Hello everyone, just brought my 14-year-old female cat back from the vet and they said she has kidney disease. She’s running on about 45% of her kidneys. Plus, possibly a thyroid problem, but they’ve sent her blood away to find out about that one. She was 28 lbs. 8 months ago and she’s now 8 lbs. She is skin and bone and I feel terrible. The vet says she’s not suffering, but she CANNOT lose anymore weight or it’ll become serious. So she’s indicated give her high fat foods. Does anyone know if canned sardines would be okay to give her? I was so upset at the vet that i forgot to ask her what types of food i can give her other than the ones they had at the vet for $3.89 a small can. I bought her some Science Diet which is a little less than the vet food at $2.29 a can. As i said, sardines are high in fat and nutrician. I’ve googled other foods I can possibly give her to gain some weight like egg yokes, kitten milk, cheese and apparently chicken broth (low in sodium) is soothing for them as well. Can anyone else think of any other foods to help her gain weight quickly? Thank you in advance.
Generally speaking, you do not feed human food to cats. Human food lacks essential additives that cats require on a daily basis. The one that comes to mind the most is taurine.
There is plenty of advice on the web about feeding cats sardines.** But the best advice is from your vet. Call up your vet and ask.** And Science Diet is very good. We feed ours Science Diet (wet) and two other brands, in addition to quality dry food.
Good luck.
Wet food is excellent for cats with kidney issues (they really need fluids).
- Call your vet to ask.
- If the cat doesn’t like your vet’s fancy food, go to the pet store and get canned cat food. Kitten food will be higher is fat content, if that is what your vet is recommending. Anything you cat will eat is really the key here though. It can be the bestest, most healthiest stuff out there, if he won’t eat it, it won’t matter. Get a case of the cheap (wet) stuff if that’s what they like. Put it out several times a day, and make sure they always have fresh water.
Was the cat dehydrated?
If the cat’s kidneys are failing, you probably want a special diet that reduces the toxins – Science Diet makes a KD mix, if your cat will eat it.
The best thing to do is to work on the kidney issues – the cat is probably not eating (or is puking it back up) because she feels sick. The kidneys don’t recover, but apparently they can adapt to the increased load. What I’m doing for my cat is giving her sub-cutaneous fluids every day. This pushes a lot of fluid through the kidneys and reduces the toxins to a more manageable level.
If the cat is eating lots and not puking and is still losing weight, then that sounds more like a thyroid issue.
One thing the vet did recommend for coaxing my cat to eat pills was butter. But yes, I recommend calling the vet and asking for more specific diet and treatment options.
Sardines, salmon, and ground turkey were what my vet recommended when my cat was in renal failure and losing weight rapidly. Unfortunately she died in less than a year and I wish I had put her down earlier.
My 15-year-old has similar health issues, and was down to 6 lbs. at one point, just skin and bones. He basically became an extremely picky eater, and wouldn’t even touch foods he had previously eaten. So I went to the pet store and bought one can of every brand and flavor. He walked away from most, especially Science Diet. He’ll tolerate Friskies Turkey & Cheese Taste Sensations, and also Friskies Beef, if I mix it with a handful of grated sharp cheddar. He also likes Purina “One” dry food. I’ve been encouraging him to eat whatever he wants, plus plenty of water. He’s gained back two pounds.
My other cat, 10yo and healthy, has happily fattened up with all this great food.
Since the OP is looking for advice let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Hyperthyroidism is pretty much par for the course for a senior cat, but it’s easily treatable with prescription medication and the right diet. Our old cat is 20+ now and has been on thyroid pills and a renal-specific diet for a few years now and it’s given him a new lease of life, and he’s regained much of the weight he lost. Initially he was on Vidalta, but I think these started to disagree with him as began refusing his pills (hidden within a small treat). The vet switched him to Felimazole and he has no issues with these.
We also switched him from OTS senior cat food to Royal Canin Renal Feline, and he loves it. There were some constipation issues (not from the food I don’t think; more from his increasingly sedentary lifestyle) so now we mix in a little water and psyllium husk in with his food to make a disgusting-looking cat food soup, and he loves that even more.
Most recently he went blind, and a trip to the vets revealed a blood pressure so high it blew his retinas off. So now he’s on amlodipine too, and I’m pleased to report his retinas mostly stuck back down again so he’s got some vision back.
Megankalu, I think your vet will give you the appropriate medication based on your cat’s thyroid test results. You should notice a positive difference fairly soon, and her weight will start to go back up again.
What you want is low phosphorus food. Kitten food is pretty high in phosphorus. It’s not something that’s going to be on the label, but there are a number of lists around on the various kidney kitty groups. This is one list, but it’s somewhat dated:
http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm
Try for low phosphorus, but the best food is one that your kitty EATS. You can add a binder if her blood PHOS is out-of-range and she won’t eat one of the low phosphorus choices.
You’ll want to slowly become familiar with that entire site. There is also a Facebook group started by a friend of mine:
And a Yahoo group of which I’ve been a member for probably nine or ten years:
You’ll find many knowledgeable people on either of these two groups. A lot of vets aren’t current on how CRF cats can be managed. These groups are great places to get support, as well as get information to run by your vet.
My very best to you and your kitty! It’s overwhelming and stressful at first, but a lot of cats live for years with good management.