How to feed a cat with kidney failure?

Renal failure in pets is often called a whole complex of diseases leading to impaired normal kidney function. Therapies selected by the veterinarian will only have effect if the animal receives proper nutrition. And at this point, many cat owners have a question: what is the right diet?

There are many opinions and debates on this subject. By going to the pet owners forum, you may come across different points of view. Someone claims that his pet with kidney failure has been eating natural food for ten years and feels great. Others argue that only special food will save the animal’s life. To understand which of them is right, it is necessary to understand the nuances of the disease and the needs of sick cats.

What does a sick cat need?

With renal failure, a serious violation of water-salt metabolism occurs, and in severe cases, sensitivity to insulin decreases. This leads to the fact that the pet's nutrition should be balanced: contain a sufficient amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates, but not be too high in calories. Also, with renal failure, dysphagia (inability to swallow food) may develop. In such a situation, the cat should not be given large pieces of food or solid food.

Specialized feeds: pros and cons

Cheap feeds do not meet the needs of a cat with urolithiasis. Their main task is to deliver a feeling of fullness and replenish the supply of calories. They do not take into account the characteristics of metabolism and do not contain enough vitamins. In addition, they contain a lot of offal, but not enough fiber and plant matter. Therefore, it is worth giving preference to expensive feed.

On the other hand, the brand of food and the amount of food for each cat are selected individually. A diet suitable for one animal may aggravate the health of the other. Sensitive pets may be allergic to the components in the product. When selecting feed, a veterinarian must be consulted.

Features of natural feed

As with specialized feeds, the cat's diet should be a veterinarian. You cannot rely on your own philistine experience and select products on the basis of "if only it would be useful." Sometimes a meal that does contain a lot of nutrients is not at all suitable for feeding a cat with kidney failure. For example, a sick animal is forbidden to give fish. It contains a lot of phosphorus, and its accumulation in the body leads to the development of renal failure. Sour-milk products are also banned.

On the other hand, there is a critical level of phosphorus and calcium, upon reaching which there is a destruction of bones and teeth. To replenish their supply, you can give the animal sesame seeds.It is enough to mix the seeds with another meal - and there will be no problems with their reception. In no case should you give fish oil for this purpose - it contains vitamin A, which accelerates the progression of renal failure.

With renal failure, you need to reduce carbohydrate intake. Therefore, you can not give the cat bread, crackers, rolls and other flour products. Some owners feel sorry for cats and, in response to a petition for a treat, they share their pastries with their pets, believing that nothing will happen from a small piece. But even a small amount of simple carbohydrates leads to a serious violation of the diet, after which it will take more than one day of recovery.

But you can give cats with kidney failure raw chicken, as well as offal. The protein contained in them will strengthen the body and give strength. But again, it is important to observe the principle of reasonable sufficiency: proteins increase the load on the kidneys, and when they are excessive, toxins accumulate in the blood. The best option would be to combine plant and animal food. Of course, it is difficult to make a cat with an appetite eat cabbage leaves. But, if you crumble them together with minced meat, the task will be greatly simplified.

Things to remember

Regardless of which type of diet has been selected, several simple rules must be followed.

1. Firstly, at the initial stage of food selection, you can try different diet options. But as soon as a suitable one is found, it is not recommended to change it. That is, if one particular brand of feed was selected, then it should be bought in the future. If one diet menu is made from natural products, then it must be adhered to all the time.
2. Secondly, regular monitoring by a veterinarian is necessary. Even with perfectly selected nutrition, no one canceled a malfunction in the body. Therefore, it is necessary from time to time to make sure that the cat can continue to feed according to the established scheme.
3. Thirdly, in addition to proper nutrition, it is important to provide the animal with enough water. With renal failure, the rate of excretion of water from the body increases. Urges to urinate become more frequent, which leads to pronounced dehydration. Therefore, fresh water should always be in the pet's drinker - cats will not drink what has been idle for the second day.
4. Fourthly, if a cat eats specialized food, it is better if it is wet. This is due to the previous point: when eating dry feed, you need to consume more fluid. In addition, it is easier to add drugs and fortifying supplements to wet food, which cats often refuse to swallow in their pure form.
5. Fifth, if before the diagnosis of urolithiasis the cat used vitamin complexes and supplements, now it is worth consulting with a veterinarian before continuing with their intake. In the current state, the pet’s metabolism is different from the usual one, and an excess of any vitamin can lead to loss of fluid in the body and other negative effects.
6. Sixth, a certain diet should be developed. The animal should be fed 4 times a day at the same time, and food should be given in small portions. There are cases when in renal failure the animal experiences nausea most of the day. In such a situation, the contents of the bowl should not have a pungent odor. The smallest bones must be removed from the meat.

What to do if a cat refuses to eat

There are frequent cases when cats suffering from urolithiasis have no appetite. This is due to intoxication of the body by the products of the kidneys, which cannot function normally. Loss of appetite is a serious symptom, it should be the reason for going to the veterinarian. But before the problem is fixed, it is necessary to feed the cat.

Food should be moist (even better if it is pate) and served through a syringe without a needle or catheter. Do not assume that a delicious smell and favorite food will correct the situation, and the cat will not have to be fed forcefully. An animal in this state is physically unable to eat food on its own. Therefore, it is so important not to let everything drift in the hope that the starving cat will finally eat. Lack of nutrients and calories leads to the fact that the animal eventually falls into lethargy, leading to death.

The problem of loss of appetite poses a threat to overweight pets as much as for thin ones. To postpone treatment with the idea that fasting will help the cat lose weight - it means dooming it to death.

It is not always easy to care for a sick animal. But attention to the quality of the pet’s nutrition will give him more than one year of a full life.

Video: renal failure in cats and dogs