Fussy cat with kidney disease won't eat vet food. Best store wet food?

Yes, if you give her normal food it will shorten her life span but I agree with you, her quality of life is more important and she needs to eat! When it comes to kidney disease a food that is as low in phosphorus as possible is recommended. Unfortunately, no over the counter foods are low enough in phosphorus to be beneficial. Hence, the prescription diets. Now, there are many different companies that make prescription diets - I would suggest you try another brand before just giving in to her. The new Hill's kidney diets have E.A.T. (Enhanced Appetite Trigger)™ Technology for cats that has been shown to enhance appetite & increase food intake. Royal Canin and Purina also make kidney diets. Please try these first and if all else fails, just give her what she will eat. Cats are sometimes their own worst enemy! Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.

Prescription kidney diets have proven to improve both quality and length of life in pets with poor kidney function. They are formulated to reduce the amount of work required for the kidneys by reducing the amount of waste products produced from food as well as containing tightly balanced mineral, vitamin, omega fatty acid and protein levels and work best in wet forms or where good water intake can be encouraged. The larger proportion of the diet the better, any additional food sources should be highly digestible and suitable for pets in kidney failure, blood tests would be recommended 3-4 weeks after any diet changes to ensure no negative impacts develop

I would opt for a prescription kidney diet (Hill's K/D or Royal Canin renal) instead of any over the counter option if he has kidney disease especially, because the mainstay of treatment for this is the diet alone. This is also ok for his pancreatitis for now and hopefully he will get over this pancreatitis episode soon with the treatment recommendations through your vet. Pancreatitis in cats is often associated with a triaditis (3 disease) condition affecting both their intestines (IBD), pancrease (pancreatitis) and liver (cholangitis), so its imperative to follow your vets instructions on follow-up care as well. Here is more information on this condition in cats --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952234 I do hope that your pet Cat is going to be ok moving forward. Best of luck and take care.

Many cats with renal disease get picky with food so you may end up trying all the brands at some point or alternating between them. You need to feed Mercy a prescription diet for the renal disease. The brand Royal Canin tends to be the most palatable. They make 3 varieties of kibble and 3 varieties of canned food that are all for renal disease. They have different smells/textures...etc so just pick a bag (or all 3) and try it. You will need to ask your normal veterinarian about continuing the milk thistle. The renal diets are lower in protein, higher in fat and higher in fatty acids/antioxidants and this can be beneficial for the liver depending on the cause of liver elevations. Your normal vet will best advise you. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Royal Canin carries a diet called Senior Consult which has restricted Phos but not as low as the renal diets so it is not appropriate to feed instead of the renal diets. I recommend to discuss this option with your vet before making any diet changes since they are the most familiar with Tony's history. You may ask your vet about an appetite stimulant such as mirtazapine. Many renal cats want variety. Many owners will keep several renal food options and will switch the kibble every week to keep it interesting. Most cats will go back to eating a diet that they had previously stopped eating so you may try circling back. You should also ask about the return policy when purchasing the food in case Tony won't eat the food. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Liver issues can be tricky to treat, and cats with liver issues may be more picky about what they eat. The first suggestion to try is if your cat had a dry (or wet) version of a prescription diet is to try the opposite dry or wet version. (IE if you try Hill's l/d dry, try a can of the l/d wet). Some cats may find the change in consistency and flavor more palatable and may begin to eat without having to completely change foods. If your cat was on a dry diet, a wet food may also be easier for your cat's liver to process. Another suggestion to try is to add a few kibbles of a food or a teaspoon of wet food your cat really likes to his prescription food. While some cats may figure out and pick out the good bits, many cats will begin to eat the whole meal and thus get the nutritional benefit from it. Your vet can let you know if it's safe to try this method depending on the severity of your cat's condition. For over the counter foods, a diet that has a similar nutrient makeup to prescription foods (you can check the nutrition label of l/d or NF if you have a bag handy) may help your cat with his liver issues while still being palatable. This is usually higher protein, contains L-carnitine to promote fat metabolism are low in sodium and have vitamins E and C to support the immune system and liver function. Your vet may also wish to recommend a supplement such as milk thistle which can also help promote liver function without a major change in food.