Mild elevation in my cat's kidney enzyme??

MommyTabby said:

 
Hi everyone! 

I took one of my cats to a vet for annual exam this week. The lab test shows that her Creatinine level is 1.8. Even though the adult reference range is 0.6-2.4 mg/dL, our vet said she has the mild elevation in her kidney enzyme. She told me to feed her commercial renal diets, Hill's K/D and/or Purina NF. 

My cat is currently on NATURE’S VARIETY Instinct Limited Ingredient Canned Foods for Cats Rabbit Fourmula. She’s doing really well. I just don’t understand only the Creatinine level is 1.8, and I need to change her diet… Every other lab tests are fine. 

It seems to me that the vet has a tendency to exaggerate… and I don’t want to feed my cat prescription diet, if it’s not necessary for my cats… 

Can someone tell me Creatinine level is 1.8 is that bad to change her diet? 

Thank you so much for reading and if you know anything about Creatinine level and the mild elevation in her kidney enzyme, I would be really appreciate it for your help! 

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missmimz said:

 
How old is she? What about the BUN, or SDMA? I would absolutely not feed any renal diets. They're crap, and really unnecessary even if she is at lower stage kidney disease. I would suggest joining the facebook CKD group and posting her labs and asking their suggestions. Your vet sounds really aggressive with this possible diagnosis. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/felinecrf/

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MommyTabby said:

 
Hi missmimz, 
Thank you so much for your response! 

She is 10 years old. She is doing really well, play well, sleep well, and eat well!! Haha. Her BUN/Creatinine Ratio is 11. I can’t find SDMA though. BUN’s Adult Reference Range is 4-33 Ratio, so 11 is normal, right?

The vet also mentioned that my cat has dilute urine. I told the vet that I always add warm water to her food, and she drinks a lot. 

Only two things: her Creatinine level is 1.8. and dilute urine, she told me to change her diet to commercial renal diets, and she wanted me to bring my cats in 3 months to check her again. I’m starting to think I should change the vet.   

Good to know the facebook CKD group. I don’t have the account… maybe make one for my cat. 

Thank you so much again

 

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missmimz said:

I used to use Facebook, but not anymore, I didn’t like it acutely… I’ll read the Tanya’s site first, and if I think my cat really has CKD as our vet thinks, then I’ll make a Facebook account for my cat! 

Thank you so much for your help

 

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MommyTabby said:

I used to use Facebook, but not anymore, I didn’t like it acutely… I’ll read the Tanya’s site first, and if I think my cat really has CKD as our vet thinks, then I’ll make a Facebook account for my cat! 

Thank you so much for your help

 

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missmimz said:

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mrsgreenjeens said:

 
OK, I agree that she is probably in the beginning stages of kidney disease.  I've had 3 kidney cats and it's her Urine Specify Gravity that gives it away

  But it would be early stages, so I also agree that, honestly, there is no reason for her to have to start on the kidney diet...it's too low in protein for early stage (IMHO).  The old way of thinking is that kidney cats need low protein, low phosphorus food, but most kidney cats quickly get muscle wasting, and the thinking is NOW that it may be from that LOW protein diet, or at least partially.  SO...our Vet said it was perfectly fine, even advised us, to look for high protein, low phosphorus foods for our little ones.  Something like Weruva.  Now the question is, is your girl on Limited Ingredient because of allergies, or IBD or what?  If she needs a restricted diet for another reason, then it may be a little more difficult to switch, but you could possibly add Phosphorus Binders to her food, as it's the phosphorus that's the main issue at this point.

Here is the spot on Tanya's website where you can find hundreds of food.  It's in order of the amount of Phosphorus in the food...low to high.  I always tried to keep the Phosphorus under 1%, then I would look for fairly high protein, and moderate fat.  (I also wanted low carbs, but that's up to you)  http://felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm     I added at least 1 Tablespoon of water to every meal, and I fed my last kidney cat 7 - 9 meals per day!  (she was 3 years into it by then and didn't want to eat well, so we did what we had to to get food into her

 )

Don't panic.  Catching this early is the best thing ever.  With a slight modification to her diet, this may be all you have to do for quite some time.  Tanya's site definitely is worth bookmarking, as it is full of great information.  I referred to it constantly, and particularly before a Vet visit, so I (hopefully) knew what I was talking about.  Well, that site and THIS one

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About the Limited Ingredient diet, I have two cats, Gray and Tabby. The other cat, Tabby has IBD. I adopted them from a shelter, they are both 10 years old. We believe they are siblings. 

In 2009, Gray had bloody urine due to bladder stones and was cured by the diet of the Hills Feline S/D canned foods. I was told by the vet that she has to eat W/D or/and C/D canned food rest of her life. 

Last year, my other cat, Tabby got IBD, she also was on the W/D. After she diagnosed with IBD, I switched her diet to Limited Ingredient. 

I understand that you fed your last kidney cat 7-9 meals per day! Because I fed Tabby 5 meals per day when she was really bad. It was still hard for me. So 7-9 meals… wow…  

Very fortunately, Tabby got well! Now she doesn’t need any medications!! 

But Gray started vomiting like Tabby did. I wanted to change her diet, at first I tried other urinary care diets, but they were not good for her. I read catinfo.org and learned a lot. I changed her diet to Limited Ingredient, and add warm water to her meal. She drinks at least 5 tablespoons per meal! Since I changed the diet, Gray stopped vomiting. She also has allergies, she used to scratch around her eye areas, and she often had dirty ear wax when she was on Hill’s C/D and/or W/D, but got better as well. 

Why I picked Limited Ingredient was recommended by members of the catsite.com and also I liked the fact that they don’t have guar gum and carrageenan. 

Thank you so much for your time and help!! I really appreciate your feedback

 

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