Losing Doodles; low protein diets

[Snicker Bar]

I sense the beginning of the slow goodbye has started. My 8 yr old neuro/post Odontoma girl is beginning all the signs of early kidney failure.
I haven’t run blood tests ; I don’t want to put her through the stress. And wouldn’t likely change the outcome . I may run a U/A just to see if there are any findings . But she’s hosting more, losing weight, and losing her appetite . There could be other rule outs. But is suspect renal.

This has opened my awareness for a need for more discussion about this topic regarding our aging NR’s. For a rat, there are some guidelines on different protein recommendations/restrictions as their pet ages.

And of course, I’m aware of the Hills and Purina diets we have for our other furry friends.

But what about our NR’s??

We don’t have a Henry’s Senior Diet. Or a Food Pyramid for geriatrics (forgive me if there is one… that I haven’t seen).


Since there are no prescription diets available for aging kidneys , what do others here do? And at what ages do you start dietary changes/protein restrictions?

I read that the HT diets (2014) has the lowest protein (14% think). But as I’ve been studying today , I’ve read there are recommendations for even lower protein; some authors even suggest 4-7%.

I haven’t been here much (TSB) lately due to family commitments. But as I watch my oldest NR going down , I wonder if there are threads that discuss this topic ? If not, can we start one now?

Doodles and my gang say hello and thanks!

[TomahawkFlyers]

SB, As most us us have experienced, this is the hardest part of living with our animals. No need for an essay - just a profound "I'm sorry that you and your baby are going through this." Whether your explorations reveal another cause or not, keep in mind that you have given and shared with this kid eight joyous years of life that would have been lost if you hadn't come along.

I'm sorry,

Jamie

[olorin19]

Great idea, thanks!

I have subscribed, as I have certainly have many questions.

I had a quadriplegic NR Ziggy a few years ago who survived to 31 months.

I currently have Guro (age 26 months), who other than extremely limited use of her right forelimb has no other issues. I am always looking for anything that will help her live a long and happy life.

Losing any squirrel is tough, but somehow with an NR it can be even tougher. With Ziggy, who spent as many of his waking hours as possible hanging out inside my sweatshirt, I felt like there was a Ziggy sized hole after he was gone.

[Snicker Bar]

My next two oldest are 6 (my para) and 7 (my tripod).

I’m assuming the pet rat is the closest “exotic” we can compare to, for studies and data?


And again and again, I’m reading kidney disease (Chronic Progressive Nephrosis) is a common aging ailment in these pets.

I guess , sadly, there are no studies about aging NR squirrels. So? I’m reaching out to the best experts I know of

Idk; maybe rats and squirrels have nothing in common with their dietary needs. But what if they do?

I have been reading as much as able while here at the office. Many /most of the articles I’m reading on my discussion board (consisting of many veterinarians) mention the feeding of low protein diets.

What is considered by most here , to be “senior” for a squirrel (grey) and …. for our flyer friends (and my Tater Tot )??

I don’t have a bag of Henry’s here… but I’m thinking the protein is fairly high per serving? And HT ranges from 14-18%. No clue about the other brands.

Just curious if others ever wondered about this? If you had multiple, teenager squirrels that ate all the proteins they wanted??

Just thinking this may be worth further studies; thinking I need to make some changes…

[olorin19]

It would be nice to hear from others how long their NRs with various types of challenges have lived and what they were fed.

[Charley Chuckles]

I'm so sorry to hear about Doodles 🙏
I'd love more info on all info on this subject 👍

I've heard an older squirrel would be 7 yo anything more than that is the exception 🤷
My Charley Chuckles with all his issues lived 8.5 years.
Little Girl with seizures all her life lived 7 years.
My Conker lived 13 years, even with odatomas had one removed 3 remained.
Precious lived close to 5, died from blood clot from odatoma surgery.

So I don't know how this all works but love more info 👏