Cat in early kidney disease

Ginger is a 6 year old orange and white spayed female. She's been inside
all her life with me, but was born in a barn. Tested FIV/FeLV negative,
vaccinated on schedule. I got her from my hay guy, and I believe that she's
HIGHLY inbred--oddly shaped front legs, teeth missing (and have always
been), vision problems, not very smart, etc.

When she went in to have a tooth extracted about two weeks ago--all of her
other teeth looked GREAT, just one tooth that was dead-- the basic labs
showed elevated BUN and creatinine. A urine check showed blood and rods.
We treated for 10 days with clavimox, and pulled another creatinine.
Slightly lower, but still high. (I believe initially it was 37.9, now it's
37.7? Don't remember the exact numbers.) There was still slight blood in
the urine on a recheck. Also, my vet palpated her kidneys while she was
under for her tooth extraction, and said her kidneys were SMALL--about half
normal size. I'm not too surprised, considering her other physical issues.

Ginger drinks and eats well, and acts like a happy kitty. She certainly
doesn't act like a kitty with kidney disease, and I'd like to keep it that
way.

I have 7 cats, and I feed Innova. It's 36% protein. I'm planning on
filling the feeders that Ginger eats at with Innova low cal, which is 26%
protein and also contains cranberries. My vet and I have discussed giving
Ginger 100cc's of sub-q fluids once a week, so I'll start that next week. I
am also supplementing Ginger daily with Finish Line, which has glucosamine,
Vitamin C, MSM and Yucca.

I can't talk this kitty into eating wet food, and I'd really like to avoid
the prescription diets--I have one kitty that needs Z/D, and her condition
is just not nearly as good as the other cats. I don't think I could
convince Ginger to eat a prescription diet, anyway. My Z/D cat knows to
come and ask to be fed, but Ginger...well, she's not so smart.

Is there anything else I should be doing for this kitty?

Thanks,

Corey

I'm planning on filling the feeders that Ginger eats at with Innova low cal, which is 26%
protein and also contains cranberries.
I can't talk this kitty into eating wet food, and I'd really like to avoid
the prescription diets--I have one kitty that needs Z/D, and her condition
is just not nearly as good as the other cats. I don't think I could
convince Ginger to eat a prescription diet, anyway.

Innova food is not designed to help a cat with kidney disease and if the
cranberries are in there to acidify the urine, that is not good. A cat with
kidney disease should not have a food which produces an acidic urine p/h.
The kidney diets produce an alkaline urine p/h. They also are reduced in
protein, phosphorus and sodium which helps the kidneys and increased in
omega-3's. Feeding a regular food to a cat with kidney disease can
accelerate the disease. At least give the foods a try; there are many to
choose from at the vet's. You may want to give the canned a try too; you
never know; she might start eating it due to the fact that they have extra
fat in them to provide more calories as cats suffering from kidney disease
sometimes can get quite skinny.

I have a 13 year old cat who was diagnosed at age 9 and her numbers are still
the same. I feed her Hill's k/d "with chicken" canned food and Medi-Cal (IVD
in the States) dry food. I can't feed her Hill's dry food because she has
always had a problem with those hard ball-shaped kibbles; the Medi-Cal is
star-shaped and thin and seem softer to break.

Anna

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200602/1

Anna via CatKB.com wrote:

Innova food is not designed to help a cat with kidney disease and if
the cranberries are in there to acidify the urine, that is not good.
A cat with kidney disease should not have a food which produces an
acidic urine p/h. The kidney diets produce an alkaline urine p/h.
They also are reduced in protein, phosphorus and sodium which helps
the kidneys and increased in omega-3's. Feeding a regular food to a
cat with kidney disease can accelerate the disease. At least give
the foods a try; there are many to choose from at the vet's.

Unfortunately, with 7 cats, I have to compromise. Can you reccomend a
ultra-premium food good for a cat that is just on the edge of kidney
disease?

You may
want to give the canned a try too; you never know; she might start
eating it due to the fact that they have extra fat in them to provide
more calories as cats suffering from kidney disease sometimes can get
quite skinny.

