Roxy and Shylo showed signs of slight dehydration, which is super-odd because we no longer feed kibble, have fountains and auto-waterers and they are all good drinkers.

Also said Roxy needs to be placed on a special diet to maintain her kidney health, has elevated BUN. They recommend prescription stuff like Hills KD of course. She said that the prescription food has protein from sources that are known to be easier on the kidneys? Which I find dubious.

@Suzanne & Darcy hopefully you can take a look at these labs for me when I get 'em

 

I sure will.

 

Your new favourite website: http://www.felinecrf.org/ Many vets jump the gun on feeding low protein. Besides having pages that will help you understand the blood work and what it means, there are pages on feeding as well: http://www.felinecrf.org/nutritional_requirements.htm Also note that kidney numbers might be higher on the blood work if they are dehydrated, so it might not be a good representation of values. If BUN is elevated from last time, the diet switch might be one reason.

 

Yes. Highly recommend felinecrf.org as well as Dr. lisa Pierson’s catinfo.org which has tons of information on feeding your cat and the problems with renal diets - she’s not a fan. In end stage renal disease these diets can play a role, but not for every cat that has an elevated BUN. I haven’t seen your labs yet, but there are so many factors that influence BUN. Creatinine is a more reliable test. Also, if Roxy is a little dehydrated for whatever reason, that in and of itself can raise BUN. What you really want to look at is urine specific gravity - to see if Roxy’s kidneys are concentrating urine appropriately (although even that is tricky as dehydration can also influence that number.). So we look at the overall picture too.

 

<3 Wendy

 

Low phosphorus is much more important than low protein. Phosphorus does create a strain on the kidneys to process. I will send you a list.

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobi...108bfO-9XgSQRxX7GucKaQ4ThpXriOJ8PCUS15nZXTiGg

Kyle, check out this list of low carb/low and moderate phosphorus foods. I started feeding a lot of the Weruva foods last year when Darcy got kidney disease. These lists are kept updated.

 

Of course you can go with meat mixed with EZ Complete, which is low phosphorus because they use eggshell calcium and not bones.

 

I would not go with a phos binder right off the bat because they have their own drawbacks (e.g. constipation). First, I would got for the low carb lower phos foods. I will know more when you are able to share the bloodwork.

 

yeah this is something I have been considering

 

oh yeah forgot to mention, there was something my vet offered which I found intriguing:

they have a partnership with the Cornell Animal Science people. They would refer me and then the people at Cornell, based on the labs and all the other information about Roxy, would develop a recipe for a homemade renal diet for Roxy.

 

Interesting