Kidney Disease Cat Food
Kidney Disease Cat Food Resources
This page is meant to be a resource for people looking for kidney disease cat food. This page has been on the Internet since 2010 and there are a lot of comments left by readers that might be helpful. So please read the comments below as well. There are two kinds of kidney disease in cats – acute and chronic. Most kitties with chronic renal failure are the ones that need to be put on a restricted diet.
The most comprehensive website about cat renal failure is TANYA’S COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO FELINE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE – her website is incredible!
Also, you might enjoy this quick read on The Conscious Cat written by a vet about kidney disease cat food.
Catinfo.org is the best source for all feline diet-related questions, and there is a special section for cat kidney failure.
If you are trying to avoid kidney problems, remember that you want to have a high moisture and a low phosphorus and sodium content in the foods you feed your kitty.
A raw diet of high-protein meats is the best route for a healthy cat. If you want to learn more about proper feline nutrition, please see these sites:
However, if you are already having issues and looking for diets for cat kidney problems, you’ll want to pay attention to the phosphorus and sodium content. At this point, dry food should not even be an option.
For a while, it was recommended to put cats on a low-protein diet to help take some of the pressure off of the ailing kidneys. This is now not usually recommended. Cats have higher protein requirements than many other animals, so it would make sense that your cat should maintain protein intake to give the body energy for the fight ahead of it.
Cats facing kidney problems should eat the same types of food as healthy cats—only it is more important that you are feeding high-quality foods such as the ones listed above. Corn, wheat, and bi-products are big no-nos and should be avoided at all costs. If your cat has been diagnosed with a chronic problem and you need to find a good kidney disease cat food, there are a few specialty foods on the market.
These foods usually require a prescription from your vet. The main prescription cat foods on the market for kidney issues are:
- Hill’s K/D
- Royal Canin Renal LP21
- Eukanuba Multi-Stage Renal Diet
- Purina NF Kidney Function
Some of the biggest difference prescription diets have over commercial diets is the higher levels of Vitamin B and the added Potassium. They are also lower in Protein, Phosphorus, and Sodium. Whether you are doing research on the best foods out there or you need to make a decision fast, there are some excellent kidney-friendly cat food resources on the net:
Feline CRF (Chronic Renal Failure) – Which Foods
This group on Facebook has a list of foods that are kidney diet approved: FELINE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE
Some readers have reported that making sure renal failure kitties drink enough water is very important to keep the kidneys flushed. Cats like fresh water, so oftentimes, kitties are more encouraged to drink water when it comes from a cat water fountain like the one from Pioneer Pet or another best cat water fountain.
Do you have a recommended food for kidney-friendly cat food? Please contact Floppycats.com and let us know!
Water soluble vitamins like B and C are lost in greater amounts when the pet is urinating greater amounts. Kidney diets contain increased amounts of water soluble vitamins so additional vitamins do not need to be given unless a homemade diet is being fed. Lack of appetite and increased loss of potassium in urine may result in low body potassium (hypokalemia). Cats with CKD are more likely to have low body potassium than are dogs. Cats with low potassium may develop painful muscles. Both cats and dogs may be weak when potassium is low. Cat kidney diets contain higher levels of potassium so additional supplementation is probably not needed unless the cat shows signs of muscle pain. Potassium gluconate or citrate can be given by mouth if potassium supplementation is needed. Potassium chloride is acidifying and is not recommended.
CKD/CRF can get complicated. And if something’s complicated, I tend to complicate it even more. =(
The easiest way you can reduce your cat’s phosphorus intake? Eliminate all fish. Fish is incredibly high in phosphorus. There is no good fish for bladder and kidney problems. (Just look at Dr. Pierson’s site, with cat foods listed in ascending order of phosphorus.)
If your cat doesn’t yet have kidney problems, but is a fish addict, *please* start weaning him off fish NOW. An emergency is no time to start the weaning process.
It doesn’t matter whether the fishy food is grocery store or top-of-the-line premium. Fish is phosphorus.
Hi Kim,
Would love to know how your kitty is doing on the raw diet. Need some help with my kitty.
Chris