Chronic Renal Failure - Need Homeopathic or Organic Solutions

I'm sure this has been discussed before. However, I'm inquiring on
some "natural" things I can do for our 16 year old baby in Renal
Failure. He's vomiting and has lost so much weight. He's a feisty
little guy and the vet doesn't want to do weekly IV therapy because
he'd have to be sedated which is just too risky at his age.

They gave us some Pepcid AC and something for nausea. But we still
have good days and bad (bad being trouble keeping things down).

I'm so skeptical of the Hill's Prescription Diet KD product after the
last gluten recall. I'm sickened that Rx foods are just as bad as OTC.
And his renal failure started right around that time of recall. I
never paid much mind to which foods I bought. He's never been a picky
eater so we could do any old brand. But I know that I had fed him some
Science Diet that "could" have been tainted. Who knows. I don't
exactly keep empty cans laying around...sigh

What can I do to help this kitty. He's my first baby.

TIA
Amy C.

"Amy C." wrote in message
ps.com...
I'm sure this has been discussed before. However, I'm inquiring on
some "natural" things I can do for our 16 year old baby in Renal
Failure. He's vomiting and has lost so much weight. He's a feisty
little guy and the vet doesn't want to do weekly IV therapy because
he'd have to be sedated which is just too risky at his age.

They gave us some Pepcid AC and something for nausea. But we still
have good days and bad (bad being trouble keeping things down).

Hi, Amy! This is more or less the same situation as with my 16-year-old cat
(although mine is okay about having subcu fluids).

I'm so skeptical of the Hill's Prescription Diet KD product after the
last gluten recall.

At this point, I don't think I would be worried about any of the Hills
Prescriptions diets being tainted with melamine. Even from the start, the
only one affected was the MD, and that has all been corrected now. My cats
eat Purina OM, and Purina has reassured my vet repeatedly that it does not
contain melamine and never did. My vet has verified to me that they have not
seen one single animal in their practice (which is quite large) with CRF
which could have been attributed to Hills prescription foods. That having
been said, my CRF kitty is NOT on a low protein diet, nor would I put him on
one. There has never been any evidence that keeping a cat on a low protein
diet slows the progression of renal failure. Phil told me this and it was
supported by Dr. Polzin who is a leader in the field. My veterinarian agreed
that this was completely true. Once upon a time, humans with renal failure
were placed on low protein diets. Now, this is no longer the case. Cats are
obligate carnivores and they need protein to prevent muscle atrophy. My CRF
kitty, Alex, was diagnosed six months ago. I have kept him on good quality
regular canned cat food (in addition to the dry Purina OM) this entire time
and his BUN and creatinine clearance numbers have actually improved. Also,
bear in mind that even if a low protein diet did delay progression of the
CRF, that's not going to help a cat who is wasting away because he's
refusing to eat. The number one thing is that your kitty needs to eat (which
I'm sure you know).

I'm sickened that Rx foods are just as bad as OTC.
And his renal failure started right around that time of recall. I
never paid much mind to which foods I bought. He's never been a picky
eater so we could do any old brand. But I know that I had fed him some
Science Diet that "could" have been tainted. Who knows. I don't
exactly keep empty cans laying around...sigh

What can I do to help this kitty. He's my first baby.

There is a canned Purina A/D which is high nutrition and cats supposedly
love. When Alex was boarded, he didn't want to eat, so the staff gave him
some of that, and he wolfed it down. If you go this route, be very careful,
as it's very rich, and your cat can get sick if he's not used to it (Alex
had vomiting and diarrhea after he ate it because it was so rich). My vet
said that when she prescribes it, she usually advises that the A/D be cut in
half with baby food at the beginning. My vet also suggested I buy Pro-Plan
cat food because it was developed specifically to be palatable. I'm
convinced that Pro-Plan and Fancy Feast are the same thing, BTW. My cats all
seem to like both the Pro-Plan and the Fancy Feast.

Anyway, that's my advice for what it's worth. Good luck and please keep us
posted.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

On Jun 27, 4:27 pm, "Amy C." wrote:
I'm sure this has been discussed before. However, I'm inquiring on
some "natural" things I can do for our 16 year old baby in Renal
Failure. He's vomiting and has lost so much weight. He's a feisty
little guy and the vet doesn't want to do weekly IV therapy because
he'd have to be sedated which is just too risky at his age.

They gave us some Pepcid AC and something for nausea. But we still
have good days and bad (bad being trouble keeping things down).

I'm so skeptical of the Hill's Prescription Diet KD product after the
last gluten recall. I'm sickened that Rx foods are just as bad as OTC.
And his renal failure started right around that time of recall. I
never paid much mind to which foods I bought. He's never been a picky
eater so we could do any old brand. But I know that I had fed him some
Science Diet that "could" have been tainted. Who knows. I don't
exactly keep empty cans laying around...sigh

What can I do to help this kitty. He's my first baby.

TIA
Amy C.

Hi Amy, sorry to hear about your cat. I had a cat with CRF that I was
giving fluid therapy to. It wasn't that difficult and you might want
to talk to your vet about teaching you how to do this at home. It
really made my cat more comfortable. You may want to join a Yahoo
group for CRF kitties. Lots of great support and information:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FelineCRF/

I'm taking care of a friend's 17 year old guy right now and had to take him
to the vet this week b/c he's been drinking soooo much water & hardly eating
any solid food, plus he vomits occasionally. The first thing I thought was
he might have kidney disease which a lot of old guys get eventually. Well,
to make a long story short, he is in the early stages of kidney failure. My
vet is really great & she said cats w/ kidney disease should be fed a LOW
protein diet. Fancy Feast is often the only thing older cats will eat but if
you can get your little dude to eat lower protein food (you can make it
yourself), that'll be better for him. But, of course, if he only wants FF,
then he's better off eating than not eating. Good luck!

Amy C. wrote:
I'm sure this has been discussed before. However, I'm inquiring on
some "natural" things I can do for our 16 year old baby in Renal
Failure. He's vomiting and has lost so much weight. He's a feisty
little guy and the vet doesn't want to do weekly IV therapy because
he'd have to be sedated which is just too risky at his age.

They gave us some Pepcid AC and something for nausea. But we still
have good days and bad (bad being trouble keeping things down).

I'm so skeptical of the Hill's Prescription Diet KD product after the
last gluten recall. I'm sickened that Rx foods are just as bad as OTC.
And his renal failure started right around that time of recall. I
never paid much mind to which foods I bought. He's never been a picky
eater so we could do any old brand. But I know that I had fed him some
Science Diet that "could" have been tainted. Who knows. I don't
exactly keep empty cans laying around...sigh

What can I do to help this kitty. He's my first baby.

TIA
Amy C.

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Thanks to both of you!

Amy C.