k/d Birman & raw

Question
QUESTION: Hi. My 18 month old Birman blue point (Baloo)was diagnosed with k/d, a couple of months ago,rushed him to the vet when I notices excessive drinking/peeing/& loss of appetite. The usual blood/urine tests later (not on drip ever) he was prescribed antibiotics (infection ok now), given Hills k/d prescriptive, which he hated (to my horror filled with goodness knows what), after I had been feeding (no biscuits) natures menu foods (70% meat no derivitives), raw chicken wings & thigh. His breeder gave me a menu to feed when I collected him (13 wks) whisker kitten, pilchards in tomato, poached cod, soggy kibble, but I never gave the kibble,(& to my ignorance probably fed him far to much fish), but I was following what she advised), I slowly got him eating a better quality of food as I don't like aditives etc, I have now put him on the Feline raw powder, I order it from Canada, mix raw fresh chopped chicken breast,minced thigh, fresh chicken livers & salmon oil to the mix, please advise me if I am doing the right thing, he was losing so much weight & constipated, he seems to have more energy now, & his stools are back to normal.Could you be brutal & advise me if this is a good move or bad. My vet's are set in their way's & they say oh! don't worry it may be nothing to worry about. I don't want to see him wasting away as he is a little ray of sunshine, as anyone who has the privalige of being adopted by one will know, they don't have an ounce of badness in them, & deserve only the best. He has a water fountain.
I hope I have given you enough information, any extra help for a good diet would be greatly welcomed.
regards Julie & Baloo

ANSWER: Julie, so Baloo was diagnosed with CRF (chronic renal failure)? Could you provide the lab results with reference ranges, please, as that will help me with recommendations.

Also, do you live in Canada or the US?

What is the Feline raw powder? Do you have a link that you can provide, please?

Sorry for all the questions, but answers to these really will help me to better help you and Baloo.

Thank you, and cuddles to your Baloo.

Jules

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: HI Jules
I live in the UK,the name of the feline raw powder is 'Feline Instincts', they said due to Baloo's age he should be on the normal food, the site has a breakdown of ingredients,they seem very caring. I have asked the vet nurse for the lab reference ranges, but she thinks they will not give the information to me, but I will ring back at the end of today.
Baloo seems very happy and back to being full of life with the raw, his coat is in better condition,& we think he is putting on some weight, his whole demeanor seems brighter, but am I clutching at straws?? I want him to have a happy, long & healthy life but I don't want to hinder his health by making mistakes.If my vet gives out the lab results I will quickly be in touch.
Again thank you for any assistance.
         regards Julie & Baloo


ANSWER: Hi Julie,

Kudos for going with a raw diet for Baloo! My hat is off to you, sweetie. And no, you are not clutching at straws because a balanced raw diet is the best thing you can do for him.

I'm not a huge fan of Feline Instincts and I did use this in the beginning when I first started feeding a raw diet. It should be okay to use as long as you use the meat that they recommend and follow their recipe. A couple things I don't like that are in this powder is kelp and psyllium, and they don't provide the calcium to phosphorus ratio. That being said, a lot of kitty moms and dads use this and their kitties do good on it. If using other meats than what is recommended the calcium to phosphorus ratio would be off. At Holisticat there is a lot of information on raw feeding (including the calcium to phosphorus ratio (which is vitally important): http://www.holisticat.com/Keeping-Cats-Well-Fed/

Oh - and a link for CRF kitties (diet info, too): http://www.holisticat.com/Chronic-Renal-Failure.html (that's my Angel kitty, Tuffy's photo on there...I will always miss him and never, ever forget him. <sob>)

Your vet should provide you with copies of the lab results. It is your right to have them. You are the one paying the bill, for goodness sake! And as a kitty mom this is just part of being proactive and helps to give a fuller picture of what is going on. Sorry for the bit of a rant, but vets are not God and it irks me to no end when they are reluctant to give this information to one. Of particular interest is BUN, creatinine, phosphorus, calcium, PCV or HCT, potassium, and sodium, to name a few. :) Although I go by the adage "treat the kitty and not the numbers," it is vitally important to have this information to know what course of action to take.

