Cat-O-Rama

The vet started him on a regemen of prescription cat food, potassium replacement, and high blood pressure meds. I just want to know how his quality of life will be in the coming years. I love him very much.
Hes 12, and the vet gave him wet food. I hope my baby has more than 30 days. I cant live without him
I’m sorry to hear about your cat’s diagnosis. I have had 2 CRF cats, so I know what this is like. Your cat’s prognosis depends on how advanced the disease is- but if it were later stage CRF your vet would have already started him on sub-q fluids. Fortunately vets today have newer tests - like the test for microalbuminuria- that detect compromised kidney function before it gets very serious, and so you can take steps to slow it down. Some cats diagnosed with CRF today live quite a few more years. Even back ca. 10 yrs ago mine both lived around a year after diagnosis.

He will probably eventually need sub-q fluids which may sound scary at first, but it is not hard at all! There are now some good videos online that teach it, and of course wehn you get to that point, the vet will show you. It is SO worth it and can allow CRF cats to live and enjoy life. Cats tolerate it very well and they even seem to realize it makes them feel so much better soon after they get it.
You’ll need to get several litter boxes and put them around the house so he doesn’t have to go far, because he will pee a lot and may not make it there if it’s only one in the basement or something.

With the diet, supplements, meds to control symptoms if needed (such as Pepcid AC for stomach), and the life-saving fluids, you will help him to feel much better. He’ll be less active but still enjoying his life. You may even find that you become even closer to your cat than you were. You’ll probably go through some ups and downs with his health & weight. Some cats seem to want to fight to keep living longer than others. You’ll have to be good at "listening" to him.

But I really want to tell you one thing I would NOT do again is to feed it a very low protein diet like Hill’s k/d. Many vets today - -including the specialists at the cat-only clinic we go to- -now believe that it is better to feed a high quality MEDIUM protein food (not the high protein that is optimal for a healthy cat, but not low protein which is terrible for a cat). The trouble with low protein diets is that over time they cause very serious problems that can be as miserable as the disease itself - -including anemia, muscle wasting, weakness, and inappetance (low protein is not very appetizing to a cat, and it is SO important to keep their weight up ). I saw ALL these problems with my cats on low protein diets. A lot of feline vets now say the important thing is focusing more on the quality of the protein and on other issues like limiting potassium. So you may want to at least research this issue and discuss it with your vet.

The place to go first on the Internet is (as others mentioned) the Feline CRF Information Center. http://wwwfelinecrf.com . This is a super resource, and there is an online discussion list that will give you info and much support.

For general kidney and urinary function, it is best to feed a wet diet, very little or no fish, and I would add a little warm water to the food. But for more great info on feline nutrition, go to Dr. Lisa Pierson’s site at http://www.catinfo.org

As time goes by, in end-stage CRF, eventually the fluids will not work anymore as dialysis, and he won’t be able to get the poisons out of his little body. He will feel too sick to eat, could get mouth ulcers… When he gets to the point that he no longer is doing even the quiet things he enjoyed like grooming himself, then if you "listen" you may feel like he lets you know he is ready. Then you have to have the courage to give him that final gift of freedom. (I am just telling you this part to let you know the end. But it should be a long way off for your boy. and you will not regret having cared for him and kept him with you as long as he was able to be happy )

Good luck, I’m glad your cat has someone who loves him.

powered by Yahoo Answers

went to vet and he prescribed a prescription cat food. my cat doesn’t seem to be eating it. am i supposed to mix it in gradually with his old food?
cat is having digestive issues, lots of thorwing up. the cat appears physically fine so the vet thinks it may be a food allergy that is causing inflamation. he perscribed a duck and green pea food.

You are doing it right. With any animal, changing the food should be done gradually by mixing the new with the old. A small amount of the new at first and gradually increasing it until the new food replaces the old. Just giving the new food all at once can make your animal sick.

Former vet tech

powered by Yahoo Answers

My cat is on the prescription Hills K/D cat food and has started not wanting to eat it. Does anyone know of any other cat food that I can feed her? She is on the K/D because of renal kidney disease. Thanks.

Hi
Yes There are different thoughts on what to feed cats with this.
Treatment of Chronic Renal Failure

If your cat is not in final stages, this is not want you want to do. There are new thoughts on this and the thinking is it is not the amount of protein but the quality of protein that matters.
The Merck veterinary manual [www.merckvetmanual.com] says that cats need "4 g of protein of high biologic value per kg body wt/day". That’s about 7 calories from protein per pound body weight per day. If a cat isn’t a good eater and consumes, say, 20 calories per pound per day, then 7/20 = 35% of calories can safely be from protein. It must be high quality protein, which means meat, fish, milk, and eggs, and not grain or soy.

