Please evaluate my low phosphorus feeding plan!

Since discovering my baby is likely in the early stages of kidney disease (pet my vet), I have done much research and plan to switch her to the following foods:

I had been originally feeding Fancy Feast 3 oz for breakfast and dinner, along with 1-2 tbsp Wellness Core dry food. Plus a Hill's dental kibble (1-2) as a treat twice a day for her dental health (recommended by my vet).

NOW here is my plan:

No more fancy feast. I will give Weruva (a select few varieties I researched that look better for kidney issues) or Tiki Cat (all under "1" for phosphorus, with Tiki Cat being highest at "1" so that will be more limited), 3 oz for breakfast and dinner.

I really hate to take away all of the crunchy foods she loves, but I know it needs to be much more limited. So I found the lowest phosphorus non-prescription dry food from Tanya's website (Halo Spot Stew Grain Free hearty chicken recipe dry cat food) and will give only 5 pieces in the morning and 5 at night, for "treats".

I will not be giving the hill's dental kibble any more. And no more Wellness Core dry food.

I also continue to use a larger water bowl, refilling it with fresh water daily.

POTENTIAL PROBLEM:

The calories in Weruva vs Fancy Feast are overall lower...sometimes only 1/2 to 3/4 that of fancy feast. Weruva is ALSO much more expensive. Please, what do you recommend since the calories are lower, but I'm already spending much more just by replacing the breakfast and dinner meals with Weruva? Is there some kind of other caloric supplement I could give?

THANK YOU FRIENDS!!!

If you want the most calories while still being low in carbs and phosphorus, try the Evo 95% chicken & turkey canned food.  I get it by the case from Chewy.com, on automatic delivery, to save a lot of money.  This list is sorted by the amount of phosphorus in each food, but you can see it has more calories than all but one other in this list, and these are the lowest phosphorus foods.  Most of its calories are from fat, not carbs, and they are readily absorbed. 

I think you've done some good research and those are nice options. One of my cats, Jumbo, was diagnosed in late September so I'm new at this too. My vet sold me Hills wet and dry Rx food. It's okay to feed a little dry kibble. He didn't like what I got from the vet though, so I ordered Iams and Hi-Tor Neo wet and dry Rx from chewy.com. He seems to like them better. He won't always eat those 2, but he wouldn't touch the Hills from the vet. For some reason Tanya's site doesn't have the phosphorous listed for the Hi-Tor Neo dry. I thought it did before I bought it. It should be low though, because it's for CKD cat that doesn't require a prescription. All 3 of my cats like it. For him, I only give him 1/8 to 1/4 cup a day to graze on between morning and evening feedings of wet food. 

I've been feeding him Halo and Soulistic wet foods when he won't eat the Rx, or with it to encourage him to eat it. He like's like Halo Impulse Rabbit. I don't know the phosphorous, but rabbit is supposed to be easily digestible for CKD cats. He seems to like Soulistic Harvest Sunrise Chicken and Pumpkin Dinner (0.59 phosphorous) canned and several of the pouches, all pretty low in phosphorous: Autumn Bounty Chicken Dinner, Good Karma Chicken Dinner, Triple Harmony Chicken, Salmon & Tuna. You can actually see the meat in their food. I bought some cans of Wellness at the pet store this past weekend to try. So far, he really liked the Turkey pate and I fed him some of the Beet & Chicken this morning. I have 2 Core flavors to try next. Wellness seems to be higher in phosphorous than Soulistic, but he seemed more excited about Wellness. Now, I'm not sure which way to go there. I'll have think on that some more.

I never fed Fancy Feast. Weruva isn't sold in the pet stores near me so I haven't tried the regular line. It's too expensive to order a case online just to find out he won't eat it. I did order a small variety pack of Weruva's Best Feline Friend line from chewy.com though. They're low in phosphorous too and the variety pack was very affordable, but it was a lot of tuna. All 3 cats loved it as they love tuna and other fish, but fish apparently is not good to feed a lot of. 

We had good luck with Wellness grain free Chicken, Turkey, plus the Wellness Core Chicken Turkey liver, plus Weruva and a mix of Soulistic pouched foods such as Good Kharma and Triple Harmony(my Tiger was diabetic and she needed high carb food occasionally when her numbers were low)  With CKD, as it progesses, you have to feed them what they will eat eventually and use phosphorus binders if needed.

