Reply #67: How severe were your cats' kidney problems? Just diagnosed

[japple]

or had they been under treatment for some period of time? My 12 yr. old cat Tiny has been losing weight and I took him to the vet yesterday for bloodwork. They called me back and said to bring him in tomorrow for urine specimin, that his kidney "readings" were high. He has been eating mostly wet commercial catfood all of his life and has been remarkably healthy, but this weight loss and high consumption of water have appeared in the past few months. I know it's too soon to panic, but I want to be as proactive as possible and if making my own catfood is the only way to go, then I'm willing to do it.

My other cat, Oscar, is on a restricted calorie dry food, but he has a weight problem and the vet said that we needed to bring his weight down before we tried to change his eating habits. He is a shelter kitty who has the "starving kitty syndrome" and begs for food all the time. I know it must be because he is literally starved for the right kind of food, and I know it will be a real challenge to help him change his behavior. He refuses to eat anything but dry cat food and 1 tbsp. of cream--his daily treat.

You sound like you have really done a great job turning your cats' health around. How hard was it? I read the article you linked above, and agree that the author makes a lot of sense. I don't think my vet knows a lot about nutrition, however caring she might otherwise be.

Thanks for any advice you can give.