Elderly Kitty with mild Kidney disease

[Rolanda]

My son's 15 year old rescue tabby (Bebop), has mild Kidney disease. We've had him since he was 2 months old. My Son is 27, he's his Buddy. He used to be an 18 pound ball of LOVE and PURRING. Now he's a 10 pound ball of Love and Purring with Arthritis, and Kidney disease. The Vet says it's not BAD and has told my son to get him some Aminavast. He'll have to give it to him in his daily dose of Gabapetin (for the Arthritis).
Any natural ideas to help support his kidneys?

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[Lady Jane]

My kitty now 14 has a history of bladder stones and has been on a prescription diet ever since which has kept her relatively stable. One thing you can do if not done already is to get a good pet fountain for kitty. Most cats love them and it will encourage more water consumption. Kitties with kidney disease often become dehydrated.

 

[Rolanda]

I bought them a good Stainless Steel fountain that is higher than the bowl he had (better for the arthritis) about 6 months ago. I think it's called a Teardrop or something like that. It circulates really well and my son said that he's drinking more. That was before the Kidney Disease diagnosis. I'll tell my won to ask about the diet. The Vet did say that is probably why he's lost so much weight. He's always been a big cat. We just attributed it it getting old.

 

[Featheredfuffs]

My kitty had kidney disease (sadly she passed at 19 due to pneumonia), and we had to give her an iv drip to keep her hydrated. We also switched her over from dry food to wet food due to the moisture and lower salt content, maybe that would help?

I would say extra treats, hugs, and snuggles wouldn't hurt

 

[Rolanda]

He is the BIG (not so big anymore) baby. He is and has always been my son's heart. We got him from the County Shelter at 2 months old. He was the sickliest one, (of course the one my son picked!) and we nursed him back to health. He's always been the big LAP CAT. He LOVES everybody, and purrs louder than a little train! I'll mention wet cat food to my son. If not their whole diet some couldn't hurt. We got another cat about 3 years in that just hates EVERYONE. But she's company for him so she's there. She's so bad that my son has incurred DEEP bleeding scratches trying to catch her to take her to the vet. She doesn't want to be petted, nor does she come out when anyone is there-including y son. (CRAZY CAT!) LOL

 

[SunUp]

This website is the go-to site for cats with kidney disease. Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything
You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

Changing the diet is the most important thing to do. Your kitty needs a diet high in moisture and LOW in phosphorus. The website I gave explains all this, and gives a super helpful (and big) list of cat food so you can find one low in phosphorus. We've had two "kidney" pets in our family over the years, and changing the diet made a big difference in their quality of life. We used Science Diet foods, which many people poo-poo, but they helped our pets tremendously. You don't need to buy the presrciption food, the regular Science Diet food sold at Petsmart (or wherever) is really good to start with. One of the cats had lost weight, and was able to put it all back on by changing her to SC food (canned). Both did end up on the prescription food eventually as the disease is progressive.

Good luck, and do read the website, or at least the diet portion of it. It's really helpful.