Chicken liver and CRF

[Dave B]

Our 16 year old girl Nola is in the early stages of CRF and is slightly anemic. I've read in a few places that giving her some cooked chicken liver is a good way to get some iron in her. My concern is it seems to be quite high in phosphorus which isn't so good for CRF. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Dave

[kk]

Hi Dave,

I'm sorry to hear your sweet Nola has been diagnosed with CRF. I'm sure you know, that with proper care and treatment, CRF cats can survive for quite some time.

There are different causes of anemia. In CRF, it is the decrease of the hormone, erythropoietin (EPO), that causes the anemia, not iron deficiency. If the hormone is not there, then the bone marrow will not be stimulated to produce red cells, so more iron won't help. Please try one of the special diets made just for CRF cats..your vet can supply them to you, and if Nola does not like that brand, there are many others. My CRF cat would have nothing to do with the CRF foods, but he still did well on a high-quality diet. The problem was, he wanted what his sister was eating!

Good luck to you and Nola, kk

[Traci]

Dave, I concur with KK....iron supplementation is rarely necessary for cats, unless there is in an actual deficiency detected in bloodwork, in which, supplementation can be initiated. Anemia is often associated with renal failure and needs to be treated according to the specific cause of it. (i.e., azotemia, bone marrow failure, gastrointestinal blood loss, neoplasia,, etc). You might ask your vet about Epogen, but this medication needs to be very carefully monitored. Also, if your vet feels Nola may have gastrointestinal or stomach ulcers, you can ask about using Sucralfate too.

If she is dehydrated, is vomiting, or has low urine production, get her re-evaluated with complete bloodwork and urinalysis again to ensure other supplementation may or may not be needed.

[Dave B]

Thanks for the fast reply. Nola's appetite and water consumption is good, along with her output. She’s currently on Hill’s K/D and IVD modified Formula. We have to alternate or else she gets tired of it . Now, I understand about the anemia. Sorry Nola, no more liver treats. We’ve been monitoring her blood about every 10 weeks. Although her BUN & Creatinine are elevated, our vet feels she will be with us for quite a while. Again, thanks..

Dave B