? Advice on supporting diabetic cat with kidney issues

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Ailish’s Brother

Ailish’s Brother

Active Member
Hello,

About a month ago Ailish was diagnosed with steroid induced diabetes. She was on the steroids to help with allergies and GI issues. She had Keytones so they started her on insulin and I switched to Tiki Cat Tuna Grill.

While her BG numbers have stabilized, and even come down a bit, the creatine in her urine has gone up with each vet visit, in the past three weeks it went form 18 to 22.

The vet advised switching from the Tiki Cat to Royal Canine Rabbit and Pea, to help address the allergies and to see if the lower protein/phosphorous level helped her kidney numbers.

Honestly, I am a bit in shock, I was getting used to the idea of dealing with diabetes in my little buddy, but kidney stuff sounds like a larger kind of issue.

Does anyone have experience dealing with these two things at the same time and some advice on what I can expect?

I love my cat and want to do best for her, but this feels really overwhelming, so any advice or encouraging words would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Ailish Brother,

Was a blood work done? Kidney issues usually are seen when both the urine is diluted (less than 1035 USG) and either SDMA or serum Creatinine or both are elevated in the blood. If only urine was tested, I would ask the vet to explore the issue a bit further. No need to panic, though, CKD is a progressive disease, it doesn’t evolve rapidly (except if a UTI is left untreated).

If the blood work does reveal kidney issues, you’ll want to vet to check Ailish blood pressure and proteinuria (protein in the urine). Both these conditions, if left untreated, can speed up the kidney’s deterioration. For high BP amlodipine is typically used. For proteinuria it’s telmisartan.

Another thing to check would be at some point his serum phosphorus, as high phosphorus makes a kitty feel nauseated and is also not good for the kidneys. But that’s usually in more advanced stages.

Lower phosphorus food is definitely a good idea for a cat this age, it eases the kidney load.

You should check Tanya’s website: http://felinecrf.org/

I’m sorry I cannot give any more advice… I certainly do hope that the UPC result is transient in Ailish case!
 
@Ailish’s Brother
low carb/ low phosphorus
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus with kitties with CKD
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-11-8-and-i-am-tired.283363/#post-3124085

I don't know if this food will affect her allergies

I also looked on the Chewy site where people ask questions and it said for the Royal Canin Pea and Rabbit is as follows

How much carbs?
Answer by • Jan 27, 2023
This formula contains 2.96% Carbohydrate (NFE) on as fed basis and 14.34% dry matter.


So I think both might be too high in carbs

I just noticed on your spreadsheet in the remarks section you said Duck and Pea , on your signature you have Pea and Rabbit?

The Duck and Pea

What is the carbohydrate percentage on both as fed and dry matter bases, please? Thank you.
Answer by • Dec 08, 2018
This formula contains a Carbohydrate content of about 4.7% on an as fed basis and about 20.89% on a dry matter basis.
 
Last edited:
@Daphne and Aida thank you this is helpful and makes me feel better. I’ll use what you said when I follow up with her doctor.

Daphne and Aida said:
Hi Ailish Brother,

Was a blood work done? Kidney issues usually are seen when both the urine is diluted (less than 1035 USG) and either SDMA or serum Creatinine or both are elevated in the blood. If only urine was tested, I would ask the vet to explore the issue a bit further. No need to panic, though, CKD is a progressive disease, it doesn’t evolve rapidly (except if a UTI is left untreated).

If the blood work does reveal kidney issues, you’ll want to vet to check Ailish blood pressure and proteinuria (protein in the urine). Both these conditions, if left untreated, can speed up the kidney’s deterioration. For high BP amlodipine is typically used. For proteinuria it’s telmisartan.

Another thing to check would be at some point his serum phosphorus, as high phosphorus makes a kitty feel nauseated and is also not good for the kidneys. But that’s usually in more advanced stages.

Lower phosphorus food is definitely a good idea for a cat this age, it eases the kidney load.

You should check Tanya’s website: http://felinecrf.org/

I’m sorry I cannot give any more advice… I certainly do hope that the UPC result is transient in Ailish case!
Click to expand...
 
@Diane Tyler's Mom GA

Thank you for sharing those resources, it is the rabbit and pea, not duck and pea, so the better of the two but still not ideal. I’ll share the list of low carb/ low phosphorus with her vet and see if any are a good fit. I really appreciate the help!

Diane Tyler's Mom GA said:
@Ailish’s Brother
low carb/ low phosphorus
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus with kitties with CKD
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-11-8-and-i-am-tired.283363/#post-3124085

I don't know if this food will affect her allergies

I also looked on the Chewy site where people ask questions and it said for the Royal Canin Pea and Rabbit is as follows

How much carbs?
Answer by • Jan 27, 2023
This formula contains 2.96% Carbohydrate (NFE) on as fed basis and 14.34% dry matter.


So I think both might be too high in carbs

I just noticed on your spreadsheet in the remarks section you said Duck and Pea , on your signature you have Pea and Rabbit?

The Duck and Pea

What is the carbohydrate percentage on both as fed and dry matter bases, please? Thank you.
Answer by • Dec 08, 2018
This formula contains a Carbohydrate content of about 4.7% on an as fed basis and about 20.89% on a dry matter basis.
Click to expand...
 
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