Building muscle mass on cat with early-stage kidney disease?
October 21, 2022 8:15 AM Subscribe
Best support cat food? My poor sweet foster kitten from 2009 turned up, alone, in an apartment, two weeks after his owner had died. He's super thin (body condition: 3). I have him for now. What should I feed him if he might have early-stage kidney disease? Apparently high-protein food is good for muscle mass but bad for kidneys.
He's been screened by the shelter that took him in, and will be seen by a vet soon, but I need to get him eating more ASAP.
My default course is to go to the grocery store and get him a couple of cans of tuna-flavor Fancy Feast, plus some chicken-flavor treats, and maybe some fresh seafood.
He has a couple of cans of Science Diet kidney-focused wet food, but it doesn't seem to be very palatable.
I want to get him healthy so he can eventually go to a much better home situation.
He's been screened by the shelter that took him in, and will be seen by a vet soon, but I need to get him eating more ASAP.
My default course is to go to the grocery store and get him a couple of cans of tuna-flavor Fancy Feast, plus some chicken-flavor treats, and maybe some fresh seafood.
He has a couple of cans of Science Diet kidney-focused wet food, but it doesn't seem to be very palatable.
I want to get him healthy so he can eventually go to a much better home situation.
My cat doesn't like the moist kidney diet either so he's been getting dry kidney diet food with pet broth or similar added to it. Most of the pet broths have little or no protein but they add moisture which is good, and add some flavor which is also good.
It's not just protein but also phosphorus. When my other cat had stones we had to feed her kidney diet for a time and cottage cheese was one of the recommended foods.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:25 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's not just protein but also phosphorus. When my other cat had stones we had to feed her kidney diet for a time and cottage cheese was one of the recommended foods.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:25 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh - and the advice I got from that site worked so well that at the time he passed (from colon cancer), Zach had normal kidney function again.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:27 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:27 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
A BCS of 3 (assuming the standard 9 point scale) is only a very small bit underweight - most vets recommend maintaining at 4-5. So no need to worry about gaining weight asap, the cat will quickly get to the right weight when fed the right amount. Of course follow the vet's feeding advice once you can get him in.
If he's been put on a prescription kidney diet he absolutely needs to stay on that until a vet advises otherwise - these diets are like prescription meds and stopping them can be very detrimental.
Thanks for helping him!
posted by randomnity at 8:55 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
If he's been put on a prescription kidney diet he absolutely needs to stay on that until a vet advises otherwise - these diets are like prescription meds and stopping them can be very detrimental.
Thanks for helping him!
posted by randomnity at 8:55 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
A previous cat of mine died from kidney failure but before he did, I started making homemade bone broth to add to his food every day. This helped him maintain muscle mass and hydration levels. I still do this with my four existing cats and they are very healthy (soft and shiny fur, no skin problems, good weight and muscle definition, etc). If you have an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, it's so easy and cheap:
-- add bone-in, skin-on chicken to the pressure cooker (I buy whatever is cheapest by the pound, usually thighs or quarters)
-- fill the pot with enough water to cover
-- saute until water is at a low boil
-- skim the foam
-- add a couple tbsp of white vinegar (helps break everything down)
-- put on lid, set to manual pressure / high for 40 minutes, natural release
-- debone, freeze meat separately for soups / quesadillas / etc, freeze broth
At feeding time, I add ~1 tbsp broth mixed with ~1 tbsp hot water to each cat's dry kibble. They love it, might be worth a try for you as well!
posted by zebra at 9:18 AM on October 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
-- add bone-in, skin-on chicken to the pressure cooker (I buy whatever is cheapest by the pound, usually thighs or quarters)
-- fill the pot with enough water to cover
-- saute until water is at a low boil
-- skim the foam
-- add a couple tbsp of white vinegar (helps break everything down)
-- put on lid, set to manual pressure / high for 40 minutes, natural release
-- debone, freeze meat separately for soups / quesadillas / etc, freeze broth
At feeding time, I add ~1 tbsp broth mixed with ~1 tbsp hot water to each cat's dry kibble. They love it, might be worth a try for you as well!
posted by zebra at 9:18 AM on October 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Just want to put in another recommendation for the web site that Empress C recommended. I used it when our cat was diagnosed with kidney disease and it really helped us keep her fed and happy for as long as we could.
posted by dlugoczaj at 9:22 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dlugoczaj at 9:22 AM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have no idea offhand the protein content, but when my IBS cat needed more calories my vet recommended kitten food over adult cat food as it's designed to support a growing cat's (and pregnant feline mommas!) additional caloric needs.
posted by cgg at 9:43 AM on October 21, 2022
posted by cgg at 9:43 AM on October 21, 2022
I feed mine wet kidney-diet food; European brands since I'm in the UK (Smilla, Beaphar and Integra). They don't love it as much as the non-kidney-diet stuff they were on previously (a grain-free German brand called Grau). In the afternoon they get a handful of dental treats, which they love and call for loudly. They're 11 and 12, and have done well on it; their kidney numbers are not getting noticeably worse.
