Help with new diagnosis - kidney disease / CKD

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nepsola

nepsola

Member Since 2021
Hi everyone,

My cat Morrissey has been in remission from diabetes since January. However, after losing some weight and a tooth, and developing lots of white/grey fur all over his shoulders, I took him to the vet and it turns out he has kidney disease. They said it's in the low-moderate stages and told me to put him on a prescription diet. I don't know if these numbers will mean anything to anyone here, but I'll include them just in case -

- SDMA - 17 ug/dL
- Creatinine - 335 umol/L
- Urea - 19.7 mmol/L
- Phosphorus - 2.39 mmol/L

I'm terrified to mess with his diet and I wondered if anyone else has dealt with this? I've seen CKD mentioned here, although I know it's a diabetes forum, but I thought I'd ask.

I'm just starting to do all the research today, and I wondered if anyone knows of any good resources? I found Tanya's site (felinecrf.org) so I'm just looking through that now.

<3 Thank you
 
I am no expert with kidney disease but I can see the SMDA is a little above the upper limit of 14 and the urea above the upper limit of 15.
The phosophorus seems to be within normal limits and the creatinine is high.
I will tag @Marje and Gracie as she is very Knowledgeable about this. I’m not sure if she is around a lot though atm.

I would not use the kidney diet as it is high in carbs and low in protein which is not good for cats unless they have advanced CRD.
I would look at getting a low phosphorus diet and a low carb diet with higher protein.
And plenty of water. Did they mention subQ fluids?. The levels can often improve with fluids.

Here is a food chart with phosphorus levels included. Look for low carb foods that have 200-250 mg phosphorus/100kcals
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
 
another member had posted this whose cat had diabetes and CKD

Weruva slide and serve pate foods Family Food (.97 phosphorus and 0 carb). Also Jeopurrdy Chicken (0.97 P 6.1 carb)

What a Crock 0.71 phosphorus and 8 carb lots of gravy so she loves it.

Goody stew shoes 0.71 phosphorus, 8.5 carb. This one is a big hit

Weruva Steak Frites (0.57 phosphorus 5.5 carb although I take out any big pieces of potatoes to try to limit the carbs just a bit)

Weruva LA isla Bonita - phosphorus 0.77 carb 4.5 (used to like, not a favorite anymore)
Glam and punk 1% carb, 0.93 phosphorous.

Weruva paw lickin chicken 3.3 carb 0.82 p and
Press your lunch 5.9 carb. 0.82 phosphorous

Bff play Laugh Out Loud chicken and lamb 7.7 carb, 0.82 phosphorous

BFF play destiny (chicken and duck) 0.87 phosphorus 7.7 carb

Bff play chicken cherish 0.71 phosphorus 7.6 carb

Bff play best buds chicken and beef 7.9 carb 0.9 phosphorus

Bff play chicken Checkmate. 7.7 carb 0.7 phos

New favorite On the Cat Wok 3.8 carb 0.74 phos
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I am no expert with kidney disease but I can see the SMDA is a little above the upper limit of 14 and the urea above the upper limit of 15.
The phosophorus seems to be within normal limits and the creatinine is high.
I will tag @Marje and Gracie as she is very Knowledgeable about this. I’m not sure if she is around a lot though atm.

I would not use the kidney diet as it is high in carbs and low in protein which is not good for cats unless they have advanced CRD.
I would look at getting a low phosphorus diet and a low carb diet with higher protein.
And plenty of water. Did they mention subQ fluids?. The levels can often improve with fluids.

Here is a food chart with phosphorus levels included. Look for low carb foods that have 200-250 mg phosphorus/100kcals
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this. They didn't mention subQ fluids, though I've seen it mentioned online. It's super helpful to know how much phosphorus I should be looking for, as I agree, I really don't want to put him on any high carb / low protein food. I'll take a look at the link now.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
another member had posted this whose cat had diabetes and CKD

Weruva slide and serve pate foods Family Food (.97 phosphorus and 0 carb). Also Jeopurrdy Chicken (0.97 P 6.1 carb)

What a Crock 0.71 phosphorus and 8 carb lots of gravy so she loves it.

Goody stew shoes 0.71 phosphorus, 8.5 carb. This one is a big hit

Weruva Steak Frites (0.57 phosphorus 5.5 carb although I take out any big pieces of potatoes to try to limit the carbs just a bit)

Weruva LA isla Bonita - phosphorus 0.77 carb 4.5 (used to like, not a favorite anymore)
Glam and punk 1% carb, 0.93 phosphorous.

