Is this diet okay for a senior cat? (Possible kidney issues)

[MissCi]

Hi there,

I have a 15 year old hyperthyroid, asthmatic cat with fairly severe allergies. She also has some major inflammatory issues (nose/palate) which causes her to be quite wheezy; we feel her allergies make this worse.

We have no idea what she's allergic to (vet has not been of much help here-i also hate vet food and that's all they ever want to recommend) but we think it's either chicken or grains.
She recently had blood work done to check her kidney function as our vet suspects she may be at the beginning stages of kidney disease.

I have decided to to completely eliminate dry food from her diet; the one she was on (vet diet) was full of some nasty stuff. She is now on RAWZ chicken and chicken liver (shredded)food. She loves it.

Is this okay for her to be on re: her age? And potential kidney issues? Should I add anything else?

(I realize I said I may suspect a chicken allergy but I thought I would try and eliminate the grains first to see if that's the culprit---and this flavour also had a lower phosphorus level that the others)

Ingredients: Chicken & Chicken Liver | RAWZ

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
It's suggested that unless a cat has diagnosed kidney issues, to just ensure lots of water intake and to feed wet food.

You don't need to add anything to her diet since Rawz is a complete food. Even if you're going to utilize a second different brand such as Koha for variety for her diet, just be sure that you have your baby in for a wellness blood check regularly
Also note that it takes approximately 12-13 weeks to do an elimination diet.

You're sure her allergies aren't environmental? Laundry soap, any spray cleaners, or furniture polish, dryer sheets (wool balls are so much better), air fresheners/candles/wax melts of any type, and outside there can be issues such as smoke from wildfires, lawn pesticides, dust from construction.

Do you have electric air cleaners in your house? Is your air dry such that a humidifier might help?

 

[MissCi]

Thank you for response Furballsmom!

I'm glad to know that Rawz isn't too much for my old (but young at heart) girl.
We should have a definitive answer in regards to her kidney function in the next few days.

In regards to her allergies, I really don't know what it could be. It has definitely been very frustrating/upsetting to say the least.
This all started about 5 years ago and it's only getting worse.
She had a scope roughly 2 years ago and they diagnosed her with upper airway disease (essentially asthma) and chronic inflammation. But we know she also has allergies because when she's on Atopica (allergy med) her breathing and skin issues improve dramatically. The problem is, she can no longer keep the Atopica down. And that's not really fixing the problem anyway; just masking it.

I was leaning more towards a food allergy/intolerance as we don't use a lot of cleansers, candles, air fresheners etc. And she's been on the same diet (with the same protein/grains) for quite some time.

I'm going to take your advice and look in to changing our laundry detergent. I'm going to discontinue using dryer (bounce) sheets. That definitely could be the cause. I'm also going to look into air purifiers and a second humidifier.
Thank you for all of your suggestions; I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Furballsmom]

Wool balls are great . There seem to be more on the market now than when I got mine a year or so ago, I have Friendsheep from Nepal.

 

[lisahe]

If you're getting rid of the dry food that may resolve the problem, particularly if the vet says it has "nasty stuff." I'm not sure what these specific nasty ingredients are but things like grains or potato can cause all sorts of problems for some cats. All of which is to say that I think you're doing the right thing to cut the dry food first and try the chicken food.

Rawz food is very good, high-quality stuff. If she still has problems (they can take considerable time to diminish!), about the only things you could blame are chicken or tapioca. Tiki Cat, by the way, has similar foods that you might want to try if your cat demands variety. Chewy has similar house brand foods (American Journey, I think it's now I think it's now called edit: it's Landmark). Our cats like both.

Since you mentioned that your cat -- what is her name, by the way? -- has asthma, it may benefit her a lot to switch to an unscented laundry detergent. Is she on an inhaler? Those can be really helpful even for cats with relatively minor disease. One of ours has an inhaler and between that, air filters, humidifiers, and more cleaning that ever before (plus throwing away some old dusty furniture and rugs!), she stays in pretty good shape!

Good luck!

 

[MissCi]

Hi Lisahe,

Thank you for your reply. Her name is Sienna but we call her Si (Pronounced like the letter C).
She takes Flovent 1-2 times/day, depending on how she's doing.

The dry food with the nasty ingredients she was on, was actually a vet prescribed food for her weight. The vet thought (when she used to be a little heavier) that her weight might be contributing to her breathing issues. She's 8.9 lbs; her weight has nothing to do with it. But the vet didn't want risk switching diets if she was eating it.
It didn't contain potatoes but it did have brewers rice. It also had other crappy ingredients like corn gluten meal.

Originally, I wanted a chicken, grain and fish free (she's hyperthyroid as well) diet; but that's SO hard to find. Especially, if she does have kidney disease. I wasn't looking for a diet super low in phosphorus but I also don't want one that is on the higher end either.

I thought I would try eliminating the dry food first (which is better for her anyway) and pick a high quality wet food. And of course, I'm going to take the advice given to me here and eliminate any potential environmental triggers. Thank you for reassuring me that this is a good move or at least start.
If it still continues after 2-3 months, I will try to eliminate the chicken too.

And thank you for the food ideas-She's loving the Rawz right now but I know she will eventually get bored. Tiki cat seems like a great alternative.