Preventing Kidney disease/Renal failure?Hi, my cat is almost 15 years old, and the older she gets, the more worried I have become about kidney problems. What are the best ways to help prevent renal failure in cats? I have heard increasing protein and reducing phosphorus are key, but how exactly is this done? What foods are best for this? Currently she eats Purina Healthful Life (dry food) and drinks regular tap water (which is what we drink also...) any suggestions?
She definitely likes wet food, and we fed it to her for a long time, but she got to where it upset her stomach and often made her vomit. She doesn't seem to have this problem with the dry food...
Posted by Big clookies
Feeding wet food.
Posted by mrs. grimm
If she is 15 years old she has probably lived well past a normal kitty. Try giving her 1/2 or 1/4 of wet food mixed with her dry. Also my cats love chicken (real chicken breast), you cat try giving her a tiny bit of this.
On the other hand she is pretty old and there is probably not much you can do to prevent anything. What happens is what happens. No what happens though it won't your fault. You can only do what you can do.
Posted by ♥Pretty♥ ♥Kitty♥
You need to stop with the dry food and start feeding a diet of high quality, grain-free wet food like Wellness, Innova, or Merrick. Dry food is usually the culprit in cases of renal failure, feline diabetes, and obesity in cats because of the carb content and the lack of moisture. The grains in the dry you're feeding are very hard on your cat's kidneys. Dry food actually absorbs moisture from your cat's system which contributes to dehydration. Cats must take in sufficient fluids to maintain healthy organ function. Wet food contains water which adds to the cat's fluid intake. The kidney diets vets prescribe are low protein formulas but still contain grains and by-products. I switched my CRF cat from Hill's K/D to Wellness which contains more protein but in a higher quality, and no grains. He has made great improvement with this diet. Here are a couple of articles on the subject which may be helpful to you.
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=KidneyDisease
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood
The higher quality wet foods without grains and by-products will probably be easier on her tummy than what you were feeding before. They are a bit more expensive but very worth it in the end.
By feeding a premium food, you will not be increasing the amount of protein, only the quality of the protein in the food. Wellness is made with human grade proteins as opposed to Purina which is made with by products -heads, feet, intestines, any part of the animal which can't be sold for human consumption, and plant proteins. The higher quality protein is easier for your cat's system to process. Fish based foods are higher in phosphates than other formulas so steer clear of fish. By *more* protein, I meant more than the prescription brand has. It was once agreed less protein was the way to go so prescription diets were made with that in mind. Now studies show the protein doesn't have to be less, only better.
One more thing, then I'll shut up. Older cats can begin to experience issues with dental condition. Bacteria from poor oral condition can also contribute to renal failure so make sure to have your cat's teeth evaluated and treated to safeguard against this.
Posted by ♥Lily♥
First off, you can try to prevent a lot of things but sometimes it's out of your control. You do sound very concerned and caring for your kitty which is more then I can say about some people.
PLEASE do not increase protein! That is the worst thing you could do! Older animals cannot break down protein as well and it WILL cause liver problems, one of which could be complete liver failure. It's bad to increase protein in a 10 year old cat let alone a 15 year old.
A good idea would be to switch your cat to a senior diet (if she's not on one already). If Purina is your preferred choice I'm sure you could find a suitable type. Just keep in mind if you do switch her food, it has to be done gradually.
Posted by theshadowknows
You can't increase protein and reduce phosphorus - it doesn't work that way. What they usually do is reduce the quality of the protein (like to a plant source rather than from an animal source) to reduce the phosphorus, but this isn't good for a cat.
Cats require high quality protein. Wet food generally contains better quality protein than dry foods. But your best choice is a high quality canned food (like Wellness) that has a minimal amount of fillers, grains and additives. These substances are known to cause low level inflammation of the kidneys which results in damage to the kidneys over long periods of time. Since dry food is practically devoid of any water, it tends to keep a cat in a continual state of borderline dehydration, which causes the kidneys to work harder and accelerates damage.
You cannot reverse this kidney damage, but you can minimize any further damage by reducing or eliminating the ingestion of poor quality food ingredients and environmental toxins.
BTW, the feline distemper vaccine is suspected of contributing to kidney failure also.
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