When you get them, would you please post them for me? Sometimes you have to be more assertive with some vets when they are reluctant to give you this information. BUT, you are your kitty's guardian, and responsible for their care - not the darn vet.

Also, you want the lab results *with* reference ranges, not just reference ranges. They most always come with the reference ranges next to the actual result for each test. Just ask for a printout of all lab results.

Hugs and I look forward to hearing back from you! Also, if you have any other questions about a balanced raw diet, ask away. My kitties do super on their raw diet, so it is very heartwarming to hear that you are feeding raw.

Jules - and Abby, Maxie, Izzy, and Angel Tuffy (Abby's brother who left us way too soon) send gentle headbutts to Baloo



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jules,
Mannaged to get a copy of Baloo's levels.
SODIUM 150 mmo1/1 (147-156),POTASSIUM 4.6 mmo1/1 (3.8-4.5),
Na/K RATIO 33, UREA 13.5 mmo1/1 (3.6-10.7), CREATININE 242 umo1/1 (71-159), CHLORIDE 117 mmo1/1 (112-129),PHOSPHATE INORGANIC 1.32 mmo1/1 (0.58-2.07), TOTAL PROTEIN 73 g/1 (54-78),ALBUMIN 37 g/1 (21-39),GLOBULIN 36 g/1 (15-57).
I hope this will help, Baloo is looking & acting very healthy at the moment since changing his diet to raw,he has definatly put on some muscle, his eyes are bright & he has lots of energy, do you think Feline Future raw powder mix would be better for him ?
lots & lots of head butts now from Baloo & many many thanks for your care, all our blessings Jules from Julie.

Answer
Hi Julie,

Thank you for getting back to me with the results. Boy, Baloo is so young to have CRF - which is what his labs indicate. (Creatinine high, [BUN]/Urea high, etc.) My Tuffy was young when diagnosed, too.

The Feline Future and Feline Instincts powders are pretty much the same thing. If FI is working for you, then I would continue with what works for now.

Since Baloo is so young, and CRF is a life-long disease with many ups and downs (been there, so know what a roller coaster ride it can be), would you consider checking out the online Holisticat Community forums? It is run by our list-mom, Sandy (she is also the author of a super book that is kitty-only and sold on Amazon or can get from her personally) and has had the list in one form or another since 1997.

It is rare that I suggest someone join a group that you have to pay for if you join ($25/yr or $10/quarter - or free 7-day trial), but we have many kitties with CRF (and all other diseases, too) and it can be managed quite successfully with gentler means (as CRF progresses one has to supplement with supp's specifically for CRF - like when phosphorus goes up and they become nauseated, for anemia, etc.). We have members from the UK, too, so are familiar with what you have available to you there. We are a very caring, loving group, and holistically oriented as it sounds like you might lean towards with the raw diet. I feed my 3 kids a balanced raw diet, too. Best thing I ever did!

Anyway, because this setting is so confining here, would you please consider joining Holisticat? You can join with a free 7-day trial to check it out. Here's the link to the home page: http://www.holisticat.com/ and a link within the home site to sign up for membership: http://www.holisticat.com/subscriptions/ and a link to go to the forum to sign up as a trial member (just click the register link on this page): http://www.holisticat.com/forum/

Sorry to ramble here, but I love Holisticat and the kitties there, but also feel guilty when I suggest someone join, so don't do it very often - only when I feel that it would be very beneficial to the kitty and their mom or dad; like in your case. :) And, FWIW, I receive no compensation for doing this. I love kitties and freely volunteer my time there in memory of my CRF kitty, Tuffy (ALWAYS in my heart - love you, baby boy!).

With all this rambling, did I answer your question(s)?

Hugs to you and cuddles to Baloo!

Jules