I hope I'm not butting in here. I've been a vet tech/ER vet tech for many years. Commercial cat foods are causing the vast majority of health issues in cats. Cats are obligate carnivores. They are desert creatures, evolved to get moisture from their food -raw prey- small animals. They never evolved(changed in any physical way) to eat cooked, grain-based dry diets. Pet food companies spend millions to flavor inferior foods that get cats addicted to a certain brand. Then they make billions in profits, because the cats won't eat other foods. The spray-on flavors cause a burst of flavor in every bite, so cats refuse other foods because they seem bland to them. A "normal" cat will eat/try/taste nearly any food. What they need is **raw** foods. But few people will feed rats/mice/birds/lizards/insects. So, we are brainwashed into feeding cooked beef, lamb, fish/shellfish(have you ever seen a cat in the ocean catching shrimp??), chicken, turkey. Cats that eat diets with grains, will be hungry all the time. They will get fat easily, develop diabetes, hyperthyroidism, bladder infections/blockages, cancer and kidney disease from the crappy diets that are promoted as being healthy. **Never*** feed Science Diet products- reading the list of ingredients should repel you!! Diet foods are useless. They are full of fillers and cellulose (sawdust) which are totally wrong for carnivores. You get a hungry cat that produces huge poops. Fat cats need high protein,low carbs, exercise and raw chicken necks/backs to keep them busy and satisfied. If you can do it, lock your kitty in the bathroom with a mouse. Great fun for the cat, a perfect meal, and hours of exercise. A healthy cat should look sleek, muscular, shiny, with none of the fat bags that hang under the typical kibble fed cat. If you must feed commercial, go with canned food. Wellness is a good brand that is made from quality ingredients. But, it is cooked. Cats have not evolved to cook their foods, it is us that force them to eat the wrong things. Do you know that the only creature on earth that cooks is mankind? And we are unhealthy! We should eat fruits/veggies-raw. Cats have a lousy thirst trigger. They don't drink enough to offset the dry foods, thus the high incidence of kidney disease. Dry foods do not clean teeth at all. That is a myth. We do dentals on kibble-fed cats every day, and they have horribly diseased mouths. Please look at your cats as the smaller versions of Lions. Try offering a hunk of raw meat as a treat, and see how they respond. Most cats will accept raw chicken or beef as treats, and it really helps the hunger pains! Cats can live 20 years or more. Kidney disease and cancer are the top killers. Both are definately diet related. Cancers feed off sugars, from carbs. The cancer diet from Hills (Science Diet) is all protein and fats. The fact that they have a diet designed to help pets, that have cancer, caused by their other foods, really ticks me off. Either way, they profit. Lisa P.S. I've fed my dogs raw for the past 14 years. My breed median age is 6 (giant breed, lots of genetic problems). Mine routinely live 12 years. They have perfect teeth, never needing dentals, from the raw diet. They are active, muscular, sound and cognitive until very old.

"I'm used to eating ... whole grain bread or my discs...magic pops which are made with wheat...and pasta, and eggs, and cheese and crackers and peanut butter." along with the other foods you are listing is un-healthy eating! ... " Most of the foods you are eating sound bad! I understand you were looking for someone who has tried it and succeeded. I can only report that, although I am cheating, I have stopped buying products or eating meals that contain those foods. Easing my way there, lol. So my intake is way down. It's hard to contemplate but in reality is not all that hard to do. I guess gluten is one of the hardest to give up. Maybe dairy. I also incorporate anti-inflammatory foods in my diet. Once you start thinking this way, you will see all those processed and so-called "healthy" foods as unappealing junk food. The less the better. Of course your favorites are harder to let go of. But there are still yummy foods to eat and you don't have to go hungry as on a low calorie diet. 2000 calories of mother nature is not the same as 2000 calories of man-made junk. Your taste and the cravings do change. It's simple. Fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy lean meats, almond/coconut/flax seed milk, Soy-free Earth Balance for butter (you won't miss it!). Nuts, seeds, berries. Grass-fed beef is supposedly as healthy as fish. I don't drink milk but use one or more of the alternates on cereal and it tastes fine that way. Ick used for things like yoghurt or ice cream, but those are unhealthy processed foods anyway. The coconut ice cream I tried was edible but nothing to look forward to, imo. I have tried brown rice pasta (Joy) and it is a good substitute, better than the old wheat pasta we were supposed to be switching to. I don't know if it is on their plans and is certainly not a great choice if losing weight is your goal. I need to come up with some healthy desserts and snacks, bread alternatives. At least try Dr. Fuhrman's way of looking at things, focusing on high-nutrient foods. His patients also reap the big health benefits but are not specifically told to eliminate certain foods. He tells people to follow "the salad is the main meal". Load it with vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts. You might want to start slowly since your system is sensitive. I wonder if pro and pre-biotics would help straighten things out there. It sounds like you could have a gut imbalance. There are also enzymes for gas that a lot of people say works. I don't think you need to question whether or not it works, although of course it won't "cure" everyone. These aren't your typical infomercials. They are MD's for the most part. JJ is a Ph.D. They all have patient practices. This is now scientifically backed research. I don't think they are lying and the patients are made up stories. They aren't some of those doctors who try to sell their own magical supplements you can't live without either, although they might offer books, diet plans and some food products. This post was edited by snookums2 on Mon, Sep 23, 13 at 17:55

