Cats
ISO A Better Cat Food: Some Reviews
The cat food commercials that I recall growing up showcase how much the cats loved to eat a particular brand, or how fabulous and well cared they looked while eating it. But lately, there is a disturbing trend among TV pet food ads: appeal to the appetite of the cat owner. Hence a beautifully presented but undeniably human dinner being transformed into a plate to put out for Kitty. Like your mom’s home cooking for felines. And while this may have the emotional appeal conducive to our opening our wallets (as most of us want to be good caretakers of our pets), this is downright backwards in terms of the cat’s actual nutritional needs. Folks, cats are obligatory carnivores. That can of “Tuscan turkey with vegetables and garden greens” may sound more appealing than just plain old turkey to us, but their bodies have no use for, let alone benefit from, non-meat ingredients and the carbohydrates they carry. In fact, these recreational non-meat ingredients can, over time, damage the health of our feline friends in the form of bowel disease, obesity, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and kidney disease.
Since the passing of my sweet elderly CRD cats, I have been on a mission to provide my two youngster kitties (T, 5, and Kiki, 2) with a better diet. More specifically, a high-protein/meat based, low carbohydrate diet, so that they might enjoy a long life free of obesity, diabetes and hyperthyroidism. I also care for a colony of three feral farm cats, providing food and shelter for the last five years. They are known, affectionately, as “the mongrels”. During the course of this mission, I’ve tried several varieties with mixed results, and found great resources which I’d like to pass along to other cat owners on a similar mission.
First, the website which has been indispensable to my quest for better cat food, collecting independent analyses of the composition of cat foods:
- Canned Cat Food, and the updated/amended version, and Dry Cat Food. These sites provide a graph in which cat food content is arranged by phosphorous level, a critical factor in caring for elderly cats with Kidney Disease. In addition, it contains that all-important number for carbohydrates, which, not surprisingly, is absent from the manufacturer’s ingredients lists.
Among the brands that I have tried with my kitties are:
Raw Meat: Feline’s Pride.
The makeup of this cat food is ground raw meat and bones, shipped frozen to your door. I tried the 2.5lb chicken formula to start. At $18.48 including shipping, it’s a little steep, but I was determined to find the best diet, and most signs pointed this way. Here’s the thing, though: it’s raw. I mean, I knew this going in, and to be fair, the ick factor was very much ramped up by the fact that I was in my first trimester of pregnancy and couldn’t even stomach the meat aisle in the grocery store, let alone a tub of ground up raw chicken and bones. For me, the timing was bad. For my kitties, it was something that they picked at, but wouldn’t finish a portion in the hour’s time I was instructed to leave it out.
Verdict: I like this option, but I think that it requires a plan in order to introduce it to the kitties diet. Scheduled eating times should be established first, then the Feline’s Pride mixed in with their regular canned food, weaning them gradually. And I shouldn’t be in any trimester of pregnancy when I do try it again.
Grain-free canned foods:
I bought one of each of the varieties offered at the local shop: Beef, Chicken and Turkey, Venison, Rabbit, and Duck (all the 95% meat formula). T, my pickier eater, was only interested in the Beef. Kiki, on the other hand, was also interested in the Chicken and Turkey, but neither were too gung ho on the Venison, Rabbit, or Duck formulas. The mongrels, however, ate everything readily!
Verdict: will keep buying the 95% Beef.
They both seem to love it all. Unfortunately, Wellness has also broken with tradition and begun to add some grains, like brown rice, and fruits to some formulations. Check labels for carbohydrate content (add up all percentages for ingredients listed; the missing number is the carbohydrate content).
Verdict: will keep buying low carb formulations
Commercial, non-grain-free canned foods:
Using the bulleted links above, it’s easy to zero in on widely available commercial foods that offer low carbohydrate formulations. In our house, I routinely buy Fancy Feast and Friskies varieties that have lower carb options, because they are eaten so readily and universally. But here’s an overall hint: varieties that are marketed as “kitten food” tend overwhelmingly to be lowest in carbohydrate content. Do not fret about giving “kitten food” to an adult cat; their nutritional needs are the same. If you are feeding kitten food to an older CRD cat, however, please be sure to check on the phosphorous level first.
