So my oldest cat Sputnik is going to be seventeen next month. About a year and a half ago I ran blood and urine on her. Her kidneys were a little weak and her potassium low, so I put her on a supplement. Didn't change her food because she was eating it well and she's a hard cat that way. I had wanted to test her again before the move but life happened and then we got to the new town and one thing and another and here we are a year and a half on. I did order her some Royal Canin renal food recently and was surprised to find she really likes it.Then on Saturday evening, I discovered that she was passing blood in her urine. I stopped just short of a trip to the emergency vet. Gave her some fluids and Lugol's and put her in the cat room for the night. Next morning, no blood but very little urine. Monday I called the vet in town and the first time they could see her wasn't until today. Fortunately, she also was peeing pretty normally on Monday so that turned out to be fine.Anyway, I took her in today and we ran blood and urine. Had to leave her there for a couple of hours and they gave her a big dose of fluids to get her to produce some urine on demand. That worked and the blood and urinalysis came out just about perfect! This was quite a surprise to all concerned. She's got one liver number (alt) that's a little high and her sodium looks slightly high but her kidney numbers are NORMAL. Still traces of blood in the urine but no bacteria. This is the second vet that's said to me "I wasn't expecting that" in regards to iodine and finding no more bacteria. I guess they don't discuss it in med school :EAt this rate, I could have her obnoxious little self around for a couple more years if I'm lucky. Not half bad for an old lady. Instructions are to continue the renal diet and call if anything more comes up, then recheck in six months. I may add some milk thistle to her regimen though. And besides that, I got out of there for under $250! Which was like a miracle. Very relieved to find that this hospital isn't unreasonable in terms of their rates.

Ha! She's Edna's twin. Edna will be 17 next month, the longest living cat we've ever had. We got her at five weeks. A year ago Feb we had the new vet do the first bloodwork of Edna's life. Like Sput, liver # was a little off, but that's all. She's had no problems, so we haven't been back. The different thing about Edna is that she has eaten nothing by dry food her entire life. Well, and dry treats. She never would eat canned food or people food. Vet said that's unusual, but okay, as long as she drinks a lot of water, and she does. I notice Edna sleeps about 20 hrs a day. It's okay, we're not that peppy anymore, either. Hope you and we get to keep these old girls awhile longer.

Great news that she OK! Since we're back in town. Calvin's gonna see Dr Hehn Monday morning to have his semi-annual blood work, and have her give him the whole once over as well!Pops

CA POPPY wrote:Ha! She's Edna's twin. Edna will be 17 next month, the longest living cat we've ever had. We got her at five weeks. A year ago Feb we had the new vet do the first bloodwork of Edna's life. Like Sput, liver # was a little off, but that's all. She's had no problems, so we haven't been back. The different thing about Edna is that she has eaten nothing by dry food her entire life. Well, and dry treats. She never would eat canned food or people food. Vet said that's unusual, but okay, as long as she drinks a lot of water, and she does. I notice Edna sleeps about 20 hrs a day. It's okay, we're not that peppy anymore, either. Hope you and we get to keep these old girls awhile longer.They really are twins.... Sput likes dry food and won't eat enough of anything else to keep her alive. She has, in her dotage, taken to tasting bits of cooked chicken. But the one time I tried canned she dropped weight like a rock. NOT helpful. So she's getting Royal Canin renal diet kibble (chicken flavor) and she thinks that's the bomb. As is the case with most "medical" diets (they sell it without a prescription, unlike Hills) the ingredients make me cringe but I'll deal with that. Vet says it's fine for the liver issue as well, which in retrospect seems odd. I was too stunned to think when I heard all this... I really thought that she had to have lost some ground on the kidney thing in 18 months.

AZPops wrote:Great news that she OK! Since we're back in town. Calvin's gonna see Dr Hehn Monday morning to have his semi-annual blood work, and have her give him the whole once over as well!PopsBack in which town? AZ? I can't keep up!

17...wow that is amazing..sounds like she will be around for a few more years hopefully !