I am under the assumption that you have been feeding mostly dry foods. Many use a vegetable based protein instead of animal and that is part of the problem.. Your cat needs protein as it is a carnivore and cutting down on it will lead to other health issues and may cause faster degeneration.
You want to cut down on fat and phosphorous (no fish allowed now) The best way to do this is with a raw diet which you can make yourself or buy . (making yourself is better) link provided at the bottom
If you are unwilling to do that then something like the non fish flavors of merrick with NO grains are good alternatives.
You also will want to look into phosphorous binders. Something like aluminum hydroxide

You also either want to talk to the vet about having injectable pepcid ac on hand or you can buy it in pill form (ac not plain pepcid) and give 1/4 tab for stomach upset which happens alot in crf cats due to acid in the stomach.
I hope this stuff helps, here are many links for you
Making cat food
http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm
other links
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_chronic_renal_failure.html
http://www.felinecrf.org/
http://www.felinecrf.com/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/

powered by Yahoo Answers

Duration : 0:0:0

Read more…

Okay, I keep asking questions about my poor kitty and his urinary blockage…I need help. He finally left the vet after a 5 day stay to clear a blockage (catheter, not surgery) He ate the C/D prescription diet fine at the vet’s office but now that we are home…he won’t touch the stuff!! He isn’t "all better" yet. We go to the vet every day for a pain shot!…3 days now and counting. He still has blood in his urine!

I do have a multi cat house so "George" knows that there is other food in the house! What can I do to encourage him to eat this stuff?? I don’t know if there is anything I can SAFELY add to his food to get him to eat it.

Any suggestions would be great! I definitely want him to feel better and not end up blocking again. And well, as much as I love him, my pocketbook is not endless…this is getting REALLY expensive.
Yep, I think I will have to end up feeding all of them the same stuff…and NO I don’t leave the other food out for him to get into.

I totally understand what you are saying Ken…I just don’t know how to do all of this on my own…not following the vet’s advice and do what is best for my kitty.

I have a great suggestion. You can even feed all your cats the same thing. In fact you SHOULD be feeding them all the same thing/ Not that garbage CD but food appropriate for the species. That means no dry foods which caused the problems in the first place. Canned foods no gravy and if you can afford it, no grains is best. Add a little extra water for Your fluid cat for the first week and that’s it.
Please learn about nutrition

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrediant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/InterpretingLabels.htm
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don’t use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn’t have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all.
THE BEST CAT FOODS CONTAIN NO GRAINS NO BYPOODUCTS NO MEAL
Cats are meat eaters not cereal or rice eaters
Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.
Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php

Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall

Vetinarian diets The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Vets.htm

powered by Yahoo Answers

Vet diagnosed her with kidney problems and says KD Prescription Diet is all she will ever be able to eat and I can only buy it from him since it is Prescription. It is very expensive. I am a senior with limited income. I love my cat but cannot afford this food. Please help.

Have this for you to read hope it helps!! GOOD LUCK try finding a canned with the same balance of fats/protein/carbs as the KD does.. prefer canned so she will get more moisture

http://www.carepets.org/catsub/cat_pdf/fel_kidney.pdf

MORE INFO ON proteins carbs, and fat per all kinds of good,

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/
Check middle of page for lists of dry and canned..

powered by Yahoo Answers

A few days ago my cat that I rescued as a stray about 9 months ago was diagnosed with a "really bad" bladder infection. There were crystals and blood in his urine and "Sludge" in his bladder. He has been given a pain med and also an antibiotic, as well as a prescription food that he "needs to be on the rest of his life." The food is Royal Canin Urinary SO. He refuses to eat more than a few bites a day so far. I am a bit skeptical about this food because I sort of feel like Banfield pet (in association with PetSmart) has prescribed this to me because they profit off of it. Plus, I would prefer to feed my cat something more natural/less processed. He was on Natural Balance cat food, which my vet said his food was causing the crystals (never once did he ask what kind of food he was on). Obviously, I don’t want to continue to feed my cat the regular Natural Balance if it’s causing him to form crystals and have urinary problems. After doing research online, I’ve found that grains and corn are large contributors to urinary tract problems (PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong). So, I went to look at the ingredients on the Royal Canin and one of the first ingredients is corn and cornmeal! How can they prescribe this if grains and corn help contribute to crystal formation?? Is there a better food I can feed my cat than the prescription kind? Plus, I own another cat and I’m cat sitting for a friend for five months and it’s IMPOSSIBLE to feed them all different food, but I can’t afford to give my friend’s cat’s prescription cat food and my cats too. I’m not opposed to spending money on high quality food for my cats, but $22.50 is a little ridiculous for a 5 pound bag when they won’t even touch it unless they’re completely starving. I’m getting a lot of mixed messages about what to feed my cat. I’m leaning toward Evo cat food or Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck Formula, which is grain free, but I’m not sure if those are the right choices either. I’m quite frankly, afraid to ask my vet because I’m pretty sure they will just point me in the direction of their own prescription foods instead. I’m not very happy with this vet right now, but I am sort of stuck going to them for the next year as I’ve signed up for their Wellness plan (I did this before all this chaos happened). But that is something completely different. Is anyone here a vet or a vet nurse that can answer my questions?
EDIT:
I’ve talked to my vet today and asked about Wyson products. Unfortunately, he hasn’t ever heard of it and declined writing a prescription for it. I was desperate to feed my cat since he hadn’t eaten in two and a half days, so before the vet finally called me back I went out and bought some Wyson OTC food for the urinary tract (my cat seems to like it btw). My vet insists on writing a prescription for either Hills or Royal Canin, but I still don’t like the quality of these brands. I’ve been making sure my cat gets enough water by giving it to him through a oral syringe a few times a day in addition to him drinking from the bowl. I’ve researched reviews on this food and so far they seem excellent. I feel like this food will be easier to manage with the other cats in the house, plus, he actually likes it and it’s better (in my opinion) for him than the RX brands my vet wants to prescribe. I think I’ve found my solution. I’m hoping anyway!

