Simple Summary
A series of three studies was performed in healthy adult cats to determine if dietary potassium supplementation could safely be used to increase water intake and urine production, and thereby dilute urine mineral concentrations as a means of preventing urinary calculi in cats. The first study was a two-group comparison between control cats and treated cats; the second study was a three-group, dose–response, cross-over study with control cats and treated cats fed with two levels of dietary potassium; and the third study was a cross-over study between control cats and treated cats. We found that up to 1.95% potassium in dry food, as fed (compared to control cats eating a dry food containing 1.08% potassium, as fed), is beneficial for increasing water intake and urine production, for decreasing urine specific gravity and concentrations of urine minerals, and for reducing calcium oxalate relative supersaturation. Supplementing cat food with potassium chloride was safe and should result in less stone formation in cats.
Abstract
The objective of these three studies was to determine if dietary potassium supplementation affects urine production or calcium oxalate (CaOx) relative supersaturation (RSS) in adult cats. In the first study, control cats were fed dry food containing 1.08% potassium (as fed), and treatment cats were fed control food supplemented with KCl (1.95% potassium) for 21 days. In study two, cats were fed one of three treatment foods for two weeks in a three-period crossover study design (control food containing 0.84% potassium, and treatment foods containing control food supplemented with KCl at 1.35% or 1.81% potassium). In study three, control and treatment cats were fed similarly to study one, with each experimental period lasting two weeks in a crossover study design. In study one, urine production (p = 0.037), urine potassium excretion (p = 0.049), and urine chloride excretion (p = 0.007) were greater for cats fed test food. In study two, increasing dietary potassium concentration significantly increased water intake and urine production, and decreased USG in a dose–response manner. Urine concentrations of sodium and phosphorus were significantly decreased by urine dilution. In study three, cats consuming test food had a 25% increase in urine production and reduced urine specific gravity compared with cats consuming the control food. In addition, CaOx RSS was reduced (p = 0.007). No adverse effects were observed in healthy cats consuming increased dietary potassium.