[PMFan]

hello. i'm new here.

thanks for all the great information in this thread !

i'd be interested in seeing what combinations of foods, meds, etc members here are using/have used successfully. is this the thread for that or is there another?

one issue not addressed here (that i could see) is sodium content in the commericially available high quality canned cat food.

since the script varities have lower sodium content, should i also aim for lower sodium when selecting the no grain/non-script brands? if so, what % or DM numbers should I look for ?

here are details on my 15+yo cat, rachel, diagnosed May 4, 2009.

BEHAVIOR
- drinking pretty well, i've not measured qty as i have another cat
- using the litter box
- goes pee/poo outside also, from what i've seen her pee is very clear
- appears to be well hydrated based on the skin grab/release test
- playful at times
- sleeps quite a bit
- we recently have a stray moved in and she shows territorial aggression toward her. so she still has quite a bit of spunk.

DIET THEN
- previous to now
-- CANNED friskies and 9lives (now transitioning to high quality canned)
-- various dry foods - friskies, goodlife recipe (have not stopped this yet)
-- occassionaly enjoys raw/cooked chicken, cooked hamburger/steak
- treats - various

DIET NOW
- started this week feeding NV chicken mixed w/ small amt of Purina NF (to lower phos levels). after reading here, should i stopt the Purina NF?
- will try EVO venison since is lower at 146 mg phos per 100 kcal according to analysis chart
- 1 TBP/day of 2% plain fage yogurt for the good bateria
- i want to start giving probiotic and digestive enzymes - any good brands out there?
- raw/cooked chicken
- treats - various

TREATMENTS for CRF
- diet only
- conventional vet mentioned sub'q's at home at some point, has not metioned anything else, but i've not discussed CRF progression w/ him.

URINALISYS
- none done nor suggested by vet. will have them perform at followup for bloodwork.

BLOOD WORK
last 3
Oct 08 / Feb 09 / May 09 (ref range)
*indicated bold on results meaning outside normal range

CK 207/127/1033* (64-440) = this one skyrocketed=vet said prob indicates kidney damage? her potassium was high in feb which i've read can cause heart damage.

BUN 38*/38*/47* (15-34)

Creatinine 1.7/2.8*/2.7* (.8-2.3)

Phosphorus 4.9/4.2/3.9 (3.0-7.0) trending down ?

Potassium 4.3/5.8*/5.0 (3.9-5.3)

Calcium (CA) 10/9.9/9.7 (8.2-11.8)

TCO2 21/24/19 (13-25)

T4: 11.4* Oct 08 /less than 0.4* Feb 09 (0.5-5.8) (t-131 iodine treatment given in Jan 09). possibly hypothyroid? will have vet recheck blood work and T4 levels soon.

BP: taken in Dec before t-131 and ok. not taken since, will request in June

WEIGHT: was always ~10#. was down to ~7# (hyperthyroidism), after iodine trtmnt in Jan 09, is now ~9.5#