Having a pet with a chronic kidney disease is difficult. Only the idea of your pet having a chronic disease is quite disturbing. It means that your pet cannot be cured and will have to endure this disease for as long as it lives.
Chronical renal failure is a condition for which the cause is often unknown. This is an irreversible loss of the kidney functions that usually occurs in old cats and dogs, but not only. Unfortunately, by the time your pet gets to show symptoms, it means there is no cure anymore.
The signs include:
- Drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot
- The big volume of urine might also lead to incontinence
- Getting to vomit or have diarrhea
- Getting into a general state of depression
- Anemia
- Loss of weight and low appetite.
One of the most important ways of prolonging your pet’s life is to take care of its diet.
First of all, you need to restrict the amount of proteins and make sure that the ones they do eat is of good quality. Good quality proteins means the ones that do not provide too much waste for the kidney to eliminate, like meat and eggs. Do not remove proteins completely from their diet, as they really need it for replacing cells and tissue and providing the carbs, for energy.
The effect of a smaller amount of protein is to reduce the volume of water he drinks and also the amount of urine. It also helps with anemia. This can also save your pet from developing ulcer along the way.
You also need to pay close attention to minerals like calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium. The levels of minerals in their blood can be measured through a blood test done by your veterinarian. After seeing what the level of minerals is, the vet can advise you on what to increase and what to decrease in the diet.
It is not seldom for doctors to recommend you to increase the amount of fat given to your pet. Because the diet is low in protein, the lack of fat needs to be compensated. This has more benefits than you would think. It helps increase the level of energy and reduce the amount of food eaten in general. Make sure you do no exaggerate with the fat, though, as it might cause problems as well. If you pet has nausea, it is vomiting, or has diarrhea, you should decrease the amount of fat.
Even if it might seem complicated to take care of your pet if it suffers from such a condition, you can do it at home, with some professional advice, and it will become easier day by day.
