Health & WellnessHow to get my picky senior cat to eat prescription kidney food?
The key here is to go VERY slow. I saw a presentation by Hill’s that said over 90% of cars will eventually transition into a kidney diet- but it can take up to two months.
I’d say go back to whatever Tony was eating well and try one of the following:
1) If he eats dry food, mix in a few kibbles of the kidney food at each meal. As he begins to finish all the food, very slowly creep up on the prescription food and back off on the regular food.
2) If he eats dry food but is interested in wet - or eats a mix of wet and dry: top dry food with a tiny dollop of canned kidney food. As he begins to eat this, replace more and more kibbles with wet kidney food. OR, if you want to keep him on a mix of both, start slowly replacing the kibbles as described in option 1.
3) If he eats only canned, mix a tiny bit of canned kidney diet in with it. Same as for the dry food, slowly increase the kidney diet and decrease the regular stuff.
Again, this could take a month or two so be slow and patient.
Best wishes to you and Tony.
Updated on September 24th, 2025