Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Weak Kidney Cat Food

Update 9/3/08:  Ruso has stopped eating this food.  He loved it for about two months and then... not having it any more.  He sniffs it and then backs away - would rather starve, thank you very much.  Also, he's losing hair, which may or may not be associated with eating this diet.  Now I have a bunch of trout in the freezer!  ... off to look up human recipes for trout.  The bottom line is Ruso no longer recommends this recipe.

Originally posted July 3, 2008:

When Ruso went to the vet for a cyst removal, the vet told me he had a mild gum disease and I should have his teeth cleaned.  Well, actually I didn't go to the vet for a cyst removal.  I went for regular shots, checkup and maybe drain the cyst.  It's like going shopping for one or two things in the grocery story and coming home with two bags full.  Anyway, a blood test is required for older cats.  (Ruso is 10+ years old.)

Since Ruso is terrified of the cat carrier, I left him over night and picked him up the next day.  When I was waiting to pay the bill (more than $500, less than $1000, should I feel lucky?), the vet told me that Ruso's blood count showed a higher than normal count of something, indicating he has weak kidneys.  They suggested some special cat food that I know Ruso won't eat because he's way, way too fussy.

The Ultimate Pet Food Guide: Everything You Need to Know about Feeding Your Dog or Cat
by Liz Palika  (copyright 2008)

Read more about this title...  (link to amazon.com)

I checked this book out of the library.  Apparently there is some controversy about whether a cat with kidney problems should get more, or less, protein in his diet.  This book recommends more.   The vet recommended less.  Who knows?  Since the copyright in the book is 2008, I decided that the book's information was current.  Who knows?

A recipe for Ruso's old kidneys:  Chicken and Trout, page 228.  This recipe makes one day's worth of food for a 10 pound cat.  I'm not cooking chicken and trout every day for my spoiled boy, so here is my recipe for a week's worth. 

I give Ruso 2 tablespoons of IAM's multi-cat dry food and three-four tablespoons of Chicken and Trout at breakfast and dinner.  He did have diarrhea for a few days at first, but he's fine now.  You should probably introduce the food into his diet gradually, not all at once like I did.

Chicken and Trout cat food for a week


  • 3 hard boiled, peeled whole eggs

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts *

  • 1 cleaned, whole trout *

  • wheat grass (cut about 1 inch off the top of a 4" square pot) **



  1. Get out everything you need:
    - food processor (optional)
    - paper towel
    - rubber gloves (optional) ***
    - big bowl for mixing
    - tablespoon measure
    - cutting board and sharp knife
    - about 7-8 sandwich bags unzipped
    - a gallon-sized freezer bag unzipped
    - permanent marker for freezer bag
    - microwave cooking dish with cover
    - disinfecting wipes


  2. Boil the eggs and set aside to cool.  Peel.  About those rubber gloves - wear 'em if you've got 'em.

  3. Rinse and cook the trout.  I put the entire trout in a casserole dish  with a sprinkle of water and cook on 60% power for three minutes.  Set aside to cool, then take the head, skin, and fins off.  Remove all the bones.

  4. Rinse the chicken and cut it into about 3/4" square pieces.   Cook.  I cook in the microwave on 60% for about 7 minutes, stirring once mid-way through the cooking cycle.  Set aside to cool.

  5. Wrap the wheat grass in a paper towel and dampen it.  Cook the wheat grass in the microwave for about 20 seconds at 100%.  Set aside to cool.  Chop into smaller pieces.

  6. Chop everything in the food processor, or you can dice by hand.  I put about a third of ea. ingredient in the f.p. and chop in three batches.

  7. Mix ingredients together in a big bowl.  Put about 8 tablespoons in a sandwich bag.  This is about a day's worth of food for my Ruso.  This recipe should yield 7-8 bags.  Put those bags in a gallon-sized freezer bag and write "cat food" on the gallon-sized bag with a permanent marker.  I reuse the gallon-sized bags.

    Freeze food you aren't going to use in the next day or so.  (Take a day's worth out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge a day before you need it.)

  8. Wash all those tools in hot, soapy water.  Use a disinfectant cloth on the counter and all the surfaces you touched with gooey hands because you forgot to get something out in step 1.  I'm probably a little OCD about handling raw meat, but I guess it doesn't hurt to be safe.


*  I shop at Costco and buy whole trout and boneless/skinless checken breasts.  I freeze the trout individually wrapped in aluminum foil.  I defrost trout and chicken in the fridge about a day or two ahead of time.

** I buy human wheat grass at the grocery store, but I plan to start growing my own as soon as I figure out how.

*** I like to work with raw meat using "examination gloves" I buy at Costco.  I get the latex-free ones.  You get a million of them.  They are good for weeding and gardening too.

20080702 Ruso

 

 

 

Ruso loves this food!



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