Keep posted; more to come…
Caring for the cat with Chronic Renal Disease
Chronic Renal disease, or chronic kidney insufficiency, is something that most cats will develop if they live long enough. It’s an unfortunate fact that cats have a shorter life span than we do. So as cat owners and lovers, we must shepherd them through this disease. And it ain’t as easy as it sounds. In the last 10 years, I have shepherded three such cats, and I offer my experiences with each, so that those of you out there who are also caring for one such kitty, be they newly diagnosed, or managing, may gain insight from my steps and missteps. A brief story of each, then a list of what lessons I’ve taken away at the end:
Kizzo
A cat that I inherited from my husband when we moved in together in 1998. In about 2000, his blood tests began to reveal kidney insufficiency (indicated at that time primarily by elevated Blood Uria Nitrogen, or BUN, numbers). At the vet’s recommendation, we switched his diet to dry Prescription Hill’s K/D, as putting him on a protein-restricted diet was the conventional wisdom of the time. Because we also had two younger cats, we also mixed in some cans of Fancy Feast to keep everyone happy. Kizzo ate well from both the K/D and Fancy Feast bowls, but he did start to drink an awful lot of water. We monitored his blood levels every 6mo-year. When they began to climb further, I began reading about further treatment, including subcutaneous fluid injections. Curious to see if it would help, I began taking him to the vet for an occasional fluid treatment. The vet administered about 150 cc of fluid from a conventional IV drip bag by sticking a small needle under his neck skin (but above the muscle). It took just a few minutes (but we had to kind of restrain him so that he’d stay still), and his mobility and mood always seemed to improve temporarily, so I was pleased. Despite this, his weight went down, an already skinny cat, he became emaciated, but his appetite was OK, and he continued to drink a lot of water. I just didn’t know what else to do, and the vet hadn’t given me a clear path of treatment to follow, beyond the diet change. Come 2004, I took him for fluid treatments every few weeks or so, but he was declining. His blood levels showed very high BUN, and he had begun to stumble a lot. It was clear that something had to be done, so I took him to the local emergency vet, which is part of the University here, so he was in very competent hands. It was too late, though – despite their best efforts, Kizzo’s condition had become acute, and his body didn’t have the energy left to respond to treatment that they offered (IV drip, phosphorus binder, among several others). He had begun seizing, and we elected to euthanize. Although sudden, it wasn’t a difficult decision, because he was in so much physical pain. We didn’t really know how old Kizzo was, as my husband had also inherited him from a friend, but some piecing together of shared memories with friends and a little math revealed that he was 18 when first diagnosed with CRD, and 22 when he passed away.
Bart
On the other hand, I knew exactly how old Bart was, as I adopted him as a 6mo old kitten in 1989. When Kizzo passed away, Bart became the resident “old Man” at 15, and equipped with the knowledge I’d gained from Kizzo’s experience, I aimed to combat CRD head on. Within a year or two, Bart’s kidneys also revealed an elevated BUN number, but I had also changed vets, and was coached instead to pay closer attention to the creatinine level, which was a more dependable reflection of kidney function. again, he went on the K/D diet, as Kizzo had done, as it was still the conventional wisdom. Because I felt guilty that I hadn’t done enough to treat Kizzo, I watched Bart like a hawk. I learned about the availability of home fluid treatments; that is, giving fluids subcutaneously at home, rather than dragging the cat in to the vet. Our vet gladly trained me in her office, and from then on I bought the supplies to give fluid treatments at home several times a week. Believe me, it took some getting used to. Bart was a sensitive cat, and never took to the routine well, but I continued with them every few days, then every other, then every day, as his kidney levels increased. If you are interested in this option, most vets will provide training and supplies. Though Bart hated the process, it was clear that he felt significantly better after each treatment.
As his health declined, and he showed anything like an acute problem (stumbling, vomiting) I would cart him off to the emergency vet. He would stay on with continuous IV treatment for a few days, and come home with better kidney values. Because the emergency vet was also a teaching institution, they provided him with a whole host of pharmaceuticals to combat the effects of CRD: famotedine for his gastritis, ACE Inhibitor, something else to prevent his spilling protein in his urine. He developed anemia as well, which responded to injections of Epogen. Poor Bart, almost as much as he hated the fluid treatments, he hated pills. And I hated giving them to him. But I continued, because I loved him and I wanted to do anything in my power to keep him comfortable. I also felt pressure from the emergency vet, as they insisted that this was the best course of action.
