Early Stage Kidney Failure in Cat

[growler~GateKeeper]

My 16 year old Duffy has just been diagnoised with early stage Kidney Failure. Two years ago she had Hyperthyroidism which was cured by Radioactive Iodine Therapy, now this :sad:. I'm looking for as much information as I can get so I would like to know if anyone has or had a cat with Kidney Failure, & if you can me some suggestions/tips.

She is currently on Evo canned with a little bit of Orijen & Evo dry mixed in, she has the dry available for snacking but isn't eating very much of it. I know the Evo will have to be switched because the phosphorus is too high, so any suggestions for a holistic low phosphorus food? The vet has suggested the prescription low protein/low phosph but I really want to stick with the natural food for as long as possible, which she is okay with as long as I understand she may need to be switched as some point.

She is drinking water both added into her canned food & on it's own.

Any suggestions for diet/food supplements?

Her Blood Urea Nitrogen & Creatinine levels are High, whereas her Platelets & Lymphocytes are Low and there is a small amount of protein in her urine sample.
Right now her Phosphorus count is right in the middle of normal & the Total Protein in her blood is also in normal range.

Anything I should be on the look out for, aside from vomiting, lots of peeing, lots of drinking?

Any suggestions/tips to keep her Kidney health as good as possible?

Thanks

(Added by growler - This is a long thread and for those that may be rushed, here is a summary post)

[rainbow]

I am really sorry to hear about Duffy and hugs to both of you.

I have never had to deal with kidney failure so have no advice to give. Perhaps you will have to home cook for her to avoid the vet foods. Have you read this website:

http://www.felinecrf.com/managd.htm

[growler~GateKeeper]

I hadn't seen that one thanks Rainbow I've saved it to read thoughly


This is one I have been reading, which has several articles written by vets, some with information regarding protein levels in food:
http://www.felineoutreach.org/links.html

[rainbow]

Another one:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...=show&item=003

[rainbow]

The website you found has some good info there.

[rainbow]

Post #4 on this forum has some links to check out as well.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=119727

[growler~GateKeeper]

Thanks again Rainbow

[Shaykeija]

When Shayker was diagnosed with kidney failure the first thing I did was change her water to pedilte. It kept her hydrated and her electrolytes up. I am so sorry your furkid if facing this hard journey.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Thanks Shaykeija, I may look into that - right now she's drinking okay & it has been suggested to switch to a water fountain to stimulate drinking, so I'm thinking on that too.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Today I have picked up:
Wellnes: a can of Chicken/ a can of Turkey/ a can of Beef & Chicken
I have emailed them in regards to Nutrient Anaylsis to get the actual phos content since I can't find it on their website .

Nature's Variety Instinct: a can of Rabbit/ 2 cans of Chicken
Nature's Variety Prairie (old formula): 6 cans of Beef/ 2 cans of Chicken & Turkey
I have also emailed them asking why the old formula Prairie is discontinued & mentioned Duffy's CRF and that the Beef formula is the lowest I have found 0.9% phos dry matter!!!!, the vet px diet is 1%. And also to get the Nutrient Anaylsis & actual phos content of the NEW Prairie varieties which they haven't listed ingredients/anaylsis yet.

With both emails I mentioned the Duffy's CRF so hopefully I will get good responses soon

[growler~GateKeeper]

Forgot to add she had the NV Beef for dinner & she likes it !!!!

[otter]

Good for you Duffy!!

I am at a loss for advice so Molly and are sending all the and we can muster for Duffy doing great for a good long time

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by growler

Forgot to add she had the NV Beef for dinner & she likes it !!!!

I have been in the market for months for a higher quality canned food for my female cat who is very picky because I am now much better educated thanks to the experience of the board members here. She loves Fancy Feast, the fish varieties, but I have been able to get her to eat NV Instinct Chicken canned and sort of the Venison depending on her mood. It was the most successful brand I have found so far. She will also munch on the NV Instinct dry.

