Cat with kidney failure: Can I mix RX food with organic & supplement?

There is a lot of misconception when it comes to pet food. Grains are not bad for pets as long as they are the right kind, high-quality and easy to digest. They provide many essential amino acids that are not found in animal products. Royal Canin and Science Diet are both high quality brands with lots of research, data and good quality control. Switching to the recommended diet is the best thing you can do for Mercy. The diet contains controlled protein, controlled phosphorus, controlled potassium and additional omega three fatty acid supplements as well as antioxidants. You can certainly supplement her as it is not likely to hurt but the main control for kidney disease will be found with the protein and phosphorus. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional 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.

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.

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)

Unfortunately all prescription diets for kidney failure in cats are more or less priced the same, removing her from a prescription diet can potentially accelerate the disease. the alternative is home made recipes such as these ones: https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/2-homemade-recipes-for-cats-suffering-from-kidney-disorders.html

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!

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.