There's a school of thought which says male cats shouldn't have fish-based food as it can lead to urinary issues for them; I generally avoid it in any case since it makes the litter-box deposits smell noticeably worse. However, fish oil is a good thing and a good kidney-diet wet food will often contain some for the nutritional benefit. If yours doesn't, look into fish oil supplements that you can add.
Kidney diet food inevitably has some carbs, but avoid corn as an ingredient if you can, since the sugars in it may lead to diabetes (or worsen it if he already has it). Corn may be on the ingredient list somewhere, but it shouldn't be high up.
Your little guy is, what, 13 (if he was a kitten in '09)? Does he still chase toys? During the half-hour after eating, see if you can get him to run around a bit. He'll gain muscle that way, whatever he eats.
See the vet as soon as you can. They'll be able to answer this question better than we can, once you know his kidney levels and any other problems he may have (Diabetes? Arthritis? High blood pressure?) Also, make sure they check his teeth. Whatever he eats, he'll eat more of it if his teeth aren't hurting him.
It's good of you to be helping this cat. When there's time, perhaps you might consider linking to a picture?
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:30 AM on October 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
There's a school of thought which says male cats shouldn't have fish-based food as it can lead to urinary issues for them; I generally avoid it in any case since it makes the litter-box deposits smell noticeably worse. However, fish oil is a good thing and a good kidney-diet wet food will often contain some for the nutritional benefit. If yours doesn't, look into fish oil supplements that you can add.
Kidney diet food inevitably has some carbs, but avoid corn as an ingredient if you can, since the sugars in it may lead to diabetes (or worsen it if he already has it). Corn may be on the ingredient list somewhere, but it shouldn't be high up.
Your little guy is, what, 13 (if he was a kitten in '09)? Does he still chase toys? During the half-hour after eating, see if you can get him to run around a bit. He'll gain muscle that way, whatever he eats.
See the vet as soon as you can. They'll be able to answer this question better than we can, once you know his kidney levels and any other problems he may have (Diabetes? Arthritis? High blood pressure?) Also, make sure they check his teeth. Whatever he eats, he'll eat more of it if his teeth aren't hurting him.
It's good of you to be helping this cat. When there's time, perhaps you might consider linking to a picture?
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:30 AM on October 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
We have a 20+ year old floof who has early-ish CKD and was emaciated when we adopted him (his previous human passed away and either was too sick to take care of her cats before she passed or may have died and not been discovered for a while). He's on a prescription diet, which you can see about for you cat once he has seen a vet. In the meantime, I've seen several sites that say emphatically that getting your cat some calories is more important than giving it specialty kidney-care food. So I think your instinct to get a variety of foods to see what your cat will like is a good one.
Phosphorous as noted above is the real problem component. Here's a site I found of lower-phosphorous non-prescription cat foods.
But really, any food your cat will eat is OK until it can be seen by a vet and possibly get some prescription food.
Emaciated cats can get nauseated and constipated if their calorie intake suddenly spikes, so if you find food he'll eat try to ramp up the amount over a few days instead of just letting him chow down like a lil piggy. Many small feedings might be better than fewer larger ones. If he eats too fast get a lick mat to slow him down.
Make sure there are plenty of water bowls available in different locations too. That can help with any possible constipation issues. Our vet had us start giving ours 3/4 tsp of psyllium husks a day mixed into his food which has helped a lot with his BMs.
As far as muscle mass, in our case what is helping is finding ways to help him be active. He doesn't really like to play - we've tried everything, and he's just not interested. He'll step on a dangly toy once and then he figures 'mission accomplished, I'm done." He's almost completely deaf and his eyesight is not great, I think that's a factor. But our situation recently improved with regard to his access to the entire dwelling, so now he has a chair (with an intermediate step) in the home office, a window perch (with stairs) in the bedroom, he can get on the sofa with a step, and he can now get on the bed (again with some steps). He's very social and will follow me from room to room, climbing up to one of his elevated areas when he does, and that amount of activity has made him noticeably more vigorous, stable and spry than he was until recently.
