I have a 15 year old cat. He has recently been diagnosed with renal failure. HELP!?

Question

The vet has him on Hill's K/D canned food. He is also on a phos. binder for a few more days. The problem is that my cat is not wild about the K/D. I've put a litle bit of the water that tuna is packed in on his food (but NOT the tuna itself!) He loves the tuna juice! Does anyone know of anything that I can put on his food or mix with it to make him want to eat it, but will not increase the level of phos. or protein? Also, what (if any) homeopathic remedies can I try to help him in anyway?

Answer 1

Hi Liz...most CRF (Chronic Renal Failure) cats are not too fond of the k/d diet. There are other renal supportive diets available and some cats will prefer one over the other. Purina NF Kidney Function or Walthams Kidney are two others perhaps your vet could order and have you try. Most CRF cats feel nauseated because of the toxins built up in the system. You could ask your vet about offering anti-emetics to help minimize the nausea. Subcutanous fluids (fluids which are administered under the skin, above the muscle) can also help nauseated cats a tremendous amount which perks up their appetite again as well as hydration is critical.

Here's a website that is very helpful in the care and mangement of cat who have been diagnosed with CRF: http://www.felinecrf.com/what0.htm
Dietary Management section: http://www.felinecrf.com/managd.htm

Millie's suggestion is also great.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

The felinecrf.org has a lot of information. I think it would take you a long time to digest it all.

Since the vet sent your cat home with a food recommendation and you are not talking about giving fluids at this time I would assume it is chronic renal failure as opposed to acute renal failure.

So I will just relate my experience. I rescued my Cameo when she was fifteen. She was dying of hyperthroidism and was treated successfully for that with radioactive iodine. For the past seven years she has eaten a raw meat diet of organic chicken and organic turkey with a supplement powder from Feline Instincts which is mentioned on the crf site. When she was eighteen her kidney numbers got very bad and she has continued on this high protein, high phosphorus diet for four more years as she is now 22 (that's 100 in human years) I have never given her fluids though they were administered when she underwent a surgery at age 21 and this year to have her teeth cleaned at 22. She is failing now (who isn't at 100) and I may not have her too much longer.

Just know that there is NO research to support the low-protein diets. It does not slow the progression of the disease nor forestall the final outcome. The original research was done on rats in the 1970's and is not applicable to cats (who evolved along entirely different lines millions of years ago.)

I am not suggesting that you switch your cat to a raw meat diet as he might not like that either and I see no reason, based on my experience with Cameo, that he needs any diet other than the very best commercial food you can give him and that he enjoys eating. Why deprive him of the pleasure of his food? You wouldn't consider denying him the pleasure of your love even if the vet were to recommend such a thing.

If you want pricey you can look into Newman's Organic line which would probably be the highest quality available. Definitely use a canned food as cats with renal problems need as much moisture in their food as possible. The raw diet I use is very high in water content.

Answer 4

I would not give him tuna fish water for tuna is high in mercury and he does not need even a bit of a poisonous mineral-instead get some turkey gravy the kind in a jar and dilue a liitle bit in water for it will flavor the cat food but will not add any protein etc. Did a quick IE Search asked homeopathic help for cat with renal failure and many sites. Go to www.naturalcanine.com and www.felinecrf.org these arae the ones I went into and gave a lot of good information esp all the homeopathic products available for renal failure Any flavoring that is not salty or even salmon water-for it is so potent in the aroma so just a bit will be needed and know it'll entice you cat to eat. Wish you many loving years with your kitty .I"ll also pray that the good Lord will help you when the time comes for you to do the last loving thing for your kitty-when and if that time comes.

Answer 5

I have a 14 almost 15 year old cat with renal failure (only 10% of kidney function left) that I have been treating successfully since February, 2006, approx. 9 months. It blows me away that you're asking for help and people tell you 15 years is along enough life and to consider putting your cat to sleep. Shame on them. Now, I don't know your cat's specific situation but there is help out there for people new to this. A great site is www.felinecrf.org. There is a ton of information on this site, including what to do when your cat won't eat the food recommended for CRF. My cat eats Hill's K/D dry food and gets a potassium supplement powder on her food 1x a day as well as regular fluid therapy. We had the same eating problem you're having right now but it was due to nausea from toxin build up. I had to give her 'junk' cat food at first because the medicine for nausea has to be given in food and she wasn't eating her normal K/D (K/D comes in a canned chicken flavor as well as dry food, if you didn't know already). It is always better to give your cat food that might not be 'great' for it while it bounces back from not feeling well, or in your case, being a picky eater, instead of having it starve while you're trying to find a remedy. There are holistic treatments out there. I have been very successful with internet searches. It just takes time and patience. I don't know if your doctor has talked to you about fluid therapy but in most cases it is a necessity for any chance of a prolonged life. It's not difficult or expensive but, again, just takes time and patience. The only thing that might be a little costly is the blood work to see what your cat's levels are at but I have only had Hemingway's blood work done once and have been treating her according to her symptoms. So far we haven't had any catastrophic problems but each cat and situation is different. So to all those pessimists out there, my cat is proof that there is hope. I know that it won't last forever, because nothing does, but so far I have had 9 great months with Hemingway and do not regret anything I have done and continue to do for her. She is not in pain, does not mind fluid therapy and is still playful. I hope you don't get discouraged. There are alot of people in your shoes that have good results in the end. There are some excellent links below, the first one is my favorite. Hope they help.

Answer 6

I work for a vet and we have several patients (cats) that are in renal failure. The best thing to do is get a 3 cc syringe, put warm water in his food and mix well, and force feed him - very gently. Most of the time, even though they don't want to eat, you can feed them with a syringe and they will eat it w/o spitting it out. Also, be sure to watch for dehydration. If you notice him getting dehydrated, you can take him by the vet's office for them to run some subcue fluids on him and that almost always helps them to get their appetite back. You have a long road ahead of you and I wish you the best.

Answer 7

Hey Liz,
I know this is going to be hard but, maybe it's time. I had a cat and he was very special to me and he had some big problems. I had to decide if it was worth him being in pain. It was not. So, I had him put to sleep. He's been gone for a long time now and I still miss him. Yet, I know I did the right thing.
This is probably not the answer you are looking for but, it's the best I can give.
Freddy (for Red Skelton's Freddy the Freeloader) was a great cat and probably the best one I ever have. Right now I have a cat named Marble and she is a regular "Skitty Kitty" but, she's no Freddy.

Answer 8

Sweetheart, fifteen years is a good life for a cat. You need to resolve yourself to the fact that your pet is old and sick. The last thing you should want to do it prolong his pain. I don't mean to be cruel. I have a cat that I love very much, so I know what you must feel for your pet. But you need to accept the inevitable and hopefully when his time comes, you will not be quite so heartbroken. By best to you and kitty.

Answer 9

Eukaneuba has a renal diet as does royal canin. We had the opposite. We tried the eukanueba and the cat didn't like it, he inhales the science diet k/d. Good luck, hope that helps.

Answer 10

Oh how sad. My mom used to work with humans who had this problem in the dialysis unit, (she's a nurse). I'm not sure if there's much more you can do for him but what the vet told you.