I tried canned for about 2 weeks after her tooth extraction. Ginger would
eat about two bites, and then leave. I hoped that she would get used to it,
and eat more, but that never happened. I even tried locking her in the
bathroom with the canned food, but she refused to eat it She's holding
her weight quite well, and I probably wouldn't even consider her a "kidney
cat" if the labs didn't show some irregularity.

I have a 13 year old cat who was diagnosed at age 9 and her numbers
are still the same. I feed her Hill's k/d "with chicken" canned food
and Medi-Cal (IVD in the States) dry food. I can't feed her Hill's
dry food because she has always had a problem with those hard
ball-shaped kibbles; the Medi-Cal is star-shaped and thin and seem
softer to break.

I recall trying the IVD with my IBD cat (who now eats Z/D.) She refused to
even go near it.

It just can't be an easy answer, can it?

Corey

On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 20:04:10 -0700, "Corey Kaye"
wrote:

Anna via CatKB.com wrote:

Innova food is not designed to help a cat with kidney disease and if
the cranberries are in there to acidify the urine, that is not good.
A cat with kidney disease should not have a food which produces an
acidic urine p/h. The kidney diets produce an alkaline urine p/h.
They also are reduced in protein, phosphorus and sodium which helps
the kidneys and increased in omega-3's. Feeding a regular food to a
cat with kidney disease can accelerate the disease. At least give
the foods a try; there are many to choose from at the vet's.

Unfortunately, with 7 cats, I have to compromise. Can you reccomend a
ultra-premium food good for a cat that is just on the edge of kidney
disease?

Corey,

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I have 9 cats on various diets, so
it *is* possible to do it -- just takes a little work and a lot of
supervision.

I checked into the Hill's booklet, and opted for g/d for my CRF cat,
Cosmo. It is good for cats with heart problems, and is (I believe)
used more for cats in earlier stages of CRF. You can just feed your
cat the dry, and add water to it if your cat will eat it that way.
It's worth a try.

You may
want to give the canned a try too; you never know; she might start
eating it due to the fact that they have extra fat in them to provide
more calories as cats suffering from kidney disease sometimes can get
quite skinny.

I tried canned for about 2 weeks after her tooth extraction. Ginger would
eat about two bites, and then leave. I hoped that she would get used to it,
and eat more, but that never happened. I even tried locking her in the
bathroom with the canned food, but she refused to eat it She's holding
her weight quite well, and I probably wouldn't even consider her a "kidney
cat" if the labs didn't show some irregularity.

I have a 13 year old cat who was diagnosed at age 9 and her numbers
are still the same. I feed her Hill's k/d "with chicken" canned food
and Medi-Cal (IVD in the States) dry food. I can't feed her Hill's
dry food because she has always had a problem with those hard
ball-shaped kibbles; the Medi-Cal is star-shaped and thin and seem
softer to break.

I recall trying the IVD with my IBD cat (who now eats Z/D.) She refused to
even go near it.

It just can't be an easy answer, can it?

It's never easy, but I'm sure you'll do your best for your cat. Cosmo
was diagnosed with a heart murmur and CRF six years ago this May, and
he is still with us.

Best of luck to you.


Corey

Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
http://www.moonsummer.com
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....mmer/index.htm (genealogy)
http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
Animals in Movies Website)

(I believe initially it was 37.9, now it's 37.7? Don't remember the exact numbers.)
am also supplementing Ginger daily with Finish Line, which has glucosamine,
Vitamin C, MSM and Yucca.

Are those lab numbers from a US lab? My cat is 3 when I checked on the US
lab chart at felinecrf.com. Or is your's International?

Careful about the supplements - check for phosphorus in them; you don't want
to add extra. Also, I'm not sure if she should be having lots of vitamin C
as it may be acidic. If you are feeding a commercial food, there is no need
for supplements; in fact, some may be harmful (vitamin or mineral overload)
or simply useless and a waste of money. You may want to discuss this with
your vet.


Anna

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

Anna via CatKB.com wrote:

Are those lab numbers from a US lab? My cat is 3 when I checked on
the US lab chart at felinecrf.com. Or is your's International?

