Feeding a cat with early stages of renal failure- suggestions?

[Bradester]

I took my 14-year-old cat, Mr. Blue, to the vet today for his rabies vac and a routine exam. Had them run a blood panel since he's older. The vet called me with the results and said his creatinine levels are slightly elevated, meaning he's most likely in the early stages of renal failure. It's sad, but I'm not too upset or surprised given his age.

I plan to control it with diet for now. The vet, of course, suggested Science Diet k/d. I am not a Science Diet fan, and a lot of what I've read suggests that low protein diets really don't have much of a positive effect on kidney problems. At the moment I'm feeding Blue Buffalo, but I plan to switch to Nature's Variety Instinct, both dry and canned, to ensure he's getting enough fluids. I also have another cat, which might make things a bit trickier.

Does anyone here with some knowledge and/or experience have any more suggestions for me on what/how to feed, and to make sure he's getting enough water? I realize it's a terminal disease, but I'd like to keep it controlled for hopefully a few more years.

[Dreamstalker]

We've had McGriff on the Prescription Diet k/d (wet and dry) since January and it seems to have positive results.

The main thing to watch our for is protein, they can't have too much of it.

We supplement the k/d with tuna water (water ONLY), chicken drippings/fat and baby food (be careful with that too, anything with onion or onion powder is VERY harmful to cats).

We use Gerber 2nd Foods (not a lot, just enough to get him interested if he's off his food) and he loves it. Usually we make a "stew" of k/d wet, k/d dry, a bit of baby food and hot water all mixed up.

We also have to give sub-q fluids twice a week.

This is an excellent information site.

[MaggieTheCat]

Boyfriend and I just recently found out that his 7 year old cat has kidney disease. It was a nightmare at first; the week before I moved down here, she stopped eating and drinking and was very lethargic, so he took her to the vet, who kept her for 5 days, including a weekend, and she wasn't much better when we got her home. Thankfully, she has gotten a bit better now; we had to have her on clavamox drops for about 3.5 weeks, as well as another medication (a pill, but I can't remember what it was right off hand) for about 2 weeks, and a second pill to help keep her from getting nauseated and throwing up. Plus we started giving her a kidney diet:

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/p..._id=30254503KT

It only comes in one flavor, chicken, which our cat doesn't particularly like. So we also give her a little canned food from the grocery store that comes in fish flavors, which she likes much more. The vet said it's more important that she eat plenty and get liquids (she lost over 3 pounds in less than 2 weeks) so we mix the two together. We also give her Epakitin, which is a supplemental powder that we sprinkle on her food that's supposed to be good for kidney failure.

The best part is, is that we're supposed to also be giving her subcutaneous fluids (under her skin) to help keep her hydrated. Yeah...that happened for about a week and a half before she got so wild that we couldn't hold her. We tried everything, too, from bribing her with food while giving her the fluids to holding her down in a scruff position while wrapped in a towel or a pillowcase. As soon as she knew what was going on, which was before we could even get the needle in her, she would yeowl and bite/scratch me to the point that I'd have to let her go. Plus, for the week and a half we were giving her fluids, she was extremely mean to all of us (my boyfriend, me (especially me) and our other cat). She would hiss at me every time she saw me, and she would frequently try to bite me, even if I wasn't actually trying to touch her. She'd also hiss at our other cat as soon as it was time to eat. When we stopped giving her the fluids, she got a lot better in that regard, and the vet even said (two weeks after we stopped giving her fluids) that her blood tests were looking a lot better. She DOES drink a lot of water; we make sure to give her fresh water 2-3 times a day at least. And since she eats all wet food now, she gets a lot of fluids that way.

Anyway, for your cat, I would recommend a canned diet at the very least, even if it's not specifically a kidney diet. You could also do the tuna water trick; just open a can of tuna (packed in water only, no oil!), pour some of the juice into the cat's food, and then top the can off with water and leave it in the fridge. We haven't actually done it, so I'm not sure how long it would last there, maybe a week or so. I would also recommend giving the cat fresh water at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening if possible. If she's really picky about what she drinks, some cats like to have flowing water, so you could get a cat fountain, which will keep the water moving. You can also put an ice cube or two in the water (whether it's standing water or in a fountain) to keep it cool; my cat back home will only drink cold water out of a deep bucket. Experiment with different containers too; we found out that our cats love to drink out of our own drinking glasses, so we have one glass that's just for them that we fill up often. They drink out of that much more often than they drink out of their actual water bowl.

Our vet said that our cat's creatinine levels may never be back in the "normal" range but they're pretty close right now (still a little high, but nowhere like they were when she first went to the vet; one of the tests that they ran, a normal cat should have a result of something like 20-35. Our cat's was over 300. It's in the 40s right now.) Anyway, good luck, talk to your vet if you have any questions, and get your cat in ASAP if you notice him not eating or drinking much and being less active.

[Lace Neil Singer]

My cat had renal failure; however, she was so badly affected that we chose to have her put to sleep rather than prolong her life.

While a cat is still eating, there's a point to keeping it alive, but the moment that your cat stops eating and having quality of life, you must take it to the vet at once.

[Dreamstalker]

Giving the fluids is definitely an art; McGriff generally doesn't mind, but the main thing is making sure he stays still (one of the first times we did it, he pulled away just as we were finishing and we lost a few mL of ringer's on the bed before I stopped the flow). I had to have a tech show me exactly what to do. You need to make sure that the needle is just sliding under the skin in line with the neck, but not hitting the muscle or coming out the other side when you "tent" the skin. If done properly it shouldn't hurt them at all.

[Primer]

I am not a vet. And I know dogs and cats are different creatures. But...about a year and a half ago, my Aus Shep mix was diagnosed with liver and kidney problems. She was put on Ursodiol and Colchicine and a bit of prednisone and Vitamin E. She is much peppier now than she has been in several years! She is down to having bloodwork about every 4-5 months just to be sure all her blood chemistries are staying within reason. Ask your vet, or ask for a referral to a specialist.

Good luck, and hugs!