phosphorous and kidney disease

Hi all,

My beloved 16 year old female cat was just diagnosed with CRF.
Luckily, we think we caught it pretty early. My vet thinks that my
feeding her Prescription C/D for the past 10 years contributed to the
kidney problems because C/D is too "acidic" for a long term food.

So I've switched my kitty to a high-quality protein moist food now
(Wellness turkey). But I have two other younger cats that I still
like to feed dry food to (they don't care for moist believe it or
not). So just in case my kidney-kitty eats a few kibbles of dry food,
I was thinking of getting a low-phosphorous dry food for my other 2
cats. But how do I know when a fairly low-phosphorous dry food is
also not too acidic? After all, according to the below link, C/D is
fairly low in phosphorous and yet it's supposedly too acidic. Well,
what about something like Hill's Nature's Best chicken formula dry
food? It is listed as being fairly low in phosphorous but is it also
too acidic and thus harmful to kidneys?

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html

Thanks!
Brad

"brad" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

My beloved 16 year old female cat was just diagnosed with CRF.
Luckily, we think we caught it pretty early. My vet thinks that my
feeding her Prescription C/D for the past 10 years contributed to the
kidney problems because C/D is too "acidic" for a long term food.

So I've switched my kitty to a high-quality protein moist food now
(Wellness turkey). But I have two other younger cats that I still
like to feed dry food to (they don't care for moist believe it or
not). So just in case my kidney-kitty eats a few kibbles of dry food,
I was thinking of getting a low-phosphorous dry food for my other 2
cats. But how do I know when a fairly low-phosphorous dry food is
also not too acidic? After all, according to the below link, C/D is
fairly low in phosphorous and yet it's supposedly too acidic. Well,
what about something like Hill's Nature's Best chicken formula dry
food? It is listed as being fairly low in phosphorous but is it also
too acidic and thus harmful to kidneys?

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html

Thanks!
Brad

Wellness canned is an excellent food. Just be sure to get the *grain free*
varieties such as chicken, turkey, and beef. It would be much better to
eliminate all dry food for *all* of your kitties. You might also want to
try Innova EVO 95%. Cats are obligate carnivores. They do not need and
should not have the type of carbs found in all dry food. There are various
problems, in addition to what you already mentioned. For example, nearly
all cats with diabetes are cats that have been fed dry food. Yes, I realize
your kitties prefer dry food now because they have been used to it, but you
can gradually transition them.

MaryL

Yes, I agree that moist food is better. But I was hoping to avoid
getting into that old argument. Right now, with a cat in kidney
failure, I'm not wanting to also transition my other two cats to
moist. One thing at a time.

Back to my original question - does anyone know if Hill's Nature's
Best chicken formula is "acidic" and thus hard on kidneys? For a dry
food, it is low in phosphorous which is good.

Thanks!
Brad

"brad" wrote in message
...
Yes, I agree that moist food is better. But I was hoping to avoid
getting into that old argument. Right now, with a cat in kidney
failure, I'm not wanting to also transition my other two cats to
moist. One thing at a time.

Back to my original question - does anyone know if Hill's Nature's
Best chicken formula is "acidic" and thus hard on kidneys? For a dry
food, it is low in phosphorous which is good.

If you are not willing to do the right thing you can at least do your own
****ing Googling. Jesus.

"brad" wrote in message
...

But how do I know when a fairly low-phosphorous dry food is
also not too acidic?

The easiest way would be to call Hill's and ask them what the target urine
pH is for the diet in which you're interested.. Hill's used to include that
information in the typical analyses of all their diets on their website.

Looking at the ingredients list, I would say Nature's Best Chicken Formula
is acidified and probably produces a urine pH of 6.1 to 6.3- much lower than
you want. DL-Methionine is listed in the ingredients list and is used as a
urinary acidifier in cat foods. Cranberries, citric acid, and corn gluten
meal also acidify the urine. Digest, which is used to enhance palatability
of dry food is either sprayed on the outside or incorporated directly into
the food can also acidify urine.

All commercial cat foods- especially dry foods- were reformulated about 15
years ago to produce an acidic urine to reduce the incidence of struvite
crystals. I think you're going to be hard-pressed to find an OTC cat diet
that isn't acidified.

You might want to look into buying a good pH meter. I have a Hanna pH
Checker and recommend it highly. It only costs about $30.

Best of luck,

Phil