Hill's Prescription Diet K/D

[josiespcah6ojsh]

has anyone used this for their cat? my cat does not have any serious kidney problems. a week ago she had high kidney level .7 instead of .4 probably from the dental floss she ate and a stomach virus before that,and like most cats,throwing up cat food. i cant decide if she really needs this cat food.

laura

 

[hiitdogs]

Are you feeding dry or canned? I was looking at the ingredients list of both and I would stay away from feeding Hill's Prespription Diet. If you look at the ingredients list of the dry food, these are the first few ingredients:

Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Egg Product, Dried Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Fish Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Beet Pulp

Ingredients are always listed in descending order, generally the first 3 ingredients make up 75 % of the total in this case, the first ingredient is a carbohydrate. Cats are obligate carnivores don't only not require a large amount of carbs, they in fact shouldn't eat a lot of carbs. Whereas with kidney problems the amount of protein should be reduced it is much more important to use an easier digestible form of protein and avoid food preservatives, coloring agents, insecticides, buildup of sodium and phosphorus.

Brewer's rice is an inexpensive form of carbohydrate, and does not contain the full nutritional benefits of whole grain brown rice. Since this is a carbohydrate this ingredient should be listed way down on any cat food label. Caution also should be used for cats with food allergies as rice is a known allergen.

Corn gluten meal whereas a cheap and incomplete vegetable protein is also a cheap filler. Many cats are allergic to corn aside from the fact that at least 1/3 of the corn supply in this country is genetically modified, not to mention what we get from other countries.

Cats need a higher fat diet than dogs but pork fat of all things isn't exactly high quality.

Dried beet pulp is a by-product of sugar production from sugar beets. It's another cheap filler and questionable at best.

If at all possible cats should not eat a dry food diet, raw food or canned is much better. Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM, states, "It is troubling to think about the role that chronic dehydration plays in feline kidney failure. And remember, cats are chronically dehydrated when they are on a diet of predominantly dry food".

The company's canned food doesn't fare much better though

Water, Pork Liver, Chicken, Pork By-Products, Brewers Rice, Oat Fiber, Corn Starch, Glucose, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid)

Pork is high in uric acid and hard to digest, not a meat that is recommended. Water is the first ingredient, then pork liver basically as the main ingredient, whereas liver contains valuable vitamins it also contains many toxins and is not recommended to feed as the main ingredient on a daily basis.

Brewer's yeast (see above)

Glucose, why on Earth would any cat but especially a cat with kidney problems need added sugar in their diet?

Hills/Science Diet is notorious to preserve with BHA, BHT, propylene glycol and ethoxyquin, neither of which needs to be disclosed but are known carcinogenics.

I'd probably go with a canned diet if raw is not an option for you. Nature's Variety and Wysong Archetype/Gourmet are the ones that I would opt for but there certainly are others, just check the label.

HTH

 

[mabdoo]

My dog just started the hill's diet. He was in rough shape and we found a new vet who said he has allergies. In one week he was completely better. Unfortunately the food costs a fortune. I will have to check out the ingredients more closely though.

 

[princessbear]

My cat has been on Hill's K/D (dry only - she won't eat the canned, so she eats regular canned) for almost a year - she was diagnosed with early stage kidney disease. Since starting the diet he levels are now back to normal or, in some cases, high normal. So clearly it is working for her

 

[morningstar]

has anyone used this for their cat? my cat does not have any serious kidney problems. a week ago she had high kidney level .7 instead of .4 probably from the dental floss she ate and a stomach virus before that,and like most cats,throwing up cat food. i cant decide if she really needs this cat food.

laura

My cat's on it, but she has kidney disease. She likes the K/D for canned food and the Medical (yellow bag) for dry food. It's a prescription cat food, so you can't get it unless your vet thinks your cat needs it.

 

[PhyllisG]

My cat preferred the Royal Canin prescription food over the Hill's. I have never been a fan of Science Diet but whatever. I think RC has better ingredients. She had kidney stones and this food dissolved them and she didn't need surgery. Her response to the food was so immediate--her coat improved, no more dandruff or oiliness--that I got their other dry for my other guys. The p[rescription diet was only available thru my vet.

 

[Pippadog1]

Hills Light

Hi All

Both my dogs have the Hills light. Originally Ollie my Golden retriever was prescribed Hils rd as he had pancreatitus. But now the vet said Hills light is fine, so both my dogs have hills. Its a good quality food but its full of fibre and it does seem to cause flatulence with my dogs lol.

