OT...Coming soon...Weruva ultra low phosphorus foods

These are supposed to be released in August, are quite pricey (about $21+ for 12 cans) and are NOT complete diets, but should be helpful for cats with CKD as part of a rotation or to mix with other foods to lower the phosphorus level overall.

They are also low carb so fine for diabetics (but only those dealing with CKD too) A certain amount of phosphorus is necessary for good health and these are 50% lower in phosphorus than the AAFCO requirements.

https://weruva.com/wx/?fbclid=IwAR3UZm4EyuM22eJFjlErLoosLZqvLuuak_cNQtABIvfDFkjmztJfsehZtWk

 

Nice! I always wonder why companies don't release something like that.

 

Weruva is rocking it. We already feed several varieties of Weruva for low-phos after trying lots of different kinds of food and landing on them as some of the only ones Roxy will eat well

 

Unfortunately no one sells Weruva in Australia any more. Sheba used to love it.

 

I have tried Weruva and every other CKD friendly food out there under the rainbow, including all the prescription ones of course, and Bobo will not eat any. The vet agreed that it’s better for him to eat something so I’m stuck with fancy feast. I worry about his CKD advancing faster since I can’t get him to eat low phosphorus food

 

We eliminated all of Hendrick's favorite FF varieties as they were super high in phos. We still feed the Turkey and Giblets (355 phos) and Savory Salmon (267 phos), just not very frequently. Those are the lowest phos FF varieties that I could find, based on Dr. Pierson's charts. Both still above 200 though

 

The struggle is real! When China was in stage 2, I tried to get her to eat the low phosphorus foods and she'd have nothing to do with them either. She wanted her Fancy Feast so I had no choice but to feed it to her but I added a phosphorus binder to every meal so at least her body wasn't getting so much of it.

I used aluminum hydroxide powder (which is pretty cheap) but there are a few options. You might want to look into phosphorus binders on Tanya's CKD website.

 

ty for the suggestion that is a great idea

 

seriously. I had so many chewy returns I thought they’d stop taking my calls

Yes I read up about that and I asked my vet. She said he wasn’t at the stage for a binder yet but we’d reassess at his 6 month check up. Should I insist on it you think?

 

yes I wonder what harm there is in using a binder at the very first sign of any kidney function decline, or even before that? Like why not just put a little binder in any adult cat's food just pro-actively even if no sign of kidney trouble.

@Suzanne & Darcy might know

 

Are these going to be prescription diets where you cannot buy them yourself?

 

Ideally, you want your cat's phosphorus level to be no more than 4.0 mg/dl (US) or 1.3 mmol/L. If my cat's phosphorus level was much higher than that, I would first switch to lower phosphorus foods. If that didn't bring it down, I would start binder (depending on the phosphorus value.) Phosphorus is important for so many metabolic functions, including calcium regulation, bone replacement, etc. But we know that high phosphorus levels damage the kidneys and cause all kinds of other problems. I would be concerned that using a phosphate binder prophylactically would drive the phos down too low, which has its own set of problems (and can derange the other electrolytes just like too high phos can.) So if you were doing it, you would need to do more frequent blood monitoring than you normally would do for your cat. I doubt if your vet would be on board with it. Plus, some cats just don't like eating food with the binder in it. What I do for every adult cat that I have is feed them a lower end phosphorus food -- whether their kidney numbers are in any way elevated or not.

 

I would add a binder if his blood phosphorus level is above 4. Aluminum Hydroxide Powder from Thriving Pets is what I have always used.

 

I just looked at your labs on your spreadsheet. I would like to see updated ones because these seem to be from 2020? But the phosphorus was over six back then. That's way too high and phosphorus binders should have been started if at all possible. You should not wait until the phosphorus level is above the top end of the reference range. That is damaging to his kidneys. See the felinecrf.org site and the whole section on phosphorus. It's extremely helpful. There are two different kinds of phosphorus binders and I have used both. If kitty does not have elevated calcium levels you can initially try Epakitin, which is a chicken flavored (chicken liver?) powder added to food. I have had pretty good luck with that one in cats that don't have super high phosphorus. In cats with higher phosphorus, I had to go to Aluminum Hydroxide powder.

 

@Suzanne & Darcy
Hi Suzanne on Ale's labs on her SS that 6.2 level for the phosphorus was for her kitty Minnie that passed ,she's talking about her kitty Bobo

 

Yes, thank you Diane. Should I update my signature?

 

Thank you. I’ll check Bobo’s labs to see what level he was at in February. I might have to ask you guys about dosage

 

thanks Suzanne! I knew you would have the answer, and as usual the amount of knowledge you possess on the subject is staggering, lol.

 

Hi Ale is Bobo diabetic also? If not I probably wouldn't update your signature
Would get a copy of Bobo's labs and just post them here for @Suzanne & Darcy to look at
Ale here is the food list from Tanya's CKD group to look for other low phosphorous wet foods

http://felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

 

Oh. Thank you. I’m sorry. No. I would not change your spreadsheet unless you want to start a new one with a link to Bobo. Bobo is diabetic? Or not?

 

I meant indicating that Minnie passed. Bobo is not diabetic

 

I’m so sorry about Minnie. That makes me sad. And just recently in June of this year? I lost my boy Darcy on June 26, 2021 and I still miss him a lot.

 

Thank you, Bobo and I miss her very much. I don’t think we ever stop missing them. I’m very sorry for your loss too

Bobo is extremely finicky even with the fancy feast. He’ll like some flavors then suddenly stop eating them and I have to keep rotating. He also never finishes all the food. There are always leftovers in the bowl. Does the Aluminum Hydroxide has any odor?

 

The Aluminum Hydroxide powder is reputed to be odorless and tasteless. I cannot smell anything (but I am not a cat.)