I'd be very interested to hear the responses to your emails requesting more info on the food analysis as my cat has permanent kidney damage and although her blood work results are normal except for calcium, chances are she will develop CRF in the coming years.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by growler

Today I have picked up:
Wellnes: a can of Chicken/ a can of Turkey/ a can of Beef & Chicken
I have emailed them in regards to Nutrient Anaylsis to get the actual phos content since I can't find it on their website .

Nature's Variety Instinct: a can of Rabbit/ 2 cans of Chicken
Nature's Variety Prairie (old formula): 6 cans of Beef/ 2 cans of Chicken & Turkey
I have also emailed them asking why the old formula Prairie is discontinued & mentioned Duffy's CRF and that the Beef formula is the lowest I have found 0.9% phos dry matter!!!!, the vet px diet is 1%. And also to get the Nutrient Anaylsis & actual phos content of the NEW Prairie varieties which they haven't listed ingredients/anaylsis yet.

With both emails I mentioned the Duffy's CRF so hopefully I will get good responses soon

Oh sorry, I should have also given you these links listing the phosphorus amounts of many canned foods. This one shows it as mg per 100 cal: http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html

And here is another one with the listing as a % of dry matter: http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm But it's probably a good thing that you emailed them anyway to get the most up-to-date info (and not all flavours/brands are listed either). Some of the Wysong varieties also have excellent phosphorus levels, but they can be harder to find, and if you feed the All Meat (Au Jus) ones, a supplement needs to be added to make them complete (or just feed intermittently).

You might know this better than me, but I believe the goal is feed foods with 1% or less of phosphorus (as percent of dry matter), or around 200mg/100cal and under. Every single meal doesn't necessarily have to follow that rule, so if you have a cat that needs variety you can alternate some of the lower ones with higher ones to get an overall balance.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

Oh sorry, I should have also given you these links listing the phosphorus amounts of many canned foods. This one shows it as mg per 100 cal: http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html

And here is another one with the listing as a % of dry matter: http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm But it's probably a good thing that you emailed them anyway to get the most up-to-date info (and not all flavours/brands are listed either). Some of the Wysong varieties also have excellent phosphorus levels, but they can be harder to find, and if you feed the All Meat (Au Jus) ones, a supplement needs to be added to make them complete (or just feed intermittently).

You might know this better than me, but I believe the goal is feed foods with 1% or less of phosphorus (as percent of dry matter), or around 200mg/100cal and under. Every single meal doesn't necessarily have to follow that rule, so if you have a cat that needs variety you can alternate some of the lower ones with higher ones to get an overall balance.

Thank you Sugarcatmom , I had already seen & read those ones but always good to post for others reading too.

I am trying to stay grain free, low phos, lowish-more middleish range protein (I do agree they still need protein esp since it will encourage cats to eat) & holistic

Yes the goal is 1% or less phos as dry matter, but I wasn't sure about every meal so thanks for that good to know I can go abit higher on occasion cuz it is hard to find ones that come in @ or under 1%, many are between 1.06-1.22%

[JamesO]

Our mixed breed dog was diagnosed with very low kidney function at the age of about 13. We were told by the vet to put him on a low protien diet, so we purchased low protien dog food from the vet. We still fed him some meats occasionally as we didn't want to take too much away from him.

He lived to the age of 18 and we finally had to make the decision to put him down because he had difficulty getting up and even moving. His kidneys, though, were not an issue and we attribute much of this to the low protien diet.

Your case may be different, but maybe a change of diet will add some years to your kitty's life.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by JamesO

Your case may be different, but maybe a change of diet will add some years to your kitty's life.

You might want to read the entire thread. Low protein diets for cats are inappropriate.

[Squeakypig]

Hi Growler.

I maintained my cat, Casper for two years after he was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2007. A serious kidney infection that almost took his life there and then resulted in one kidney damaged so bad that it shrank to half size. The other kidney was also compromised, just not as bad. Casper was given less than six months but I worked with him day in and day out and managed to nurse him through two years. Fluid build-up around his lungs and heart finally forced me to put him down but he enjoyed a reasonable quality of life up to then.

