I have a Nutrition Question

Angel has allergies to 11 ingredients found in foods. He's been on Hill's Science Diet Low Allergen Z/D Dry Food.

Due to his allergies there aren't any treats out there he can eat, except for, Bonito Tuna Flakes.

Here is the Nutrition Label on the container:
Crude Protein 65% min.
Crude Fat 0% min.
Crube Fiber 1% min.
Moisture 2% max.

My question is: Is too much protein detrimental to his diet?

He is, and has been, at every check-up completely healthy and a perfect weight.

Given as an occassional treat in moderation, Cheryl, I don't believe the protein contained in Bonito would be detrimental to Angel's diet. Bonito is also Sierra's favorite treat!

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So long as he has normal kidney values, and it's just a treat, not something he gets a large amount of on a daily basis, I say go for it...as you say he does not have a reaction to it.

I love giving my guys treats such as Kitty Kaviar (the pet version of the bonito flakes you can find in your local Asian market).

I think your guy is lucky...my Joshua who is also on Z/D can not have *any* treats of any kind.

Just my opinion, wouldn't hurt to run it by your vet as well

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

So long as he has normal kidney values, and it's just a treat, not something he gets a large amount of on a daily basis, I say go for it...as you say he does not have a reaction to it.

I love giving my guys treats such as Kitty Kaviar (the pet version of the bonito flakes you can find in your local Asian market).

I think your guy is lucky...my Joshua who is also on Z/D can not have *any* treats of any kind.

Just my opinion, wouldn't hurt to run it by your vet as well

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I believe Kitty Kaviar is the same, it just cost more than the Bonito Flakes made by PetGold.

So are you saying if too much is given in a day it can hurt his kidney's? I do give him quite alot.

Originally Posted by ccoccocats

I believe Kitty Kaviar is the same, it just cost more than the Bonito Flakes made by PetGold.

So are you saying if too much is given in a day it can hurt his kidney's? I do give him quite alot.

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Kitty Kaviar has larger flakes, less powderly breakage than the PetGold - which is an imitation of Kitty Kaviar (KK was first of all the pet labelled bonito flake products on the market).

If a cat has chronic kidney failure, it's important to consider the amount of protein in their diet, yes. For any healthy cat, treats should not become a large part of the daily diet. If I knew of someone giving say half a can of Kitty kaviar a day, I'd tell them that's a bit much!

I use Kitty Kaviar as an appetite stimulant with my crf kitty - and just put a few flakes atop his wet food to get him started (he eats the KK and moves right on to eating the food I want him to eat )

ps no I was not saying that eating a good quality protein treat would hurt the kidneys. I do think that when you have a senior cat, you can help them by lightening the load on their kidneys with a lower phosphorous diet, and if a kitty does have crf, depending on the stage of it, your vet may recommend a lower protein food.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Kitty Kaviar has larger flakes, less powderly breakage than the PetGold - which is an imitation of Kitty Kaviar (KK was first of all the pet labelled bonito flake products on the market).

If a cat has chronic kidney failure, it's important to consider the amount of protein in their diet, yes. For any healthy cat, treats should not become a large part of the daily diet. If I knew of someone giving say half a can of Kitty kaviar a day, I'd tell them that's a bit much!

I use Kitty Kaviar as an appetite stimulant with my crf kitty - and just put a few flakes atop his wet food to get him started (he eats the KK and moves right on to eating the food I want him to eat

)

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I feel scared right now, because I do, in fact, give Angel about 1/3 of the .25 ounce container a day.

Where can I buy Kitty Kaviar?

Thanks for the answer. You've really helped me out. I think I'm going to lessen his intake on these treats. I hope I didn't hurt his kidneys.

Originally Posted by ccoccocats

I feel scared right now, because I do, in fact, give Angel about 1/3 of the .25 ounce container a day.

Where can I buy Kitty Kaviar?

Thanks for the answer. You've really helped me out. I think I'm going to lessen his intake on these treats.

I hope I didn't hurt his kidneys.

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If I have you worrying that you hurt your kitties kidney's, I haven't done a very good job with my answer! It's just that even on the site for Kitty Kaviar, they do remind one, it's just a treat, and should not used as part of a cat's daily diet. Now, the Kitty Kaviar can is 1/2 oz., so when I was talking a third of it, I was talking way, way more flakes than 1/3 of the petgold container (I know what it looks like, having checked it out when at my local Petco).

