Lab results High BUN

Idjit had his dental today and when I talked to the vet she mentioned that his BUN was high, higher than his last lab result 2-3-18. Previous: 29.8 mg/dl Now: 39 mg/dl. His creatinine was 1.1 mg/dl, now is 1.5 mg/dl, both within normal range.
He has been eating FF classics and Friskies pates. My questions:
1. Should I be alarmed?
2. Is his diet the probable cause of the BUN rise because the phosphorus content?
I have been considering changing his diet to raw meat with FoodFurLife EZ Complete PreMix, but I don't understand the nutritional analysis in regard to the phosphorus content.
If anyone has any input on this matter, please chime in. I am a bit worried.
@Djamila I know you use the FoodFurLife, do you have any input? Thanks very much.

 

When was the blood taken?

If you'd been withholding food/water overnight, dehydration can cause the BUN to elevate.

 

Thanks for your response Chris. Idjit's last meal was at about 9 pm last night, and we withheld his midnight snack and breakfast for his dental this morning. The test was timed at 8:54 am. He had access to water all night and at the vet before his procedure. If he drank water at all overnight I wouldn't know, the bowl looked about the same to me this morning. I don't see him at the water bowl at all anymore, since he went to all wet food, and we add water to every meal.
Does the amount of elevation seem extreme to you at all?

 

China's BUN went from 48 on her pre-dental bloodwork to 72 after her dental when she was so sick and dehydrated so that number can definitely come down...after being on IV overnight, it dropped back to 52 and then sent her home (where she still scared the cra* out of me for another week or so)

I'd give it a month and re-test him.

Do you know what his phosphorus was on his bloodwork?

 

The only other thing on the labwork page that was high was TP 8.6 g/dl. The reference range is 6.0 to 8.0. I don't see Phosphorus spelled out and I don't know if the TP is a phosphorus value. He is due for his annual exam next month, with more complete bloodwork that I can compare January 2018 to.

Edit: TP is total protein

 

Well try not to worry (I know...easier said than done)

A high BUN isn't usually anything terribly serious....it's when it's combined with a high Creatinine that we start to worry.

So many things effect the BUN....and I'd bet that not having food (where he gets most of his water) was enough to set it off.

If you're concerned about his kidneys (which is what we worry about with high BUN/Creatinine), you could ask for an SDMA....it indicates kidney disease a lot earlier but it's only done by IDEXX so if your vet doesn't usually use them, you'll have to specifically ask for it

 

Thanks Chris. He's home, he's safe right now. I will give him a little more food and we will go to bed. I will research SDMA and IDEXX tomorrow. I'm tired and I am going to donate platelets in the morning, so I need to finish up around here and go to bed. I really appreciate your response, the information and your support.

 

Sheba had a slightly higher BUN and her urine specific gravity was lower than normal but her SDMA was normal..
She was on a high protein raw diet that can raise the BUN a bit and I had been giving her extra fluids which can mess with the SG. So it was unclear if she was in the early stages of CRF or not. However I did try and lower her phosphorus levels by cutting out high phosphorus foods and adding cooked egg white (hard boiled the egg) to her diet daily. Cooked egg white is low in Phosphorus and high in protein. Her bloods remained stable for the following two /three years until she passed away from an unrelated cause.
If I were you I would get Idjit's urine specific gravity tested sometime and I would definitely change from FF to something else as it is high in phosphorus.
Try not to worry too much as it could well be nothing.

 

Hi Lou - I can't help with the kidney issue, but I am a fan of foodfurlife. Their website gives a lot of information about how to introduce it and what you need to do. In short, you choose a protein (I usually use turkey, chicken breast, or occasionally beef), weigh out how much you want, toss it in the food processor, scoop in some of the powder and some water, pulse a few times, and you're done. It's super easy. I make a big batch and then freeze it in ice cube trays. Then I can just pop out a couple of cubes/meal. It's less expensive than commercial food, and honestly takes less time than driving to the pet store and back.

There was a little learning curve to figure out what exactly Sam would eat - for example, he won't touch chicken thighs, but loves chicken breast. He likes the turkey closer to puree, but likes the beef chunkier - so if Idjit tends to be picky, you may need to experiment a little. When we first started, I made really small batches - usually just one or two servings at a time to see what he would eat.

Foodfurlife will send you a sample packet of the supplement so you can see if Idjit likes the flavor before you buy a whole bag. Sam loves it, but unfortunately my civvie does not, so it's worth getting the sample first. I do recommend following foodfurlife's directions for making the transition, even if Idjit takes to the flavor. Sam clearly liked it from the beginning, so I just went straight to giving him a serving, but then he turned his nose up. When I backed up and went through the slow transition process it worked much better.

There is a facebook group that has a lot of folks who use it: Raw Feeding for IBD Cats. They can be a big help when you're getting started, even if IBD isn't your motivation.

 

Cats on a low carb (which means high protein) have higher BUN levels and I would not be concerned.
Regarding TP (total protein), a high TP usually means the animal is dehydrated. Dehydration can also raise other blood values.

 

Thanks Bron, I will add that to the list of things to add to the bloodwork at his annual exam. I will also offer the cooked egg white, but Idjit will probably love it.

 

Thanks Larry, it was probably a result of the fasting from the night before, but I did want to check in with people here too.

 

Thanks so much Djamila, I do have the sample, I need to get a kitchen scale and the meat. Then we can begin! I can't wait to see if Idjit likes it and we can begin the slow transition, as directed. I am going to print out the info from the site, plus your very valuable and informative info on how you do this. I did join Facebook so I could have a look at that info, but haven't really spent much time there yet. Thanks for that also! It is all very helpful.

 

Lou, you might be interested to read this thread.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/home-prepared-diet-of-crd-cats.150441/

 

Thank you very much, I scanned through it and will delve further. This is great information.