Weruva paw lickin chicken 3.3 carb 0.82 p and
Press your lunch 5.9 carb. 0.82 phosphorous

Bff play Laugh Out Loud chicken and lamb 7.7 carb, 0.82 phosphorous

BFF play destiny (chicken and duck) 0.87 phosphorus 7.7 carb

Bff play chicken cherish 0.71 phosphorus 7.6 carb

Bff play best buds chicken and beef 7.9 carb 0.9 phosphorus

Bff play chicken Checkmate. 7.7 carb 0.7 phos

New favorite On the Cat Wok 3.8 carb 0.74 phos
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for this! I'll have a look at those now
 
nepsola said:
Thank you very much for this! I'll have a look at those now
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, one of my kitties (non-diabetic) was just diagnosed with moderate kidney disease today. :( So this last week has been absolutely HORRIBLE! Last Saturday Louie passed away unexpectdly. On the same day Shooter was diagnosed with diabetes. Now today Koda gets diagnosed with kidney disease. :( :( :(
 
Hi there, You've come to the right place! My kitty also has CKD. Tanya's site is great and there are a lot of Facebook groups as well for feline CKD. All of the Weruva foods that @Diane Tyler's Mom listed are great; I was feeding those to Ruby before I transitioned her to a homemade raw diet, which is also a very popular and safe option for kitties with kidney disease. I emphasize homemade because a lot of the prepared raw foods have ground bone in them and you want to avoid that because those foods are too high in phosphorus (you want less than 1% phos on a dry matter basis), so I buy frozen ground boneless meat from a reputable pet food purveyor and use a supplement powder like EZ Complete that uses eggshell powder as a source of calcium to make sure the food is nutritionally balanced for cats. I'm not sure what part of the world you're located in, but there's TCFeline in Canada and Felini Complete in Europe as alternatives. The important part about food, whether you choose commercial or homemade, is that you add plenty of water to it so Morrissey can stay well hydrated. Once I transitioned Ruby to a raw diet I also transitioned my die hard kibble addict civvie to it as well. Both cats now eat raw and love it.
 
Heather82372 said:
Unfortunately, one of my kitties (non-diabetic) was just diagnosed with moderate kidney disease today. :( So this last week has been absolutely HORRIBLE! Last Saturday Louie passed away unexpectdly. On the same day Shooter was diagnosed with diabetes. Now today Koda gets diagnosed with kidney disease. :( :( :(
Click to expand...
Hi Heather, god I'm so, so sorry to hear that. What an absolutely awful thing for you to go through. I'm sending you so much love.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
Hi there, You've come to the right place! My kitty also has CKD. Tanya's site is great and there are a lot of Facebook groups as well for feline CKD. All of the Weruva foods that @Diane Tyler's Mom listed are great; I was feeding those to Ruby before I transitioned her to a homemade raw diet, which is also a very popular and safe option for kitties with kidney disease. I emphasize homemade because a lot of the prepared raw foods have ground bone in them and you want to avoid that because those foods are too high in phosphorus (you want less than 1% phos on a dry matter basis), so I buy frozen ground boneless meat from a reputable pet food purveyor and use a supplement powder like EZ Complete that uses eggshell powder as a source of calcium to make sure the food is nutritionally balanced for cats. I'm not sure what part of the world you're located in, but there's TCFeline in Canada and Felini Complete in Europe as alternatives. The important part about food, whether you choose commercial or homemade, is that you add plenty of water to it so Morrissey can stay well hydrated. Once I transitioned Ruby to a raw diet I also transitioned my die hard kibble addict civvie to it as well. Both cats now eat raw and love it.
Click to expand...

This is so interesting. I feed my dog raw, but you're totally right - it has 10% ground bone in it, and the same company makes the same raw food for cats, but also with 10% bone. I've been thinking about transitioning my cats to it, and about making my own, so it's really so helpful to hear this. I'm in the UK so I'll look at the Felini supplement :)

Are there any particular meat minces you buy? Do you just vary it - like chicken, beef, turkey, etc.?
 
nepsola said:
This is so interesting. I feed my dog raw, but you're totally right - it has 10% ground bone in it, and the same company makes the same raw food for cats, but also with 10% bone. I've been thinking about transitioning my cats to it, and about making my own, so it's really so helpful to hear this. I'm in the UK so I'll look at the Felini supplement :)

Are there any particular meat minces you buy? Do you just vary it - like chicken, beef, turkey, etc.?
Click to expand...
I've been told to keep at least three different proteins on rotation and to vary it either every meal, every week or every month. This is so that the cat doesn't get bored but also different meats have varying nutritional profiles so you are giving the cat a more balanced diet by rotating. I started mine on ground boneless duck because I was looking for a novel protein (she has suspected IBD/small cell lymphoma), and so far I've added turkey, beef, pork, bison and venison to the menu and she likes it all. Food with bone is not recommended for kitties with CKD or generally for senior cats over the age of 10, but younger kitties can benefit from it for growth.

