What to feed your cat with renal failure…

For cats in kidney failure, feeding the right kind of diet becomes extremely important and can be seen as a form of treatment for these cats.

We strongly recommend that you feed a low quantity, but high quality protein diet. The reason for this is that dietary protein is broken down in the gut to make the building blocks that make up the body and help it to function. During this process, toxic by-products are produced that normally leave the body through the kidneys and urinary system. When the kidneys aren’t working properly, they cannot do this job efficiently anymore so the toxins build up in the blood and cause the cat in renal failure to feel very unwell. Therefore, the main effect of the low protein diet is to minimize production of toxins so that the cat feels better.
Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that their natural diet would consist almost entirely of protein and fat. Protein therefore tastes good to cats and stimulates their appetites – this is one of the reasons why cats with kidney disease must continue to have some protein in their diet, but also why a lower-protein diet may not be as tasty.

Restricted Phosphate Content

High phosphorus accelerates renal failure, and restricted phosphorus slows it down. Therefore, reduced phosphate content will help to protect the kidneys from further damage, thereby slowing the progression of kidney disease.

The easiest way of feeding a diet which meets the above demands is by using a scientifically formulated diet, such as the ROYAL CANIN RENAL diet. Unfortunately, we can only get this as dry food in the UAE, the wet food sachets are no longer available.

There are other pet food companies that also formulate special renal diets, however, not many are available in the UAE.

I would not recommend a home cooked diet unless you seek the advice of a specially trained veterinary nutritionist who can provide you with a recipe for a complete, balanced kidney friendly diet.

I certainly understand how difficult and frustrating it can be when your cat does not want to eat the healthy kidney diet and I am of the opinion that it is better for your cat to eat at all than to become in-appetent and lose weight because we are only offering the kidney diet.

In my opinion, all wet diets are better than non-renal dry diets as the water content in the wet food helps to flush out the kidneys and keep the cats hydrated.

If your cat is not eating the renal diet well, you should seek the help of your veterinarian to offer more support in form of medication and hydration.

Yearly Blood and Urine Tests

I strongly believe that prevention is better than treatment and a yearly blood and urine test to check kidney function may help in the early detection and supportive and preventative measures of kidney disease.

Should you have any questions regarding your cat with kidney disease, please CONTACT US