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My 16 year old cat has chronic kidney disease. He has been holding his own for quite a few years. He has been on antibiotics, eats low protein food, gets a homeopathic remedy to support the kidney, gets powdered vitamins and I do subcutaneous fluids every other day. He also has a hyperthyroid problem that keeps him eating. He plays in bags, goes out and generally seem to feel ok.

He is, however, losing tums of weight despite what he eats. My vet suggested vitamin k and calcium carbonate(Tums) to replenish the K he is losing and block the phosphorous buildup. The Doc also has had luck with Epakatin in other cats and dogs, so he is suggesting that as well to slow the process down. Since the cat is so fragile, we will not put him under to get blood, so we we'd be shooting in the dark with these treatments.Another holistic vet says "no" to the above without blood work, so i don't know what to do.

I am willing to try,but am a it wary about the possibility of making things worse.

Has anyone out there had luck with either the K/Tums routine or the Epakatin?

I also read to try uncooked liver and kidney to up the protein loss through the urine and while the cat loves it, the vet cautions about heavy metals and contaminants in raw food. Any advice in this department?
Many thanks.

If you can collect some urine from your cat, bring it to the vet to have it checked. I suspect that the weight5 loss is due to the kidneys leaking protein, which you are likely to find in the urine. If you do, you need to replace the protein. I like to do it with a kidney puree; puree in a blender or food processor equal parts of raw beef kidney and water, pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Keep some in the refrigerator thawing out, so there is always some available. This provides more protein, water, and the nutrients needed for kidney repair, as well as acting as a glandular to limit kidney damage from autoantibodies. Epikatin contains calcium carbonate, which binds phosphorus, as does Tums, along with chitosan, which binds Urea nitrogen. There is no potential problem using either. The same company also sells a probiotic which uses the urea nitrogen for bacterial growth, and, at least in theory, causes more urea nitrogen from the blood to diffuse into the intestines, lowering the BUN. Any good quality probiotic should do the same. These are all usefull strategies, but you should speak to your vet about them.

Riverpoet ... I have a 3-year-old Persian who is in early renal failure due to polycystic kidney disease. She has been on Epakitin for a little over a month now, and her phosphorus level has dropped quite a bit (from 9.2 to 4.2) on her latest blood tests. All of her other numbers remained about the same as the previous month.

The vet recommeneded we also try the Azodyl (made by the same company), which may help reduce her higher BUN and creatinine. My cat also eats some raw food (made specifically for pets -- comes frozen in little patties), some canned cat foods, and is supplemented with a liver/rice/carrot/cat vitamin puree, so I'm not sure how much of the drop in phosphorus is due to the Epakitin or her diet. Either way, I'm keeping her on it for now, and feel that it has helped her.

GLOW to your kitty, Riverpoet ...
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