New info on Shelby

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Nancy & Shelby

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I took Shelby in to the vet yesterday to get blood work done as his numbers have been slowly creeping up even after the bladder infection. Found that he is in the first stage of kidney failure. The levels are not too high but high enough to see if we can get them down with daily fluids for 5 days and then 2-3 times a week after that. Vet also prescribed a probiotic to keep BUN down so will see if that helps. Does not need insulin yet as numbers still in good range. Hard to think he is dying. Such a mellow guy and loves to cuddle. He isn't feeling too well today. You know how you can tell. Vet also said his heart was racing so may have a thyroid issue but we didn't check because of the kidney thing right now. Gone through this with one other cat I had and is very hard. When the time comes though I will put him down as I have to think of him and his quality of life too. I have had 14 wonderful years with him. Anyone else with a diabetic cat that is going through this. Vet said she hardly ever sees a diabetic cat with kidney disease that they do not really go hand in hand. It is just his age.

Nancy and Shelby
 
My diabetic, Spitzer, has the beginnings of renal disease and enlarged kidneys.

In humans, renal disease is quite common with uncontrolled diabetes.

And, were there years when you were feeding dry kibble? Kibble is a water-depleted diet and cats don't drink enough to compensate for the food being dry, so they are chronically dehydrated, which puts a strain on the kidneys (per Dr Pierson of Cat Info)
 
Nancy, stage 1 is not that bad--was he diagnosed based off his bloodwork? Here's a great site that explains the different stages: http://www.felinecrf.org/how_bad_is_it.htm Most cats have some loss of kidney function as they age--the good news is that the progression of kidney disease can be halted with the right diet. My Gabby was diagnosed with borderline stage1/stage 2 kidney disease, and in the 2 1/2 years I had left with her her kidney values did not change at ALL with the kidney-friendly diet I had her on. She passed away from cancer, completely unrelated to the kidney disease. If it weren't for the cancer, I would have had more years left with her.

You simply need a low carb, low phosphorus canned food, preferably without byproducts (higher quality protein sources are easier on the kidneys). Keeping your cat as hydrated as possible is key to managing the disease, along with low phosphorus foods. Mixing water in with the canned food is one good way to help with hydration.

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 and less than 250 mg/kcal of phosphorus. 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 flavors. These are Turkey & Giblets and Salmon Dinner--make sure they are the ones that say "special diet" on the can, though. PetSmart carries them, and some grocery stores. Here is an updated list of just the phosphorus values for many commercial foods. They 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

When cats do get to a later stage in the disease, they tend to get pickier with food and may not eat the low phosphorus foods you want them to. If that's the case you can get a phosphorus binder to help mange--the key is keeping the cat eating, no matter what.

Here's a link to Tanya's CRF page--it has a ton of info. http://www.felinecrf.org/index.htm

When Gabby was diagnosed I thought it was the end for her, and I was so upset. Turns out things weren't as bad as I thought once I did some reading on the subject! I hope this is the case for you, too.
 
Yes I am familar with the CRF website as I had another cat that passed away from it. I am feeding Friskies canned food but not the special diet ones at this time. Can you give me more info on the Friskies foods? Can't really afford higher priced stuff right now as laid off my job in December? Vet said I need to feed a lower protien diet for kidneys yet still keep the diabetic diet for him. Somewhere between protien of 7.6% - 13.1%. Is there a list anywhere for this? Could go with canned k/d but again the expense.

Thanks.

Nancy & Shelby
 
Nancy, unless you're in end stage (late stage three or four) you don't need a low protein food. In fact, the low protein causes muscle wasting in senior cats and should not be fed long term. You need a low phosphorus, high quality protein food with low sodium. There are no foods with protein that low except for the prescription kidney diets. None of the prescription diets are low enough in carbs for a diabetic anyway.

The two low carb/low phosphorus friskies flavors are Special Diet Turkey & Giblets, and Special Diet Salmon. You can get both at PetSmart, and some (but not all) grocery stores. They say "special diet" on the side of the can: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4162340

However, they are still mostly byproducts and higher quality proteins are easier on the kidneys because they reduce the amount of protein metabolism residue--basically, it reduces the amount of work the kidneys have to do. They are also a bit higher in sodium. I would strongly consider getting Wellness Turkey or EVO 95% Chicken & Turkey or Beef in the big 13 oz cans--it's very affordable that way, and not all that much more expensive than the Friskies. You can go to their websites, use the store finder option and call around to see who can give you the best deals on it--many local pet food stores will give you additional discounts for buying it by the case. My local pet food store has 13oz cans of the EVO Chicken & Turkey for 1.79--that's 13 cents an oz. Friskies is 54 cents a cant at Petsmart--that's about 10 cents an oz. The difference per day feeding EVO vs Friskie's is less than 20 cents, which is well worth the advantage of the higher quality protein. The EVO and Wellness are also higher calorie, so you don't end up feeding as much of it--when you take that into account the price different is negligible.
 
Thank you for the help with the food subject.

I checked Shelby's BG level today and he is at 142 and an hour later at 150 so climbing. Not sure why. Yesterday at the vet he was at 107. Could it be the stress of giving the fluids to him now as he has never had this done? The vet thought that is what is causing it and I am constantly checking on him and I bet he is wondering what the heck is going on with that. I am a worry wart. He has been off the insulin for 6 years and just don't want to have to go through that again and this kidney stuff. Glad I have someone to talk to. I am freaking out on all this so any help and how do you deal with the stress will help.

I also have 3 other cats beside Shelby and I feed them all the same thing so I guess changing all the diets now would be a good idea as they are all around the same age. I can mix the "Special Diet Turkey and Giblets with the regular Turkey and Giblets to get them a little use to it to see how it goes. There is a friskies special diet of Beef and Chicken I believe but they don't like it much but still give to them.

Any other suggestions or comments?

Nancy and Shelby
 
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