CKD Drug & Supplement Compendium

Clearly worth starting when phosphorus exceeds the stage target. The first card to play when renal diet alone falls short.

Clearly worth starting when systolic stays above 160. Top-tier evidence for protecting the eyes, brain, heart and kidneys.

Clearly worth discussing for a cat persistently above UPC 0.4. The liquid form makes dosing easier, too.

For a cat whose intake has collapsed, this drug builds the platform for everything else. Far better evidenced than the "just a stopgap" reputation suggests.

A clearly evidenced choice for a vomiting cat. But the hope that it will also restore eating is not backed by the data — that job belongs to appetite stimulants.

Life-quality-changing for stage 3–4 cats with recurring dehydration. But cats with concurrent heart disease risk fluid overload — set volume and frequency with your vet.

Generally worth feeding — it is already in renal diets for a reason. Dose and freshness decide whether it does anything.

For a cat below the treatment line (HCT under 25%), this is the de-facto first-line therapy — the drug that stops "just old age" from being the answer.

A meaningful new option for cats stressed by injections or responding poorly to darbepoetin. But "conditional" approval means exactly that — the data is still accumulating.

For suspected pyelonephritis, antibiotics are kidney-saving treatment. Conversely, "preventive" use for symptomless bacteriuria is exactly what current guidelines advise against.

For cats with low blood B12 this is a real fix — appetite and energy can change. Not a give-it-blind supplement.

May be worth trying for uremic-symptom relief, but the evidence for improving values or slowing progression is weak.

Same "adsorb in the gut" family as AST-120. Perhaps an adjunct for uremic-symptom care — but no evidence yet to expect better values.

Evidence that it lowers values is weak. Not harmful, but no reason to rank it above phosphorus control and hydration.

"Designed with AIM in mind" is not "an AIM drug." The real AIM therapeutic is still in trials; this product is an amino-acid/antioxidant blend borrowing the name.

The Azodyl verdict applies as-is. Harmless, but no reason to rank it above the basics — phosphorus, hydration, diet.

Marketed as "backed by studies," but those studies have not cleared the verification bar. It may work, it may not — right now we do not know.

Some ingredients point the right way, but whether the amounts reach studied doses is the question. Its real value is convenience — one product standing in for several.

The theory and human data are interesting, but there is not yet evidence of benefit in cats. Safety appears good.

Yes, hospitals use it — but that is the emergency-antidote story. As a daily antioxidant supplement, it remains unproven.

For a cat with confirmed low potassium, this is clearly effective, test-driven supplementation. There is no basis for "preventive" use at normal levels.

Clearly worth correcting when HCO3 (or tCO2) stays below 16. Potassium citrate can fix low potassium in the same stroke.

Clear value for an anemic cat with low iron status. No basis for "preventive" use in a non-anemic cat — excess iron is harmful.

The SOD your cat's body makes matters greatly — but there is no evidence the SOD you feed does that job. A textbook case of marketing borrowing science's name.

Not an evidence-based choice for CKD management. The stomatitis/immune context is a different story — but even that rests on small studies.

Worth trying for a cat with concurrent GI trouble. Feeding it "for kidney values" shares the same evidence problem as Azodyl.