Kidney failure in cats is a condition that affects their daily life, causing pain, loss of appetite and depression, among other symptoms. Apart from the treatment of the disease itself, it will also be essential to pay attention to prevention to avoid relapses We must learn to assess what stage our cat, a task in which the veterinarian who is treating him will help us, to know how we should act.
One of the most important issues to consider is the diet of the cat with kidney failure. Feed or homemade food? What foods should be avoided?
On our site we want to help you with these and other questions that arise when feeding our feline. The homemade food for cats with kidney failure is an option when choosing the he althiest for them. We should not be afraid of failing due to our skills (or not) in the kitchen, they will not care how the dish is presented, guaranteed.
Food for kidney failure
Kidney failure in cats is a slow and progressive injury to the normal function of the kidneys, which are necessary to filter the blood and eliminate waste that reaches our feline's body. When it fails, several functions are altered since the residues will accumulate and slowly intoxicate our cat, showing signs only at critical moments.
This is not a disease that can be treated for life through medication. The food and other specific care will be essential to keep it in optimal he alth.
On the market we will find a wide variety of feed suitable for cats with kidney failure, and although many of them are of excellent quality, they cannot be compared with the quality offered by homemade food. For this reason, below we will explain what you should consider when preparing diets for kidney failure and we will show you two different recipes, one with meat and the other with fish, so that you can vary.
Home cooking, a path to he alth
As a natural veterinarian, I always recommend homemade food, in all respects, whether for sick or he althy cats, it is only important knowing how to identify which foods are prohibited and which are the most recommended. To make homemade diets for a cat it is important to spend time, although not as much as one might think, since we can freeze the prepared recipes for the whole week and store them in small portions.
We know that cats are strict carnivores so meat, of any kind, is the queen of recipes. But what happens when the kidneys malfunction or are inefficient? We must lower the level of proteins (which are abundant in meat) and this is when the first barrier appears when it comes to feeding our sick pets. Both owners and veterinarians who do not specialize in nutrition, have difficulty orienting themselves when preparing homemade food and end up choosing commercial feed.
Before you start preparing homemade diets…
All changes in our cat's diet should be gradual within a week to avoid imbalances or gastrointestinal problems. In the case of wanting to change the feed it is easy, because we will be replacing from 20% to a higher percentage the old food for the new one, but in the case of going from feed to homemade food it is quite different.
It is very important to point out that we cannot mix homemade food with feed, since they have different digestibility For this reason we will choose to offer small portions our cat every 2 or 3 hours and we will reduce the amount of daily feed. This will help us to identify your favorite foods as well. We'll start with vegetable balls with tuna, chicken, or other meats.
The recipes shown below are designed for a adult cat weighing 5 Kg, we can make small portions and then, when get used to it, make the complete recipe, you just have to cheer up. All recipes are for 1 day, spread out as you wish.
Recipe nº1 - Chicken and rice
Ingredients:
- 60 gr brown rice
- 75 gr of chicken breast
- 50 gr of fresh cheese
- 30 gr of vegetables for cats
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- 1 g of calcium carbonate
Preparation:
- We will start by boiling the brown rice and the chosen vegetables. Do not forget that we can substitute rice for other beneficial cereals such as barley, millet or quinoa. They should all be cooked the same way.
- We will also boil the chicken meat and once it is cooked, we will shred it and cut it into very small pieces, similar to those found in commercial food cans. If you wish, you can use turkey or beef and even leave the meat raw. That will depend directly on your cat's acceptance of this type of food.
- Once the cooking is finished, we will mix the ingredients already cut and crumbled, including the oil, the calcium carbonate (industrial or a crushed dry eggshell) and the fresh cheese. Use a kitchen ring or your own hands to create a shape that reminds her of her usual wet food.
- You already have homemade food for cats with kidney failure!
Recipe Nº2 - Tuna and rice
Ingredients:
- 50 gr brown rice
- 85 gr of fresh or frozen tuna
- 14 gr of clams in their juice
- 30 gr of vegetables or fruits (parsley, celery, carrot, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- 1 gr of calcium carbonate (industrial or powdered dry eggshell)
Preparation:
- As in the previous recipe, we will start by boiling the brown rice (or any cereal mentioned in the previous section) and the chosen vegetables.
- When the cooking is finished, we will mix all the ingredients, including the tuna, the clams, the oil and the calcium carbonate (which can be industrial or we can use a crushed dry egg shell). All the ingredients must be cut and crumbled so that the cat can ingest it without problems.
- Use a cooking ring to create a shape similar to canned wet food, and your tuna and rice recipe is ready.
