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Caring for a cat with kidney disease can be a challenging task for any pet owner. Kidney disease is a common condition in cats, especially as they age, and it can have a significant impact on their overall health and wellbeing. One of the most important aspects of managing kidney disease in cats is their diet.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the most common kidney-based disease in cats. Waste products are normally filtered out of the blood by the kidneys and excreted in the urine, but cats with CKD will end up with an accumulation of these waste products in the bloodstream as the filtering process breaks down. CKD occurs on a spectrum, progressing through four stages with each subsequent stage ...
Jun 25, 2020 · It is common for ageing cats and cats with CKD to experience a loss of body weight and lean body mass, but it is important to understand that increasing dietary protein is not necessarily the obvious solution, as some amino acid-derived uremic toxins are anorexigenic and, as noted previously, can also promote uremic sarcopenia and accelerate the kidney disease 23 (Figure 2).
It is imperative that the cats eat enough calories and protein to optimize their body and muscle condition scores. Each patient must be assessed individually and monitored. This requires client communication and recheck visits. Cats with chronic kidney disease with higher BCS will live longer, and have an improved quality of life. Useful Resource
- Evidence Supporting Effectiveness of Kidney Diets in Cats with CKD
- Phosphorus and Kidney Diets
- Is The Protein Content of Kidney Diets Optimal For Cats with CKD?
- The Importance of Nutritional Assessment
- Implementation of Dietary Therapy
- Recommendations to Help Increase Acceptance and Intake of Kidney Diets
- Conclusion
- References
Several studies address the effectiveness of feline kidney diets compared to typical feline maintenance diets in mitigating uremic crises and extending survival. The consistent findings in these studies using different diets and methodologies and performed in different countries by independent groups of researchers strongly support the conclusion t...
In order to compensate for the decline in phosphorus excretion with advancing CKD, dietary intake of phosphorus must be reduced. Most maintenance diets contain substantial quantities of phosphorus, with protein typically contributing significantly to the phosphorus content. It is perhaps a common misconception that the purpose of renal diets is pro...
Recently, use of kidney diets in treating cats with CKD has become controversial, weighing the potential benefits of these diets in mitigating the clinical consequences of CKD versus the purported risk of protein malnutrition. Much of this debate has been focused specifically on cats, as they are considered to be obligate carnivores and thus have i...
Serial evaluations of nutritional status are a key part of CKD patient management, and a nutritional plan should be performed for every patient including a specific recommendation for caloric intake. A nutritional assessment should include body weight, body condition score, muscle mass score, adequacy of caloric intake (including open ended questio...
The way in which a therapeutic food is introduced to the patient, and more importantly to the owner, has a profound effect on patient acceptance. While some patients easily transition from one diet to another, many cats are very selective and may require more coaxing to encourage diet change. In general, it is probably best to recommend that diet c...
The most important factor in the success of diet transition is the education of the owners. If the owners understand the importance of the kidney diet as a medical intervention, not just a food, th...Transition to a kidney diet from the patient's original food over at least 3 weeks. A typical protocol is:To minimize confusion and maximize compliance, ask the owner to bring in the cat's previous diet and make pre-mixed bags labelled with the appropriate week. Additionally, once the owners see the de...Follow-up phone calls (at least weekly) to check on the progress of the owner and pet during the transition phase from the original diet to a kidney diet, will increase compliance and emphasize the...Clinical trials of feeding kidney diets to cats with spontaneous CKD have shown them to be effective in improving survival, reducing uremic crises, and improve blood urea nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations. It has also been shown that when food intake is adequate, kidney diets can maintain body weight and body condition scores for up to two yea...
2014 AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. Available at : http://www.aafco.org/Portals/0/SiteContent/Regulatory/Committees/Pet_Food/Reports/ Pet_Food_Report_2013_Midyear_Proposed_Revisions_to_AAFCO_Nutrient_Profiles.pdf Adams LG, Polzin DJ, Osborne CA, O'Brien TD, Hostetter Influence of dietary protein/calorie intake on renal morphology and fun...
Jun 7, 2024 · A reduced protein diet is important for cats with kidney issues, as it can be hard on your cat’s kidneys to process a lot of protein at once. Give your cat wet food that contains less protein and protein that is high quality. High quality protein like rabbit and chicken are usually easier to digest for cats with kidney issues.
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Nov 2, 2024 · Cats with kidney disease should not eat foods that are high in phosphorous or sodium. High-protein diets are also not good for cats with kidney disease. Protein should be controlled so that it is not too low and not too high. A canned wet diet is preferably to a dry diet to help keep your cat hydrated.
