"dtanyol" wrote in message
om...
Hi Phil,

Thanks very much for your advice. I actually don't quite know what
stage of renal failure my cat is in, whether it's early- and
mid-range. At this point, he's just drinking and urinating a lot; the
specific gravity of his urine has ranged from 1.023 to 1.032
(apparently 1.040 and above is a healthy level of urine concentration,
and 1.00 is the concentration of plain water, not good). I do not know
the specific BUN, but I know that it was only slightly off-target,
leading the doctor to do the specific gravity test.

So: I guess I will have to ask the vet why she's recommending low
protein rather than "as much high-quality protein as possible." I've
also gotten a recommendation from another newsgroup member to keep
both protein and phosphorus as LOW as possible. Since I'm getting
conflicting responses on whether to give "as little protein and
phosphorus as possible" and "as much high-quality protein as
possible," would be you be able to help me split hairs a little? I'm
not very knowledgeable about kidney disease, and it sounds as if I'm
about to embark on a long, messy road with it, and I'd like to keep my
cat healthy as long as possible. (Thanks so much for your help. Any
additional clarification would be great, so that when I call to
question the doctor, I have some reasonable ammunition to use.)


Hi Denise,

The ritual of feeding low-protein diets to cats in CRF originated from old
studies in lab rats. Its now known that mechanisms that can affect the
progression of CRF in the rat do not have the same effect in the cat.

Cats have a high protein requirement and can't readily adapt to a
low-protein diet, thus, protein restriction can have detrimental effects in
cats (e.g., , reduced hemoglobin production and anemia, impaired immune
response and resistance to infection, muscle wasting). Most cats are still
comfortable with a BUN of 60-80 mg/dl. Therefore, protein should be
restricted *only* to control azotemia.

Also, scheduled meal-feeding as opposed to free feeding (ad libitum), may be
easier on the kidneys. The
hyperfiltration that occurs after a meal only lasts for a little while, as
opposed to continuously as with nibbling throughout the day.

Another important factor is the acidity of the diet. In fact acidified
diets may contribute to, if not actually cause renal disease. k/d, g/d and
x/d are alkaline diets.

HTH,

Phil



"Phil P." wrote in message
...
"dtanyol" wrote in message
om...
Hi cat people,

I have a 14-year-old male cat who was recently diagnosed as having
early-stage kidney disease. The vet's recommendation was to feed him
low-protein cat food,

Actually, your cat should be fed as much high-quality protein as
possible
while keeping his BUN at 60 mg/dl or less. Excessive (and premature)
protein restriction can have deleterious effects. k/d is better for
cats in
mid-to late-stage CRF.


and she sold me a few cans of g/d (which, I
believe, is made by Hill's). This food has a protein percentage of
7.5%, which is only slightly below what the cat was already eating
(9-Lives beef cat food, whose protein content is 8.0%).

Actually, k/d contains 29% protein on a dry matter basis - about 6.5
grams
of protein/100 kcal - or about 12 grams/can. I think that's too low for
a
cat in early stage CRF. I've been feeding our CRF cats x/d with great
results.





Here's the problem: since he was a kitten, my cat has only been able
to eat beef-flavored cat food without getting diarrhea.

You probably made the transition to abrupt. Try mixing a 1/2 tsp of the
new
food in the old food and gradually increasing the new food by 1/2 tsp
every
few days and decrease the old food by the same amount.

You might make the transition easier by putting a dab of the new food on
your cat's nose (not near his nostrils) to satiate his olfactory system.
When he licks it off he'll also satiate his gustatory system so that the
new
food will seem familiar and won't be detected in the mix.

You can also try mixing in a little beef fat -its non-protein calories.
Just don't use too much or you'll throw off the nutrient balance of the
diet.

Good luck.

Phil