Natural Food Diet for Cat with Kidney Problems

[Norse]

I need your help gals. Last March we successfully switched our cats to a raw food diet. They have been getting a diet made of: 8 lbs ground chicken, bones and all, 4 cups water and a supplement that we get from here: http://knowwhatyoufeed.com/alnutrin_for_meat.html. This diet has been marvelous. The fat younger cat has lost weight and is fit as can be and the older skinny cat has gained weight. The older cat (17) was just diagnosed with kidney disease and the vet understandably wants her on a low protein diet. Even the vet was hesitant to recommend going to something like k/d though because she said she can see that kitty cat has obviously thrived on her raw chicken diet (weight up for 1st time in her life, coat looks great and except for the new kidney issue and a thyroid problem she takes pills for, she is in overall excellent health for a cat her age).

The only natural food website she would recommend - because it is run by vets - is balanceit.com, which I am not thrilled with. I have done some google searches, poking around ... but if anyone has had actual success with and could recommend a low protein natural cat diet, I would really like to hear about it. Thanks.

p.s. like many cats, this one detests veggies and will eat around them.

[Biciclista]

Sounds like a tough call. Your cat is old and nearing the end of its life span. In nature, old cats didn't switch to vegetarian diets when they got old. It doesn't make sense. More water in her food?
Good luck, keep us posted on this. I will probably be in your position in 10 years myself.

[Norse]

In nature, old cats didn't switch to vegetarian diets when they got old. It doesn't make sense.

Good point. More water is not a bad idea - the runnier and bloodier it is, the better she likes it! Maybe try mixing in some cooked white rice too?

[badger]

my parents adopted a 7-ish year old cat last Christmastime, and in June they found out that he's got kidney disease. He went on KD and essentially eats enough to survive, but he probably eats half the amount of normal cats.

My older kitty, who is 16, started looking unhealthy in the spring. Lost weight, and her hair was looking lackluster. I figured it was her thyroid. I recently switched to Medical's Mature formula, and she gained weight and her coat's all glossy again.

Anyways, enough of my cats. I would say you should stick with what you have her on. It's higher protein, but would you rather see her fail slowly and be miserable eating KD? I'd rather have her eating well and happy while she still can.

Did they give you any powder meds(sorry, don't know which meds, just that they're powder, one a probiotic mix, that my parents mix with water to give with syringe by mouth)? That seems to help my parents' kitty.

[Norse]

The only meds she is on is for her thyroid. I also give her 1-2 drops of milk thistle 2x/day because she had liver failure (fully recovered) about 2 years ago.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Always mix some water into their food, even into the canned food. The more water they ingest the better their kidneys keep working. been there...several times.
We also give sub-cutaneous water injections to our one kitty about 2x week to keep her from any downward slide, since she has damaged kidney function already from a crisis several years ago. This keeps her doing well. But I always mix a tablespoon of water into each of the kitties meals anyway.

Personally, I have never been impressed with the ingredients in the 'special' kidney health diets that vets sell for high prices.

[Dianyla]

The older cat (17) was just diagnosed with kidney disease and the vet understandably wants her on a low protein diet.
I've never figured out why any vet would want to put a cat on a low-protein diet. Cats are carnivores. Many of the kidney problems you're seeing in cats nowadays are actually caused by a lifetime of dry salty overprocessed kibble diet.

Veterinary education is heavily subsidized and sponsored by the pet food companies, and most vets offices get significant kickbacks from selling sponsored food. I have found some more holistic vets who support raw food for cats and dogs, but they're a rare and independent breed.

[ccnyc]

Putting cats with kidney disease on a low protein diet is just plain wrong! Been there, done that. My cat deteriorated quickly on k/d. (I feed a raw diet now) Here's a link that discusses cats, protein, and kidney disease.
http://www.holisticat.com/crf/Diet-what-to-feed-and-protein-issues.html

[Biciclista]

wow, thanks for the great link CCNYC

[tulip]

Sounds like a tough call. Your cat is old and nearing the end of its life span. In nature, old cats didn't switch to vegetarian diets when they got old. It doesn't make sense. More water in her food?
Good luck, keep us posted on this. I will probably be in your position in 10 years myself.

Agreed. If she's doing well on the raw diet and enjoys it, I'd let her be. When it's her time, she will go. 17 years is quite a long life for a cat. My favorite cat (of many) lived to be 21, but I have no idea how. We fed her cheap dry food and she supplemented it with mice and birds. Good genes, I guess.

[Norse]

Thanks for all the responses. For now I am keeping her on the same diet and mixing in an additional tablespoon of water w/each serving.