Kindey issues and diabetes.please advice on food issue

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nina_nefeli

nina_nefeli

Member Since 2010
Hi,

a friend has a cat that has been diabetic but went OTJ about 1.5 year ago. The cat (male, 14 years old) was recently diagnosed with a kidney problem, and the vet insists he is fed RENAL by ROYAL CANIN.
The cat is on wet Purina Perle Gourmet food (same as the american Fancy Feast) and we are afraid that if we change food to something with more carbs, diabetes might come back.

How do you keep the balance in this situation with food?

I have tried to count the carbs of Renal but along with the standards Protein,Fat content,Crude ash,Crude fibres, Moisture and Phosphorus, there are more constituents which I dont know where to place them in the food calculator analysis.So I cant tell exactly how many carbonates Renal has.

Could you help with this as well?


PS.
Detailed information on the analysis can be found here: http://www.viovet.co.uk/Pet_Foods_Diets ... egory.html

The analysis indicates Protein: 8% - Fat content: 8.5% - Crude ash: 1.1% - Crude fibres: 0.8% - Moisture: 75% - Calcium: 0.14% - Phosphorus: 0.09% - Potassium: 0.3% - Sodium: 0.12% - Essential fatty acids: 2.6% including EPA/DHA: 0.55%. Would the 2.6% Fatty acids be included in the total 8.5

Thank you
 
Nina:

There is a fantastic website that addresses all kidney issues in cats and has recommendations regarding food. The main issue is phosphorus levels. Tanya's site is the CRF equivalent of FDMB.
 
Unfortunately Tanya's food charts don't list carbs: http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_uk.htm, so you'll have to cross-check against a chart that does show carbs, or calculate it somehow. There is a formula you can use to estimate carbs, but I've never done it myself. Unfortunately, it seems all Fancy Feast-type foods are too high in phosphorus for renal kitties. I believe the goal is less than 0.5% phosphorus, but there isn't a huge selection in that range. I have 2 renal kitties (not diabietic) and aim for <1.0% phosphorus.

MJ
 
Oh, thank you for the information, I will check the site.
The problem is that if I pay attention to the kidneys and give a proper food,it will be low in phosphorus and high in carbs, that food it is not going to be good for diabetes, and if I give good food for diabetes it is not good for kidneys...
So what should I feed the cat at the end?
Isn't it a proper food for both diabetes and kidney problems?
I don't know what to do.
 
There are commercial foods that are good to feed for both conditions. You simply need a low carb, low phosphorus canned food, preferably without byproducts (higher quality protein sources cause less protein metabolism residue, which are easier on the kidneys). Keeping your cat as hydrated as possible is key to managing the disease, along with low phosphorus foods, so definitely no dry food at all. Mixing water in with the canned food is one good way to help with hydration. Many people also find that cat drinking fountains also encourage cats to drink more. Anything you can do to get moisture in your cat is important.

Many vets simply recommend low protein diets for cats with CKD, because they are by default low in phosphorus. However, it's the quality of protein and phosphorus levels that matter, not the protein values. The low-protein prescription kidney diets have only been shown to be beneficial in end stage renal failure and should not be fed long term. In fact, they can cause muscle wasting when fed in early stage CKD and are completely inappropriate for an early stage cat.

Here's an updated food list with the values for several premium foods: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8...MzhkYTkxOGM4NThk&sort=name&layout=list&num=50. You're looking for something with less than 10% carbs (for the diabetes) and less than 250 mg/kcal of phosphorus (for the kidneys). The foods I would suggest are Merrick's Before Grain Beef, Merrick's Before Grain Turkey, Merricks' Cowboy Cookout, Merrick's Surf & Turf, Wellness Turkey, EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey, and Blue Wilderness Duck.

If those are out of your price range the next best thing to feed are the low carb Friskie's Special Diet Turkey & Giblets and Salmon flavors. However, I would strongly urge a food without byproducts, and keep in mind that they're still cheaper than the prescription foods and usually about the same as many grocery store brands if bought in bulk. Studies have shown that the quality of the protein source does make a difference in controlling the disease, and that needs to be considered along side phosphorus content. Both Wellness and EVO come in 12-13 oz cans that make it cheaper than Fancy Feast, and Merrick's is about the same price as Fancy Feast if you can find a local seller willing to give you a discount for purchasing it by the case. There are store finders on all of their websites, and you'd be surprised how affordable premium foods are at local pet food stores. Also, foods without byproducts are higher in calories, so you do not need to feed as much.

Tanya's list of low phosphorus foods (linked in a prior post) can be cross referenced with Binky's chart for carb values if there's something on there that you want to feed. On this chart, you're looking for something that is less than 1% phosphorus (these values are on a dry matter basis, not mg/kcal): http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

Do NOT use Binky's list for phosphorus values--the carb values are still ok to use but the phosphorus values are really out of date, and some things that were low on that list are now ridiculously high in phosphorus.
 
Hi there. I am just about out the door to get an ultrasound done for one of my 18 year old cats, here is a list I put together. The link is also in my signature.


Spader was diagnosed with early CRF on New Year's Eve '04. He was also a diet controlled diabetic, until a dental at the end of December of '06 put him
back on the juice. I went out with Janet's food charts in hand and bought various low carb, low phos, medium protein foods and did a hit or miss approach until I came up with the magic mix he ate. The other cans stayed in the pantry just in case he got picky. I bought various flavors of Wellness, Merrick, Nature's Variety, Hi-Tor Neo, PetGuard, Pinnacle, Iams, Newman’s Own, etc.

I had been doing fluids on my own with a lot of success. The vets matched the internet prices, so that helped out a lot.
Also, I put several cups of purified water around the house and purchased a cat fountain (The Cat-It). I also added water to his canned food.

He ate mostly the low phos Friskies Special Diet flavors and FF Chicken and Tuna. Sometimes he got picky and ate all meat baby food.

I ended up adding a phosphorus binder during the last year and a half.
Here are some links:
Feline CRF Information Center
Tanya's Feline CRF Information Center
I think I memorized and printed out every page!
FelineCRF-FD Yahoo Group
FelineCRF Support Yahoo Group
These groups are awesome. Saved my butt!

Mail Order CRF Supplies
I printed out the Brico prices and brought them into the vets.

How to give subQ fluids
Feline CRF hints
Feline CRF Documents


A wonderful section of info from Feline Outreach.
Feline Outreach
 
I may be mistaken, but I think the cat in question is in the UK, so food availability may be very different. I saw a UK-based renal list, but don't know if there is a carb list for UK foods.

MJ
 
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