? Newly diagnosed CKD, Hyperthyroidism, and Arthritis... Please help? Lab results included.

[FarmKitty]

Hello all. I just took Dixie into a routine checkup and looks like she has a new diagnosis of CKD Grade 2, Hyperthyroidism, and arthritis. I know that a lot of your kitties have the same issues so I guess I was expecting it but this seems like it hit all at once. Funny how this happens right when I get her diabetes under control! I am glad that decided to do a checkup after 6 months because it caught all this.

She will be starting a low dose of Felimazole for the hyperthyroidism very soon. The vet said that she may be a good candidate for the radioactive treatment down the line. She will get a thyroid blood checkup in a few weeks to see if the medicine is working

For the CKD, the nutritionist is recommending that that her renal disease take priority over the diabetes since the diabetes can be managed with insulin. They are recommending:

* Royal Canin Urinary Aging Care which is 41% protein, 45% fat, 14% carbs, and 1.3g/1000kcal phos.

* Royal Canin Senior Consult which is 33% protein, 37% fat, 30% carbs and 1.4g/1000kcal phos.

However, the vet said that since she is in the early stages, that I should not restrict her protein right now and that I should just try to lower the phosphorus. She tested at 1.87 for phosphorous (1.03 – 2.1 is the good range) and the vet wanted us to get into the lower half of that range.

I am also wondering if I should avoid fish since it is higher in iodine?

Right now Dixie gets Friskies pates which have been < 10% carbs. So I am obviously concerned about upping her carbs too much.

For the arthritis, I need to look into putting her on either Gabapentin and/or supplements.

I am a bit overwhelmed with all this new info… it looks like I will need to learn a lot more and research which food is best for her.

Do any of you have any good resources (maybe forums) for this? Or any food recommendations or what I should look for in a food? I live in Canada. I just don’t know what I am looking for right now…

I have attached her lab results to this post. I also have her current lab results and past lab results side by side in my spreadsheet "Labs" tab.

The one nice thing about this is that on her lab report she had no glucose in her pee, her blood glucose was 5.8 mmol/L and the vet wrote that her diabetes was extremely well controlled. That is all thanks to you guys! I just need to figure out how to move forward now.

Thanks for reading my ramblings...

EDIT: For some reason the lab results I attached are very small and the forum says I don't have permission to upload pics the usual way so I just added the lab results pic to my "Labs" tab on my spreadsheet.

 

[JanetNJ]

That a lot all at once... but my cat has all of these things as well, so I can help.

For the hyperthyroidism my cat is on methamazole. I'm glad he's starting low. Keep in mind once you start treatment the kidney numbers will likely get worse because the hyperthyroidism masks the kidney disease.


Your vet is right that you should lower the phosphorus for the ckd but you need foods both low carb and low phosphorus (under 1 percent). I feed weruva foods. This is some of what she eats

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

There are other choices that are good too. Weruva is very transparent with the nutrition information on the weruva website.


On on to the arthritis. Hands down the best treatment is adequan shots! You are already used to giving shots so it's easy for you. So the protocol is two shots a week for four weeks. Then once a week for four weeks. Then once every month. I actually stay with one a week because CC'S arthritis is really bad.... Caused by boney growth from acromegaly.... But without this stuff she wouldn't be walking.

 

[JanetNJ]

Just looked at your labs.... They aren't bad. Definitly don't feed their food suggestions. What was the t4? (That's the thyroid value)

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi FarmKitty,

I think the foods that Janet's suggested are better than those recommended by the vets. I agree with your vet that cats with CKD in earlier IRIS stages do not need to have protein restricted (would lead to loss of muscle mass).

In the unlikely event that you've not already visited there, I can't recommend Tanya's Site highly enough for all things CKD (plus much else).


Mogs
.

 

[Critter Mom]

For some reason the lab results I attached are very small and the forum says I don't have permission to upload pics the usual way

Several people, myself included, have had this problem recently. I've reported the issue on the Tech Support board.

For me it went away but I don't remember how I solved it (either log out/in again, reload browser, or reboot device).


Mogs
.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

In Canada, we cannot get Adequan, but do ask your vet about Cartrophen which is quite close and can help the arthritis.

I did a home made diet for low carb/low phosphorus. We have a couple options in Canada for low P premixes. I started with the TC Feline Special formula (made in BC), and later tried the FoodFurLife premix.

Groups.io has a good forum on feline hyperthyroidism. I think there is a CKD forum there too.

 

[Gracie85]

For some incredible help with the hyperthyroid situation, go to this facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/42301610484 Hyperthyroid Cats.
The moderator and experienced members keep up with state-of-the-art treatment of hyperthyroid disease, and are always ready to help. Put up your lab results with your first post when you join, they will ask for them. Be prepared to be told your vet doesn't know what they're doing, so many don't (more often than not they start by overdosing your cat on the methimazole medication, for some fool reason vets always start with a very high dose), but you can trust this group, they know what they're doing.

 

[FarmKitty]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I have been reading Tanya's site and joined the forum. I definitely feel worse about the CKD diagnoses than I did about the diabetes. At least with the diabetes there was some hope of getting her regulated . I feel like now I am just trying to stave off the inevitable.

I feed weruva foods. This is some of what she eats

Thank you for the list. It looks like the Weruva Steak Frites with the low carb AND low phosphorous will be perfect if Dixie likes it. Currently I have been feeding her only two types of Friskies pate, and my plan was to switch her to just the Weruva Steak Frites, but it looks like you feed a lot of different foods. Should I start by just buying some individual cans of different varieties to see if she will eat the stuff? Or just go for a case of the Steak Frites?

Dixie's appetite has been very strong the last few weeks (could be a symptoms of her hyperthyroidism), so I don't think she will be too picky with the food right now.

What was the t4? (That's the thyroid value)

I think that T4 is also called Tetraiodothyronine which is in the latest lab results. It was 47.4 (good range 18 - 40 mmol/L).

 

[JanetNJ]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I have been reading Tanya's site and joined the forum. I definitely feel worse about the CKD diagnoses than I did about the diabetes. At least with the diabetes there was some hope of getting her regulated . I feel like now I am just trying to stave off the inevitable.


Thank you for the list. It looks like the Weruva Steak Frites with the low carb AND low phosphorous will be perfect if Dixie likes it. Currently I have been feeding her only two types of Friskies pate, and my plan was to switch her to just the Weruva Steak Frites, but it looks like you feed a lot of different foods. Should I start by just buying some individual cans of different varieties to see if she will eat the stuff? Or just go for a case of the Steak Frites?

Dixie's appetite has been very strong the last few weeks (could be a symptoms of her hyperthyroidism), so I don't think she will be too picky with the food right now.


I think that T4 is also called Tetraiodothyronine which is in the latest lab results. It was 47.4 (good range 18 - 40 mmol/L).

If someone local sells individual cans I might start there.