CKD safe treats, toppers, or enticements?

[sidneykitty]

I'm fostering a geriatric CKD cat I brought home yesterday. She seems desperate for love and attention and follows us around quite a bit and is a real sweetheart! I already know how much I will fall in love with her.

She is very skinny and getting subQ fluids and on Hill's k/d wet food.

So for, she hasn't eaten a ton. Some of my previous fosters often arrive stressed and scared and don't eat much at first, so I know that could be a factor in addition to CKD nausea, etc. I'm wondering if there are CKD-safe treats, toppers, or other enticements I can add to her food to encourage her to eat?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

This page has several options listed
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Persuading Your Cat to Eat

 

[Jem]

When I still had my CKD boy, I made sure to rotate different flavors/smells of food. What can happen with the nausea from CKD is that if they feel sick while trying to eat, they then loose the taste of eating that food because they associate it with feeling sick. There are several other brands of CKD food available other than the Hill's KD, perhaps keep a stock of all the different ones and see if offering a different flavor at each meal helps. And yes, even the dry food/kibble options. Even though moisture is very important the amount they get from wet food hardly makes a dent in their hydration if they are at a stage where sub-Q fluids are necessary...you can always give extra fluids if it's appropriate.
How old is this kitty?
One other thing I learned from having a CKD kitty....it's more important that they eat than what they eat. As much as most of my kitties diet was renal friendly food, if he was having a particular tough day...he got whatever he wanted to eat. I would assume that his quality of life is more important at this point if he's closer to the later stages of CKD so I personally wouldn't worry too much about what is considered a "CKD friendly" treat...as most are probably not, especially if you're only using it as a topper or as enticement.
Do you think he's getting enough sub-Q fluids? In the last year or so of his disease, we had to give my boy 100mls a day to keep his kidneys flushed and him feeling well.
I know I'm not answering your question as to what treats/toppers are CKD friendly, but hopefully this helps anyway.
And thank you so much for taking in a geriatric kitty with special needs.

 

[sidneykitty]

Furballsmom - thank you! I peeked at that one this morning but I was on my phone which I always struggle with reading on. I'll take a better look now I'm on a computer

Jem - yes, I think rotating foods is a good plan. today, she's enjoying the fish flavor more but they only gave me one can of this flavor. I'm limited by what the shelter will give me but I'll ask them about some different flavors/brands of renal foods they were going to give me kibble as well but her file said "no dry food" so they didn't.

thank you for the reminder of making sure she eats if she has a bad day! and I was thinking treat content may not matter so much since it's only a little/a topper, but I also want to be sure I'm doing a good job taking care of her, so I felt it best to ask!

she is 17. she is getting between 100-150mL of fluids per day.

and no worries - you were very helpful. <3 I wanted to look after her because my own cat Amber passed from kidney failure a little over a year ago at age 17 and it broke my heart to think of a little cat like her in a shelter instead of a home.

 

[Jem]

Here is a list of all the Vet prescribed CKD foods available. Hopefully the shelter can get you a few different options.


CURRENT OPTIONS FOR KIDNEY DISEASE DIETS FOR CATS

HILL’S PRESCRIPTION DIET
Dry:
K/D Chicken 4 lb, 8.5 lb
K/D Mobility 6.35 lb
K/D Ocean Fish 4 lb, 8.5 lb
Canned:
K/D Chicken Pate 5.5 oz
K/D Chicken and Vegetable Stew 2.9 oz
K/D Mobility 2.9 oz
K/D Tuna Pate 5.5 oz
K/D Vegetable and Tuna Stew 2.9 oz

ROYAL CANIN
Dry:
Renal Support A 12 oz, 3 lb, 6.6 lb
Renal Support F 12 oz, 3 lb, 6.6 lb
Renal Support S 12 oz, 3 lb, 6.6 lb
Canned:
Renal Support D 3 oz
Renal Support T 3 oz
Renal Support E 5.8 oz

PURINA PRO PLAN VETERINARY DIETS
Dry:
NF Kidney Function Early Care 3.15 lb, 8 lb
NF Kidney Function Advanced Care 3.15 lb, 8 lb
Canned:
NF Kidney Function Early Care 5.5 oz
NF Kidney Function Advanced Care 5.5 oz

 

[Jem]

One other thing to perhaps ask the shelter is about the Hill's "urgent care" or the Royal Canine "Recovery" canned foods.
They are highly palatable and calorie dense...this may be a good "topper" or "mix in" option. I've not had a cat refuse to eat this stuff. They are also very mushy so can be syringed if necessary.

