Help diabetic renal kitty

[Joysunsun]

My cat was in remission but diabetic again numbers really high - 28-35. I believe because of his food (recipe changed I didn’t know) In the process of being assessed we found out he had kidney problems with high creatinine. He needs food that’s suitable for his kidneys, vet said to prioritise this over diabetes.

can anyone please recommend a food that is low enough carb but still suitable for diabetes uk based.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi Joy take a look at the UK food list here it lists the carbs and low phosphorus % for cats with kidney issues https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml

I also found this on the Amazon.com UK which is also low carb low phosphorus
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weruva-TruLuxe-Steak-Frites-Pumpkin/dp/B00IQ5XCOM/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=weruva cat food&qid=1682054985&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1
It's the only one they listed for weruva food carbs 5.50
118 mg phosphorus
Remove the sweet potatoes that are in it, one of our members said she does that
What were you feeding?

I hope this helps

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

As Diane has shown, there are foods around that are low carb and suitable for cats with kidney issues. If you have changed to a kidney diet, that will be a high carb diet and would certainly thrown him out of remission.
Most cats, unless they are very advanced with the kidney disease, dont need to low protein high catn diet that vets recommend. That is old thinking. The thinking now is that cats with kidney problems need low phosphorus foods. Low protein given too early in CRD causes musles mass loss and is not recommended.
Look at the Weruva website. They have a good range of low phosphorus, high protein, low carb options. Look for foods that have less than 250 mg phosphorus/100 kcals.
I would definitely get him back onto a low carb diet.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Hi sorry to hear about the kidney diagnose, but hang in there it is manageable but not quite as the vet thinks prioritizing kidneys and forgetting about diabetes is not really going to help since uncontrolled diabetes can put more strain in his kidneys so you need to address both issues, and choosing some of the low carb, low phosphorus, high protein food as they have suggested is the best way of doing it.

 

[Joysunsun]

Thank you so much I really appreciate that! He was on whiskas - it was low carb. Now he’s on Sainsbury’s complete nutrition. But obviously I need something else for his kidneys. I’ll take a look at these ones. I didn’t realise Weruva were available in the U.K. that’s amazing! I was looking into Specific senior but struggling to work out the carbs per dry matter.

Hi Joy take a look at the UK food list here it lists the carbs and low phosphorus % for cats with kidney issues https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml


I also found this on the Amazon.com UK which is also low carb low phosphorus
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weruva-TruLuxe-Steak-Frites-Pumpkin/dp/B00IQ5XCOM/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=weruva cat food&qid=1682054985&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1
It's the only one they listed for weruva food carbs 5.50
118 mg phosphorus
Remove the sweet potatoes that are in it, one of our members said she does that
What were you feeding?

I hope this helps

 

[Joysunsun]

Thank you all for the replies it’s really appreciated.
Any thoughts on “Specific senior” wet food? It’s low phosphorus but also low protein and I’m not sure that’s best. I’m trying to work out the carbs for dry matter but struggling (it’s bedtime, I’m not very well too so I’ll look again tomorrow with fresh eyes!) However it seems like it might be a good one. I just saw the price of Weruva I might have to keep that as a last resort.

If his phosphorus levels aren’t high is it still important to be low in diet?

He’s responding well to insulin and is his happy purry self! We retest creatinine next week. I’m wondering if it was high from his diabetes coming out of remission? And if that’s a possibility can it go down with better control?

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

It’s low phosphorus but also low protein and I’m not sure that’s best.

In my experience low protein is not a good idea you want to have as high protein as possible regardless of the cat's age, after all cats are totally carnivorous.

We retest creatinine next week. I’m wondering if it was high from his diabetes coming out of remission? And if that’s a possibility can it go down with better control?

Creatinine can get a bit high as a result of infections and some illness and it may go down when the issue is resolved but still if his got high enough to raise alarm considering a diet that helps his kidneys is a good idea anyway, you could also ask for an SMDA test that would give you a better idea of how his kidneys are really doing.

If his phosphorus levels aren’t high is it still important to be low in diet?

Even if his levels are low right now giving a low phosphorus diet is one of the best ways to help his kidneys, keeping the phosphorus levels low ( with in the normal range) will make him feel better and it could help slow the progression of the kidney problems (it's not always the case but every bit helps) since the kidneys strain to get rid of the extra phosphorus

Once it is too high is more complicated to deal with it so better to address it early on

 

[Joysunsun]

Thank you. He had antibiotics incase there’s an infection. And seemed perkier after a day on them. 2 days later I restarted insulin and he’s back to his normal self.
I don’t know what his phosphorus levels were but I was told everything was normal except creatinine.

I’m still trying to find a diabetic friendly low phosphorus diet but it’s a challenge!!

Thanks everyone