I have a very old female Siamese cat–I’m going to guess that she is 15-18 years old, we got her as a spayed adult. She has known kidney and thyroid problems. She will not eat the “kidney protective” canned food that my vet recommended, but does eat quite a lot of Friskies “kidney protective” pate, in spite of which she is SO thin. I feed her “on demand”, and believe you me, she IS demanding! Her fur does not look dull, eyes are bright. she gets flea repellant monthly, she still purrs, spends most of her time outdoors–in Texas. This is also at her demand. I think she gets too cold in our air-conditioned house, although we keep the temp at 76 to 77. We are retired, cannot afford to spend a lot of money on her, but are committed to keeping her as comfortable as possible. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you so much for your time.
Hello,
Thank you for your inquiry to Holistic Pet Info. Your kitty has classic signs of Kidney Qi deficiency. Typical signs are warm seeking behavior with likely excessive urination and low back stiffness/weakness. There is an excellent web site about feline chronic renal failure, which has detailed information about essential nutrition. Her diet will make a difference with the health of her kidneys and she does not need to be on the prescription diets. The site is from the UK but also covers information about treatments, medications and support. I highly recommend this site for resources through the progression of the disease www.felinecrf.org.
An excellent supplement for kidney failure is Renal Essentials for Cats by VetriScience. It contains Rehmannia and Astragalus both of which improve renal blood flow, has a warming effect and helps concentrate urine. You may want to seek out a local holistic/acupuncture veterinarian as acupuncture also tremendously improves the health of the kidneys. Best of luck.
Sincerely,
Colleen Smith DVM, CVA