So, you have time yet!

From my experience, this is what you need to do and watch for:

1. Don't worry about holistic food. Just start your cat on the special reduced protein food your vet has recommended. The protein must come down because it will damage the kidneys even more and negate any benefit that you might have hoped for from the holistic food.

2. Get your vet to prescribe Epikitin. This is a natural supplement that you sprinkle over the cat's food. The cat won't mind it at all. What Epikitin does for the cat is bind up the excess phosphate so that it passes with the urine. It works really well! Those high counts will drop in about four to six weeks.

3. Check your cat's gums regularly. The gums should be nice and pink. If they go pale or creamy coloured then the cat probably has anaemia. It will happen because, and I didn't know this before, red blood cell production in bone marrow is regulated by the kidneys! As the kidneys weaken, anaemia becomes a problem.

4. Your cat is sixteen so I assume it sleeps a lot, even for a cat! None-the-less, watch for lethargy. It is another sign of anaemia for one thing but, it can also indicate other problems settling in. You cat's immune system may be compromised because of the kidney issue so, you must remain vigilant.

5. If your cat does become anaemic, it will have trouble keeping warm. I bought a heating blanket for the bed and left it on a medium-low setting all day long. When Casper felt cold which was pretty much always, he curled up on the bed in his own favourite blanket and the heating blanket warmed him up from below! It was the best money I spent in the whole affair.

6. Encourage lots of water intake. Put bowls of water everywhere! Leave water in cups. Buy one of those water fountains. The ones with falling water are best as the water tinkling sound will put drinking into the cats head! Another trick is to buy a Beta fish and put it in a fish bowl with an openning just big enough for the cat to poke his head through. Casper loved drinking the water from the fish bowl! (See the attachment)

7. Eventually, you will have to supplement your cat's fluid intake. The vet will show you how to administer subcutaneous injections of Ringers or Saline under the scruff on the cat's back. I did this every couple of days towards the end. Casper would look like a little camel with a big hump full of Ringers on his back! Also, my apartment looked like a little hospital ward with the bag of Ringers Lactate hanging from the chandelier! It was great conversation piece.

8. Much later I was introduced to a syringe that was designed for the purpose of hand-watering small animals. It looked like a regular syringe, about 100cc I think but, instead of a needle it had a tapered curved end moulded into the plastic body of the syringe. You could put the curved end into the cat's mouth even if the mouth was closed. You just wiggle the tapered end in between the moistened lips and once in, you slowly squirt the water into cat's mouth. They swallow it! It takes a bit of practice as you have to learn to allow the cat time to breathe, smack its lips and so forth. Ask the vet about this thing! It will reduce the need for poking your cat in back with a big needle. You'll both be happier.

9. If the kidney disease progresses, be prepared for what will come. Your cat will slowly waste away. No amount of love or encouragement will stop this but you sure can slow it down! So, be prepared for a long, slow, progressive weight loss.

10. Blood work will become something of a routine that your cat will come to hate, vehemently!

11. I spent a lot of time snuggling with Casper, especially in the final six months. He liked to snuggle because it kept him warm and he seemed to be at ease when we sat together. Find a good snuggle chair and spend time watching TV or reading with your cat. It is very rewarding.

Cheers,

Squeakypig

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by tigerbee

His T4 was 1.7 (ref 0.5 - 4.7) last month.

Ah excellent! No need to re-test this one then, since it was done not long ago

Originally Posted by tigerbee

His litterbox habits are good although he was used to using an enclosed box and we have a second that is a little shallower that he lifts too high in sometimes and spills over the edge.. He does urinate more frequently and in a higher volume than Asha.

Good that he's not showing any signs of litterbox issues other than missing occasionally.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by Squeakypig

Hi Growler.

