where to get info on kidneys?

[Mark]

where did you start researching?

Helen started me off. It is an absolute minefield full of conflicting advice and opinions, the main one being low protein diets being a requirement. Pet food manufacturers still make renal food with low protein which a lot of experts now believe is wrong as cats are meant to eat high protein - the issue is the quality of it - ie animal, eggs and fish being good, cereal/vegetable/plant being bad.

I know far from everything about it. Tanya's site is good but there is so much to take in. Metacam is very bad for kidneys and I am convinced that they were what speeded up Clapton's death although he was on borrowed time already. I thought of it as a necessary evil - If a cat needs it for pain, there isn't much you can do as quality of life comes before quality I think.

I do think low phosphorus is important. Senior food is a good compromise.

A rule of thumb is renal 0.3%, senior 0.7%, adult 1.0% and grain-free foods even higher. The highest that I know of is applaws/encore which is something like 1.4% (5x as much as in renal food)

[Tiggy's Mum]

Can only second www.felinecrf.org - the CRF bible - I learnt so much from that site when I had Tiggy who (my childhood cat who had CRF).

There's also a very active and very informative  yahoo group (or at least it was active 3 years ago). Lots of the contributors are American, US vets seem to be much more advanced in dealing with CRF than UK vets.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/

[JenGeorgieBob]

Thank you for the link, will have a look through that website once I have finished with my essays.
Fred is on cystease every other day, but have upped it to one a day now.
They are not having any dry food now, I will have to think of some moister treats to put on their treat board, as they all really love using it.
Does Jaffa have regular blood tests to check his kidney function? Fred has had 3 lots of tests now and the results have all been the same, so at least it does not seem to be getting worse (touch wood)

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Don't know whether you've got this one, but it's a great place to start

http://www.felinecrf.org/

Metacam is contraindicated for cats with kidney problems but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's shouldn't be taken.   I suppose it's pros and cons.  Jaffa is similar in that he is borderline with respect to kidney function but doesn't have crf.  he has been given metacam for cystitis too and it worked so well I wouldn't hesitate to use it again.

ETA - re food - I'd say water is the most important thing if you have both cystitis and kidney problems.  I don't know what prescription diets are available for cystitis and whether they would be suitable for cats with kidney problems, but I would be wary of feeding any dry food.  Have you tried cystease?  I give those to Jaffa now and he hasn't had a cystitis episode for about a year and a half.

[JenGeorgieBob]

Ok, have posted a lot about Fred, basically his kidney function is 'borderline' so they want to re-test him every so often to check they are working properly. Now he has just had another bout of cystitis and I took him to the vets that have been dealing with his kidney problems and I have got some pills to give him, but also Metacam. I know it is either that or steroids, both of which aren't that great for his kidneys, I did ask the vet if it was ok to give him the Metacam due to his dodgy kidney function and he said it was fine. But I feel like I am relying on a strangers advice about my boy and I would like to know what is best for him myself,
where do you find out all the info about cats with kidney problems?
Mark seems to know everything about kidney problems, where did you start researching? Is google a good place to start? as I wouldn't know what websites to trust.
The vet then said if his cystitis does keep re-occuring then to put him on a prescription diet, but what would that do for his kidneys? and I think I know what sparked this one off (it was my fault sadly, they don't have any dried food in their dinner, haven't done for ages and then I gave them far too many dry treats on their board thing and they ate the whole lot pretty quickly, then they had to be put in the spare room while my mum was round with her dog for 2 hours and although I remembered toys and litter tray I forgot water!!!!!!  and Fred is a regular drinker normally, so I think this and then meeting the dog who gets a bit too excited around them and has gone for them before, so has to be kept far away held close, on a lead to try and get him used to them caused his cystitis to come back  )

anyway, sorry it is such a long post,
Jen