Clinical progression of cats with early-stage chronic kidney disease fed diets with varying protein and phosphorus contents and calcium to phosphorus ratios.

Background: Dietary protein and phosphorus (P) restriction is the mainstay for nutritional management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, adequate restriction levels for cats with early CKD remain unclear.

Objectives: To investigate responses in cats with early CKD to varying dietary protein, P, and calcium (Ca) : P ratio.

The effect of urine acidification on calcium oxalate relative supersaturation in cats.

There is an apparent reciprocal relationship between magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP, struvite) and calcium oxalate (CaOx) urolithiasis incidence rate in cats. The number of struvite uroliths submitted for analysis over the past 35 years has been decreasing, with an increase in CaOx urolith submissions. Commercial diets aimed to dissolve struvite uroliths are typically acidified, and it has been suggested that dietary acidification increases urinary calcium excretion and the risk of CaOx crystallization.

Increasing dietary sodium chloride promotes urine dilution and decreases struvite and calcium oxalate relative supersaturation in healthy dogs and cats.

Urolithiasis is highly prevalent in dogs and cats, with struvite and calcium oxalate being most commonly diagnosed. Some commercial diets aimed at reducing the risk of urolithiasis are based on inclusion of sodium chloride (NaCl) in an attempt to dilute the urine and the risk of crystallization, but more information on the effect of differing levels of sodium inclusion is needed. The objective of this study was to compare the short-term effect of four diets differing only in NaCl content (base diet with 0.

Fibroblast growth factor 23 and symmetric dimethylarginine concentrations in geriatric cats.

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a phosphaturic hormone that is increased in azotemic cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and predictive of the onset of azotemia in older cats. The introduction of symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) as a biomarker of glomerular filtration rate has led to the identification of cats in which SDMA is increased, but plasma creatinine concentrations remains within reference range. There is currently little understanding of the metabolic changes present in such cats.