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Old February 13th, 2013, 02:47 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Location: Calgary, AB
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Originally Posted by FurryPaws View Post
I am new to this forum.
Hi FurryPaws, and welcome to the board.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FurryPaws View Post
I have a 16 year old cat with was just diagnosed with renal disease. She has a very mild case.
Do you have a copy of the lab results, including a urinalysis? I'm a little concerned about the amount of weight she's lost, considering the CKD is supposedly mild. Was she overweight before? My own cat has had stage 3 renal disease for almost 3 years and he hasn't lost any weight.


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Originally Posted by FurryPaws View Post
The vet recommended Purina NF, but since this happened, I have been doing research on food ingredients in cat food and I am unhappy with what Purina contains.
Good for you for doing some research! Unfortunately most vets don't have the first clue about what cats should be eating, especially when a chronic health condition is involved.

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Originally Posted by FurryPaws View Post
I have tried contacting wellness and blue buffalo to see what they have for low phosphorus food but upon learning that I have a cat with renal disease, they refuse to give me any information and say I should contact my vet.
Just covering their @sses. Lots of people have already compiled the info from various companies though, which can be found at these links: http://catinfo.org/ (click on "Phosphorus in Cat Food - Chart" on the right hand side)
http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

Now I wouldn't just focus on finding the lowest phosphorus food, there are other factors to consider. First and foremost is what your kitty is willing to eat. Also the quality of the ingredients, the amount and type of protein (lowest isn't best, and plant protein or by-products aren't great either). I think variety is important, so rotating several brands and flavours is a good idea. If your cat (what's her name, by the way?) has normal serum phosphorus levels, you may not need to limit the food phosphorus levels dramatically anyway (just keeping an eye on not feeding anything too high).

Is a raw diet an option? My cat has thrived on raw and will be turning 20 in a couple months, despite having diabetes for the last 10 yrs (which he got eating Science Diet kibble, I should add).

Quote:
Originally Posted by FurryPaws View Post
she has been having problems jumping or even if she tries to run, her back end can't keep up with her.
She quite likely also has arthritis, as so many cats do over the age of 12. Is she on any kind of supplements? Glucosamine/chondroitin (such as Cosequin or Dasaquin), Adequan injections, MSM, Omega3 fish oil, green lipped mussel, etc, are some possibilities to consider.
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