Low Protein Diets for Cats

Cats naturally survive on a high protein diet. However, kidney problems may result in your veterinarian prescribing a low protein diet for your cat. Kidney disease makes it difficult for your cat to digest proteins, but unlike dogs, cats cannot become vegetarians. Therefore, you need to carefully consider the low protein diet you feed your cat.

  1. Foods to omit

    • A low protein diet for your cat requires you to cut 36 percent of the meat from your cat's diet. When certain proteins break down, they create ammonia, which is dangerous for a cat with kidney disease because he is unable to rid his body of this byproduct. Red meat is one protein that is responsible for the byproduct of ammonia and needs to be removed from a low protein diet. When you cut over a third of her protein out of her diet you need to do so without neglecting her nutritional needs. You should not replace the missing meat with fillers (carbohydrates) which offers nothing but fat stores to your cat and can cause additional health problems.

    Foods to include

    • Replacing the proteins in your cat's diet with leaner meats such as chicken and chicken liver as well as including proteins from eggs will be beneficial in a low protein diet. Foods you can consider using to round out her diet are vegetables and butter. Pumpkin and sweet potato are vegetables that are suitable to use in a kidney diet for cats and are also vegetables that your cat may enjoy. When preparing your cat a low protein diet, you will need to add supplements as well. Make sure your cat has lecithin in her diet. You can also add cod liver oil which is a source of vitamin A.