An online survey of dietary and phosphate binder practices of owners of cats with chronic kidney disease.

Objectives The objective of this study was to learn about owner experiences of chronic kidney disease (CKD), focusing on use of therapeutic renal diets (TRDs) and intestinal phosphate binders (IPBs). Methods An online survey was promoted to UK-based cat owners. Results In total, 859 owners participated. Most cats (n = 620; 72.18%) had two or more clinical signs at the time of their CKD diagnosis. Most common were polydipsia (n = 462; 53.78%) and weight loss (n = 426; 49.59%). In 94 cats (10.94%) CKD was only diagnosed as a result of wellness screening. In total, 371 participants (43.19%) reported that their cat's blood pressure had been measured; 100 of these (26.95% of those where blood pressure had been measured) subsequently received anti-hypertensive medication. In total, 90.80% of all participating owners had received a recommendation to feed a TRD. Five hundred and seventy-one owners (66.47%) reported that they were feeding a TRD as a component of their cat's diet. The most common reason for not feeding a TRD was that the cat did not like it (n = 123; 59.13%). Where a veterinary recommendation to feed a TRD had been received, 564 owners (72.31%) reported feeding a TRD as a component of their cat's diet vs seven owners (7.04%) who had not received a veterinary recommendation to feed a TRD. IPBs had been recommended to 321 owners (37.81%) and for 72 owners (8.38%) the recommendation came from a source other than a veterinary professional. Where used, IPBs were commonly added to a TRD (n = 136; 49.28%) and were generally accepted within 4 weeks (n = 178; 73.86%). Conclusions and relevance Awareness of TRDs was high but much lower for IPBs. A veterinary recommendation to feed a TRD was associated with higher compliance.