![Dr. Nick Cave](/sites/default/files/images/media/image/VF-Nick%20Cave.jpg)
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Protein restriction for cats with chronic kidney disease
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Read
Feeding protein-restricted diets to cats with kidney disease has been a mainstay of the therapeutic approach to such cases for many decades, but controversies still remain; Meredith Wall and Nick Cave review the current state of knowledge and offer some advice for the clinician.
Nick Cave
BVSc, PhD, Dip. ACVN, MACVS - Massey University School of Veterinary Science, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand.
Dr. Cave graduated from Massey University in 1990 and worked in general practice for six years before undertaking a residency in small animal internal medicine. He achieved his Masters in Veterinary Science in 2000 before moving to the University of California, Davis, where he attained his PhD in nutrition and immunology. At the same time he completed a residency in small animal clinical nutrition, becoming a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Nutrition in 2004. A founding member of the WSAVA Nutritional Guidelines Committee, Dr. Cave has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, and is currently senior lecturer in small animal medicine and nutrition at Massey University.
![Dr. Nick Cave](/sites/default/files/images/media/image/VF-Nick%20Cave.jpg)
Meredith J. Wall
BA, BVSc (Hons I) - Veterinary Nutrition Group, Sydney, Australia.
Dr. Wall completed her veterinary degree at the University of Sydney in 2012 and spent several years working in conservation medicine and wildlife research, as well as exotic and small animal practice. She then moved to New Zealand to begin a combined clinical nutrition residency and PhD; she finished her residency in 2019 and anticipates completing her specialist board exams in 2020. Dr. Wall recently started a consultancy company that offers clinical nutrition services to clients around the world. Her interests include nutritional management of chronic kidney disease in cats, hyperlipidemia, vitamin K, fasting and caloric restriction, and exotic animal nutrition.
![Meredith J. Wall](/sites/default/files/images/media/image/VF-Meredith%20J.%20Wall.jpg)
Key Points
- Current knowledge indicates that protein restriction close to minimum requirements is warranted in cats with IRIS CKD Stage 2 or 3, or earlier if proteinuric.
- Benefits of feeding a reduced protein diet may include reducing accumulation of nitrogenous wastes and harmful uremic toxins, reducing proteinuria and decreasing renal oxidative stress.
- Home-prepared or raw meat-based diets can be very high in protein, and a specialist in nutrition should be consulted to ensure such diets are appropriate.
- Careful attention should be given to monitoring appetite, caloric intake, body weight, body condition and muscle condition, in order to minimize the risk of protein-energy wasting.
Introduction
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a commonly encountered problem in feline practice (1) (2), and the prevalence of the condition in cats over 15 years of age has been shown to be more than 30% (3). In the majority of cases an underlying etiology is not identified at the time of diagnosis, even when histopathological examination is performed (1). While CKD in all species is often progressive in nature, it is also a surprisingly dynamic and heterogenous disease process, being influenced – particularly in cats – by multiple factors, many of which remain to be discovered (1)(4).
Despite this variability, dietary therapy has remained the cornerstone of management for feline CKD for the past 60 years (4)(5)(6)(7). Feeding a renal diet (either a diet formulated by a veterinary nutritionist or manufactured specifically for managing animals with kidney disease) to cats with International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) CKD stages 2-41 (Table 1) is currently considered the standard of care (8). In fact, nutritional management is regarded as the therapeutic intervention most likely to enhance the long-term survival and quality of life for cats with IRIS CKD stages 3 and 4 (8). Renal diets also help to ameliorate or prevent the clinical consequences of CKD and uremia, slow the progression of the disease, minimize electrolyte, mineral, and acid-base balance abnormalities, and maintain adequate body weight, body condition and muscle condition. Initiating therapy with a renal diet is also considered part of the standard of care for management of proteinuria in cats (Table 2) (8). [...]
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
About
How to reference this publication (Harvard system)?
Author(s)
Copyright Statement
© All text and images in this publication are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced or copied in any way.Related Content
Readers also viewed these publications
Subscribe
Access to the content of the Veterinary Focus website is reserved for animal health professionals. If you do not yet have a user account with Royal Canin you can create a free account by selecting the New User form. Subscription to the journal is free and issues in your preferred language can be obtained at the Veterinary Focus website.
![Royal Canin](/sites/default/files/images/media/image/hero2_0.png)
Comments (0)
Ask the author
0 comments