how to maintain good health in a kitty with (latent) cogenital kidney disease?this is me again who posted yesterday about a kitty with possible kidney disease. The urinalaysis results just came out - she does not have renal kidney failure (as yet). nevertheless, she is born with abnormally small kidneys. She is not sick yet, but this is a condition that will predispose her to problems later.
I have decided to keep her!!! because otherwise no one would want her ... (I suspect that such a pretty kitty, already spayed, ended up on the street because her owner found out about this and did not want her)
another thing is that the shelter has decided to reimburse all related expenses I have paid so far and so I have not really suffered financially as yet. (By the time her problem becomes serious, I will have graduated and become a lawyer and will be able to pay for her medical expenses because they are not that much for someone who has stable income anyway))
now, my question is: do you have tips on how to maintain good health in a kitty with an inborn kidney problem ? the vet will give me some good food when she returns the kitty to me tonight, but I need as many good tips as possible.
Posted by Kathleen
Good food, lots of water, normal life with decent exercise. You may want to watch the phosphorus intake of your cat if there is ever an indication of renal failure (excessive thirst, excessive urinating).
There are conflicting ideas about restricting protein. It works well in people with chronic renal failure, but it's debatable if it helps cats. However, I would stick with your vet's opinion since he knows your cat best and its medical history and current state of health.
You may have heard that restricting protein is recommended for cats in kidney failure. Although this has been the "standard" treatment for decades, as far as cats are concerned, it has always been--and remains--very controversial. According to experts at Colorado State University's veterinary teaching hospital, restricted protein does not prevent kidney failure in a healthy cat, and has no effect on the ultimate progression of renal disease. Research also shows that even very high protein diets do not make renal failure worse in cats (although high protein does worsen the disease in dogs and humans). (One pet food maker recently completed a study it claims shows that its restricted-protein diet increases lifespan in CRF cats. However, because the study has not yet been published, it is impossible to evaluate the data, which is contradicted by other research.) The real culprit is actually phosphorus, which meat contains in large amounts. Decreasing phosphorus intake (by restricting protein) can help some cats feel better, so it may be worth a try in a symptomatic cat.
However, some studies have suggested that excessive restriction of protein may actually cause further damage to the kidneys and other organs, because there is not enough protein for normal body maintenance and repair. Experts say that these diets are not appropriate until the BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) is at least double what it should be normally (about 60-80 mg/dl).
Furthermore, there is one big problem with using the protein-restricted commercial diets: many cats don't like them, and won't eat them. Obviously, it does little good to provide a special diet if the cat is going to starve to death! Experts emphasize that it is much more important to feed the cat what he likes and will eat, and maintain weight and body condition, than to be overly concerned about protein content. (Please note that if you add any other protein source to the diet, it will completely negate any possible beneficial effect from the low-phosphorus renal diet. It is useless to feed both a renal diet and a normal protein food or meat-based treats at the same time.)
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