My Amber was in chronic renal failure for probably 7 years.  They wanted her to be eating the Hills KD prescription diet.  But she pretty much took control of what she ate and her bowels would not tolerate anything that was low protein for the most part.  So no KD for her.  She survived to age 19 on the worst diet you could give a CRF cat.  Kitten food (in the latter years Wellness brand) both canned and dry with supplemental feedings of KMR kitten replacement formula (for added nutrition and calories) and daily supplements of Cosequin for Cats.  Her fur stayed pretty good even for being so old and I had to take over the grooming, and she maintained a reasonable weight.  In her prime she was a fat 16 pounds (and she was fat).  In her senior years she maintained at 11 pounds which was thin for her, but not that sickly thin.  Over the final 5-7 years her bloodwork kept coming back with very reasonable values given her diagnosis despite her diet.  Slowly changing or remaining stable.  She went blind in her last 6 weeks of life, though still active and mobile.  It was only when she was too weak and couldn't get up and walk was it time to let her go.  So I didn't think much of KD prescription diet and neither did she.  And come to think of it, the cats I've had in the past never really liked it much either!

I switched to Wellness quite awhile back and my kitty did ok on it.   I then went to Evangers and also did home made.  I still have some Wellness Canned catfood that I am using up and use from time to time.  One thing that I notice is that my cat's stools really smell when she's eating canned Wellness (chicken) vs. home made (a blend of chicken thigh or breast, chicken liver or canned salmon, hard boiled egg, powdered organic milk, a vegetable such a green bean, peas or sweet potato and brown rice.)  Home made diet supplemented with Wellness kibble = low odor stools. 

So sorry about your loss.  It is indeed very hard.  I said goodbye to Amber in April (she was 19 and I had her since she was about 5 months old).  Near the end, it was almost a daily goodbye as we approached the actual day.  I could slowly see her advancing age and decline in health steal her away from me bit by bit.  Yes, this part of owning a pet sucks.  But it doesn't seem to stop me.  I'm like a moth to the light and I keep going back for more.  It's what we pet lovers do.

My condolences for the loss of your mom too.  Having Abby was like keeping a part of your mom with you, I am sure.  So yes, you are saying good bye to your mom again.  Twice the sorrow.  Hugs.

This whole thing has changed the way I look at food manufacturing and food production.  I used to love eating meat, and I don't anymore after seeing what goes into animal feed.     The closest I can get to eating meat now is from the organic store where the animal feed is more controlled.      That said, I used to love Chinese food, Thai food etc.  Needless to say, that's off my list.  Probably for good because I can't bring myself to trust any of the ingredients.    And that's a big disappointment for me because that was one of my few vices (I don't smoke or drink but I liked going to binge on a good chinese meal).  That's history now.

My fur kids are still eating homemade with canned and kibble supplements from Evangers.  They are doing great and loving mom's cooking. 

I recently lost Amber to CRF, but she lived to be 19 and lived with advancing CRF for at least 6 years or more of those last years.  She did not tolerate a low protein diet at all, it gave her loose stools, caused her to vomit and she often just didn't want to eat it.    The vet's preference was for her to be on Hills K/D canned or dry.  But she couldn't tolerate it at all.  In fact, she thrived on high protein and did the best with kitten food.  I used to give her Nutro and Royal Canin products thinking it was "better quality" than grocery store products.  As I became more educated, I switched to Wellness and then Kumpi dry near the end when I wanted to avoid Wellness due to association with Menu.  All along, I also supplemented her diet with Nurtrical for Cats and Kitten Formula Powder top dressing for added calories to keep her weight up.  When she finally did succumb to kidney failure, her fur was still in reasonable condition for her age and her weight was stable.  Her vet called her a "miracle" cat.  The vet techs would always cringe when I would describe her diet and the vet would always have to tell them that it was ok...that it was working for us.  The vet finally conceded years ago that we just had to listen to Amber's body and give her what she wanted, and that was protein.  Better to keep her hydrated and keep her weight up than have her underweight, throwing up and debilitated.  Her kidney values all those years were either stable or very slowly changing as her CRF advanced.  When she finally did pass, it was inevitable because she was so old and her kidneys just were worn out.  Her arthritis had been bothering her more than her kidney function and she had lost her sight.  It was time and though I wanted her with me more than anything, I knew it was time.  But my point is, I agree that the anti-protein position is not always right...I'm not a nutrition expert...but I found with Amber that I just had to go with what she wanted.

tahitigirl,
Well, I just finished off my first batch of home made dog and cat food (pretty much basic chicken, rice, green beans and sweet potatoes) and now tried your recipe-Healthy Dog Stew with a little variation on the veggies (I used peas and sweet potatoes because that's what I had in the house).  You are right about the salmon bones disappearing.  Anyway, my cat and dogs love it too.  I added extra fish and meat for the cat so there's more protein in it for her.  But she's that goofy cat that thinks she's a dog and eats just about ANYTHING the dogs eat  .  My furbabies really seem to like my home cooking!  My Pap has always been the most picky of the bunch.  She does not get jazzed about eating pet food...and she has been eager to get to her plate and ALWAYS licks the bowl squeaky clean with this homemade chow.  Poops have been fine (and she is prone to the runs when food is too rich).  I'm going to have to weigh them soon to see if they are gaining weight, which I don't want.  That way I can modify portions if necessary.  They are getting Evangers kibble (dogs) and Wellness kibble (cat) in the PM at this time.  I'm also supplementing the homemade chow with 1/4-1/2 tsp powder kitten formula (leftover from Amber who passed away).  Label recommends it as top dressing for show cats and convalescing cats, so it's a source for vitamins.  And I have lots left over to use.  Everyone is looking good.   So homecooking seems to be a hit here.  I have "safe" chicken in my freezer.  When that runs out, I'll be getting range fed chicken/turkey or switch to organic beef/lamb.

