Low protein dry cat food......

[victornewman03]

10 y/o Kyra got her bloodwork few days ago. Liver enzymes normal. Kidney enzymes were high BUN55 (up from 37, 6 months ago)....Creatinine 2.0 (up from 1.7). Vet recommends dry food with about 15% protein. Can't find on my online search. Current dry is Ziwi Peak lamb.....38% protein. This is about 20% of her diet........ with 80% being wet food (crab/tuna and chicken), both about 9% protein. Some dried chicken treats during the day.....have 80% protein.

My search results show 26% and up for dry protein. Anything out there lower, before I get back to Vet ? Kyra currently on Ursodiol, 1/2 ML day and now being cut to 1/4 ML day.

Thanks for listening.......

 

[FeebysOwner]

With those kidney numbers she does not need to be put on a low protein food. The old school of thought was to reduce protein to help ease the work on the kidneys. It is no longer considered the best idea since older cats begin to lose muscle mass through the natural aging process, and lowering their protein just exacerbates that. It seems that lowering protein is generally reserved for the final stages of kidney disease when preserving the remaining kidney function becomes more important the worrying about muscle mass loss. Kyra would be considered in mid-Stage 2 based on creatinine alone.

Do you know what her phosphorus level was in the blood work? A cat in Stage 2 should have their phosphorus level kept under 4.6, so if hers is lower than that you don't really need to worry yet about phosphorus, although you could still entertain a cat food with a lower content anyway. The goal, which is not easily done, is to keep phosphorus on a dry matter basis at no more than 0.5% but shooting for no more than 1.0% is probably more reasonably attained. Over time, as her phosphorus level increases, there are phosphorus binders that can be added to food if she doesn't choose to like many of the lower phosphorus foods. (That would be my cat.)

This is a section from Tanya's web site that you could start looking through for food ideas - Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Cat Food Data Tables Overview (felinecrf.org). The entire web site is a comprehensive look at kidney disease in cats and contains a wealth of information and help with managing it. It can be overwhelming at first, but trust me, reading through it is well worth it.

 

[victornewman03]

Hi F Owner and thanks. Her phosphorus is 4.9 on a scale of 2.6 - 6.0 mg/dl. I will check both wet and dry labels for phosphorus. I see I have some reading to do.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Not to add to your woes, but even IF phosphorus is listed on cat food labels - which is rare - it is likely to be 'as is' basis rather than 'dry matter'. There is a difference in that the 'as is' is always lower because it includes any moisture included in the food, which essentially dilutes the actual level.