You may not need this yet if your kitty is in the early stages, but I just wanted to add that one other thing that worked well for me, I got Tiger raised dishes for water and her food, similar to this one:

Thanks all!

For the canned food that is low in phosphorus but ALSO contains some kind of seafood, should I be avoiding that? Is seafood bad for cats for another reason besides high phosphorus?

I've seen a lot of people on here say no fish for any cats because of magnesium. I still feed mine fish, but taking that advice, now I stick to salmon and higher quality tuna and not try to feed them fish every day. I feed my senior cats poultry or another protein for a few days, then give them fish. When I mix fish in my CKD cat, I just give a little spoonful. I personally feel comfortable with the Soulistic, Halo and BFF fish. Whatever gets him to eat is okay with me.

@RuthM  gave a good tip about raising the food bowl. I remember seeing that tip in several articles about simple changes to help CKD cats (when I first started googling info about feline CKD). It's good tip for all cats, not just sick ones, to help digestion. I had one metal stand before that I used sporadically. Now I use it everyday and bought 2 new stands so they all have a raised bowl. The new stands I found are cool because I was able to use the bowls I already had. 

It comes in different sizes, but the small, 3 inch height, is perfect for cats.

muffinz55 said:

 
Thanks all!

For the canned food that is low in phosphorus but ALSO contains some kind of seafood, should I be avoiding that? Is seafood bad for cats for another reason besides high phosphorus?

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For me, I worried about the quality of the fish in cat food, it isn't human grade, plus I knew it had fish bones which meant too much phosphorus in foods such as Fancy Feast. I also worry about mercury and toxins in fish that I eat as well.  You'll have to scroll down to the middle of the page, it is from Dr. Lisa Pierson as to why fish isn't the best thing to feed our kitties, though occasionally I let my kittens have it,and I also try to stick to salmon, although the Soulistic Tripe Harmony was a big hit with mine.

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods

CatminionJess is right, it often comes down to what they will eat, so a little fish treat here and there  shouldn't hurt.

Soulistic Triple Harmony was a hit with mine too. The first few days after he started on the Rx food, I used Starkist tuna to tempt him to eat it. Then I bought several Soulistic pouches to use instead. He likes that one and the one with pumpkin gravy. Most days he prefers the dry Rx to the wet as they're all very pasty and unpalatable. So I what I can to get him to eat the wet Rx. He used to go nuts for regular wet food.

My vet told me to give him 2.5 mg Pepcid twice a day along with the diet change. Did yours suggest that?

CatMinionJess said:

 
Soulistic Triple Harmony was a hit with mine too. The first few days after he started on the Rx food, I used Starkist tuna to tempt him to eat it. Then I bought several Soulistic pouches to use instead. He likes that one and the one with pumpkin gravy. Most days he prefers the dry Rx to the wet as they're all very pasty and unpalatable. So I what I can to get him to eat the wet Rx. He used to go nuts for regular wet food.

My vet told me to give him 2.5 mg Pepcid twice a day along with the diet change. Did yours suggest that?

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Some people have good luck grinding dry food in a Cuisinart or blender then sprinkling it on wet food.  My Tiger was also diabetic, so dry food was forbidden. So I crumbled her favorite Pure Bite Treats instead.  Tuna juice works too; so does sprinkling a little parmesan cheese and oregano and heating the food  in the microwave. 

My vet did recommend 1/4 of a tablet of Pepcid AC(2.5mg) but only once daily.  That is the beauty of Pepcid, you only need to give it once unlike Ranitidine. Is your vet recommending  you put the Pepcd in food? I would not do that- Pepcid is extremely bitter; your kitty will be turned off that prescription food forever once that association is made. I highly recommend a gelcap that you can put meds into; roll it in butter and it should slide; then I would chase it down with a spoonful of Beechnut Turkey & Broth Baby Food.

