? New kidney disease diagnosis: What do I feed my cat???

[Ever & Holly]

My cat Holly was diagnosed with diabetes last year. I've been maintaining her blood sugar, testing her blood sugar regularly and everything. I've been doing this mostly on my own; I haven't updated the spreadsheet at all since my ADHD brain can't get in the habit of it.

My cat had lab work done recently and the vet said her urine concentration was higher than normal and was an indication of early-stage kidney disease. She had lab work done about 5 months ago that showed her kidneys were normal so this has developed sometime since then. I forgot to ask for a copy of her results but I'll ask for it tomorrow.

Right now she was prescribed Mirataz as an appetite stimulant since she should be eating a little more than she is right now. But I'm not sure what to feed her... Right now I feed her classic fancy feast pate with a tablespoon of pumpkin puree and added water. I know she should have a low phosphorous diet but that's about it. I'm also worried about cost. I just finished college and started my first job. I live alone and have yet to build up my emergency savings. I really need to keep costs down. I don't know what the most cost effective food there is for my cat.

 

[Lmiller86]

If it is recommended that she needs kidney formula foods, this is a great website: http://felinecrf.org/diet_and_nutrition.htm

 

[Lmiller86]

Also http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

There are likely a few tests you need to confirm any sort of kidney diagnosis. An SDMS is a test that is predictive of kidney disease. It's a part of the routine labs if your vet sends out a sample to IDEXX. Elevated phosphorus is also an indication along with BUN and creatinine.

If you're looking at foods, check the chart that Logan linked in the post above. The chart lists the phosphorus values. You want to find foods that are low in both carbs and phosphorus.