I maintained my cat, Casper for two years after he was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2007. A serious kidney infection that almost took his life there and then resulted in one kidney damaged so bad that it shrank to half size. The other kidney was also compromised, just not as bad. Casper was given less than six months but I worked with him day in and day out and managed to nurse him through two years. Fluid build-up around his lungs and heart finally forced me to put him down but he enjoyed a reasonable quality of life up to then.

So, you have time yet!

Hi Squeakypig, thank you for your story & tips. This thread was actually started in 2007, I lost my CRF girl Duffy in April 2010 to Lymphoma after 3 years of successfully managing kidney failure with homeopathy, raw food, fluids & lots of love.

Originally Posted by Squeakypig

From my experience, this is what you need to do and watch for:

1. Don't worry about holistic food. Just start your cat on the special reduced protein food your vet has recommended. The protein must come down because it will damage the kidneys even more and negate any benefit that you might have hoped for from the holistic food.

Since the 2007 recalled tainted vet food was the cause of her kidney failure, there was no way I would've even considered feeding anything from the same manufacturer to my girl.

The reduced protein theory is outdated & not always a good idea especially in the early stages since cats are obligate carnivores & need meat protein to maintain muscle mass, stave off anaemia and it may also be contra-indicated when acidosis is present. More reading available here: http://www.felinecrf.org/nutritional...ts.htm#protein

Originally Posted by Squeakypig

2. Get your vet to prescribe Epikitin. This is a natural supplement that you sprinkle over the cat's food. The cat won't mind it at all. What Epikitin does for the cat is bind up the excess phosphate so that it passes with the urine. It works really well! Those high counts will drop in about four to six weeks.

Not all cats will have high phosphorus levels, my girls was middle of normal for the entire 3 years of dealing with CRF, but definately good for those who need it.

Originally Posted by Squeakypig

You just wiggle the tapered end in between the moistened lips and once in, you slowly squirt the water into cat's mouth. They swallow it!

you obviously never met my girl some cats will refuse to swallow whatever liquid it put in their mouth and either forcefully expell it or just let it dribble out , Duffy had a fighting spirit & a stubborn streak a mile wide, very tough to make her do what she didn't want .

In order for this method to work, you need to position the syringe tip near the middle or back of the mouth, with the tip opening pointing towards the cheek or lower gums. Administer fluids very slowly to allow for swallowing & not to choke the cat with too much liquid at once.

Originally Posted by Squeakypig

It will reduce the need for poking your cat in back with a big needle.

Instead of using the Monoject 18g needles from the vet, a much better choice is the Terumo Ultra Thin Wall 20g. Flow rate is the same with a smaller diameter needle, thinner walls and a super sharp beveled edge/point makes for a nearly unnoticed poke, way more comfortable than the Mj 18g mini-harpoons.

Originally Posted by Squeakypig

be prepared for a long, slow, progressive weight loss.

Not if you feed a high quality protein diet. You can have good quality meat protein with reduced phosphorus levels and have the cat maintain weight. My girl was raw fed for 2.5 of the 3 years she dealt with CRF, there was no increase in blood phos, calcium or protein, she maintained weight and had fairly even stage 2 BUN & cre numbers. My vets were always delighted with her maintaining weight, in fact she did gain about 1/2 pound at one point. The only weight loss she had was as a result of lymphoma near the end.

Originally Posted by Squeakypig

10. Blood work will become something of a routine that your cat will come to hate, vehemently!

Not always, alot depends on the temperment of the cat & how good your vet is. My girl quite enjoyed going to see her homeopath & homeopath vets, for her blood work was no big deal. Duffy's homeopath called her a miracle kitty for coming through so strong after the toxic food recall of 2007

[nemesis]

Haven't updated in a while since I've been super busy.

Things have been ok for about a month, then on Saturday Smokey started feeling sick again, and I'm really worried. On Saturday he threw up once in the early afternoon, it looked like it was mostly hair and partially digested food. Then, later around 8pm he vomited some clear white foam.

