What should you feed your cat with kidney disease? Here is my holistic approach 😻

🐱 If your kitty has been diagnosed with kidney disease and your veterinarian has recommended that you feed your cat a prescription diet, this discussion is for you!

Any holistically leaning cat lover is going to face a dilemma in this moment. You may have been feeding your cat a commercially available raw food or high quality canned diet. You know that your cat is an obligate carnivore and requires a high protein, low carbohydrate, and high moisture diet. The diet your veterinarian is recommending is nearly the opposite. So, what do you do?


It depends, and you have more options than you may know.

Kidney diets for cats are lower in phosphorus and protein compared to a balanced diet. This does help your cat feel better for longer and can extend life. However if fed over several years, can have detrimental effects like muscle loss. Cats are obligate carnivores and feeding a protein restricted to diet over time can cause muscle loss.

So, if they can be helpful but aren't a balanced diet, what should you do?

First, find out what IRIS stage your cat is currently classified. This knowledge is crucial. Cats that are in stage 1 and 2 kidney disease can live for years beyond their initial diagnosis and often have no visible symptoms of their kidney disease. I often don't start protein restriction with these cats.

Cats in stage 3 and 4 are often symptomatic and can benefit from a low protein and low phosphorus diet. Many veterinarians prefer to transition cats to a kidney diet before cats start to feel poorly and have a low appetite. This is practical and something to consider as your cat's kidney progresses.

If the ingredient deck of a prescription diet has you grossed out, here are a few alternatives:

😻 Blue Buffalo makes a kidney diet with an ingredient deck that may be more appealing.
😻 Medicus is a new prescription diet line that has made a freeze dried raw diet that I absolutely love.
😻 Remember that any of these diets will contain higher carbohydrates. I normally don't recommend this, except for these cases.

Learn more about the supplements I recommend for cats with kidney disease here.

https://boulderholisticvet.com/produc...





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