Until a few weeks ago we had another cat who was severely overweight with significant mobility problems when we got her from the rescue. With the vet we had her on a weight loss diet, and we were encouraging gentle play. She didn't lose that much actual weight over the 4 months we had her, but her body composition transformed radically. By the time we found her her forever home she exhibited very few mobility problems, she loved to play a lot, she was willing and able to scamper, and shortly before we rehomed her she made a leap from a bench to our bed, about 3 feet of horizontal distance with a one-foot elevation gain.
So the reason I mentioned her is that finding ways for her to be active that didn't make her condition worse and engaging her desire to play made a huge difference to her muscle condition and strength, just like finding ways for our little old guy to move and be active has helped his. Paying attention to calories was crucial to both, but in opposite directions.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 11:52 AM on October 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Phosphorous as noted above is the real problem component. Here's a site I found of lower-phosphorous non-prescription cat foods.
But really, any food your cat will eat is OK until it can be seen by a vet and possibly get some prescription food.
Emaciated cats can get nauseated and constipated if their calorie intake suddenly spikes, so if you find food he'll eat try to ramp up the amount over a few days instead of just letting him chow down like a lil piggy. Many small feedings might be better than fewer larger ones. If he eats too fast get a lick mat to slow him down.
Make sure there are plenty of water bowls available in different locations too. That can help with any possible constipation issues. Our vet had us start giving ours 3/4 tsp of psyllium husks a day mixed into his food which has helped a lot with his BMs.
As far as muscle mass, in our case what is helping is finding ways to help him be active. He doesn't really like to play - we've tried everything, and he's just not interested. He'll step on a dangly toy once and then he figures 'mission accomplished, I'm done." He's almost completely deaf and his eyesight is not great, I think that's a factor. But our situation recently improved with regard to his access to the entire dwelling, so now he has a chair (with an intermediate step) in the home office, a window perch (with stairs) in the bedroom, he can get on the sofa with a step, and he can now get on the bed (again with some steps). He's very social and will follow me from room to room, climbing up to one of his elevated areas when he does, and that amount of activity has made him noticeably more vigorous, stable and spry than he was until recently.
Until a few weeks ago we had another cat who was severely overweight with significant mobility problems when we got her from the rescue. With the vet we had her on a weight loss diet, and we were encouraging gentle play. She didn't lose that much actual weight over the 4 months we had her, but her body composition transformed radically. By the time we found her her forever home she exhibited very few mobility problems, she loved to play a lot, she was willing and able to scamper, and shortly before we rehomed her she made a leap from a bench to our bed, about 3 feet of horizontal distance with a one-foot elevation gain.
So the reason I mentioned her is that finding ways for her to be active that didn't make her condition worse and engaging her desire to play made a huge difference to her muscle condition and strength, just like finding ways for our little old guy to move and be active has helped his. Paying attention to calories was crucial to both, but in opposite directions.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 11:52 AM on October 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
Once your cat is calmer and able to eat, the muscle may return on its own. My older dog went from 8 pounds when rescued from the pound to a healthy 12 pounds. I didn't do anything special, just fed them dog food that didn't make them lose their pee. This means I have to get the really good stuff. My dog is also as finicky as a cat when stressed (or when their food options change more frequently than never). I can recommend Steve's. Here's a store locator so you can figure out where to buy it locally.
posted by aniola at 6:45 PM on October 21, 2022
posted by aniola at 6:45 PM on October 21, 2022
PS Steve's is appropriate for cats with kidney problems.
posted by aniola at 6:52 PM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by aniola at 6:52 PM on October 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have been feeding my cat Dr. Elsey's Cleanprotein Kibble for the last three years. My cat still weighs the same amount he did when I first got him then: about 8 pounds, but all four of his "shoulders" have grown visibly muscular and his fur is incredibly lush.
It might be worth you're looking into Dr. Elsey's kibble, which directly addresses the issue of kidney ailments, and the dietary marker that appears to be linked to it: Oaxalate, which cats can only generate with a plant-based diet. Their argument is cats shouldn't be eating plants at all, and to that end, Dr. Elsey's is the only brand I've found that matches the requirements of the sciencey studies I've read on feeding cats that say that cats "in the wild" or left to their own devices, eat about 60% protein. Dr. Elsey's has precisely that amount, and is, in fact, one of the highest protein cat foods I've ever seen. Long story short, you may want to do more research on the impact of diet on cat health.
