Tag Archives: chronic kidney disease

Feeding cats can be fraught. You finally find a food your cat loves and buy four cases. Halfway through the first case, she refuses another mouthful, and you head back to the pet store for new options. Or the food you have been feeding your cat since kittenhood becomes “new and improved” — except your cat disagrees. Then there is the multi-cat household dilemma. Your veterinarian prescribes a kidney-friendly diet for your older cat after a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease, but your older cat wants to eat your middle-aged cat’s food, which is not kidney friendly. Feeding multiple cats different diets is one of the most challenging aspects of living with more than one cat. Today’s blogpost will highlight my tips for successfully feeding cats in a multi-cat household.

This year’s theme for World Kidney Day (March 13) is “Are your kidneys OK? Detect early, protect kidney health.” The veterinary staff of the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center supports that sentiment entirely. Inspired by my colleagues’ work on protecting kidney health, today’s blogpost provides a “kidney primer,” curated from previous blogposts, to help pet families understand kidney disease and its treatment.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common disorders of cats and a common cause of mortality in older cats. Veterinarians don’t know what causes chronic kidney disease, but we know feeding a special diet helps cats with CKD maintain quality of life. In cats with CKD, kidney diets have been shown to be superior to regular adult cat food in limiting episodes of illness and death related to chronic kidney disease. Today’s blogpost will focus on the benefits of feeding your cat a kidney diet when they have a CKD diagnosis.

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), of which AMC is a member, maintains guidelines for the life stages of cats in conjunction with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP). These purr-fectly tailored guidelines help veterinary professionals make recommendations for wellness care for cats of different life stages. The guidelines address four feline age groups: kittens (birth to 1 year of age), young adult (1-6 years of age), mature (7-10 years of age) and senior cats (> 10 years of age). In today’s blogpost, I’ll discuss the nuances of veterinary care for each of these age groups and the one thing all cat owners should do to ensure the health and vitality of their feline friends.

June is Adopt a Cat Month, and I hope lots of cats will be getting fur-ever homes this month. In honor of our paw-some feline friends, I am going to