Chronic renal disorder in cats (and in dogs) is commonly seen in veterinary practise and is more common in older animals. Treatment is mainly managing the condition by reducing the complications that are seen with the disease and to improve the quality of life (Elliot, 2000). Providing a diet manufactured specifically for cats with chronic renal disorder is most likely the best treatment to reduce deaths related to the kidneys (Ross Et al, 2006).
Diets that are made for chronic renal disorder are modified so that they have less protein, phosphorus and sodium, an increase in vitamin B and soluble fibre, a higher calorie count, have a neutral effect on the pH, supplements of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and for cats, increased potassium (Polzin, 2013). A study done by Elliot (2000) has shown that cats with chronic renal disorder who were fed a specific kidney diet survived nearly 3 times longer than those who were fed a normal maintenance diet (633 days as opposed to 264 days).
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In a healthy body, protein is used to repair cells and tissue, and the waste products such as urea and ammonia are excreted by the kidneys in the urine. Higher quality protein in the diet means there is less waste products that the kidneys have to remove, so less work for the damaged kidneys. Patients with chronic renal disorder have been known to show proteinuria as the kidneys cannot break down the protein which indicates that the disease is getting worse, so a decreased amount of protein means a reduction in proteinuria, slowing the progression of chronic renal disorder (Polzin,