Is fat good for bad kidneys?

My 14 yo tomcat has a problem. He has been diagnosed by the vet, and he (the
vet) recommends less protein. And of course, our cat, being a real cat,
does not like potatoes, or vegetables, ... we have found some nutrients
which he accepts sometimes, if we mix them with a good amount of protein...
and then we hope that it works.

There may be another way: fat. He does like fat. I am not sure, however,
that that saves his kidneys. I seem to remember that dealing with fat is a
function of the liver/bile, so maybe that would be something he would eat
without damaging his kidneys. But, then, which fat? He doesn't like butter,
I've tried that. He is fond of herring (but that contains some salt, which
is bad for his kidneys). Is fat a good idea, and if so, can anyone give a
suggestion?

jjg wrote:
My 14 yo tomcat has a problem. He has been diagnosed by the vet, and he (the
vet) recommends less protein. And of course, our cat, being a real cat,
does not like potatoes, or vegetables, ... we have found some nutrients
which he accepts sometimes, if we mix them with a good amount of protein...
and then we hope that it works.


There is food at the vet that you can buy for kidney disease; my crf cat has
been eating it for the past 6 years. Try felinecrf.org and felinecrf.com -
they'll tell you everything there is to know about this disease and
treatments. You could also join Feline-CRF-Support Group.
Hope this helps,


Riannon

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200806/1

Riannon via CatKB.com wrote:

jjg wrote:
My 14 yo tomcat has a problem. He has been diagnosed by the vet, and he
(the vet) recommends less protein. And of course, our cat, being a real
cat, does not like potatoes, or vegetables, ... we have found some
nutrients which he accepts sometimes, if we mix them with a good amount of
protein... and then we hope that it works.


There is food at the vet that you can buy for kidney disease; my crf cat
has
been eating it for the past 6 years. Try felinecrf.org and felinecrf.com
- they'll tell you everything there is to know about this disease and
treatments. You could also join Feline-CRF-Support Group.
Hope this helps,


Riannon

Thanks. I'll try that.

"jjg" wrote in message
...
My 14 yo tomcat has a problem. He has been diagnosed by the vet, and he
(the
vet) recommends less protein.

Your vet is about 10 years behind current research in cats with CRF. Sounds
like he's been educated in CRF by a pet food manufacturer's rep so he'll
push renal diets on his clients. The knee-jerk practice of restricting
protein in CRF cats was based on outdated studies in Fischer rats that are
genetically predisposed to develop CRF as they get older. Its now known
that the things that speed up the progression of CRF in the rat don't have
the same effect in the cat.

Restricting protein too early in cats with CRF can have some deleterious
effects--e.g., impaired immunological response and resistance to infection,
reduced hemoglobin production and anemia, decreased plasma protein levels,
and muscle wasting. Protein restriction also decreases renal
ammoniagenesis- which in turn decreases renal acid excretion. That's why so
many CRF.cats on low-protein diets become nauseous and anorexic and need
antacids and appetite stimulants. Restricting protein also slows down GFR
and causes uremic toxins to build up in the blood- the very thing
low-protein diets are supposedly designed to reduce!

You shouldn't restrict a cat's protein intake until the BUN reaches 65-85
mg/dl. The only things you want to decrease are phosphorus and acid intake.
Diets that are designed to treat calcium oxalate are ideal for cats with CRF
because they are lower in phosphorus and acid yet provide optimum protein
levels. My 23 year-old made a *dramatic* turn around after I switched her
over from k/d to c/d-oxl. When Hill's changed the formula, I switched her
from c/d -oxl to IamsVeterinary Formula Urinary=O - Moderate pH/O and she's
doing even better! I hate P&G but I'm not going to hurt my cat to spite
Iams.

The most important things you want to increase are potassium and omega-3
fatty acids (from fish only- not plant material). Since I've been giving my
23 year-old potassium and omega-3 supplements, her BUN/Cr. have come *down*
to high normal to a tad above, and her USG has *increased* from 1.010 to
1.027!

Best of luck,

Phil