Diets for Pets with Kidney Disease

Dedicated to BaBa, a Shih Tzu with renal failure

Pets with kidney disease live longer if they eat special diets. Some pet guardians purchase commercial kidney diets from their veterinarians, but others modify what they are currently feeding. Pets with kidney disease live 2 years longer when fed either a modified diet or commercial kidney diet than those maintained on a regular diet.

The goal of a kidney diet is to reduce phosphorus and sodium while keeping protein at a reasonable—but not high—level. Those who decide to modify their pet’s current diet may successfully create a kidney diet if they are already feeding premium food.

Pet foods have been with us for about 50 years. For the hundreds of years prior to store-bought foods, our pets did fine. In fact, many pets may have done better in the past than some modern pets do when eating current pet diets. This is because some pet food companies spend more on advertising than on contents. Pet health problems are caused by cheap foods which contain dead, diseased, disabled, and dying meat animals that the industry does not want to waste. Health problems are also caused by preservatives, dyes, and unnecessary allergenic substances such as the tailings in railroad cars of grain added to pet food. For your pet with kidney disease, it’s best to use a premium food.

If your pet is eating a premium food and you choose to modify this diet, it may work to reduce the food by ½ to 1/3, making up the difference with a low-phosphorus, low-sodium vegetable. For example, add white potato, pumpkin, squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, turnips, green beans, wax beans, peppers or celery.

For most pet owners, it will be easier to use one of the commercial kidney diets from IVD, Hills, Purina, Waltham or Eukanuba. These prepared diets are low in sodium, phosphorus, and protein but higher in fat. Unfortunately they are expensive and many pets don’t like them. For extremely picky cats, Wellness canned chicken may be acceptable. For all cats, those with kidney disease and those without disease, canned diets are healthier than dry diets because they provide more moisture. Home-prepared foods can be as healthy as canned foods.

Most pets with kidney disease benefit from the addition of Omega 3 fatty acids. The two common sources are fish oil and flax seed. Fish oil contains EPA and DHA which is easier for pets with renal disease to assimilate than the Omega 3 fatty acids from flax. Be certain that the fish oil meets Norwegian standards for purity. Many contaminants are cumulative in the body, and many fish oils meeting US standards contain contaminants that build up over time and make pets ill. This is particularly dangerous for pets with kidney disease.

If pets do not like fish oils, use ground flax seed products.

Over the next few days, the blog will contain lists of foods that pets with kidney disease should avoid: foods high in phosphorus, high in sodium, and high in protein. There will be a list of medications that help extend the life of pets with kidney disease, and a recipe for a home-cooked diet.