The next day, Sunday, he had very little appetite, and only nibbled at his wet food a little, although he still had some appetite for treats and ate quite a few.

On Monday I took him to the vet. They took blood, and kept him there for a few hours. While he was there, he apparently had a bad bout of diarrhea, although he hadn't had any at home. The blood work came back ok, his Creatinine was at 228, which isn't bad, so the vet figures that's not responsible for how he's feeling. The vet said that the vomiting, not eating, and diarrhea suggests stomach irritation, so they sent Smokey home with some paste that is supposed to soothe his stomach, I believe it's called Progut (I think it's also known as Diarsanyl). They gave him one dose at the clinic, and gave us instructions to give him another in the evening, and to do that for a few days. Finally, they also gave him an anti-nausea shot.

When he came from the vet Monday afternoon, Smokey was in a better mood than he'd been the last few days, and actually seemed to be asking for food. I gave him some wet food and he had some, although much less than he would at a normal meal. He also ate a bunch of treats. However, after that, he barely had anything to eat the rest of the day except for a few treats. He also didn't respond very well to the paste and tried to spit it out, or would just sit there and drool so that it would come out.

The vet's instructions were to give him the paste and see how he did, and to call back and let them know on Tuesday, ie, today.

So this morning Smokey was not interested in eating anything except a handful of treats, which is worrying.

Aside from his appetite, his behaviour is definitely "off" but not that bad. He still walks around and jumps up on the couch and the bed, etc. He's been prone to hiding since he got back from the vet, but that seems to be mostly because he gets really annoyed every time we take him there and they do annoying stuff like take blood and make him eat weird paste he doesn't like. I say this because I saw him walking around and hanging out in his usual spots and then bolted under the couch when he saw me approach him.

So I'm not sure what to do at this point. I called the vet to let them know there hasn't been any change from yesterday and the nurse just said maybe we could try giving him his fluids a day early (tomorrow would be the day otherwise) to see if he's dehydrated. Otherwise she said she doesn't know what else to do. This is confusing because the doctor made it sound like we should give an update and then some new plan of action would be formulated. I mean shouldn't we investigate further if he's not getting better? For example, he was better after getting from the vet, so perhaps the anti-nausea shot helped, in which case, shouldn't that be investigated? I suspect the nurse didn't really understand, or may have not discussed Smokey's case with the doctor. In any case, I'm going to call back in a couple hours and ask to rely my questions to the doctor.

In the meantime, I'm trying to think of what I should do to get Smokey to eat, or what could have caused this. I tried lots of different types of food, and tried adding some tuna water to make it more appetizing. I tried Hills A/D food which he ate last time he refused to eat anything. I tried finding baby food but none of my local groceries have flavours without spices or tons of other ingredients I'm not sure about in them. I also wonder if one reason he's not eating is that he still feels upset about being taken to the vet and just needs to relax a bit, which makes me wonder if I should give him his fluids and stuff now, or leave him alone for a while?

Any thoughts? Thank you!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Ask your vet about using Zantac for the nausea, they will need to give you the correct dosage based on weight. When Duffy was in the e-vet this is what they used with good results.

Is Smokey usually a hairball thrower? Is is possible he still has some hair left that needs to come out? If so you can give him a 1/4 tsp of butter to lick, that will help smooth things out, may get him interested in food again too.

What are his poops like right now? Okay or dry?

Duffy would vomit abit of white foam when she was trying to pass a particularily dry poop or if she went too long with nothing in her stomach so I made sure she had a snack at bedtime.

Sounds like he's running/hiding from you right now cuz you keep giving him the yucky tasting stuff

You can try a 1/4 teaspoon of Slippery Elm Bark powder in his food, just be sure to mix in a teaspoon or 2 of water in as well This will also coat the stomach & intestinal tract, he may respond better to the flavour of it.

Have you tried bit of parmesan cheese, pinch catnip, warming the food, bits of roast or bbq chicken, crushed treat, dab of melted butter on top?

