How long a cat with kidney failure can live depends on when the disease is diagnosed. In the early stages of the disease, the progression can be slowed and the cat's quality of life improved with special food and medication. If diagnosed early and the cat's diet is changed, your cat can live and grow old for many years. However, if kidney failure is diagnosed at a very late stage, when the kidneys have almost completely lost their function, it is very difficult to prevent complete kidney failure. However, each individual case is different and only a veterinarian can make an accurate prognosis. In severe cases, it may be best to put the suffering animal down, while other cats with kidney disease can live for a long time with the right medicine and food.

If your cat has kidney failure, it is important to choose the right food for it. Ordinary cat food is usually difficult to digest and contains large amounts of protein and substances such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus, which the kidneys filter out of the blood. Since cats with kidney disease cannot filter the blood to the normal extent and the kidneys are heavily burdened by a high concentration of these substances, you should feed your cat with kidney disease special food.

Food for cats with renal insufficiency should meet and contain the following:

• Reduced protein content
• Selected, high-quality proteins
• Low in sodium and phosphorus
• Lots of nutrients
• Easily digestible
• Potassium citrate to prevent kidney stones
• Sufficiently liquid

As ordinary treats often contain a lot of phosphorus and low-quality proteins, they are not suitable for cats with kidney problems. You can give your cat with kidney problems a portion of its daily ration of special diet food as a treat. The Kattovit Kidney/Renal range has many different tasty food products for cats with kidney disease, so you can also offer your cat variety and enjoyment with special food.

Kidney failure in cats only becomes apparent at a very late stage of the disease. Possible symptoms include tiredness, apathy, increased thirst, frequent urination, weight loss, loss of appetite, bad-smelling breath, dull fur, high sensitivity to pain and urine that has changed color and smell. You should be particularly vigilant if your cat is losing a lot of weight, urinating frequently and has a great need to drink, and have the symptoms checked by a vet. The sooner you discover the kidney failure, the better your cat can be helped.