Feline Kidney Disease:

[Oracle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Oracle]

Our 10 year old male cat has just been diagnosed with this problem. The vet has suggested that we go with a low protein diet. Has anyone gone down this path? We noticed that he has lost a lot of wieght. The bloodwork showed elevated BUN and creatinine.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Our 10 year old male cat has just been diagnosed with this problem. The vet has suggested that we go with a low protein diet. Has anyone gone down this path? We noticed that he has lost a lot of wieght. The bloodwork showed elevated BUN and creatinine.

Does he have crystals?

One of my guys had to be hospitalized when he was 2 for this and given fluids. My expensive adoptee alley cat.

Vet was a cat specialist and recommended Science Diet dry foods and to avoid canned fish flavored wet food because of the higher magnesium content.

The Tazmanian Devil Cat is now 17. He still drinks tons of water and ergo his elimination is high ( though he does not show up as diabetic ) so I guess the advice works.

[Oracle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Oracle]

The Vet did not mention crystals. We have 4 cats, so we will probably have to put them all on the Rx diet. Hopefully we caught it early.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

The Vet did not mention crystals. We have 4 cats, so we will probably have to put them all on the Rx diet. Hopefully we caught it early.

The weight loss is probably due to the fact that your cat is not drinking enough water. It HURTS to urinate and he has figured out that limited water intake will decrease his need to use the litter box.

It will certainly not harm the other cats and may help them live longer and healthier lives. Male cats are much more prone to this than females Taz's buddy had to live with the diet as I free feed the dry foods and they always shared the wet foods as well.

=^..^=

PS it was the magnesium levels that were high in the tuna, seafood tyoe wet foods we were to avoid. DUH!

I don't feel low protein is helpful when you consider what a cat is actually built to eat. Same goes for dogs. None of these animals would be reaching for corn and other veggies in the wild. and fish? would be a rare opportunity.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Are you saying I should not buy canned cat food with fish in it? They really love it but I'd hate to screw up as I buy Iams for the dry food and buy Friskies or 9lives and mix 1/2 can in the dry to be shared by 2 cats, I do this twice a day. I give Monkey (my dog) Iams mixed with just a little Alpo .

I had to put one of my cats down with crystals. I cried and cried but I couldn't afford the treatment.

shaggy

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Are you saying I should not buy canned cat food with fish in it? They really love it but I'd hate to screw up as I buy Iams for the dry food and buy Friskies or 9lives and mix 1/2 can in the dry to be shared by 2 cats, I do this twice a day. I give Monkey (my dog) Iams mixed with just a little Alpo .

I had to put one of my cats down with crystals. I cried and cried but I couldn't afford the treatment.

shaggy

Just another 12 or 15 months of Ramen noodles Leslie. But then I was younger and single at the time. Sometimes we have to make the real hard decisions. My Suit had her intestines twist up. She was nearly 21 years old and even though I would have eaten Mac & Cheese for years to save her. The vet ( a very decent man ) supported my decision to put her down instead. I just couldn't put her though that kind of surgery at her age.

Unfortunately many of us have had to decide between mortgage payments/rent and our pets.

How old are your kitties? Some are pre-dispostioned toward urinary issues. Taz-Man always loved his fishy foods ( cat BREATH!) and I did give him some every couple of weeks as a treat. He would eat chicken or turkey though and that's what they mostly got.

The new Purina One dry is a surprising good food for the cost but mine will only eat his Science Diet. Iams is also good but more expensive stuff.

If you can keep the ash content ( which correlates to magnesium ) below 3% on the wet foods you'll probably be OK.

Now, as the vet says, he is on "Bonus Time" and gets whatever he will eat. He's always been a light weight and now as he ages it is a challenge to keep him up to 8 pounds.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Our 10 year old male cat has just been diagnosed with this problem. The vet has suggested that we go with a low protein diet. Has anyone gone down this path? We noticed that he has lost a lot of wieght. The bloodwork showed elevated BUN and creatinine.

Oracle, I would go to a second Vet too and get his opinion. Our little alley cat had a problem from day one but we feed him special food from Wysong and now he is almost 17 years old. He also had his male organ removed because he could not pee. He had crystals too and they kept coming back or it is sand. A change of diet was not enough for him.

I don't think that your cat has that problem because bad kidneys is a different disease. As long as they do not fail, there is hope. I would contact Wystong and try to speak with a nutritionist there. They do not charge for this but will recommend their products. Here is their web site but you can email them too. We have had several cats that the Vet told us that they would not live long but they all made it to 16 or 17 years old so I have a lot of confidence in Wystong pet food and much more than in Science diet or IAMS that killed out Siamese cat at 7 1/2 year old because of the lack of Taurine. Wysong was the company that found this out but it was too late for our cat. One of our Vets recommended Wysong pet food and I have no financial interest in this company. Our animals love their food but we rotate what they eat which Wysong recommends.

Good luck with your cat as they are precious.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

My cats are apx 12 yrs old and are as healthy as can be. I started them on Iams and that's what I keep them on mixed in with a little wet cat food. A coworker recommended Bil-Jack for Monkey because it has the most protein with very little corn filler. So far Monkey's still on Iams. I love my babies!! shaggy

[Oracle Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Oracle]

Today is going to be a sad day.

Mickey, our 10 year old black cat with kidney disease, had finally started the fast slide down. Last Wednesday, we noticed him doing poorly and took him to the vet. He was dehydrated, so we hoped a round of fluid therapy would help perk him up. Unfortunately, it did not. Now he has stopped eating, so this is the end. The disease has left him skeletal, he only weighed 5.9 pounds when we took him in, but he has maintained a normal appetite and activity level despite the weight loss. Now he won't look at food and refuses Greenies which he would go nuts over.

It is time to say goodbye.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I have gone through this with way too many dogs, and now cats.

We keep saying no more, we don't want that attachment, and then another one comes along.

I guess the sorrow of parting is the price we pay for all the enjoyment they bring us.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

My guy is going on 16 and has been losing weight the past couple of years. Last weigh in was at 16+ lbs., down from his 22+ dog chasing weight. All the tests do not reveal any specific problems. It's tough to see him slowing down and getting old.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

I'm not sure why so many of us are saying "good-bye" to our four-legged friends lately. I'm so very sorry for you and your family.

If you were not so far away I would offer you Cougar; our latest foster kitten.