? Food suggestions for diabetic, hyperthyroidism and the beginnings of kidney disease

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Laura and Gremlin (GA)

Laura and Gremlin (GA)

Member Since 2015
Hello everyone!
It's been such a long time since I was last on FDMB. Everyone is different! I apologise for being so absent. Only a few of you might remember me and Gremlin from L&L!

The main reason I'm here is I have a pressing question. Poor Gremlin has started to go downhill this year. He's almost 3 years diabetic, very regulated (I may need to update my signature), and was diagnosed and started treatment for hyperthyroidism just over two months ago. The medication for his thyroid was working so well, he came off insulin for two weeks! Then his BGL started to rise again, though it is great in between shots when though he's only on 0.1u of Lantus! Then he started to get really hungry again and started losing more weight. I figured his thyroid must be getting worse so took him in for bloods today. When they took blood they found a lump where his thyroid gland is so they assumed thyroid too and continued with the test, also testing his kidneys as thyroid can mask issues. Bloods came back and his thyroid is just fine! Medication is working well. But... He has early stages of kidney disease which means a diet change. Again!

I need some help as to what foods are going to be suitable please!?! I live in Australia. He currently has Fancy Feast pates and Dine trays with no cereal added.

Of course, the kidney disease hasn't caused the lump, or the hunger, or the weight loss. They're suspecting cancer :( For now though, food advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance and my apologies for such a long post.
 
Hi Laura and Gremlin,
I remember you both well.:) Lovely to see you again.
I am sorry to hear Gremlin has not been doing as well this year. His SS is great! I do hope the lump in his thyroid is not cancer.
The Fancy Feast foods are too high in phosphorus so I would ditch them ASAP. I don't know about the Dine sorry.

Weruva brand 'cats in the Kitchen' which can be bought at Petbarn stores have the carb and phosphorus levels in their website. I bought some of them for Sheba as she also had early stage CRD. They have several different lots but cats in the kitchen and bff are the only ones available here in Australia. If you go to the bottom of the Weruva page in the link you will see 'mineral content per100kcal'.
Look for ones with phosphorus level 200 or under. It is the phosphorus you need to be concerned about.
http://weruva.com/catsitk-cans-nutrition.php

Lisa Pierson's food charts also list the phosphorus levels. You might find something there that is low carb and low phosphorus.
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

I put Sheba on a home made diet which was low in phosphorus which you might like to see. She had it for about two and a half to three years and her kidney levels remained the same.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/home-prepared-diet-of-crd-cats.150441/
Bron
 
Bron and Sheba said:
Hi Laura and Gremlin,
I remember you both well.:) Lovely to see you again.
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Bron, it's lovely to hear from you!!

I'm not sure if the shop here has BFF anymore. Grem does occasionally have Cats in the kitchen, he can be quite fussy though so I'm not sure how he'll go on it full time. And it's more expensive :( Has to be done though! I might look into your home made recipe instead to save some money!

Thank you so much for the information! I'll do a bit of research and see what I can come up with.
 
Okay, so I went shopping and bought the below food today. He began by eating it fine, even gobbling it down! Dinner time and he didn't want it anymore :( I still have more varieties to try, fingers crossed! Oh, and his BGL was even higher this evening too.
PicsArt_07-20-10.38.17.jpg
I don't understand what is making his BGL go up (only before his shot, still low between shots), making him lose weight and be more hungry! He doesn't need more insulin, and his thyroid level is regulated. CKD makes them lose their appetite from what I know. Surely cancer wouldn't make him more hungry. Any ideas?
 
No real idea why his BSL should be a bit higher unless the carbs were higher than he is used to or he ate a lot more. SS still looking pretty good though.
If he won't eat some of the food from an opened can, freeze it in an iceblock tray for later. I used to do that with high carb food when I opened a can or pouch for Sheba when she dropped low and she didn't need it all. It unfreezes fine and stops wastage.
What about some cooked chicken breast...would he like that? It's not a complete food for cats but as long as it's not more than 10 or 20% of the total food intake it should be fine.
 
