Management of feline chronic kidney disease

CKD is a common diagnosis, especially in elderly cats, and results in shortened lifespan and reduced quality of life due to weight loss, variable/poor appetite, vomiting, polyuria and polydipsia. A successful outcome depends on an individualized approach, which is developed with the involvement of the cat’s owner. Monitoring visits are very important to ensure that owners are supported and that clinical problems are identified and treated promptly.
Introducing new concepts and best practice into a busy clinic can be challenging. This webinar discusses the best available treatment for CKD and how getting the team involved in the development of practice specific clinical guidelines can drive the standard of medicine at which we practice. This webinar has been by produced by RCVS Knowledge for BSAVA Congress 2020.
Featuring: -
- Sarah Caney BVSc PhD DSAM(Feline) MRCVS, RCVS specialist in feline medicine, and
- Paul Pollard MVB CertAVP(VC) PG Dip Vet Ed FHEA MRCVS, First opinion practitioner, responsible for student learning on first opinion rotation at the Royal Veterinary College in Camden.
For more free quality improvement resources, visit: www.rcvsknowledge.org/quality-improvement

[@carriemou3678]

Studies were done by pet food production companies, of course results will support feeding their "therapeutic" diets.

[@louisesimpson5414]

I Am humbled, I am grateful my fur baby is my life, my Soulmate my Love...Thank you...

[@ronaldkrikorian4712]

How’s your cat doing?

[@ZFabia2010]

Thank you, very clear and informative, actually inspirational.

[@joaosantossantos621]

great lecture. Thank you very much!! :)

[@louisesimpson5414]

What is phosphate? in terms of food that I must not feed him? Do you have a diet you can recommend my fur baby BEAR is only 7 years old...yet he's on level4... Thank you

[@Samuelfish2k]

Feed him Royal Canin Renal Don’t feed him conventional cat food as they’re high in phosphate, especially the “good” ones with meat as the main ingredient. I’m shocked that the vet that diagnosed him as level 4 didn’t explain any of this to you.

[@mimimihaylova1376]

@@Samuelfish2k "Maize flour, rice, wheat gluten, maize, soya protein isolate, maize gluten, hydrolysed animal proteins" - this is Royal Canin Renal - do you call this healthy? None of these ingredients is healthy for cats.

[@Samuelfish2k]

@@mimimihaylova1376 none of those ingredients contain any real measurable amount of phosphate, so yes, you bet that ingredient list is healthy for a kidney cat! If a kidney cat eats a “normal” “ideal” diet it’ll die and die Fast. My own cat who passed away last month got to a point 5 months ago where he had lost 4lbs. and in the end of his normal “good food” days completely stopped eating. Btw the only kind of food that cat along with my other cat ate was grain free canned wet food and because he developed kidney disease it was literally killing him to the point where he rather starve than continue eating it. As I’m telling you this you have to keep in mind that it can sometimes be hard to see when your cats health is on the decline because they do a good job of hiding their pain + I was foolishly optimistic thinking that whatever he was dealing with would pass and he’d be back to normal soon. Unfortunately sometimes in life you don’t learn hard lessons until you experience them. I should’ve taken him to the vet for yearly checkups/bloodwork. But the point is, when a cat develops kidney disease, meat of all kind is a fast track to kidney failure and death because it’s high in phosphate. The corn ingredients aren’t as bad as they make them out to be because the main thing that matters is whether the food is enriched with the necessary nutrients that a cat needs, which it is. If you don’t already know most “raw food” diets are alarmingly low in some necessary nutrients for a cat unless you really know what the heck you’re doing. You can’t just feed a cat chicken breast and assume he’s better off that way because the truth is he wouldn’t be. Btw as soon as my cat got a taste of his prescription food he began eating again. Unfortunately he was stage 4 and was on limited time. Rip Kitties.

[@spotlight761]

Why each laboratory has a different reference range?

[@RCVSCharitableTrust]

Hi, this is because each laboratory uses different machines and methods for measuring. Laboratories do provide their reference ranges with the results, so it's important to compare against the right range.

[@spotlight761]

@@RCVSCharitableTrust Ok, thanks for replying. So it is important not just to look at the numbers but the "position" of the numbers in each range.

[@RCVSCharitableTrust]

@@spotlight761 Yes that is correct. If in doubt, the laboratory you use should be able to assist with any interpretation.