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Originally Posted by OtisIsMyCat
I am now joining this thread as the owner of a newly diagnosed CRF cat, one week ago today. My 11 year old Marshall.
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Sorry to hear about Marshall's diagnosis. Do you have a copy of his lab results (urine specific gravity, creatinine, BUN, phosphorus, calcium, etc?)
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Originally Posted by OtisIsMyCat
So... I have a quick question... how is 0.2% for a phosphorus level?
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Which food is it that has 0.20%? Are you referring to the Wysong Chicken Au Jus from this list?:
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canned.htm I think there's some question about the accuracy of that value, but the bigger issue is that the Wysong Au Jus foods aren't a complete diet. They need to be supplemented with extra nutrients if you plan to feed it regularly.
The general goal when feeding kidney cats is to look for foods with 1% phosphorus or less (or roughly less than 200mg/100Kcal, as indicated on this chart:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html) Keep in mind that phosphorus is an essential nutrient and cats, even those with compromised kidneys, still need SOME. Just not too much.
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Originally Posted by OtisIsMyCat
Unfortunately the K/D wet is by far the lowest on all the lists but I don't like their overall ingredients. So I'm trying to find a safe alternative.
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There is no good reason to feed K/D, and many reasons not to. Good to hear that you're looking form something better
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OtisIsMyCat
Also, is it true that it's actually the phosphorus that is damaging to CRF cats? And, not necessarily the protein itself?
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Cats NEED protein. If they don't get enough, they start to use their own muscles for a protein source, which is one reason you see so much muscle wasting in kidney cats. Unfortunately there was some lame study done on rats around 50 yrs ago where rats with renal failure did better on a reduced protein diet, and it's been held up as the standard to follow for dogs and cats ever since. HELLO???? Cats are not rats. This myth needs to be put to rest. But Hill's and their cohorts make too much money selling their "prescription" diets, and so it goes......
Depending on what Marshall's lab results are, you would probably be fine with feeding a good quality wet food like Wellness Chicken or Turkey, or Innova Evo 95% Venison or Beef.