A good day! | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

AZPops
Explorer
May 17, 2013
dturm wrote:
CatandJim wrote:
Interesting... I buy non prescription items from Entirely Pets.com all the time but I never attempted to buy something like Renal formula food from them since it is readily available within a few miles and I have a prescription. The price on the website is a little less than what I pay but sometimes shipping charges eat up any savings. I might combine some of the food with a few other items next time I need something and get free shipping.

With that said, I would strongly suggest that anyone wanting to change to this diet to consult with their vet and have their cat examined BEFORE making the change even if you don't need a prescription on some websites.

Interesting thing going on now, prescription diet has always been a marketing designation rather than a legal one. Some states may vary and many individual businesses require a prescription. There has been a move to make prescription diets prescription under the regulation of the FDA as other prescription items. This may come to pass in the future.

Most prescription diets are not "ideal" diets for general use, but probably not a serious issue in most situations. It's just felt by many that the use should be under the direction of a veterinarian.

Doug, DVM

This is one area that I don't understand. This stuff is just food (with no drugs in it right?), so why the hassle about having to have a prescription?

I always thought it was a way to p*ss me off when I need to buy Anonymous Jr's hypo-allergenic treats and his Royal Canin Limited Ingredient Venison and Potato which at (depends where you are in the States) $80.00 to a $100.00 bucks a case! You'd think they'd make it easy to buy!

I mean aside from me, who in their right mind would spend that kind of bucks on food, right?

Anonymous

PS Susan, what was the question again? .... :B
CatandJim
Explorer
May 17, 2013
dturm wrote:

Interesting thing going on now, prescription diet has always been a marketing designation rather than a legal one. Some states may vary and many individual businesses require a prescription. There has been a move to make prescription diets prescription under the regulation of the FDA as other prescription items. This may come to pass in the future.

Most prescription diets are not "ideal" diets for general use, but probably not a serious issue in most situations. It's just felt by many that the use should be under the direction of a veterinarian.

Doug, DVM

If something I am going to give, feed, or apply to my pet is meant to change that pet in some way then I want to consult with my vet before I begin the process. I'm sure you appreciate clients that partner with you Dr. Doug. I appreciate your input and understand your diplomacy. :)

Cat
dturm
Moderator
May 17, 2013
CatandJim wrote:
Interesting... I buy non prescription items from Entirely Pets.com all the time but I never attempted to buy something like Renal formula food from them since it is readily available within a few miles and I have a prescription. The price on the website is a little less than what I pay but sometimes shipping charges eat up any savings. I might combine some of the food with a few other items next time I need something and get free shipping.

With that said, I would strongly suggest that anyone wanting to change to this diet to consult with their vet and have their cat examined BEFORE making the change even if you don't need a prescription on some websites.

Interesting thing going on now, prescription diet has always been a marketing designation rather than a legal one. Some states may vary and many individual businesses require a prescription. There has been a move to make prescription diets prescription under the regulation of the FDA as other prescription items. This may come to pass in the future.

Most prescription diets are not "ideal" diets for general use, but probably not a serious issue in most situations. It's just felt by many that the use should be under the direction of a veterinarian.

Doug, DVM
Code2High
Explorer
May 17, 2013
CatandJim wrote:
Interesting... I buy non prescription items from Entirely Pets.com all the time but I never attempted to buy something like Renal formula food from them since it is readily available within a few miles and I have a prescription. The price on the website is a little less than what I pay but sometimes shipping charges eat up any savings. I might combine some of the food with a few other items next time I need something and get free shipping.

With that said, I would strongly suggest that anyone wanting to change to this diet to consult with their vet and have their cat examined BEFORE making the change even if you don't need a prescription on some websites.

Agreed on the consult. These are specialized diets for specific medical problems and you need to know what your pet is dealing with before you choose one. There are a few things that can affect an older cat (or dog) and a lower protein/higher carb diet would help in some instances but could do actual harm if, for instance, it's a problem with diabetes instead of kidneys. It's very pricey food anyway.... if someone's going to go to the expense, they should spend the very reasonable sum to find out what the cat's problem is.

Once you know, for a fulltimer this may be a good option in lieu of, say, the Hills diets, since you'd be able to get it shipped to wherever and not be worrying about different rules and different vets in various places.