If your kitty is also dealing with crf, just give a much smaller pinch each time

You can find Kitty Kaviar in better mom and pop pet stores, but not the large warehouse stores, as well as many online stores. You can go to the product website, www.kittykaviar.com and use their retail store locator to find a store in your area.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

If I have you worrying that you hurt your kitties kidney's, I haven't done a very good job with my answer! It's just that even on the site for Kitty Kaviar, they do remind one, it's just a treat, and should not used as part of a cat's daily diet. Now, the Kitty Kaviar can is 1/2 oz., so when I was talking a third of it, I was talking way, way more flakes than 1/3 of the petgold container (I know what it looks like, having checked it out when at my local Petco).

If your kitty is also dealing with crf, just give a much smaller pinch each time

You can find Kitty Kaviar in better mom and pop pet stores, but not the large warehouse stores, as well as many online stores. You can go to the product website, www.kittykaviar.com and use their retail store locator to find a store in your area.

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Thank you for clarifying that for me. I'm sure it wasn't how you said it, it's just I worry so much for his health, that I probably jumped the gun and thought I was doing something to harm him.

I appreciate everything you said. Yet, I still think I will cut down on the treats. They're very expensive for a small container.

Angel does not have CRF, he is totally healthy. Before Angel, I had a kitten, Jet, from 1 hour old and he died from FeLV at 14 mos. The vet said he had a tumor in his heart cavity and it was blocking his air passages and would die within 2 weeks. I always felt I'd killed him while adminstering his medicine since it was that time he took his last breath. I think that's why I over react. Sorry.

Not a thing to apologize for, I just didn't want to have caused you any stress!

I have a wonderful orange male that was overweight and had skin allergies. There was never a solution besides to give him cortisone (never a good idea for long periods of time). I tried the BARF diet (raw and bones) and he lost the weight, felt better, adn the allergies were gone once he started eating it. Now, my 7 month old kitten is eating it (she never had anything else since she was 3 weeks old when I got her), and she snubs regular cat food. She looks at it like it is not food.

I suggest others look into the BARF diet for weight issues, diabetes issues, allergies. It is what they are supposed to eat.

Originally Posted by mlsskate

I have a wonderful orange male that was overweight and had skin allergies. There was never a solution besides to give him cortisone (never a good idea for long periods of time). I tried the BARF diet (raw and bones) and he lost the weight, felt better, adn the allergies were gone once he started eating it. Now, my 7 month old kitten is eating it (she never had anything else since she was 3 weeks old when I got her), and she snubs regular cat food. She looks at it like it is not food.

I suggest others look into the BARF diet for weight issues, diabetes issues, allergies. It is what they are supposed to eat.

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I whole heartedly DISAGREE. Cats need a well balanced nutrional diet to get the proper nutrients and taurine found in some commercial foods, such as Hill's Science Diet foods.

Hopefully, Hissy or a Mod here will better explain this issue to you. You are NOT doing your cat a favor. I understand you believe in a holistic approach but it is not the answer. You may be creating more problems down the road.

Originally Posted by mlsskate

<snip>I tried the BARF diet (raw and bones) and he lost the weight, felt better, adn the allergies were gone once he started eating it. Now, my 7 month old kitten is eating it (she never had anything else since she was 3 weeks old when I got her), and she snubs regular cat food. She looks at it like it is not food.

I suggest others look into the BARF diet for weight issues, diabetes issues, allergies. It is what they are supposed to eat.

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This is a very intense topic at times, but completely appropriate for this section While I do not choose to use such a diet, my advice is to simply research what this entails well...in terms of proper preparation of the food, proper supplementation. Here are some links for those interested in learning more:article on feeding raw with good book recommendation
and good site for info on feeding raw
another good site
another
and one more

I do believe feeding a canned food diet versus simply a dry food diet is better, and that the food needs to be the best one can afford in terms of quality of proteins used, and a formula without additives, colorings, sugars, preservatives such as BHA/BHT or ethoxyquin.

Originally Posted by ccoccocats

I whole heartedly DISAGREE. Cats need a well balanced nutrional diet to get the proper nutrients and taurine found in some commercial foods, such as Hill's Science Diet foods.

Hopefully, Hissy or a Mod here will better explain this issue to you. You are NOT doing your cat a favor. I understand you believe in a holistic approach but it is not the answer. You may be creating more problems down the road.

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I don't feed a raw diet but I don't believe there is anything wrong with doing so as long as enough research is done to properly prepare and balance the diet.