posted by Violet Blue at 9:27 PM on October 21, 2022
It might be worth you're looking into Dr. Elsey's kibble, which directly addresses the issue of kidney ailments, and the dietary marker that appears to be linked to it: Oaxalate, which cats can only generate with a plant-based diet. Their argument is cats shouldn't be eating plants at all, and to that end, Dr. Elsey's is the only brand I've found that matches the requirements of the sciencey studies I've read on feeding cats that say that cats "in the wild" or left to their own devices, eat about 60% protein. Dr. Elsey's has precisely that amount, and is, in fact, one of the highest protein cat foods I've ever seen. Long story short, you may want to do more research on the impact of diet on cat health.
posted by Violet Blue at 9:27 PM on October 21, 2022
If you choose to pursue the further research route, note that % protein will be significantly lower in fresh/frozen than the same ingredients in kibble/freeze-dried due to their differences in moisture content. Note also that cats who eat fresh/frozen food will drink less water (even though they are just as hydrated) because they are getting it directly from their food.
You are familiar, and your cat may be sad right now. Getting to spend time with you again is probably the best possible thing you can do for improving his appetite.
posted by aniola at 10:08 PM on October 21, 2022
You are familiar, and your cat may be sad right now. Getting to spend time with you again is probably the best possible thing you can do for improving his appetite.
posted by aniola at 10:08 PM on October 21, 2022
Response by poster: Hey all - I started putting together some photos of Jonathan. Here they are. If you can provide the most stable and patient and gentle and non-startling of environments, he will be available for adoption in the Durham/Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Carrboro NC area very soon. He seems pretty healthy, although he's only eating one mouthful of food at a time, and requires constant petting to eat that much. He needs a lot of love.
I remember when I fostered him the first time -- he took a while to warm up as a kitten, but then wanted to be held and petted all the time. He's emotionally intense and very very sweet.
(That said, he's only letting me trim one claw at a time, and I've heard he does best as an only cat... still working on the research.)
(Also, his back story is slightly more tragic than I've given here... I'm not sure how much to share.)
posted by amtho at 2:29 PM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
I remember when I fostered him the first time -- he took a while to warm up as a kitten, but then wanted to be held and petted all the time. He's emotionally intense and very very sweet.
(That said, he's only letting me trim one claw at a time, and I've heard he does best as an only cat... still working on the research.)
(Also, his back story is slightly more tragic than I've given here... I'm not sure how much to share.)
posted by amtho at 2:29 PM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Actual follow-up: I'm looking into all the food suggestions; thank you!
Those of you who said just feed him whatever he'll eat, then figure out the kidney stuff later -- my contact at the rescue org suggested the same thing. I ran to the grocery store yesterday and got the fancy stuff in the little plastic oval that's essentially shredded chicken breast, and also some Fancy Feast in (ugh) tuna/mackerel.
He's still mainly licking at it a tiny bit at a time, but at least he's trying. I'm kind of worried about him eating enough, though. I'll try to get his teeth, and everything, checked on Monday.
posted by amtho at 3:31 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
Those of you who said just feed him whatever he'll eat, then figure out the kidney stuff later -- my contact at the rescue org suggested the same thing. I ran to the grocery store yesterday and got the fancy stuff in the little plastic oval that's essentially shredded chicken breast, and also some Fancy Feast in (ugh) tuna/mackerel.
He's still mainly licking at it a tiny bit at a time, but at least he's trying. I'm kind of worried about him eating enough, though. I'll try to get his teeth, and everything, checked on Monday.
posted by amtho at 3:31 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
In my experience over the past year and a half with a senior cat with hyperthyroid, end stage cardiomyopathy, and anorexia and kidney concerns which are the natural result of his medicines for the other issues (though at his age, some kidney disease is also pretty common regardless), dehydration also makes a big difference in the cat’s willingness and ability to eat. And with a cat that is significantly under-weight, they just don’t have a lot of margin for having more than one bad day in a row and bouncing back. I’ve had to syringe-feed my cat on two or three occasions to get him over a rough spot. He’ll also eat the recovery formula food (which I get from my vet, though it doesn’t need a prescription) in most cases when he won’t eat anything else. (Same idea, different brand.)
posted by eviemath at 9:11 AM on October 23, 2022
posted by eviemath at 9:11 AM on October 23, 2022
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It was a HUGE help, because it saved me the worry of "omigod what if Zach hates the fancy prescription stuff the vet gave me". The attitude that site takes is that the best food for your cat is whatever they'll eat, so they cut cat owners a HUGE break and do the legwork of wading into the nutritional stuff for you so you can save yourself that stress. They also accept that some cats are just going to be picky little shits and will prefer Friskies to Iams Special Fancy Hipster Food or whatever, so they say that "at least just pick THESE flavors of Friskies and not that one flavor over there because the potassium in it is gonna cause issues".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:22 AM on October 21, 2022 [13 favorites]