I sort of wish I'd switched her after a blood test, to get a better idea of the effect. But I figured that since she's so picky, it was going to create a lot of uncertainty in terms of formulating a plan that would include a renal diet.

Tonight she ate her dinner.... quite a bit of it, I might add... one kibble at a time on her bed, purring like the little queen she is. She has a tendency to mouth bits of kibble and then put them down and not want to eat them, so feeding her a piece at a time is a cost saving and she seems to like the attention.

If only she were so cooperative about the sub-q fluids. But that's another worry for another day, she really shouldn't be needing that regularly for a while. I hope. :E Meantime I'm in the market for a cat sack...
CatandJim
Explorer
May 17, 2013
Interesting... I buy non prescription items from Entirely Pets.com all the time but I never attempted to buy something like Renal formula food from them since it is readily available within a few miles and I have a prescription. The price on the website is a little less than what I pay but sometimes shipping charges eat up any savings. I might combine some of the food with a few other items next time I need something and get free shipping.

With that said, I would strongly suggest that anyone wanting to change to this diet to consult with their vet and have their cat examined BEFORE making the change even if you don't need a prescription on some websites.
Code2High
Explorer
May 17, 2013
CA POPPY wrote:
Edna was on Pro Plan Senior chicken & rice for years. Then, a couple years ago I switched her to Blue Buffalo Wilderness grain free chicken & rice, adult. Not the slightest problem, which according to new vet is unusual with cats. I guess they don't always switch food brands easily. Edna obviously never read the Cat Handbook. Her treats are not grain free but she's 12 lbs, hasn't gained or lost weight for ages. If it ain't broke....?

I say if her numbers are good and her condition is good, leave her the heck alone.

In Sput's case, there was an issue with loose stools and the kidney numbers from before. So I felt like it was worth a try if she'd eat it. Seems to be agreeing with her and she's firmed up and of course the numbers are good.

She's gotten quite small in the past couple of years, under six pounds. I'd love to see her at her old nine or so, but as long as her quality of life is good, I'm happy.
Code2High
Explorer
May 17, 2013
CatandJim wrote:
Good news!

You can buy Royal Canin specialized diet foods out there without a prescription? Wow! You certainly can't around here.I am in the process of changing Higgins (14 or so + now) over to the renal formula now and I might just let Blanca (almost 16) go ahead and eat it too. They love to eat the same food and fuss with each other over it. I buy it from a local agriculture store but I have a prescription for it on file.

You can... and do it anywhere via Entirelypets.com

It's good info, I think as we've heard of people having problems getting the "prescription" foods (which aren't really prescription) on the road. They sell several varieties from what I saw.

Amazon sells some stuff for entirelypets, including the renal diet. That's how I found it.

I would definitely recommend that anyone thinking of making that switch do so with the approval of their vet, but it is very nice to know that it's available without the hassle of a prescription. I'll probably get mine at the vet going forward, but I was happy to be able to get the small bag I did to try it before I took her in... easier to talk to the vet knowing that she'll eat it.
CA_POPPY
Explorer
May 16, 2013
Edna was on Pro Plan Senior chicken & rice for years. Then, a couple years ago I switched her to Blue Buffalo Wilderness grain free chicken & rice, adult. Not the slightest problem, which according to new vet is unusual with cats. I guess they don't always switch food brands easily. Edna obviously never read the Cat Handbook. Her treats are not grain free but she's 12 lbs, hasn't gained or lost weight for ages. If it ain't broke....?
CatandJim
Explorer
May 16, 2013
Good news!

You can buy Royal Canin specialized diet foods out there without a prescription? Wow! You certainly can't around here.I am in the process of changing Higgins (14 or so + now) over to the renal formula now and I might just let Blanca (almost 16) go ahead and eat it too. They love to eat the same food and fuss with each other over it. I buy it from a local agriculture store but I have a prescription for it on file.
AZPops
Explorer
May 16, 2013
Code2High wrote:
AZPops wrote:
Great news that she OK! Since we're back in town. Calvin's gonna see Dr Hehn Monday morning to have his semi-annual blood work, and have her give him the whole once over as well!

Pops

Back in which town? AZ? I can't keep up!

Back in AZ!

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