Because Kizzo’s decline had been so acute and sudden, we really didn’t know how long to carry out Bart’s treatment. This was certainly the hardest part of caring for the CRD cat; knowing when it’s time to let him/her make a graceful exit. Bart, normally a friendly, vocal, and happy cat grew quiet and withdrawn. Eventually, he declined to the point that he was nearly immobile, and could not bend down to the food bowls to eat properly. We knew then that it was time to say goodbye. He was 19.
Cap’n
Close on Bart’s heels was Cap’n (adopted in 1992 at just five weeks old), who even by the time of Bart’s passing had developed CRD and was getting fluid treatments at home. Luckily, Cap’n was much more amenable to the needle; barely acknowledging the initial prick, as if it were a bug bite. Because of Kizzo and Bart, Cap’n had been on a protein restricted diet by default for at least five years, so we kept it up. He had also developed hyperthyroidism a couple of years previously, and received twice daily medication to manage it.
As time went on I grew to regret some of the decisions that I’d made about Bart’s treatment, believing more and more that I prolonged his suffering and put him through a daily ritual that he dreaded. Truth is, he was my baby and I was really scared of losing him. But it shouldn’t have been about me. Knowing this about Cap’n, I vowed not to cart him to the emergency vet, and to keep his treatment to a minimum of fluid injections and his hyperthyroid medication. He seemed to thrive for a year or so, then declined fast. It was then that I stumbled upon the book mentioned in my previous post, “Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life
A word about all of the treatments
I have gone into detail about my experience with each cat without once mentioning cost. This is a highly important consideration as well. Maintenance for a CRD cat involves at least a periodic blood test to check kidney values, and it’s no small price tag — about $100 a pop at my local vet. Giving fluids at home is relatively inexpensive; the bags are about $10-15 and contain 1000cc of fluid (150 is usually given in a single treatment). The costs for the emergency vet, though, were through the roof. I spent many thousands on Bart’s treatment; he was hospitalized three different times, each with a price tag of around $2k. Oof.
- pay closer attention to the creatinine level, rather than BUN, which is a more dependable reflection of kidney function
- if you have the capability, giving subcutaneous fluids at home provides some comfort and relief to the kidneys, and helps to prolong kidney function.
- cats are very stoic about their discomfort, so the pursuit of treatment is a very personal and difficult decision. There are no right answers.
- as it turns, out protein-restricted diets are not the way to go in managing CRD; rather, phosphorus-restricted is far better. Barring that, phosphorus binders can be given to help the phosphorus pass quickly through the system.
- In arriving at a treatment plan for your cat, consider the advice of your vet, the cost, the overall investment and think realistically about what you are willing to do. Do not beat yourself up for not trying to do everything. In my experience, I don’t think doing everything is a wise treatment plan (see Bart, above).
Is your cat overweight? One simple step to a leaner and healthier feline.
I wish that I had a time machine. To be able to take all that I’ve learned about cat food back to 1998; back to one Cap’n Crunch, an almost 20 lb. (hence more than a little overweight!) 6 year old cat. I was at a loss about how to bring his weight back to a comfortable range; an orange tabby, he looked like a basketball. For one year, I fed him only a dry, premium brand “lite” food. Rather than lose weight, he actually gained it. I just resolved that he must be genetically programmed to be that large. Surely the food that I’d so carefully selected would have otherwise done it’s implied job, right?
As it turns out, WRONG. Poor Cap’n went on to eventually develop hyperthyroidism, then Chronic Renal Disease. He passed away earlier this month. If I had known, in 1998, that the food that I had been feeding him with the intention of helping him with a weight problem had most likely been a culprit in his condition in the first place, I might have saved him years of health problems. I just want to tear my hair out at the thought of it.
Enter into my 2009 life the book “Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life
If your cat is overweight, here’s what you can do TODAY: Switch any cat currently eating dry food to canned food. That’s right, the single most effective thing is to STOP the dry food intake. Even among the widely available brands of canned food (read: what you buy at the grocery store), there are relatively low carbohydrate options, so you shouldn’t have to shell out big bucks for the higher-end natural pet food. Dr. Hodgkins provides a good guide about how to read a label for carbohydrate content. Otherwise, there are national brands that market themselves as all-meat/no grain, such as EVO and Feline’s Pride. I plan to investigate these options with my two youngster cats and report back. Keep posted.
In the meantime, you can read up on more of these and other findings here and here. I invite your comments and experiences.
