Kidney failure with low protein cat food. Which comes first?

Vets will tell you that cat kidney failure is a result of a high protein diet. And that when you lower the protein, you are helping them. But is this true?

Low protein cat food is widely recommended for cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This is allegedly supported by the presence of crystals in the urine. 

However, correlation does not imply causation. And in this example, there have been no scientific studies to support this hypothesis.

That's not to say there isn't a link between kidney failure and the protein content of the diet. You need to dig a little deeper to see the connection.

Sometimes, we need to learn the hard way, by experience.

I once had a young cat who had kidney failure. The vet told me I needed to feed him a low protein cat food. So I complied.

He was always hungry. He was never satisfied with the food he received. It was heart breaking to watch.

After his final visit to the vet, he died on the way home.

That's when I started my own research. 

Wild cats, small and large, are not on the endangered species list. They are successful 

And just look at their diet.

It's a diet very high in animal protein - muscle meat, organ meat, bones. They thrive on this diet. They hunt and consume their prey immediately.

When prey is plentiful, they will continue to hunt, gorging themselves.

Wild cats are not dropping like flies as our domestic cats are. We are the cause of the problem.

With that in mind, now check the ingredients on the packet/can of the cat food you feed your cat.

Chances are that it will head up with a plant based protein isolate or some form of meat meal.

Commercial cat food is not designed to keep your cat healthy. It is designed to keep them alive long enough so that you don't suspect it.

It's cheap as chips and provides both the manufacturer and the supplier (often a vet) with a handsome profit.

Your cat, however, is not so lucky

Cats are obligate carnivores. That means they MUST consume meat to survive. They are not equipped to  digest and utilise plant based food, in any form.

They have sacrificed the ability to cope with the complexities of digesting plant based food, so that they have a light body which allows for agility. This is important for lone hunters, as most felines are.

They also need quality animal protein, not the dregs that are used in commercial cat food.

The kidneys are most felines weak link. This means that when there is a constant and continuous strain on the body, various renal issues are the first to show up.

Early signs can be painful urination, blood in the urine or not being able to urinate at all. The common first line of treatment with antibiotics does little to address the underlying cause.

The addition of a cat food that is even lower in animal protein simply exacerbates the problem.

The result? Kidney failure. It's a direct result from the low protein cat food that was a constant even before the new prescription food.

It is possible to turn the health of your cat around. Simply by switching their diet to one of a high quality, high animal protein, you can see improvement often in just days.