Feeding A Kidney Failure Grey

[MarcR]

I'm going through this with my 13.10 year old brood momma Cleo. I got several home cooked recipies for kidney dogs. The one I'm currently trying is eggs and rice. At first it was a big hit. Now not so much, even with a small bit of canned food mixed in for flavor. My vet put her on Enalapril (her blood pressure is high, as well). At this point I'm leaning to "whatever she'll eat" diet.

 

If my dog and yours were younger, I'd do whatever my vet told me to maintain good kidney health. At the age mine is now, I just want her to be happy for the time she has left.

Yes...

[carronstar]

I have a few foods on hand for Aquitaine. At first she did not like the Purina N/F canned or dry. So, I sucked it up and paid for K/D canned for a year because she thought it was the best thing ever. I decided to try the Purina N/F dried again, with lots of water a few months ago...now she loves it. She is less thrilled with the K/D for now.

 

She had been getting Fresh Pet before her diagnosis, and it has the same types of things as in the home cooked so I emailed them and asked them to send me their phosphorous level since it was not on the label and they kindly did so. It falls within the range of where the Purina/K/D so that has been an add in all along. Piggy missy LOVES her Fresh Pet. There are days that she will use her long pointy nose to remove all the Fresh Pet from the bowl and leave the rest. Thankfully, crumbling a freeze dried treat or bit of liver over the rest of the bowl usually makes her finish.

 

We are 19 months past diagnosis and her supervising internist actually said after her last blood test that he is suprised she is still here. We went through a bad hemorraghing dental trauma in August, then she got worms in the fall (ground pumpkin seeds seem to be really working!), she is about to be 11, her albumin is ridiculously low but her other numbers are holding. She gets a LOT of supplements so maybe they are what are doing the trick.

 

What I know is that I have a dog who does zoomies in the apartment, loves her new Secret Santa GIANT duck beyond measure, woofs her head off when she wants attention and is happy. If that means that she gets 75% healthy kidney diet and 25% whatever it is I can get her to eat...then that's what we are going with.

 

Someday, I will again have some money for myself and a social life but for now, she gets her meds at the 12 hour intervals and she is happy, and (relatively) healthy. I can't ask for more. She smells good too since she gets aroma therapy oils!

[cleptogrey]

velcro delt w/ failing kidneys as part of the complications of addison's disease for quite some time. my vet recommended that we feed him plain old white rice, limit the protein and save our $$. he lived on that for who knows how many years. so he coat didn't look that great, addisonians have lousy coats anyway. but i was able to afford his meds...he lived to 12.5! a rice cooker will be your best friend if you decide to go that route. i can't believe how many times, pre-rice cooker, i almost burnt my house down cooking rice.