Cat diet

[pouyade]

Our last surviving cat (14yr old male tabby) has been diagnosed with progressive kidney failure. The vet says he can do nothing to halt or reverse his decline but can slow it through the use of a prescription only special diet - ‘KD’.

Just wondered if anyone was aware of anything else that might be done or the efficacy of this (expensive) diet?

Many thanks

 

Pouyade

[Nicos]

Our first cat died of kidney failure- and we were told to feed him on that. Nothing else suggested.

He did live on for another 4 or 5 years if I recall! - well worth every penny!

[cooperlola]

We had a cat on KD and he survived a further 3 years on it (and died aged 17).  But we had to be very careful not to let him have anything else.  Although it appeared expensive at first, one feeds so little of it that it turned out to be almost as cheap as a normal diet. But he was a pig and ate anything - some cats don't like the taste much!

[suein56]

[quote user="pouyade"]

Just wondered if anyone was aware of anything else that might be done or the efficacy of this (expensive) diet?

[/quote]

Our cat, Badger, is now 16 and 1/2 and was disgnosed with kidney failure over 3 years ago. We use a KD diet which includes biscuits and wet cat food. As Badger is not too keen on the KD wet food he mostly has the 'senior' variety - which he adores - and neither the vet nor I are concerned by this as the senior stuff  is pretty good too. We tried quite a few 'names' before settling on Royal Canin. He also has Ipakitine sprinkled on his wet food and 1/2 Vasotop daily as kidney failure leads to progressive breakdown of just about every part of the cat especially the digestive sysytem IIRC.

Sue

[pouyade]

Thanks all! Will progress the KD diet immediatley and see how we get on...................

Pouyade

[Nimrod]

Sorry to hear that your cat has been diagnosed with kidney problems. With regard to diet, most vets will recommend Hills k/d as they tend to stock that first and formost. There are a number of alternatives, which some cats prefer. Most of them can easily be obtained through www.zubial.fr where you can compare details and prices. ( My own CRF cat has Leo pouches and some dried.) Kidney support diets contain less protein and add other nurients to support a cat who is probably drinking (& peeing)  a lot more than usual. The jury is out on whether dry or wet support foods are best; it often depends on what the cat is used to. The most importat thing is to ensure that the cat eats. Do take a look at Tanya's Feline CRF site: http://www.felinecrf.org/index.htm. This is an amazing source of support information for owner with CRF cats. Tanya is not a vet, but I now a number of UK vets who use her site for reference! Lastly, has your vet suggested putting your cat on Fortekor (2.5mg/ day)? Do talk to him/her if not. Most UK vets will recommend this. Fortekor helps regulate blood pressure and reduce protein loss from the kidneys. It has a good track record with cats of all ages. Very best wishes.

Roger

[Christine Animal]

Yes, that's a good site Nimrod, I came across it once and posted it on here

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/715389/ShowPost.aspx

I have also heard about Fortekor, but was also interested in the other product mentioned above, Ipakitine and am going to order some.