Laura

 

[martutt]

Hello,
For all of you who have pets with KD especially cats, I can't recommend Astro's Oil enough. It truly saved my cat from deaths door two years ago. His BUN was at 143 and CRE was 19. If your cat has high values this oil will most likely bring them down and you can even get your cat back on regular food (non prescription). After treating my cat for a few months on Astro's Oil plus fluids his values went to BUN 45 CRE 3. That is a huge difference, not to mention how much better your cat will feel. Of course there is no cure for KD but this is the closest thing to remission you will find on the market. This oil is also used for other cat ailments too.
Here is the link: www.astroscrfoil.com
Good luck! : )
Mary

 

[josiespcah6ojsh]

i did read some good reviews about it so i am slowly switching dry cat foods. i think i'm also going to buy canned hill's if it is cheaper at my vets.

laura

 

[welch]

k/d

Laura,

It's probably hard for anyone but your vet to know whether your cat may benefit from a prescription diet or not. If I have a patient with abnormal bloodwork suggestive of kidney problems, I usually recommend additional testing (like blood pressure, urinalysis, imaging, etc.) or at least repeat bloodwork to look for trends in the kidney values. I would recommend talking to your vet further to see why he/she feels the diet may be beneficial.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about pet foods - it's enough to make my head spin and make any client frustrated. I think you can find literature/opinions to support or refute just about anything. If a pet has chronic renal disease, studies have shown that diseased kidneys don't tolerate salt, phosphorus, or high amounts of protein as well as "normal" kidneys. So these are pets that may benefit from dietary changes, and prescription diets are supposed to accomodate these changes. Also, drinking plenty of water is beneficial, and some people prefer to feed canned diets because of the added water content that dry food doesn't have.

What I've found in practice is that there probably is no one correct answer. And there are plenty of cats with kidney problems that become very picky eaters (especially if they're not feeling well). So I've been taught by specialists that prescription diets are designed to help, and I do see them help many of my patients. But if a pet is really picky or sick, then I've also learned that "it's better for them to eat some of the wrong diet, than none of the right diet" because they need to at least eat something.

So I've put many cats on both dry and canned k/d, and I've seen it help, but it depends on the cause and severity of their kidney problems. If you have any concerns about your cat or the diet, I would really recommend to ask your vet for more information. Hope this helps a bit,
Carrie

 

[Evie]

I would consider heeding the advice of Carola. I fed both my cats Hills' Science Diet - one for diabetes, and one for kidney disease. Although my cats showed a small improvement initially, one cat eventually had to be put down because of the diabetes (I simply could not afford insulin shots for a cat). After he died, I did some research about feline diabetes, and found that everything Carola has said here is absolutely true. Another cat began to develop the symptoms of diabetes since the first one died. I have since switched my animals from Hill's Science Diet dried cat food to a mixture of raw chicken and canned cat food (Fancy Feast, mostly). The improvement in my animals is profound. There is no more diabetes, and although I keep water in a bowl for them, they never drink it. The moisture in their food is sufficient for their needs, instead of need nearly a whole bowl of water every day.

Dry cat food is about 30% carbohydrates, which cats cannot tolerate - even when it's Hill's Science Diet. Not to mention that Hill's Science Diet is ridiculously expensive! And, ineffective over time, as well. I was very angry when I found out the truth about dried cat food because my vet recommended Hill's to "cure" my animals, but in reality, the dried cat food has actually contributed to their health problems. It is very difficult to switch animals who have eaten only dry food over to canned, and raw, food. It takes time, patience, and paying attention to your animals. You've got to switch it over slowly, and expect some diarrhea and constipation. A little dry mixed with canned food to start, adding more canned and then raw as time goes on and their systems adjust to wet food.

When you think about it - what do cats eat when they get their own food? Raw meat - not dry food that has mites and rancid fats and lots of other nasty little problems.

 

[josiespcah6ojsh]

is Hill's Science Diat the same as Hill's perscription diet? i have been considering buying Eagle brand cat food,canned.

laura

 

[hiitdogs]

is Hill's Science Diat the same as Hill's perscription diet? i have been considering buying Eagle brand cat food,canned.

laura

It is manufactured by the same company just that Hill's Prescription Diet is only available through vets. If you look at the ingredients lists though they are astoundingly similar, just packaged and marketed differently. The sale of food, especially Hill's Prescription Diet, is a profit center for vets. That being said, I believe that most vets are genuinely interested in the proper care of their patients and don't recommend it just to make money.

However, for vets just like human doctors nutrition is not something they put a lot of emphasis on in medical school or veterinary school. Nutritional courses in vet school are mainly sponsored through Hill's, Iams, Royal Canine and Eukanuba. I would suggest that the reason they spend the money is probably to increase their market share or to push their products. I would guess that there is not much emphasis on whole foods.

Many vets, unless particularly interested in nutrition, don't know a whole lot more about nutrition than what the general public knows which is what we hear from marketing of pet food companies.

There are some good articles on Naturalnews which gives you an idea of what to look for on the label.

http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_pet_food_ingredients_8.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/Report_pet_food_ingredients_6.html

This article may be a little controversial but having read and researched on pet food over years due to a dog with a family history of cancer I really agree with the basis and the message of this article.

http://www.naturalnews.com/024210.html