Kidney supplements that are OK for diabetics?

Hi all - I got Snuggie's latest bloodwork back and his kidney values are worsening. We were getting bloodwork done in-house due to somewhat urgent issues, but this time sent to Antech which I will be doing from now on. Here are his values (EDIT: I now have most of his labs posted in my SS, working on getting the rest from vet):
BUN 104
Crea 3.2
Phos 6.7

I'm starting him on aluminum hydroxide as a phosphorus binder, and would like to begin either Kidney Support Gold or VetriScience Renal Essentials cat treats. Any concern for any of these with diabetes? I can post the ingredients if need be.

The good news: His UTI cleared up and the Levemir should be here within a few days.

Thanks!

 

Hi.
I'm just responding because my kitty J.D. used to spell his name out as Jay Dee and he pronounced it as Zjay Dee like the french Jacques Cousteau would pronounce his first name. JK..
Good Luck with the Levemir. That's what we used. Once you start it, I would advise getting PM tests every night.

 

Haha that’s awesome! I suck at coming up with creative screen names that’s so cute!!

Thanks for the advice for PM tests once we start Levemir. That’s my plan - plus testing at times other than AM+6 - so I’m taking it easy on us both right now. My fingers are crossed we will see improvement!

 

Hi Jill
It appears your kitty is in stage 3



Here are the ranges , we have a column on the SS so you can enter his labs so you can compare them every time he goes for blood work. We have some members experienced when it come to reading labs. Get the copies from your vet this recent one and the one before



Creatinine 0.6-2.4 mg/dL. This is what the range should be
Phosphorus 2.4-8.2 mg/dL. Ditto
BUN 14-36 mg/dL. Ditto

Tyler's brother had kidney disease and I used the aluminum hydroxide binder.
Just in case the vet didn't tell you , you have to had it to each meal you feed.
Did your vet tell you how much to add to each meal?
Did she tell you to look for foods low in prosperous?
I forgot what you said you were feeding Snuggie
Did she mention anything about giving fluids at home

Edit, just looked at your profile and saw you are already feeding Weruva
and giving fluids also
Jill I would add this info to your signature also
Anything you are giving Snuggie, weruva, fluids,anything else also

Are you still feeding dry food
@Jay Dee

 

Stage 1: The creatinine level in the blood test is lower than 1.6, which means that less than 66% of kidney functions have been lost. At this stage, most vets suggest switching the cat to a more kidney-friendly prescription diet that is lower in processed protein.Mar 11, 2021


Stage 2: The creatinine level is between 1.6 and 2.8, which means that 66% – 75% of kidney functions have been lost.Mar 11, 2021


Stage 3: The creatinine level is between 2.9 and 5.0, which means that 76% – 90% of kidney functions have been lost. At this stage, your vet might suggest subcutaneous fluid administration to combat dehydration and ease the burden on your cat's kidneys. You can give the fluids at home using a very simple apparatus.Mar 11, 2021

Stage 4: The creatinine level is higher than 5.0, which means that 90% of kidney functions have been lost. At this stage, your cat may be suffering quite a bit, so it is important to keep your feline friend as comfortable as possible.Mar 11, 2021

 

http://felinecrf.org/tanyas_support_group.htmhtm

Here is a good support group I joined

I know that @JanetNJ joined another one , I tagged her
She also fed her cat Weruva wet foods , like I mentioned above you need to feed low carbs and low phosphorus

 

I don't know anything about the support gold or the cat treats , sorry

 

Are you giving sub q fluids? He looks dehydrated.

 

The link didn't work for me.

 

@Diane Tyler's Mom Hi! Thanks for all the info! I seem to have a better handle on the CKD/CRF stuff since it's not so variable day to day - plus our first cat was a kidney cat too. With our past kitty, i was on a yahoo group (this was about 15 years ago). For this guy, i am a part of the FB group affiliated with Tanya's site and have been getting great info for my questions there.

I will figure out how to post his recent two labs and figure out how to put values in the SS and will amend my signature as you suggest. Man it's gonna be a long one!

Yes his foods (weruva pates) are low carb and low phos - they're from a specific list on the FCKD FB group for CKD Diabetics. The food guru on that page is suuuper detailed and knowledgeable about it all. I do still feed limited dry - literally for 6 hours overnight and if he eats 1/4 cup i'm surprised. we will try automatic feeders (mostly for our other cat who has no issues and is the real grazer) but she's pretty timid and may not like it. The dry is Young Again Mature Zero LID.

Phos binder - The FCKD FB group was the one that actually advised me on the dosing and how to administer (every bite of food) - but when i get it i'll run it past my vet to be sure.

Yes sub-q fluids - 50 mL / day Normosol-R with potassium added by vet

@JanetNJ why did you say he looks dehydrated? I didn't post any pics and the one on my avatar is like from 6 years ago... Is it his labs?

 

I mean from the numbers he seems dehydrated, not the picture. at that level of creatine I would expect him to be maybe around 50-70 bun, but not over 100. How much does he weigh? The rule of thumb is about 10 ML per 10 lbs of weight.

 

Oh got it. He doesn’t seem dehydrated in real life. He weights 10.5 lb give or take. Vet had suggested 100mL every other day but he gets REALLY squirmy around 40 so we are doing 50 daily. I’m sure everyone will tell me to give him 50mL 2x a day and maybe we will start but he already hides when he knows it’s almost fluid time (we tried to be unpredictable with times but he figured that out too). I’m really trying to take this ALL one step at a time and focus on what’s doable and safe vs what is ideal in a perfect world. This whole situation has really exacerbated my own anxiety and other health issues and while I love my cat with my whole heart and soul, I really don’t want to make his life miserable or lose myself in this process.

 

I totally understand. What gauge needle are you using with the sub q? I used 19 and I could knock out 100 ml in under 3 min. It was also the only time I gave her snacks so she didn’t mind. With my first ckd cat we gave him catnip and that did the trick.

 

We use 20ga Terumo thin wall. We get the 50 done pretty quickly, but i might try a 19ga Terumo next time to get them done more quickly and see how it goes. He has a tendency to leak a little, despite our best efforts to seal the hole shut with pressure (hubby used to be a vet tech and we've done sub-q with our past cat), so i don't want to go too big or give it all to him too fast that makes him uncomfortable.

He KNOWS he gets fun treats afterwards, but with that, 2 insulin injections, and 4 bg tests daily, the treats aren't as much of an enticement all the time

 

Have you tried warming the fluids first? My dummy didn’t care if they were warm or not but CC definitely preferred them warmed.

 

I have a kidney cat, and have not started her on a binder yet. I also have another cat. I have heard, I think, that my other cat can not have the binder on his food. Were you told this? If so, do you have a way of keeping your two cats away from each other's food?

 

@JanetNJ oh, yes, we have a whole elaborate setup to warm them! Hubby was glad for the excuse to buy an infrared thermometer

@Dyana i have been told it's not a good idea if ALL her food has it, but since they get their own food and their eating is monitored and refereed throughout the day, she will only get a little bit when they share their "overnight" food and i've been told that's OK since they eat so little overnight. I am looking into an automatic feeder for her, but she's kind of a fraidy-cat and it may scare her PLUS that's down the road

 

Wow.... And I just stuck it in a big bowl of warm water. Lol

 

LOL! We do the heating pad thing. That way if he’s too wiggly when I first pick him up or hides or something we can just stick the fluids back in on low til he’s ready. It’s in a little portable soft sided cooler.