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Old June 20th, 2012, 11:34 PM
ydono ydono is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 5
Exclamation wet food for kitten with kidney problems

Hi. I've been reading through the forum topics regarding this same topic, but I thought it might be easier to start off with a fresh post.

We just found out our 12 yr old cat has kidney issues (BUM and creatine levels high). Our vet suggested the terrible prescription foods such as Hills, Royal Cainin, etc. Our cat is currently on blue buffalo and we sure would hate to move her to those nasty brand names - especially because she seems to have food sensititives.

I've been reading the threads on this forum and people are saying that protein is OK just so the phosphorus and sodium levels are low. But my understanding is that phosphorous is protein. So, I'm confused by that. Folks have suggested a variety of quality wet protein foods. I've contacted some of quality wet food manufacturers and here are a few responses:


From Blue Buffalo:
> Thank you for taking the time to contact BLUE.
>
> BLUE is a maintenance diet and in many cases may not be the right diet for
> pets with medical issues. In most cases, a prescription diet is the way to
> go because they can offer certain levels of particular things that over
> the counter maintenance diets can not.

From natura Oganic:
Thank you for contacting Natura Pet Products. Kidney disease is common among both dogs and cats. The veterinarian will likely recommend that the pet be placed on a therapeutic veterinary food. Veterinary therapeutic renal foods have modified nutrient levels to address the specific needs of pets with renal disease. One of the most important modifications is a reduction in phosphorus content. The level of phosphorus restriction recommended for pets with renal disease is below the minimum AAFCO requirement; therefore, no over the counter food (from Natura or any other pet food company) is appropriate for pets with kidney disease.

This was the most promising - from Natural Balance:
Thank you for contacting Natural Balance and for your interest in our products. Please know that we do not have any formulas that are geared towards cats with specific conditions such as kidney disease. All of our products meet the AAFCO nutrient guidelines for an all life stage product, and our formulas are completely balanced diets for normal healthy pets. It is always best to consult with your vet about the specific nutrient requirements of your pet prior to feeding any of our formulas.

With that said, our canned cat products will range in phosphorus from 0.24%-0.46% on an As Fed Basis (with Green Pea & Duck and Green Pea & Chicken formulas being the lowest). Our dry cat product range in phosphorus from 0.92%-1.34% on an As-Fed Basis, with our Green Pea & Duck formulas being the lowest.

Please know that these As-Fed Values are based on our typical (average) analysis for the products, so natural variation can and does occur. If you have any further questions please let me know. Have a good day!




Reason for this post? I'd love to hear from anyone who has had experience (2-5yrs of use with your cat who has kidney issues) with a non-prescription wet cat food, that actually has protein and not carbs. If you could give me your feedback for the following questions:

- Has it worked well (meaning - have the BUM and creatine (sp?) levels stopped increasing and the cat is happy, active, eating and not loosing muscle)?

- What were your cat's numbers before you started, how long has it been, and what are the numbers now? (ya know - approximates)

- What is the brand name, flavor, etc., and what the phosphorous and sodium levels?

- Did you give extra supplements of any kind such as Vitamin B or Renafood?


Thanks so much to anyone who responds to this. Sorry for starting a new thread but I tend to get too confused and loose track of important information as I'm reading through really long threads (even the summary one for me got to be too long).

Our Dana appreciates it too!

yvonne
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