Well he had a dental cleaning with extractions almost 2 months ago when CKD was confirmed. They had me start him on Rx food that night, but he wouldn't eat it that night or the next morning. I had to take him back the next day to get the catheter out and/or administer fluids if he wasn't eating. That morning the vet thought he still had pretty good weight on him. He said they could do the fluids or I could take him home and give him Pepcid and see if that would help him eat. I could bring him in later that week if it didn't help. Fluids were going to cost another $115 after spending $750 for the dental so I decided to take him home and try the Pepcid. The vet said I should give that to him 2.5 mg twice a day for the rest of his life. I wasn't really told how to administer it. I don't put it in his food. It would be a waste that way anyway since he doesn't usually eat all his food. Basically, I cradle him and push his mouth open and drop it down his throat. I do that with a 1/4 a tablet in the morning and another in the evening. I read on Tanya's site that it's the highest recommended dosage. All I really know is it's supposed to help reduce stomach acid and vomiting. 

oh my gosh, I am so happy to have came across this site and this thread.

I have been obsessively researching this exact same thing for two weeks now. My 12-yr-old cat Izzy is likely in the very very early stages, too. 2 wks ago, she couldn't poop. Had to take her to the vet, get an enema, bloodwork, etc. This was the 2nd time this has happened in the past year; the vet said possible kidney issues, and based on blood tests, looks like she may be in the very early stages, but is not actually diagnosed or confirmed for sure yet. The new test that just came out in the summer, which shows kidney disease at its early stages, will be the judge of that, and I'm going back to the vet's soon to go over these results.  Everything else about Izzy is the perfect picture of health, though - she's very petite (7.2 pounds) but very active, constantly runs and jumps and plays and cuddles and purrs and snuggles. She eats and drinks regularly, and there have been absolutely NO changes in anything about her. The not-being-able-to-poop thing just happened literally in a split second. On both occassions, everything was completely fine and dandy -  she was playing and cuddling and purring, nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. All of the sudden, she throws up, then goes right to her litterbox to poop, but can't do so, so she starts scraping her paws all over the carpet, digging around, pacing in and out of the litter box, meowing, and looking really uncomfortable. Luckily, both times, I was right there when it happened and called the vet immediately, which is conveniently right up the road from where I live. 

The vet said to give her 1/8 tsp of Miralax each day as a regular part of her diet (the last time this happened, she had me give her the Miralax for just 2 weeks). She also recommended a diet low in phosphorous and sodium but high in protein, since Izzy is so tiny and still pretty active. I refuse to feed her the prescription junk, though - I have fed her grain-free high quality food all of her life. Why should I switch to stuff that's full of by-products, fillers, and preservatives now that she's getting older and starting to have kidney issues? But trying to get accurate info about the phosphorous & sodium amounts in the food is difficult (yes, I have read all the charts and tables a gazillion times).

Let me know how the Spot's Stew works for you. I just got a bag of it a week ago and have been gradually mixing it in with Izzy's regular food, and so far, so good. Finding a wet food that she'll eat is particularly difficult, though. I want to order Weruva, but I'm not sure if she'll like it. I've been trying to give her Soulistic Chicken & Pumpkin, but she just takes a few licks and walks away. The thing is, a few years ago, I "tricked" Izzy into eating a spoonful of wetfood a day, just in case anything would ever happen where I would have to give her medicine, it would be easier with wet food. Fast-forward to now, and Izzy absolutely LOVES the "Oh My Cod" wet food by a company called I and Love and You, however I don't know what the phos/sod is. I'm awaiting an email response. She's been giving me nasty looks when I set down her "treat" meal (wet food that I give her when I get home every afternoon) and she realizes that it's not her "Oh My Cod" but the new chicken stuff. I'm getting worried because I have to give her 1/8 tsp Miralax everyday, and I mix this in with the wet food. Since she's barely eating the new stuff, she's not getting anywhere near the correct dose of MiraLax. Today, I gave in and gave her the "Oh My Cod" just to get the Miralax in her. Any advice on wet food for finnicky cats who have a preference for foods that can be licked rather than chewed? Izzy loves the brown mushy stuff, but she scoffs at the shreds of chicken and chunks of meat. She's a licker, for sure.



I'm so glad I found this forum!!! It will be nice to hear from others who are going through similar circumstances and see what has worked. Please respond or message me - I've never been on here before so I'm not quite sure how this works, but please send me any good tips and advice!

Much love!

-Kristen