I would give the fluids early if you think he needs it, there is no rule that says the schedule can't be altered if need be.

[nemesis]

Smokey is feeling much better now. He wouldn't eat at all so we resorted to syringe-feeding for a few days. He was relatively (and mercifully) cooperative. The vet did several tests and nothing out of the ordinary was found, so the current hypothesis is that one of, or the combination of his medications was making him feel sick and nauseous.

So the plan is to take him off the meds for a short period, and then gradually reintroduce them one by one.

It seems to make sense, because although syringe-feeding did *slightly* revive his appetite, his interest really started to come back a couple of days after stopping the meds. Of course, this doesn't actually prove that there's a causal relationship...the two events just followed each other in time. But I think it's a reasonable avenue to pursue.

It's tricky though, I'm starting to appreciate how difficult it must be for vets to diagnose and treat patients who can't speak! It's really like detective work.

Anyway, Smokey is eating again, although he is being very picky about what he will and won't eat. This might be a result of the way we treated him when he wouldn't eat, which was to be extremely indulgent just to get him to eat *something*. He seems like he really expects to get treats all the time, so I have to get him used to the idea of eating normally again.

His poops looking good and normal after a short bout of diarrhea.

Essentially, he's not acting sick anymore, but there does seem to be some kind of (recurring?)issue with nausea/acid/indigestion that is eluding us. Whether it's just a side effect of the kidney disease that has its up and downs, the vet's too many meds theory, or a separate gastrointestinal issue (IBD was briefly brought up but the vet hasn't spoken much about it yet), I have no idea. We're working on it though. In the meantime, I'm at least happy that his blood work is pretty stable and he's being a very good boy about his fluids.

[Gale911]

My little girl cat passed away last week from renal failure, I gave her sub Q fuilds and Azadyl ( a probiotic baceteria ). She was diagnosed in October with ealy stage but by Christmas she was pretty bad.
Try to keep your cat eating and drinking fluids, these are the most important things other than love.
Good luck

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by Gale911

My little girl cat passed away last week from renal failure, I gave her sub Q fuilds and Azadyl ( a probiotic baceteria ). She was diagnosed in October with ealy stage but by Christmas she was pretty bad.
Try to keep your cat eating and drinking fluids, these are the most important things other than love.
Good luck

Hi Gale sorry to hear about your girl

I'm not sure if you are responding to me or PMFan, if this was directed at me (as I know sometimes people only read the first post ) I originally started this thread a little over 3 years ago when my girl was diagnosed & she had 3 good quality years with CRF before unrelated Lymphoma took her, this thread has kept going to help others dealing with feline renal failure. Any and all tips and good wishes for others are always welcome as something you tried may help someone else.

[Rumor]

Recently, after a series of blood tests, my vet said that my 16 1/2 year old girl may be starting crf. She wants to do more blood tests next month, but in the meantime, I want to switch her catfood. For the past year, I have been feeding her EVO dry, which is obviously way too high in phosphorous. I would like to switch her to a canned food. I prefer to remain in the better quality, grain-free range of catfood, if possible. The problem is I am in Japan on a military base, so we are severely limited in catfood choices. I had been ordering the EVO through Amazon after deciding the stuff I was getting off the shelf here just wasn't healthy for my kitties.

I have spent many late nights reading websites on CRF and I am having a hard time making sense of the catfood info. I had pretty much determined that the EVO 95% Beef and 95% Venison might be the way to go, but all the info on here is several years old. Does anyone know if they still fall into a low phosphorous range? I have looked through the charts of cat food, canned and dry, but they are a bit outdated (2005, 2008). Anything more recent that I am not finding?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[mikischo]

The last post on the following recent thread gives a number of choices as well as some links for high quality canned foods low in phosphorus:

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=77119

Definitely try to switch her over to entirely canned food. It is far better than dry for all cats and particularly for cats with CRF.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Hi Rumor, welcome to the forum, would love to see pics of your girl if you have some you'd like to share

Originally Posted by Rumor

I have spent many late nights reading websites on CRF and I am having a hard time making sense of the catfood info. I had pretty much determined that the EVO 95% Beef and 95% Venison might be the way to go, but all the info on here is several years old. Does anyone know if they still fall into a low phosphorous range? I have looked through the charts of cat food, canned and dry, but they are a bit outdated (2005, 2008). Anything more recent that I am not finding?

