What will happen to cats with chronic kidney disease

if they don’t eat?

Chronic kidney disease in cats is divided into stages one to four. The later the stage, the more serious it is. Usually in the middle of the second stage to the third stage, the cat will begin to show "anorexia" and often have an appetite. Good and bad situations. Since the kidneys are the organs responsible for detoxification, when it becomes increasingly difficult for the kidneys to metabolize normally and maintain body fluid balance, urine poisoning will gradually accumulate and spread in the body. The most common part that causes damage is the gastrointestinal tract, so at this time the cat will start to Vomiting, diarrhea, urine odor in the mouth, mouth and tongue ulcers, etc. will affect the appetite.

But "eating" is very important for kidney cats! Because not eating may cause the cat to lose weight and lose muscle mass, the body will become weaker and the immunity will be insufficient, which will accelerate the deterioration of the condition. Therefore, if you eat, you will have more chances to survive; although sometimes veterinarians We will also consider prescribing some drugs that can promote appetite, hoping to help them eat more, but "food palatability" is a very important consideration.

PART2

Principles of drinking water for cats with kidneys: Drinking more water is worse than being good at drinking water

When the kidney function gradually loses, it will also cause the loss of water in the cat’s body. , often causes "dehydration", just like being in a "hangover" state all the time, because many of the uncomfortable reactions caused by hangovers (such as headaches, muscle aches, poor spirits, etc.) are due to dehydration in the body.

Therefore, in addition to eating normally, it is also very important to take in the right amount of water! Because the kidneys of animals have a forced drainage mechanism to prevent excessive water from diluting the electrolytes in the body; therefore, if a large amount of water enters the body at one time, the kidneys will mistakenly think that there is too much water in the body, and then activate the forced drainage mechanism, which will instead make the body More water is lost, resulting in thicker blood and more dehydration.

PART3

Why are the protein contents provided different in the early and late stages of chronic kidney disease?

Digesting protein will produce nitrogenous waste, but when kidney function begins to decline, it is not easy for the body to excrete these wastes, and the blood urea (BUN) index will also rise; when nitrogenous waste accumulates Too much can cause ulcer damage to the digestive tract and gastrointestinal bleeding. It can also shorten the life of red blood cells, affect the function of platelets, and cause anemia.

However, because cats are carnivores, the main source of energy for their bodies is protein. If protein intake is excessively restricted, protein energy will be reduced. Depletion (protein in the body is used to burn to produce energy) will instead worsen kidney function and make kidney cats weaker, causing muscle mass loss, mental deterioration or malnutrition. In severe cases, it may even endanger life. Therefore, fur parents must actively cooperate with the treatment process, because the veterinarian will provide appropriate protein content based on the cat’s current kidney disease grade, physical condition, body protein content and other information.

Usually I would recommend feeding prescription foods with high-quality protein sources to reduce the burden on the kidneys in metabolizing nitrogenous waste; since renal cats generally have insufficient water intake, the water content in the food needs to reach When the water content in the food reaches 85%, the cat's daily water intake will increase; when the water content in the food reaches 85%, there will be a significant increase. Therefore, direct feeding of specially formulated wet food is a method that can not only increase water intake but also achieve nutritional management.