Presentation Description / Summary: Cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience similar manifestations as humans, in that both have progressive loss of renal function, which may eventually lead to uremic crises and death. In cats as in humans, dietary ingredients and their metabolites are closely related to CKD progression. We have shown that the type of foods fed to cats with CKD can influence their fecal microbiota and alter circulating concentrations of uremic toxins. Seven prospective studies will be presented to demonstrate how renal function is stabilized in cats with CKD based on nutritional interventions.
Learning Objectives:
In cats with CKD, as in humans, food is your medicine--Hippocrates (400 BC). Food imparts nutrients, e.g., we can control protein and phosphorus concentrations, as well as add in other beneficial nutrients.
Food changes the microbiota (it's not just what is absorbed that matters, it's also what the microbes do with it). For example, the type of fermentable fiber fed to cats with CKD influences their fecal microbiota and alters circulating concentrations of uremic toxins.
In the management of renal disease, we need to optimize both what the cat absorbs and what the microbes do.