Here is some really good information:
Diets For Pets With Failing Kidneys (High BUN & Creatinine)
You can make a diet suitable for dogs and cats with failing kidneys at home when your pet's kidneys can no longer cleanse it's body of waste and fluids.
The results of failing kidneys is a condition called uremia. Pets with uremia loose their appetite and waste away. So the most important thing you can do for your pet in these situations is to prepare the most tasty diet you can and encourage your pet to eat enough of it. If diet alone is not enough to improve your pet's blood values, your veterinarian has medications that may help.
The toxic wastes that build up in your pet's blood are primarily the biproducts of protein digestion and muscle metabolism. These include urea- BUN, creatinine and phosphorus. As your pet's blood phosphorus level increases, it's bones loose calcium and weaken. Pets with kidney disease often loose appetite and weight and might benefit from additional B vitamins also. Sometimes, their blood pressure rises, in which case, a low sodium diet might be beneficial.
Older veterinarians were taught in schools that protein levels should be restricted (low) when feeding pets with damaged kidneys. This seemed to make sense because less meat protein should produce less urea and creatinine for the kidneys to have to remove. the National Kidney Foundation still recommends that people restrict their intake of protein when they have kidney disease.
However, studies supported by Iams foods suggest that low protein diets may do more harm than good - at least in dogs that suddenly had 7/8th of their kidneys removed. Prior studies suggested lower protein diets might help dogs and cats. But these prior studies were very poorly designed. The way Iams designed their studies caused them a lot of grief. But the science was good and it was the only way veterinarians could have found out that we were harming, rather than helping pets when we put them on low protein diets. All commercially available kidney diets have had their protein content adjusted upward based on these results. Some brands of kidney diet still keep their protein level at 13-14% (k/d, NF,). But Eukanuba Prescription Kidney diet and Iams supply over 18%.
We still want to limit your pet's consumption of phosphorus. The foods naturally highest in phosphorus are the common high-protein foods, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, peas and beans. Beef and chicken contain about 8 mg phosphorus per gram of protein, whereas low-fat milk has 28 mg phosphorus per gram of protein. However, cooked egg white have the least phosphorus per gram of protein and the most complete protein and may be the best protein source for your pet. There is no need to separate out the yolks unless your pet gains too much weight.
Iams also found that fermentable fiber seemed to help the pet eliminate urea through its intestine when its kidneys could no longer do so adequately. So all common commercial kidney diets now have higher soluble fiber levels. Iams has patented their particular soluble fiber mixture which consists of fructooligosaccharides, sugar beet pulp, and vegetable gum . Do not exceed the amount of fiber that maintains your pet at it's optimal body weight with an acceptably firm stool.
Limiting the amount of sodium these ill pets ingests is also wise - so commercial diets limit the amount of sodium-rich ingredients in their foods and you should too. They also add omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that are found in cold-water fish and fish oils combined with flax seed to obtain a ratio of about 1:5.
Pets with kidney problems often suffer from poor appetite, weight loss, anemia and debility. B vitamins are often given as appetite stimulants. Also, the diets you make, without dairy or plant sources of calcium will be deficient in calcium So add crushed Pet Tab multi-vitamin and Pet Tab calcium to your recipe once it cools in the amount suggested on the bottles or purchase a supplement suggested by Balance IT.
In advanced kidney disease, when your pet's BUN is over 60 mg/dl, most vets believe that moderately restricting protein in your pet's diet becomes more important. In advanced kidney failure, blood tests need to be run periodically to be sure that blood calcium and phosphorus levels remain within limits and that the pet does not become overly anemic or develop high blood pressure.
Probably the most important thing you can do in prparing a homemade diet for your pet with failing kidneys is to prepare it with as much added water as possible. The more fluids your pet consumes, the more toxic waste products it will flush from its body with the fewer health kidney filter units (nephrons) that remain. |