We have three CKD cats now – Indy (Stage 4), Tabs (Stage 2) and Ginger (early Stage 2). Cow Mau has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or congestive heart failure. These are our senior cats.
Tabs has PKD (polycystic kidney disease where her kidneys is filled with many fluid-filled cysts). PKD usually happens in pedigree cats and we believe Tabs has some British Shorthair in her because of her flat face, small nose and fur. Tabs came on her own to our house in Nov-Dec 2011 when we were about to move house. She had a red collar with a bell on her too. She had been going from house to house seeking refuge but other houses shooed her out. So we took her in, got her spayed (estimated to be 7 months old and already in heat) and she moved with all our cats to our present house. That was 13 years ago. For Tabs, it is most likely that the PKD has led to the CKD since the cysts take over the space and destroy the healthy kidney cells.
So, anyway, all three of our present CKD cats had the stem cell therapy done on 5th January this year. The check-up and blood test will be done in April to determine if there is any improvement, no deterioration or progression. Of course there is no guarantee that the stem cell therapy will work, but we won’t know until we try.
So, what have our CKD cats been eating ever since diagnosis?
Ginger’s stage is considered still very early, so he’s on his normal diet, which is the raw diet. Once in a while, he will boycott his meal and ask for canned food. I give him whatever he wants, but I add water or soup to the canned food and so far, he eats it all up. So, he eats watery canned food! Ginger also has a single kidney cyst and we have been monitoring that too. The growth in size is quite insignificant. But Ginger’s creatinine level has been slowly creeping up. Hence, early Stage 2. As for his kidney disease, Ginger is on Kidney Support Gold and fish oil. He does not need the other kidney supplements. Not yet.
As for Tabs, the vet said she might have had the PKD all her life, unknown to us. Well, true, we didn’t do any ultrasound of her kidneys because her earlier blood tests did not indicate a need to do so. But now, at this age, the danger of the PKD is that the fluid-filled cysts will increase in number or size and take up space in her kidneys, thereby destroying more of her healthy nephrons. Perhaps this is already happening now because her USG (urine specific gravity) was low in the last check while her creatinine was on the higher normal end. So Tabs is now, at 13 years old, starting to lose some kidney function. To slow down the growth of the cysts, she is on fish oil and Chitosan Oligosaccharide. There is really no cure for PKD; it’s only palliative care. PKD is a genetic condition.
As for her food, she should be on a renal diet too, but she grew tired of RC renal kibble and Hill’s KD canned food. She liked Hill’s KD kibble but I cannot find this stock anymore in all the vet clinics I’ve been to. So nowadays, Tabs gets a mix of “everything she wants”. I do check that the food she takes has low phosphorus content. For example, Cindy’s pureed food with goat’s milk only has 0.0001% phosphorus and has a protein content of only 8% while the canned food in broth has 0.0001 – 0.0005% phosphorus and the protein content is 15%. Tabs also gets Aixia canned food for above 15 and CKD. And there’s also Cubgrub’s CKD Chicken for her where the bone is replaced with powdered eggshell. As for her CKD, Tabs is on Renal-Combi, Astro’s NC-Scrub, Kidney Support Gold and fish oil. Tabs is also on Amlodipine to control her blood pressure.
Indy shocked us all when he was diagnosed at Stage 4 in September 2023. That’s 5 months ago. I did not see that coming at all. Indy was diagnosed as a kidney patient in March 2019 (that’s 5 years ago), he went on subcut for 8 months, then his readings improved so much that he didn’t need the subcut anymore.
Indy actually did not qualify for the stem cell therapy since it is recommended primarily for early stage CKD; but our vet was kind enough to make an exception for him because of his clinical wellness. But she did prepare me that we might not see any positive results in Indy because his CKD is already in a late stage. I am aware of this.
I did, however, speak to another vet who is one of the pioneers in administering the stem cell therapy years ago. His protocol is the opposite as he only gives it to very late stage CKD patients. And he hasn’t seen very good results in his patients.
Now, what does Indy eat? Since Indy has always been a kibble king, he was quite happy to be put on an RC renal kibble diet. He liked Hill’s KD kibble too. But soon he also grew tired of both renal kibble and wanted something else. So just like Tabs, I also give him whatever he wants within reason (same as Tabs’ above).
Indy was actually diagnosed at Stage 4 CKD at one point in time. He is definitely at a late stage, but clinically, so far, he appears to be well. As for his CKD supplements, Indy is on Renal-Combi, Azodyl, Astro’s NC-Scrub, fish oil but he isn’t on Kidney Support Gold because he did not do well on it. Like Tabs, Indy is also on Amlodipine to control his blood pressure and keep it normal.
Cow Mau has HCM and he will be 18 this May. His kidneys are surprisingly okay. But Cow Mau does have the persistent mouth pain. So he is on Oral Relax Gel and daily transdermal Gabapentin for pain management. He is also on Clopidogrel (blood thinner) and Amlodipine. Cow Mau has a fantastic appetite, which is good for his age.
As for his diet, because of the mouth pain, Cow Mau is mostly on Cindy’s pureed food and Aixia’s canned food (also totally pureed), but he wants Coco&Joe’s daily too, even though he has some trouble eating it. Maybe he just knows what’s good for him.
All of our cats are on daily pre-probiotics (Adored Beast’s Healthy Gut) and also on fish oil. Only Cow Mau is not on fish oil because he is already on a blood thinner. Fish oil has a blood thinning effect.
Indy (will be 16 this May). As I look at this medical record, it is indeed a very colourful one, with many vet visits due to fight wounds too.
Tabs (estimated to be 13 years old). Tabs is a scaredy cat and prefers solitude.
Cow Mau will be 18 this May. Cow is FIV+. He actually has some allergy (it’s very difficult to determine the allergen) which causes brown eye discharge and also very dirty ears. I have an anti-bacterial eyedrop whenever his eyes get infected and I clean his ears whenever they get dirty.
Ginger is already 13 years old. He is FIV+. Ginger was a community cat in our present neighbourhood before we moved in. He had a feeder. Only after we moved in, I took over the feeding and Ginger came to our house to ask for help for a serious paw wound. Ginger is Minnie’s and the Monsters’ hero – they totally adore him!