Help Your CKD Cat Feel Better
10 Jul
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Water plays the most important role for CKD patients
One of the key roles that water plays in managing CKD is its ability to help flush out toxins from the body. These toxins can accumulate in the bloodstream due to impaired kidney function, leading to discomfort and other complications.
Ensuring that cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have an adequate water intake can greatly contribute to their well-being and overall quality of life.
When toxic build-up occurs, it can lead to various discomforts such as mouth ulcers, nausea, excessive acid, and a decrease in your cat's appetite. This often poses a challenge for CKD parents when it comes to feeding their cat. Ensuring that your cats intake enough water will help flush out toxins and make them feel much better and your cats will have a better appetite.
My CKD cat Voodoo, who was diagnosed with only one kidney function, has been able to maintain a normal lifestyle for the past 7 years. This is due to his consistent intake of water, normal appetite and playful activity levels. Despite his condition, he appears and behaves just like any other cat. His appetite worsened only 2 months before he crossed the rainbow bridge. His kidneys deteriorated rapidly, and we only started using sub-q fluids in his final days due to his pre-existing heart problem. We didn't want to put any additional strain on his heart.
How to determine if your CKD cats are consuming enough water.
A CKD cat ideal is to drink around 70ml water per Kg(body weight). Wet food contains at least 75% moisture.
I add water or soup to my cat's meals and feed them 6 small meals a day. This way, they don't need to consume a lot of water at once. As a result, I haven't seen my cat drink water on their own anymore.
Food
Moderate in protein and low in phosphorus diet aims to reduce the workload on the kidneys while still meeting the cat's nutritional needs. Feeding CKD wet food is recommended. Wet food has a higher moisture content.
Phosphorus
The phosphorus levels in cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) will gradually increase over time.
High phosphorus levels will make cats discomfort, such as:
Lack of appetite
Nausea or vomiting
Unexplained weight loss
Weakness
Depression or lethargy
Excessive thirst
Rubber jaw (weakening of the bones due to excess blood phosphorous, causing tooth loss and soft jaw bones)
Muscle tremors
Twitching
Limiting phosphorus intake is vital for CKD cats as impaired kidney function can lead to an inability to efficiently eliminate excess phosphorus from the body. Elevated levels of phosphorus can further damage the kidneys and contribute to other complications associated with CKD.
Use a phosphorus binder if it is necessary. It is better to keep the Phosphorus level under <5.0 mg/dL / <1.6 mmol/L or at least <6.0 mg/dL / <1.9 mmol/L.
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