 

Hi Ale Tyler's brother had kidney disease and he didn't taste the aluminum hydroxide at all in his food and I didn't smell anything

 

Great, thank you ladies

 

Ale just know it can cause constipation so I had to give miralx

 

I don't think so....they were listed on Amazon but said "Out of stock" or "not available" (something like that)

 

Looked at the flavors, and ugh, chicken or fish, or chicken and fish. I've got one cat who can't eat chicken, immediately gets diarrhea, and another who can't eat fish, immediately gets diarrhea, and guess what, both are very long furred, fluffy cats, so the problem is doubly bad (ever tried to shave your cats' butts? We have...!). Total of four cats here, so feeding anyone something the others don't get is freakin' impossible, like herding cats (literally) with two over excited food hounds (well, one hound, one shepherd) bouncing underfoot as well...

Oldest cat is showing increasing kidney numbers. Vet said to change his food (tried to get us to go with whatever prescription stuff they carry). But he's only held off diabetes with ultra low carbs, is hypothyroid (after treatment for hyperthyroid), is toothless (FORL), arthritic, and eats so fast he gags if his food is chunky and projectile barfs if it's too smooth and therefore he can eat it way too fast, (he's a scarf 'n' barf kinda guy), or his meal is late so his stomach is overly acidic or full of anticipation drool or whatever....and then there's the herding cats problem if we try to feed him differently....

Turkey. I vote that all foods be made of just turkey. Make my life easier, just feed them all turkey. Then if only we could get the newest dog to stop eating dirt and coming running into the house with a chin dripping mud....

 

Have you tried spreading his food out on a flat plate instead of a bowl? Tends to make them slow down. There are also slow feeder bowls and mats you can buy that force them to eat slower. (or you can put something inedible that there's no way he could eat it into his bowl so he has to "work around" it....a golf ball comes to mind...lol)

 

He's old and we are now having serious doubts about his mental capacity, not sure he could handle the challenge...

 

@Gracie85 - Cinna's spreadsheet has a tab on it for food with some options you might find useful. I'm in a similar boat - he is an OTJ diabetic with CKD, suspected IBD/SLC, and chicken/turkey intollerance. I'm always on the lookout for new food types for him. Right now we are feeding Weruva Trulux.

 

I got Bobo’s lab and his phosphorus was 5. Should I try the Epakitin first?

 

Hi Ale I would tag Suzanne only because she might not see that you asked her your question
Can you post Bobo's labs here for her to see them
What was his creatinine

 

40 years ago when BJ had crystals I had to switch him to Safeway 'Low Ash' wet food, it was pig slop in a can. My vet did sell Hill's Bros. (now Science diet) but it was obscenely expensive. As the years went by and I got smarter with a bigger salary my food choices were better and I felt good about how my cats lived. Imagine my shock having to go from Holistic/Organic/Blessed by a Shaman food to Fancy Feast. It looked and smelled like an old shoe but the numbers didn't lie. I'd like to know what kind of Voodoo Nestle uses making what looks like really cheap cat food into what for some of us is our only choice. It's like we're running a meth lab here and the cats are all crack addicts. I snap that lid and five cats appear at my feet. For some of them it's the only way to get their meds into them.
Nestle Global has annual sales of over 93 billion U.S. dollars, why are these cans over 50 cents? And could someone PLEASE make a bigger can, I'm begging you!!!

 

Hello there! Five isn't too bad -- especially if you are feeding fancy feast. Did I send you the page on phosphorus binders? It's recommended to start when the phosphorus level is at or above 6. I would still try to find a lower phosphorus food that your kitty will eat, of course. Or the homemade diet with EZ Complete -- lots of people here use that and love it (and their cats do too, you can vary the meats and do cooked or uncooked.)

 

Also, can you share the other labs? Now, about the Epakitin... if you want to try to get the phosphorus down a tiny bit, you can definitely try it. In some cases, I've used it only once per day. It's not as aggressive as the aluminum hydroxide powder -- and you DEFINITELY don't need that now. And you may just want to monitor the bloodwork and do a three month recheck (is that what the vet recommended). Also, her calcium level would need to be checked .. probably already done as part of your regular bloodwork. A level of 5 though is not bad at all for a CKD cat.

 

I’ll post his lab work from my computer later this morning. He’s due back at the vet next month. Thank you!

 

Hi Ladies,

I'm trying to upload the file from my laptop, but I get an error message that I don't have permission to do so. What should I do?

 

Oh, the file upload link is apparently broken. Most people either type their cat's labs into the labs tab of their spreadsheet (be sure to check the reference ranges that are listed there and change them if they differ from your vet's lab's reference range) or people will take a photo and copy and past it into their thread(sometimes this is hard to read due to quality, but it can work.) Be sure to cut off/cover up personal information that you don't want to put on a public forum -- such as your name and address if it's on there. Kitty's name, DOB, weight, etc. is okay

 

Yeah but the spreadsheet is not for Bobo, it’s Minnie’s...

I just copied and pasted it below, hopefully, this works

 

Tagging Suzanne for you to look at Bobo's labs

@Suzanne & Darcy

 

Hi there! I think these labs look pretty good and you should be pleased! I hope they will be very stable when you take her back. You have an appointment soon? The only thing I wonder is if, back in February when you had these labs run, was she possibly a little dehydrated - although her proteins are not elevated? The elevated BUN makes me wonder that. Dehydration can cause that. She doesn’t have a corresponding elevation in Creatinine with that BUN, so I am happy with that.

 

That’s great to hear! He’s been drinking a ton of water but I guess it’s possible even then that he’s dehydrated? He pees a lot too

thank you!!!

 

Hopefully the labs will be stable!