Nearly everything I've learned about raw feeding cats is from these two sites: foodfurlife.com and rawfeedingforibdcats.org. They focus on IBD, but the advice given is applicable to a lot of senior cats and their various health issues including CKD. Good luck with it, and come back if you have more questions!
 
Hi! My cat also has diabetes and CKD. He had a high SDMA a few years ago so we had him on hills k/d until the diabetes. After feeding him too much foods low in carb but high in phosphorus, his normal kidney values were off the charts high. I learned a LOT about what to feed him then! He is currently eating Weruva BFF PLAY chicken cherish and chicken checkmate and chicken/Turkey tiptoe and chicken/Turkey topsy turvy. They’re pretty high calories which he needed to gain weight. He also has press your lunch and fowl play that are lower cal. since we are hoping to have him maintain where he is.

Tanyas site is great!
 
Jay Dee said:
Hi! My cat also has diabetes and CKD. He had a high SDMA a few years ago so we had him on hills k/d until the diabetes. After feeding him too much foods low in carb but high in phosphorus, his normal kidney values were off the charts high. I learned a LOT about what to feed him then! He is currently eating Weruva BFF PLAY chicken cherish and chicken checkmate and chicken/Turkey tiptoe and chicken/Turkey topsy turvy. They’re pretty high calories which he needed to gain weight. He also has press your lunch and fowl play that are lower cal. since we are hoping to have him maintain where he is.

Tanyas site is great!
Click to expand...
Are any of the weruva's a pate? He doesn't like pieces of food. He'll end up just lapping up the gravy and leaving the rest. With the pate I like to mix warm water. He's been on Fancy Feast Classic Beef or Chicken for YEARS now. I believe I saw the FF had quite a bit of phosphorus though.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
You might find this interesting
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/home-prepared-diet-of-crd-cats.150441/
Click to expand...
Bron, that is an amazing thread. Thank you! I wish I had read it when I was starting out with the raw. It's so nice to see photos of the food as well to see how small you cut everything up. :cat: I like the idea of adding egg whites; will try to do that for my kitties. I haven't been able to get Ruby to get bloodwork done since I started her on this diet, but will do it in June and hopefully it will have made a difference with her kidney values.
 
Heather82372 said:
Are any of the weruva's a pate? He doesn't like pieces of food. He'll end up just lapping up the gravy and leaving the rest. With the pate I like to mix warm water. He's been on Fancy Feast Classic Beef or Chicken for YEARS now. I believe I saw the FF had quite a bit of phosphorus though.
Click to expand...
Hi - yes all of these are pates and are like 1 or 2% carbs
 
Heather82372 said:
I didn't realize ALL the Weruva cans were low phosphorus. I was looking for the just the specific ones listed. Thank you for this list. :) Hopefully I can get him transitioned off the FF over to Weruva. Are these pate's too high for a diabetic cat? Sure would be easier if all 3 could/would eat the same food. lol
Click to expand...
This is what I feed my cat. You want phosphorus under 1 percent. Weruva slide and serve pate foods Family Food (.97 phosphorus and 0 carb). Also Jeopurrdy Chicken (0.97 P 6.1 carb)

What a Crock 0.71 phosphorus and 8 carb lots of gravy so she loved it.

Goody stew shoes 0.71 phosphorus, 8.5 carb. This one was a big hit

Weruva Steak Frites (0.57 phosphorus 5.5 carb although I take out any big pieces of potatoes to try to limit the carbs just a bit)

Weruva LA isla Bonita - phosphorus 0.77 carb 4.5 (used to like, not a favorite anymore)
Glam and punk 1% carb, 0.93 phosphorous.

Weruva paw lickin chicken 3.3 carb 0.82 p and
Press your lunch 5.9 carb. 0.82 phosphorous

Bff play Laugh Out Loud chicken and lamb 7.7 carb, 0.82 phosphorous

BFF play destiny (chicken and duck) 0.87 phosphorus 7.7 carb

Bff play chicken cherish 0.71 phosphorus 7.6 carb

Bff play best buds chicken and beef 7.9 carb 0.9 phosphorus

Bff play chicken Checkmate. 7.7 carb 0.7 phos

On the Cat Wok 3.8 carb 0.74 phos
 
Thanks for this list. I had picked up a few Wellness Core pate's thinking they were better than the FF Koda has been getting (kidney disease) then saw an article from someone saying they are just as high in phosphorous as the FF! :( So I just ordered the Weruva Slide and Serve that you mentioned. Hopefully he likes at least one of them!
 
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