Laura and Gremlin said:
He loves raw chicken and at one point he was on a strict cooked chicken diet due to bowel issues so he will eat it. I'll get some chicken breast tomorrow for him. Maybe it'll help him feel fuller for longer.

Thank you Bron :)
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I feed raw chicken to Harry most days so if he can tolerate raw that is fine too.
What about chicken hearts? Harry loves them. Not more than about 2 or 3 a day though because of phosphorus. They are full of nutrients.
 
Bron and Sheba said:
I feed raw chicken to Harry most days so if he can tolerate raw that is fine too.
What about chicken hearts? Harry loves them. Not more than about 2 or 3 a day though because of phosphorus. They are full of nutrients.
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I've never tried hearts. If I struggle to get him off Fancy Feast then I'll need to avoid anything with high phosphorous until I can get his diet changed. I'll keep trying over the next week with different foods and add in chicken to dilute the amount of phosphorous FF he's getting.
Thanks!
 
Beck and Grandpa said:
Hi. I've had a few furry family members with CKD in the past few years, and the info I found at Tanya's page and support group were to me then what this site is to me now with a diabetes diagnosis. Lots of good info, food lists, and support.

https://www.felinecrf.org/
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Thank you! I've already had a bit of a browse there. I'm actually at the point of ignoring the CKD as his diabetes has gone nuts in the last few days and he's now barely eating. I just need to get him eating again so he's not losing even more weight, and get his BGL back under control :(
 
Hills Science Diet k/d with chicken is 27 carb, 84 phosphorus. Does anyone know what the protein level is?

Found it. It's so low. And the phosphorus is really low too. But carbs are so high!

I've found conflicting info about other foods too. It's hard to know what's correct.
 
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I've been digging through the food chart and found some foods that might suit you if you have them where you live. The first is Halo: their grain free Spot's pate turkey & duck has 36 protein, 5 carbs, and 201 phos. Their grain free Spot's choice shredded turkey is 25 protein, 10 carb, 179 phos and the shredded chicken is 25 protein, 9 carb, and 155 phos. I and Love and You's Wholly Cow is 34 protein, 3 carbs, and 140 phos, but it's only a 3oz can. Koha limited ingredient pate in turkey is 30 protein, 8 carbs, and 195 phos. Nature's Logic in beef has 33 protein, 4 carbs, and 117 phos. Nature's Recipe grain free in broth has chicken, chicken & salmon, and chicken & turkey that are 60/59/58 in protein, 6/5/2/ in carbs, and 194/198/190 in phos. but only for a 2.75 oz can. Organix grain free chicken pate is 31 protein, 4 carbs, and 182 phos. and the turkey pate is 27 protein, 5 carbs, and 193 phos. Pinnacle chicken and ocean fish is 27 protein, 5 carbs, and 172 phos. Purina Pro Plan Focus urinary tract health chicken and gravy is 46 protein, 9 carbs, and 185 phos. and the turkey and giblets is 35 protein, 4 carbs, and 187 phos. Soulistic pate and shreds chicken is 31 protein, 3 carbs, and 154 phos.

Hopefully, one of the above foods will be something you can use and have access to as well as be in your budget.
 
Thank you Alicia. Unfortunately most of those I can't get here and the ones I can, he refuses to eat. It's a constant battle! I've found two foods so far that he'll eat but I'm still giving him FF and Dine trays to supplement. I know when his CKD gets worse they will just have to go. I wish he wasn't so fussy! He refuses to eat anything if there's even a spec of food he doesn't like in it.
 
Know the feeling @Laura and Gremlin . I am in New Zealand and had such problems. Ty wouldn't really eat a raw food diet either though I did try.

Personal opinion here.

His CKD is early stage? II ? His age is 15 + ?

Diabetes trumps CKD. Far more important to give him what he will eat .

He may have early CKD but that is a how long is a piece of string thing.

Given his age and diabetes stick with what you know for now. Keep the protein up. He progresses with the CKD, then rethink.
 
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