Ah, it must have been 3.9 and 3.7. Not in the 30's

Careful about the supplements - check for phosphorus in them; you
don't want to add extra. Also, I'm not sure if she should be having
lots of vitamin C as it may be acidic. If you are feeding a
commercial food, there is no need for supplements; in fact, some may
be harmful (vitamin or mineral overload) or simply useless and a
waste of money. You may want to discuss this with your vet.

I HAVE discussed this with my vet He recommended this supplement for
cystitis.

Corey

Anna via CatKB.com wrote:

Excellent info at both of these sites. Personally I would recommend
Hill's Science Diet; their foods are not excessive in phosphorus. My
14 year old cat has been on it her whole life and is healthy and my
7.5 year old was switched to it after he suffered a UTI and blockage
on another company's food. That was 6 years ago and he's never had a
recurrance. I wish I could have raised my 13 year old (the one who
was diagnosed with kidney disease at 9) on it but as I stated she has
trouble with those hard round ball-type foods.

Are you refering to just the regular Science Diet for adult cats?

Innova Cat Lite has less protein, and only slightly higher phos (0.9 as
opposed to 0.7) Science Diets first three ingredients are chicken
by-product meal, ground whole grain corn, and brewers rice. Innova's are
turkey, chicken and ground barley.

The k/d had slightly less protein than the Innova (24% vs 26%) and half the
phos (0.45 vs 0.9) but, god--look at what's IN it. Brewers rice, corn
gluten meal, pork fat. Gross. As my vet has no concern with the Innova
Lite, I think I'll just stick with that until he advises me to change.

Corey

wrote:

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. I have 9 cats on various diets, so
it *is* possible to do it -- just takes a little work and a lot of
supervision.

How do you do it? I free feed all the cats, and have class during the day.
There's no way I can supervise all the time.

Juliet comes and asks to be fed when she needs her z/d (she has us well
trained but Ginger just isn't like that.

Corey

Your best bet to give her a good quality of life is to change the diet like
your vet suggest. This is something that has to be managed properly or she
won't be around long.

Celeste


"Corey Kaye" wrote in message
. ..
Ginger is a 6 year old orange and white spayed female. She's been inside
all her life with me, but was born in a barn. Tested FIV/FeLV negative,
vaccinated on schedule. I got her from my hay guy, and I believe that
she's
HIGHLY inbred--oddly shaped front legs, teeth missing (and have always
been), vision problems, not very smart, etc.

When she went in to have a tooth extracted about two weeks ago--all of her
other teeth looked GREAT, just one tooth that was dead-- the basic labs
showed elevated BUN and creatinine. A urine check showed blood and rods.
We treated for 10 days with clavimox, and pulled another creatinine.
Slightly lower, but still high. (I believe initially it was 37.9, now
it's
37.7? Don't remember the exact numbers.) There was still slight blood in
the urine on a recheck. Also, my vet palpated her kidneys while she was
under for her tooth extraction, and said her kidneys were SMALL--about
half
normal size. I'm not too surprised, considering her other physical
issues.

Ginger drinks and eats well, and acts like a happy kitty. She certainly
doesn't act like a kitty with kidney disease, and I'd like to keep it that
way.

I have 7 cats, and I feed Innova. It's 36% protein. I'm planning on
filling the feeders that Ginger eats at with Innova low cal, which is 26%
protein and also contains cranberries. My vet and I have discussed giving
Ginger 100cc's of sub-q fluids once a week, so I'll start that next week.
I
am also supplementing Ginger daily with Finish Line, which has
glucosamine,
Vitamin C, MSM and Yucca.

I can't talk this kitty into eating wet food, and I'd really like to avoid
the prescription diets--I have one kitty that needs Z/D, and her condition
is just not nearly as good as the other cats. I don't think I could
convince Ginger to eat a prescription diet, anyway. My Z/D cat knows to
come and ask to be fed, but Ginger...well, she's not so smart.

Is there anything else I should be doing for this kitty?

Thanks,

Corey

Spot wrote:

Your best bet to give her a good quality of life is to change the
diet like your vet suggest. This is something that has to be managed
properly or she won't be around long.

?

I'm following my vet's advice to the letter. He approves of feeding Innova
Lite.

I'm curious why you think I'm ignoring my vet's advice.

Corey