 

[sidneykitty]

thank you for that fantastic list!!

I have 1 can of a/d from a former foster still at home. good reminder! I also keep baby food and KMR on hand for my fosters just in case.

I picked up some Pure Bites and Churu paste to sprinkle atop her food and she definitely liked the Pure Bites. Less into the churu. Also - I tried to give her a couple Temptations after she was a perfect angel for her fluids but she would not touch them!! I've never seen a cat not eat Temptations before... but they did mention some problem with her teeth that they didn't want to put her under for so perhaps she can't chew them... we'll see! I shall keep experimenting.

 

[Jem]

My Toby often got abscesses (part of CKD) and would have to be put on antibiotics periodically. Maybe she would benefit from that...it won't help the actual tooth problem, but if she's prone to infection, and has one, that will cause extra pain.

 

[kakers]

Perhaps you can ask around locally if there's anyone who is able to donate some CKD prescription food? I'm hoping to donate some food we have left over from ours who passed, if you're able to find some for her to try maybe you will find others she likes that the shelter can try to get for her.

The Stella and Chewy Magical Dinner Dust may also be worth a try. It's not the most kidney friendly when looking at the phosphorus on a dry matter basis, but it only takes a pinch or two to entice a kitty who likes it so in such small amounts I wouldn't expect it to make a meaningful difference in phosphorus intake. Unfortunately I think it only comes in pretty large pouches that aren't terribly well priced, but it's an option if you aren't able to procure other foods.

 

[maggie101]

I'm fostering a geriatric CKD cat I brought home yesterday. She seems desperate for love and attention and follows us around quite a bit and is a real sweetheart! I already know how much I will fall in love with her.

She is very skinny and getting subQ fluids and on Hill's k/d wet food.

So for, she hasn't eaten a ton. Some of my previous fosters often arrive stressed and scared and don't eat much at first, so I know that could be a factor in addition to CKD nausea, etc. I'm wondering if there are CKD-safe treats, toppers, or other enticements I can add to her food to encourage her to eat?

My cat did not like prescription food except hills a/d so I gave her mostly weruva steak frites. Not many cals so mix in something else or put the 2 foods next to each other

 

[sidneykitty]

It turns out they gave me the wrong food and I went back and picked up the kinds of kidney foods she DOES like. she also has a URI so between getting the right food and the antibiotics, she is eating much better now! the pure bites did help us get through until we could pick up her preferred food though. thank you all for your comments and help!

 

[mysterylover]

Glad she is eating better with her preferred food! I just thought I would mention that I have two cats with tooth resorption. One has had extractions, and the other, her brother, is going to have extractions soon. By stroke of luck, the only treats I have given them are the Blue Buffalo Moist Chicken and Turkey treats. The cat who has already had extractions was able to eat them with me crumbling them into a powder soon after surgery, and they all LOVE them. I just thought, if you got in a pinch and needed a topper that is tooth-friendly, these might be worth a try. You can also get them at Kroger, Petsmart, Petco.

God bless you for fostering her! My girl who had the extractions was found to be in early stage of kidney disease on her preop labs. Between the tooth disease (vet said she will always have some inflammation as long as she has some teeth but we opted to keep the ones that were okay still) and trying to protect her kidneys, food is already challenging. She wants only smooth foods and certain flavors, and I am having to work to make sure some foods she loves do not constipate her now - and of course, when she finally loves a food consistently, it starts being sold out everywhere locally that sells it, so even when I can order online, I am scrambling to find food while waiting on the shipment for a few days! But she is worth it!!!