Summary: Cats are considered family members by many people who own them. Therefore, if your cat is diagnosed with kidney disease, proper probiotics are very important to support their kidneys. This article discusses probiotics and their role in cat kidney disease.
What Do Kidneys Do?
Healthy kidneys perform many important functions, most notably filtering the blood, making urine, and removing waste from the blood so problems with kidney function in a cat may lead to a variety of health problems.
What is CKD?
Chronic Kidney Disease is a progressive loss of kidney function over a period of time. Kidney failure is the inability of the kidneys to remove waste products from the blood. Chronic kidney disease has 5 stages with stage 5 being kidney failure. Kidney failure does not indicate the inability to make urine. Ironically, most cats in kidney failure are actually producing large quantities of urine, but the body’s wastes are not being effectively eliminated.
Among the many different kidney diseases that may affect cats, CKD is the most common. Cats have kidneys that are not too different from ours. And there are chances that they fail to work with age. When it’s chronic, it may be a little harder on your cat but with early diagnosis and good care, you can help boost both the quality and the length of your cat’s life.
Chronic Kidney Disease can be seen in cats of any age, but is most commonly seen in middle to old-aged cats (those over 7 years), and it becomes increasingly common with age. It has been estimated that around 20-50% of cats over 15 years of age will have some degree of CKD present.
How CKD Can Be Diagnosed in Your Cat & What Are Some Clinical Signs of Kidney Failure.
To find out if your cat may be diagnosed with kidney failure, pay close attention to the levels of two waste products in the blood: blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and blood creatinine. To conclude the study of normal kidney function, a urinalysis is required.
Even if the BUN and creatinine levels reflect kidney failure, they do not predict it. A cat with marginal kidney function may have normal blood tests. If a cat is stressed with surgery or major illness, the kidneys may fail, sending the blood test values through the roof.
Preliminary signs of disease such as weight loss and poor coat quality are often dismissed as normal aging changes.
In the initial stages of kidney failure, the kidneys try to cope with their inability to efficiently remove waste products by excreting them at a lower concentration over a larger volume. That means producing larger amounts of more dilute urine. Cats will often drink more to compensate for this increased rate of body water loss they experience.
This is called Compensated Renal Failure. In the later stages after about two-thirds of the kidney tissues have failed, there is a rapid rise in waste products in the bloodstream and an apparent sudden onset of severe disease.
What are Probiotics?
Probiotics are available over the counter and they are actually “live organisms” (or bacteria) that include a dense variety of friendly bacteria that can be beneficial for the digestive tract, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and other Lactobacillus species and more.
These organisms help to control and erase the growth of harmful bacteria and promote a healthy digestive system. Intestinal bacteria are also known to help prevent diseases like peptic ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer.
Probiotics for Cats with Kidney Disease
Probiotics can benefit cats in many ways, but like all animals, your cat’s natural prey has its own microbiome, which is simply the population of microorganisms that live inside the body and on the skin.
So, that tasty meal consisting of a bird or a mouse comes with a variety of both good and bad bacteria. Cats have historically consumed probiotic material the same way humans have been eating probiotic-rich fermented foods for thousands of years. Unfortunately, a modern-day diet lacks the beneficial organisms found in a cat’s natural prey.
Probiotics: Promising New Remedy for Kidney Disease in Cats
Recent studies have shown that kidney blood value (BUN & creatinine) decreased significantly when cats were given probiotics in canned food. Certain probiotics use toxins to multiply, so these organisms can then help carry a load of toxic waste in the kidney across the intestinal wall into the bowel, where they can be excreted. In other words, the colon steps in and helps reduce circulating toxins.
Where to Get Probiotics for Cats with Kidney Disease?
Probiotics are found in the yogurt you buy in the grocery store. However, adding a tablespoon of yogurt to your cat’s food may not be sufficient. And if your cat is lactose intolerant, the yogurt may make him sick.
You can find probiotic powder or capsules in health stores or from your vet. Choose a supplement that contains at least Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. You’re in a win-win situation if they contain both of them. Many probiotics must be kept refrigerated to keep the organisms viable
Kidney Restore for Cats & Dogs & What Makes it Different
Kidney Restore for Cats & Dogs is a probiotic supplement from Healthy Kidney Inc. for cats and dogs to help support normal kidney function and to regain kidney health.
A lot of probiotics sold over-the-counter or even the ones from your vet, there’s a good chance those probiotics are around 1 billion CFU to 20 billion CFU, depending on your situation.
What separates Kidney Restore from other products is the fact that it has 50 billion CFU and these are kidney-specific probiotics. They are seven probiotics designed specifically to help improve kidney health.
It has the two most effective probiotics; Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum. It also includes prebiotics to help the probiotics grow and multiply and consume more toxins.
A tiny hint of sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the acid buildup that comes from malfunctioning kidneys.
Camu Camu powder which is a superfood. A powerful ingredient that provides Vitamin C.
Niacinamide, B3, is a safe and effective phosphorus blocker and has shown very effective results and helps support good heart health.
This is a complete product, that is veterinarian endorsed, that is totally safe for cats & dogs with kidney disease.
Learn More About Kidney Restore For Cats & Dogs.