The bad thing is that I'm hungrier, and it's hard to stick to the calorie level that seems to produce rapid weight loss for me. I've been missing my target fairly often, and it feels like my body wants more food. So I've started packing a bento-type lunch, as mentioned in another thread, in hopes that at least my calories will be healthy ones. This is a classic example of dieting vs. lifestyle changes. Dieting is a temporary way of eating with the goal of losing weight, while lifestyle changes are a permanent change in one's lifestyle with the ultimate goal of improving one's health in all areas including weight loss (if it's necessary). IMO when someone says they "can't lose weight", what they really mean is "I can't lose weight as fast as I want to", and so they give up. The "diet" industry has brainwashed us into thinking that if we don't lose at least 1-2 pounds per week, then something must be wrong, and that's a big lie. Choose fruit over chips -- not because they're a "diet" food or "low-cal" but because fruit is a much healthier choice than fried potato chips. Eat a salad full of veggies with lean chicken -- not because it's a "diet" meal but because it's full of healthy nutrients that are good for you! Include a piece of 100% whole grain bread if you want and even a little bit of butter -- yes, butter! Take smaller servings (and only one of each -- don't go back for seconds) and skip the gravy and creamy sauces --- they're not necessary if food is well-seasoned. Eat smaller amounts more frequently. Don't skip lunch if you're planning a nice dinner out -- just eat a smaller dinner (dinner out doesn't have to mean overeating). Have a dish of ice cream now and then, just not most days of the week. Don't eat "diet" foods (low-fat cookies, etc) --- just skip those snacks altogether and eat the real thing only on special occasions. That's how I slowly lost 50 pounds several years ago, about 1-2 pounds per month, eating ~1800 calories a day of healthy food choices and increasing my exercise, and have kept off every single ounce even during holidays and stressful times. During the holidays I don't eat as many cookies because "I don't do that anymore", simple as that. I dropped those bad habits and they're not a part of my life anymore. Prior to losing weight I had acid reflux and have a family history of diabetes. The acid reflux is completely gone (without taking a single purple pill) and probably so is my risk of diabetes. I don't have the metabolism of a race horse; I'm a typical middle-aged woman with a desk job. I made simple but important permanent lifestyle changes in eating and exercise, and I stuck with it and persevered no matter how slowly the scales budged, and some months they didn't budge at all!

Here's another canine renal diet from my clinical nutrition textbook, based on an 18 kg dog: 237g cooked white rice 78g cooked regular beef (not lowfat) 20g boiled egg 50g white bread 3g vegetable oil 1.5g calcium carbonate 0.5g iodized salt 1 adult vitamin per day This is a reduced protein (21%), phosphorus restricted (0.22%) diet, appropriate for early renal failure. Sounds a lot like the one you already found. Dr. Pitcarin's for dogs is: 1/4# hamburger (not lowfat) 2 3/4# cooked white enriched rice 2 large beaten whole raw eggs 1/4 cup cooked carrots 2 tablespoons cold-pressed safflower, soy, or corn oil 1 slightly rounded teaspoon eggshell powder 1/8 teaspoon iodized salt 20 milligrams vitamin B complex 1000 milligrams vitamin C optional- 1/2-1 clove minced garlic Mix and serve raw if accepted. Or mix everything except the vitamins together and bake 20 minutes in a moderate oven and wait until it cools to mix in the vitamins. Occasionally substitute 1-3 teaspoons liver for part of the meat. Will feed a 40# dog for 1 day. Provides slightly less protein (17%) 25% fat, and 55% carbs, low phosphorus. If you can calculate recipe nutrients or have a program that can do that, here are the recommendations from my clinical nutrition book for dogs with early renal disease: Phosphorus: 0.15-0.3% dry matter Protein:Sodium: Potassium recommendations vary based on individual- some animals especially cats become hypokalemic, whereas dog may become hyperkalemic. If Taco has normal potassium levels now, try to feed the same amount but make sure you monitor her renal profile including potassium on a regular basis so adjustments can be made. omega 6: omega 3 fatty acid ration There has been considerable debate on when to restrict dietary protein in dogs with renal disease, and by how much. I would definately have the urinalysis done on Taco to determine if she has proteinuria. If so, she needs more restricted protein than if not. However, the protein in either case should be high quality and easily digestible, like the eggs and hamburger meat, not plant-based which is harder to digest. My personal belief is that you should restrict the protein as little as necessary and monitor the pet to see how the diet is working. If you switch diets and the BUN (especially sensitive to dietary changes) goes up, may have to reduce the protein a little bit and recheck. The appropriate protein level will vary among individuals and by the stage of renal disease. You have to adjust as needed. It is not 100% true that there are no meds to help with kidney disease. Any medications are based upon the symptoms of each individual pet, and applied on an as-needed basis. For example, if Taco is protienuric, an ACE inhibitor such as Enalapril may be beneficial. Secondary hyperparathyroidism may require more restricted phosphorus or phosphorus binders. Anemia may require erythropoietin. If she is dehydrated and cannot drink enough water to compensate, she may need subcutaneous fluid maintenance. If she has GI signs such as vomiting or nausea, then histamine blockers (cimetidine) or proton-pump inhibitors (omeprazole) may help. If she develops hypertension, the ACE inhibitor may help but if that is not enough then can add calcium channel blockers. Proteinuria is managed through the diet. Keep in mind that you can only safely restrict the protien by so much, since protein is required for a healthy immune system. Also at some point, restricting the protein more can contribute to worsening protein-losing nephropathy, which is definately not wanted. Chronic renal disease affects pretty much the entire body. But quality of life and survival can be enhanced by careful frequent monitoring (I'd do blood pressure, CBC, renal chemistries every 3-6 months depending on progression of signs) and appropriate treatment of signs as they occur. It is not easy nor inexpensive, but I think it's worth it to keep on top of things. The single most important thing to be careful about, as others have alluded to, is water. Even a short episode of dehydration in a pet with kidney disease can be devestating and send the animal over the edge and into failure. Second most important thing is to make sure she eats well. Eating doggie junk food is preferred over anorexia, even in animals with kidney disease. The best thing though, as always, is the easiest- provide lots of love and attention as you already do. Good luck.