Regarding the feline raw diet and the kidney blood work values; Phos, creatine and BUN….
I frequently have emails saying their cat, while eating a raw diet, has been diagnosed with the beginnings of kidney failure. They ask if they should start feeding our Kidney Support diet. I question this and ask for a copy of the blood work. Inevitably the BUN is the only value that is slightly high.
I can only imagine how many cats have been misdiagnosed by this and it truly bothers me; that vets will scare the caregiver into feeding a processed kidney diet and all the cat needed was to continue eating the raw and add the one Renafood tablet daily to support the kidneys on a cellular level like we do with Alex and Caesar.
Most all allopathic vets do not have the knowledge of a raw diet let alone the fact that the BUN kidney value is naturally a bit higher when fed a raw diet. The BUN is generally higher when fed raw protein. The BUN shows the amount of protein in the feline diet and when it’s raw it will be slightly higher. The regular (allopathic vets) vets base their values on processed protein not raw. It’s the quality of the protein not the quantity that is important in a feline raw diet.
A slightly elevated Creatine can be from dehydration not only from kidney damage. So be sure your cat is hydrated before any blood work is taken by feeding a wet meal. Add extra water to the meal too.
If all three blood values are high, creatine, Phos and Bun , then your kitty may have the beginnings or the onset of kidney damages.
Felice Arata
Feline Instincts
