My cat with kidney disease won't eat renal food. Can I feed meat?

Renal diets are very effective for cats with kidney disease -by reducing the amount of toxins the kidneys are required to excrete many of the symptoms can be reduced; they are also naturally antiinflammatory and enriched with vitamins etc and are proven both to extend life expectancy and quality of life. The larger proportion of the diet that is made of of kidney food, the more effective it is however calorie intake is very important and tempting or supplementing the diet with easy to digest protein sources such as egg, boiled chicken or fish is ok (for some clinical diets this is not appropriate but for kidney patients it is better than not eating the special diet)

If he won't eat the Royal Canin renal diet then you should try a different brand like Hill's k/d. The Hill's diet has an appetite stimulant in it which helps with palatability. If he won't eat that either then all you can do is feed him what he will eat. It may shorten his life span but you cannot let him starve to death. If he is anemic that is called anemia of chronic disease. The only thing to help that is injections of EPO (erythropoeitin). Feeding organ meet is not going to help. ( https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/cardiovascular/c_ct_anemia_chronic_kidney_disease )

Yes, it is ok to eat renal food, but only as a treat or supplement to the main diet of Hills Rx Senior. Renal food is lower in protein than normal cat food since the kidneys can't handle excess protein when they are failing. So it would be best for long-term health if Tony gets plenty of protein, which is in the senior diet!

Find a food with a strong smell/odor. Warm it slightly then offer it to Precious. You can also mix a teaspoon of warmed baby food in with her food. Discuss appetite stimulants, such as mirtazipine, with your veterinarian. The vet may also suggest some kidney friendly diets such as Hill's k/d or Royal Canin Renal Support. Bloodwork should be submitted to check kidney function. Elevated BUN and creatinine levels may cause nausea and inappetance. Hospitalizaton and IV fluids may be necessary to decrease levels.

Hello, thank you for your question about Ammosh. Ideally Ammosh should be eating a diet that is designed to help with the management of renal disease. Renal diets are generally low in protein which is helpful in management of progression of kidney disease. Kidney disease, however, can also make pet's nauseous, which could be contributing to Ammosh's symptoms. If Ammosh does not like this renal food (they are known to not be very palatable diets) you could try offering him other diets or forms of food as the ultimate goal is for him to continue eating. Liver has not been shown to be beneficial in renal disease, but you could try other things such as boiled chicken or hamburger. Hope this helps, good luck!

I hate to hear that Lily is having an issue eating her food. I would advise too try several renal diets. Royal Canin makes three different formulas. Purina and Science diet also make their own version. The best medicine would be for her to eat only a renal diet but sometimes pets have other ideas. If you cannot find a food that she likes and will readily eat, try mixing in about 25% of the renal diet in with 75% of her normal kibble. Every few days gradually increase the renal food. Even if she never goes on the renal diet fully, it's still better than not eating it at all. Try the canned renal diets as well (once again, all the brands carry this formula). If you want to try making her food at home, you will need to work with a veterinary nutritionist. Renal diets need carefully controlled protein, phosphorus and potassium levels. You can go online and find several who offer both phone and online consultations. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any further questions!

We always say that it doesn't matter how good a food is if the pet won't eat it. This is especially true with cats. Your goal with a diet for a kidney patient is to avoid foods that are too high in protein, so you will want to avoid any kitten foods. Most non-prescription diets are very similar in their protein levels because they are made for the needs of an average adult cat. If Cricket was previously on a dry food, I found the best way to get my cat to eat canned food was to grind up dry food, then sprinkle it on the top of his canned food to get him eating. I am attaching a link to a handout below with tips to transition a cat onto canned food. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3041 Since Cricket has been a fussy eater, the most important thing will be to find a food that she likes. I have found that cats tend to like Fancy Feast the best, so that might be an option if you can't find something else that she will eat. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.