The EVO 95% Beef is okay, after conversions works out to 1.24% dry matter phosphorus, you want to stay below 1.25% dm.

The EVO 95% Venison is far too high, after conversion works out to 2.05% dry matter phosphorus

The Evo 95% Chicken & Turkey is great, after after conversion works out to 0.88% dry matter phosphorus

As mentioned by mikischo above there are more listed in that post, I'll repost them here too:

Some good quality low phos canned food choices for you:

By Nature Organics Turkey & Turkey Liver, Chicken & Chicken Liver, Turkey & Chicken, Chicken & Mackerel, Beef & Beef Liver

Innova Flex Beef & Barley Stew
Evo 95% Chicken & Turkey

Felidae Platinum
Felidae Cat & Kitten
Felidae Grain Free

Merricks Before Grain 96% Beef
Merricks Before Grain 96% Turkey

Merricks Cowboy Cookout
Merricks Thanksgiving Day Dinner

Halo Spots Stew Wholesome Chicken
Halo Spots Stew Wholesome Turkey

Wellness Turkey, Chicken, Beef & Chicken, Beef & Salmon, Kitten, Wellness Core Chicken Turkey & Chicken Liver

Holistic Select Turkey & Barley
Holistic Select Duck & Chicken

This is a currently updated list 2010-2011 the foods are listed in order of lowest amount of dry matter phosphorus, it's up to you to decide what ingredients are acceptable, the manufactures websites are also listed to help in that regard. Tanya's Feline CRF US Canned Food Data Tables

[Rumor]

Thanks so much for the quick and informative reply!

Armed with the new information, and after much searching, I found that Petco.com would ship the Organix canned catfood to me (it's sooo hard to get stuff like catfood shipped to an APO...) I also ordered some dry Now! that I will carry back after a Stateside trip.

Right now, I have switched my kitty to Hill's Mature Adult Active Longevity dry and canned food (I'm shocked they sell it on base!) but the ingredients are garbage, and I can't wait to get her back on something more healthy.

Now I just have to learn the fine balance between good, low phosphorous catfood and maintaining her weight. She has struggled with being overweight most of her life, (or is it *I* have struggled with it? She's perfectly happy trying to eat whatever she can and staying fat!)

Thanks again! I'll post some pics of the Gollum over in the Pet Photos.

[Kattaclysm]

I must admit I wept a little when I saw this website. My best friend Greymalkin was diagnosed with CRF 2 months ago and I'm in the thick of things testing different foods to see what he will and will not eat. I've sat up with him at night pleading that he would atleast finish a 1/2 a mini can of K/d... this whole thing is heroing.

That said, Grey is taking it like a champ, he's perfectly happy. As far as he is concerned mommy is just a nut job. He also likes all the extra attention.

On the talk about water intake I found a great article on making flavored waters :
" While you are working toward getting your cat to eat canned food, you can increase their water intake by using flavored waters such as tuna water, beef or chicken broth, clam juice, lactose-free cat milk, etc.You can make you own tuna water by adding 3 cups of water to a can of tuna. Mash it up and let it sit for ~15 minutes then pour the water into covered (to help maintain freshness) ice cube trays. 3 cups of water will fill two 16-cube trays. The ice cube trays can be used for other flavored liquids as well."

I've given him the lactose-free catsip to boost his caloric intake and he loves it but the tuna slurry is in the freezer now so I can try it. It sounds disgusting but if it works

Just thought I'd pass that on!

Off to go try a new food now (Fussie Kitty)