Abstract
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) occurs mostly in older cats & may affect as many as 80% cats over 15 years of age. Nutrition is a key factor in the management of CKD. Compared with typical feline maintenance foods, therapeutic renal foods feature reduced protein & phosphate, antioxidants, & omega-fatty acids. The primary reason for recommending reduced protein foods is to reduce nitrogenous wastes associated with azotemia, uremia, & glomerular proteinuria. Cachexia in cats with CKD is important because it can negatively impact survival time through direct effects of weight & muscle loss. There is debate regarding benefits of higher dietary protein as a strategy to preserve muscle mass. Alternative strategies of increasing dietary essential amino acids have also been proposed. A prospective, randomized, 6-month feeding trial was performed in 28 adult cats with IRIS-Stage 1 & 2 CKD. All cats were assigned to either control food, or test food, differing in essential amino content. Food intake was recorded daily; body weight weekly; & serum, urine, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), & body condition assessments were performed at 0, 1, 3, & 6 months. Twenty cats completed the study according to protocol. Cats consuming control food had significant loss of weight (P0.0001), lean mass (LBM, PP=0.0004). Cats consuming test food had a significant increase in body weight (P=0.003) & no change in LBM (P=0.42). All cats were offered similar calories on a body weight basis, however cats voluntarily consumed 23% more calories (P=0.05) of test food than cats offered control food. Threonine was the most limiting amino acid in cats fed control food. Cats consuming test food had increased caloric & essential amino acid intake, increased body weight, function, & maintained LBM compared to cats consuming control food.
Keywords: nutrition cats CKD