Urinary health / low carb food

[Zorro's mom]

Hi all,

I am currently practicing TR with my cat Zorro and we live in South Africa.

I am suddenly at a bit of a loss as to what food to give Zorro - I will get to the "issues" in a minute.
It is a struggle to find high/fair quality, low carb food around here (we don't import Fancy Feast any longer) and I am not so comfortable with the two local raw food options that I have found as labeling is not tightly regulated here either. For the past couple of weeks I have been alternating between raw chicken (purchased) and a low carb commercial food (a very cheap food so I have doubts for long-term use).
Prior to that I fed Fancy Feast's Chunky Chicken and Fancy Feast Savoury Salmon Feast, both of which I now saw has a high phosphorous content.

I really don't have the time to make my own raw food. I am self-employed and with 5 ageing dogs and 4 ageing cats, all with health issues starting to pop up, I barely find time for the basics in the day.

The reason for my sudden doubts about food: Zorro recently had blood work done as well as a urinalysis. With the blood work some early markers for possible kidney issues came up but according to the vet it is nothing he is very concerned about at the moment, but we should just keep an eye on it.

The urinalysis showed some protein in his urine although apparently it is not in the range for kidney issues yet. There were some bacteria in his urine so a sample was sent away for culturing but apparently "nothing has grown yet for them to culture" - my crude translation of the vet's more technical explanation.
There is no blood in his urine.
His urine PH is also high - around 7 to 8 so that concerns me.
Specific gravity was fine.
From my own strip tests when testing for ketones I've also noticed for a month or more now that his urine smells like chicken.
It smells nothing like our other cats' urine, which smells more typically like cat urine.

Zorro did have an extensive dental done (six extractions) just over a month ago and a 2-week course of Clavet antibiotics thereafter - don't know if that influences anything.

So anyway, I'm wanting to find a balance between food that is kind to his kidneys (ie. lower phosphorous and magnesium) and yet low carb for his diabetes. I am now considering Royal Canine's pouch food for diabetics. Here it is just called "Feline Diabetic" and I don't find it on Dr Pierson's food chart so I suspect it is the formula that is called "Glycobalance" on the food chart with a 14% carb content.
I don't want to use Royal Canine's Renal Support because it is very low protein and very high carb and he is not yet suspected to have actual kidney issues.

I guess basically my question (after all of that!) is whether I can practice TR with a 14% carb food? I hope a few experienced people have read this far to be able to advise.

I just wanted to mention all of the other info in case someone has experienced the strange chicken-smelling urine too, because that together with the high PH concerns me.

Thank you!

 

[Tanya and Ducia]

It looks like some Weruva cat food may be available for you from PetHaven

Some Weruva they sell is low carbs and low P like Paw Licking Chicken Canned it is 65% protein/32% Fat and only 3% carbs; Phosphorous is 196 per 100KCal which low :
https://www.petheaven.co.za/cats/cat-food/weruva/weruva-paw-lickin-chicken-for-cats.html

or Weruva Truluxe Steak Frites - 45/49/6% carbs and 118 P.
https://www.petheaven.co.za/cats/cat-food/weruva/weruva-truluxe-steak-frites-cat-food.html

The numbers were written for the same food sold in the US. The formula may differ for another regions.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

I think 14% would be too high for a diabetic, the weruva options they mentioned are good if you can get them.

If he doesn't have a kidney problem yet I would certainly not recommend royal canin renal support it is way high in carbs and it is usually only recommended for advanced stages of chronic kidney desease, which is not Zorro's case, and I would suggest you try and give your 4 cats the same diet they will all benefit from a low carb as kidney friendly as you can get food and that way it will be easier for you.

Making your own food is not so bad if you program yourself and prepare big batches you could consider Dr. Lisa's recepy (https://catinfo.org/making-cat-food/)

 

[Zorro's mom]

Thank you Tanya and Veronica Looks like I'll stay away from the Royal Canine then.
I know we get Weruva here and I occasionlly buy the Steak Frites but in our currency it is extremely expensive. I can't keep Zorro on it all the time, let alone 4 cats.
I will reconsider the food situation again...

 

[Tanya and Ducia]

@Zorro's mom
Here too Weruva is one of the most $$$ foods .
Your situation –having multiple cats to feed is more complex, no doubt.

In all honesty I cannot think of any other way but the homemade (for which you won’t have time due to work, I read and I hear you.)

Here is what I do: I use somewhat high-ish carbs Weruva like 10%-12% and mix it 1:1 with home made food – semi baked raw poultry meat that I get from local farmer’s market. I call it “made” only because I add ready to use commercial premix that contains all of the necessary minerals, vitamins, etc. Other than that it is raw diced or ground meat kept in the oven for only 10-20 min to kill the surface bacteria, then portioned and frozen. Stays good for several months in the freezer.

The logic behind 1:1 ration is that 1 part of 12% carbs + 1 equal part of homemade 0% carbs = 6% carbs total for that meal. Also, the Weruva I use is already low in Phosphorous but by mixing it with pure protein I reduce the P content even further.

Perhaps you can try mixing/ diluting total P and carbs for Zorro this way too?
Your regular food of 14%/ mixed with pure meat in equal parts =7% carbs total which is totally ok for TR, and for any FD cat.

The problem with adding just pure meat without essential minerals & vitamins added in proper proportions won’t work long term. It is advised that such food should not exceed 10%-15% of the total food intake of a cat or they will develop all kind of ailments, including going blind. (it would take weeks of course on such unbalanced food before any symptom could manifest).

Finding quality foods too is a huge headache here in the States. Looks like plenty available in the stores however in reality most of it is not suitable for diabetics, and even more so for cats with the kidney problems.

Wishing you all the luck with figuring out foods!

PS. I forgot to mention in my original post that adding plenty of water to each meal would be extremely beneficial for Zorro’ UT health but you probably already know this. One Tablespoon of water per meal serving is what most here do. My girl has about 4 + Tablespoons/ 24 hours extra mixed into her food – just for the UT prophylactics.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

i know that home made food sounds like a lot of trouble and probably the first times you do it is kind of a mess I won't lie to you but as with everything practice helps, I've been home cooking for a while now and I dedicate a few hours (around 3-4) once a month to prepare a big batch of the food ( I cook for 4) then I freeze in small containers to just take out what I need for a day or so, it couldn't get the premixed supplements shipped here ( I'm not in the US either, I'm in Mexico) so I prepare the supplements from scratch, this is what adds more time in the food preparation but if you can get one of the primixed supplements that would help a lot, on the long run I think is better since good food can actually help avoid bigger health problems specially with aging cats, in my case it was the only way I could find to give them the food they needed since they have a big collection of health problems ( kidney problems among them)

 

[Zorro's mom]

@Tanya and Ducia Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to send me all of that info/those tips. This weekend I'm going to sit and consider all my options, including what you and @Veronica & Babu-chiri have said here, carefully and decide on a course of action to try for a while.

Thank you ladies!

PS: Veronica I envy you living in Mexico! It has been my favourite country to visit and my partner and I dream of retiring there one day.