I agree with Sharon L.  Catgirl, your very passionate about your position.  And that's ok.  There is plenty of room here for differing opinions, but there is not room for making things personal.  I find the tone of your posts go beyond being strongly opinionated to being offensive and personally critical of list members, and that is wrong.   Please keep it civil or I won't even bother to read what you have to say.  And that, I think, defeats what you want, doesn't it?  I'm open to learning more, but not at the expense of having to put up with rudness.  And just in case you want to ask me...yes, I do own a cat, and 2 dogs.  And I've had cats all my 52 years of life.  And my oldest cat lived to be 19, my last 2 before her lived to be 16 and 14 so I must be doing something right. And they all ate non-premium canned and dry food BTW.

I recently said goodbye to a dear furbaby of 19 years and it was tough (as it always is-I've had many pets).  It was only recently that I could talk about it with my mom who is in her 80's and had many of those pets with me as I was growing up.  She still lives in my childhood home which is a virtual pet cemetary in the backyard with some of my beloved kitties resting back there.

As time marched forward and I could see my Amber slowly slipping away, I dreaded having to make that decision as to when it would be "time".  I always prayed that God would just take her peacefully in her sleep and would spare me the burden of having to make that decision. But it's never been that easy for me and I've always had to be the one to have to make that decision and take my beloved pet to cross to Rainbow Bridge.

My mom had something to tell me yesterday and it really helped soothe my heavy heart.   She told me that being with her was better because you knew that she was peaceful and comfortable at the end.  If I would have found her after the fact I would have never known what it was like for her...was she uncomfortable, was she hurting, was she trying to get up, did she want to drink, eat, use the litter box etc.  It would have been an unknown for me.  While it was very hard to finally have to say, "it's time", at least I knew that her last moments on this earth were peaceful, and with her most precious people with her.  And most importantly, our entire family had a chance to spend some time with her to say goodby.  So I guess, even though it's very hard to do it this way, it was the best for her (and maybe for us too).  I hope this is a help for others who have had to make this decision or will have to do it in the future.

One of the things I used to supplement my 19 year old cat was KMR milk replacer for kittens.  I initially made formula and syringe fed her.  Then I just added powder formula to her wet food.  It helped keep her weight up and I think it added some extra vitamins too.  She looked darn good for her age and advanced renal failure, even on her last day of life.  She was not really thin and her fur was pretty good.

On the label it says that for show cats and convalescing cats you can feed 1 tsp powder per 5 pounds body weight  daily by top dressing food.  Rather than throw out my left over formula, I've been using it as a top dressing on my home made food for Holly to add some extra vitamins etc.  I don't know, but maybe you might want to look at the label and see if this is something you might want to consider using as a supplement to your home diets, maybe in the short term till all this stuff blows over?  I'm just doing a quarter to half teaspoon daily since I'm still feeding Wellness Kibble in the PM at this time.  You can definately get your calcium supplement this way.

Thoughts?

Here's another one to read that I ran across from another list that I belong to.

http://www.macleans.ca/business/companies/article.jsp?content=20070430_104326_104326

Re: ping pong ball toys.  LOL  I can relate.  My Holly loves the cheap colored ping pong balls I bought from PetSmart that have little things that rattle inside.  She chases them all over the house and loses them under all the furniture.  I had to buy something like 2 dozen or I'd be doing ball search a couple times a day (which is what she plans, I think).  But I think those balls are made in China???  Ordinary Ping Pong balls would probably work too.  She also likes to play with shoe laces.  She just takes them and runs around with them and battles them and pounces on them and carries them around.  She brings them us (sort of like fetch-she thinks she a dog-remember) so we will play with her.  She's also a thief and steals anything she can off the kitchen table....pencils, pens, paper clips, water bottle caps, milk jug rings...if it goes missing, it's probably Holly's fault.

I use silica kitty litter too.  I decided to try it when we went camping and loved it because of it's odor control.  (There is no odor)  Now with Holly having her litter box in the back of her 2 room crate (if you don't understand, you need to read my "let me introduce my pets post".  My cat thinks she's a dog and is crate trained)....having her litter box in our general living area means we REALLY need odor control.  So I use it at home now too.  The silica does an excellent job.  I just use a small shovel to stir the crystals daily so they can mix with the moisture so that it will absorb and lock it all up. (very important to disperse moisture across the crystals so they can absorb)  I remove the solid waste 1-2 times a day, depending on what "presents" Holly leaves me.  And the crystals even dehydrate the solids too.  I don't get alot of tracking.  Some manufacturer's make larger crystals than others.  I use a store brand (Meijer).  I noticed that smaller crystals seem to track more easily.  I agree with the one month claim not being the case.  I go with the 2 week change rule and just use less.  It keeps the litter box fresher.  My cats didn't seem to have any problem going from clay based and clumping litter to silica litter and these crystals don't seem to stick to her paws so I'm not worried about her ingesting any.

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite is listed on their organic chicken dinner but not in the classic chicken.

Whiskers was quite handsome.  And another one that nearly made it to 20.  I think it is really special when you have a pet with you for so long.  Such memories!

Using Evangers Classic Chicken and Rice canned dog food.  Both my girls are very happy with it.  No problems switching them from Nutro Max Chicken Rice and Lamb.  I recommend this as a good basic food-I'm happy with Evangers.  I order from them on line.