Cats with high phosphorus levels are normally cats with a renal or kidney issue, although not always. The diagnosis comes from blood tests. Along with the diagnosis is the veterinary recommendation of feeding the cat a low phosphorus diet.
The trouble with that idea is it doesn’t take into consideration either the cause of the problem or the different types of phosphorus. So more damage can result.
The Two Different Types Of Phosphorus And Their Effect
Phosphorus naturally occurs in plants and animals. It is most concentrated in bones, along with calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and a host of other nutrients, all in perfect balance.
Phosphorus is also created, or isolated in a laboratory. And this can be made into a dietary ‘supplement’.
The problem with dietary supplements that come from a laboratory is that they aren’t food. Food is complex, and although we are starting to get to know about the importance of some nutrients, there is a great deal we know nothing about.
When someone discovers the importance of a single nutrient, the whole food is often not given the due credit it should be.
When we consume a natural, wholesome diet, then all the nutrients we need are in perfect combination and balance. When we consume an isolated nutrient that comes from a laboratory, the body needs all the other nutrients (that are found in natural food) which are missing.
So what does your body do?
If you are in extreme deficiency, some of that nutrient may be absorbed. But it does so only if your body can rob the other nutrients needed from other parts of the body, such as calcium and magnesium from your teeth and bones.
Obviously this is not ideal and can’t be a permanent part of the diet.
When it is a permanent part of the diet, your body has to deal with it as best it can. Some will be excreted through the normal elimination channels. But that puts an abnormal and unusual strain on the elimination organs, the liver and the kidneys.
Over time, the strain becomes too much and the organs start to suffer.
This has happened in cats with high phosphorus levels.
Understanding A Healthy Diet For Cats
Commercial cat food, whatever the price, whoever supplies it, lacks nutrition, for the most part. Just think about it. The good quality meat goes to the more lucrative human market. What’s left goes into commercial pet food. It’s basically the waste.
So to address the known shortfall in nutrition, supplements are added. As you may know, the good supplements, the whole food ones, are expensive. Those made in a laboratory are cheap. You can guess which one is used in commercial cat food.
So feeding your cat commercial cat food, for the most part, is feeding your cat junk food, supplemented with laboratory created ‘nutrients’ that are not in natural balance. Is it any wonder cats suffer so badly? It’s amazing they last so long.
This means that the high phosphorus in cats that you are now concerned about, came from feeding a poor diet, whatever price you paid, however pretty the packet is. That is what needs to be addressed.
You don’t need to feed your cat a low phosphorus diet. That’s shonky thinking. You need to change the diet so that it includes phosphorus in its natural and balanced form. And that comes from quality meat and especially from raw bones.
Wild cats, the origin of domestic cats, eat a diet of quality, very fresh, raw meat and bones. That’s what we need to replicate, as close as is possible, if we want our cats to be healthy. Diet is the cornerstone of good health.
Understanding the cause of cats with high phosphorus levels will set you free from dependency on those who profit from your ignorance.
Discover how to make your own balanced healthy cat food, one that your cat will eat with enthusiasm, one that is easy to make.