Most cats dealing with struvite crystals (FLUTD) do well on a high protein, low carb, and grain free wet food diet. You many want to look into these while switching food. I am uncomfortable with giving out brand names when it comes to cats with special dietary needs as a result of certain medical conditions.

I do suggest however, that you join a FLUTD support group here on Yahoo. The members have extensive knowledge on how to feed and care for cats with this condition as well as links to important information and educational resources.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FLUTD

powered by Yahoo Answers

Check the following sites.

PROVET HEALTHCARE INFORMATION - Fish as Cat Food
… it is deficient in calcium with an inverse calcium:phosphorus ratio. … Saithe) a popular fish with cat owners in the UK and the fillet cut contains 15 …
www.provet.co.uk/petfacts/healthtips/rawfish.htm - Cached
Ami Vegan Cat Food from VeggiePets.com : , UK Online and Mail Order …
Ami Vegan Cat Food. Home. Basket. Checkout … Phosphorus. 0.86 % Vitamin and Mineral Supplements. per kg of product. Vit. A. 19,000 iu …
www.veggiepets.com/acatalog/ami_vegan_cat_food.html - Cached

Hills Feline Mature Adult/Senior 7+ 10kg Premium Cat Food UK
Hills Feline Mature Adult/Senior 7+ 10kg Cats Cat Food Premium Cat Food … Controlled Phosphorus formula to promote healthy kidneys. …
www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=35&pf_id=0807 - 93k - Cached
…

…
Cat food and diet in the treatment of feline kidney diseases and kidney failure in cats … Reduced phosphorus/phosphate … © Novartis Animal Health UK Ltd. …
www.felinegood.co.uk/treatments/en/diet.shtml - Cached
PetClub UK - Applaws Natural Cat Food - Ocean Fish 70g Tin
… kJ/100g, Crude Fibre: < 0.1%, Calcium: 50.7 mg/100g, Phosphorus: 166.1 mg/100g … Applaws is fast becoming a well respected cat food brand within the pet market, …
www.petclubuk.com/view/product.do?id=3269 - Cached
Tanya’s UK Feline Chronic Renal Failure/tinned cat foods
…
Hills Feline Adult 5kg Cats Cat Food … Controlled Phosphorus formula to maintain healthy kidneys. … no wonder we are the UK’s #1 for Pet Supplies! Hot Pet …
www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=34&pf_id=0800

powered by Yahoo Answers

Duration : 0:0:0

Read more…

My cat has cystals in his urinary tract and is taking ‘Hill’s Prescription Diet S/D’ cat food for treatment. (FYI That cat food is low in phosphorus and magnesium.) I was wondering if there was another type that would be a good alternative. Maybe Hill’s Science Diet?
I am not satisfied with the vet I had been taking him to, and will be changing vets, so I’d rather not ask them (which is where I got the food from.) I was wondering if any vets/vet techs. have any opinions about that food, or an alternative suggestion…
Thank you!
I am taking him to a vet… that is how I got his prescription food. I’m just looking for more information, because the vet I had been taking him to doesn’t explain anything, and I ask questions because I want to do what’s best for my cat. (which is why I’m changing vets.)I have two bowls of water out for him, he uses both, plus he likes to drink from the tap. I had kitty fountains and they quit working because they constantly were getting clogged, though I cleaned them daily. Cats are omnivors and I do grow kitty grass for him to eat… though I don’t think that has anything to do with the crystals in his urinary tract. Prior to me giving him prescription fomula food, I was feeding him both can food and dry food for indoor cats, both by Purina.

You can buy Royal Canin (Waltham) Urinary formula. Or hill’s c/d. Or Eucanuba Urinary. My cat has had similar problems. I found out that eating canned food (from the above mentioned special formulas) with some extra water helps. the more dilute the urine, the least crystals it forms. Also, many of the foods like Royal Canin light, or generally the foods for neutered males by Hill’s or Royal Canin, usually adjust the urine PH so as not to form crystals. See the contents for DL-methionine, that adjusts the PH. However, these foods are good for maintenance, if there is an acute case which needs treatment, you’s better use s/d, c/d, or Urinary.
Remember that the more water he drinks, the best. Give him with a syringe a little extra water if you can.
Also, you can buy urine reagent strips, or PH measuring paper strips, and measure his urine PH. It is easy, you just put the paper under his tail as he pees. Check that the urine PH is around 6. No less than 5 and no more than 7. So you will know if the food he is eating is working for him.

powered by Yahoo Answers