Is Fancy Feast cat food really that bad? What should I feed instead?

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.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The fancy feast and Meow mix are find to feed at that amount. I prefer Purina kitten chow or a Science Diet kitten formula. Fancy feast and meow mix are not prescription foods so they do not prevent kidney disease, urinary crystals that would cause him to be blocked (urinary obstruction) or a bacterial UTI. UTI's and kidney failure are not caused by diet. UTI's are from bacteria and kidney disease develops with age and many other factors. Oliver is too young to put him on a kidney diet since it isn't safe for growing kittens and we only put cats on kidney diets when they start showing signs of kidney disease. Urinary obstructions can be caused by diet and by genetics (how the cats processes the food) and causes the formation of crystals in the urine. Urinary obstructions aren't always caused by diet as stress, inflammation, mucous and bladder stones can be causes. I hope this helps and I wish you and Oliver the very best!

I am not familiar with any foods that cause kidney disease - if that was true it wouldn't be sold any more! Cats in general are prone to developing kidney disease as they get older. When that happens, we often change them to a different diet that is lower in protein and has some difference in minerals to decrease the load on the kidneys.

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

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Hill's G/D diet is a great diet to feed older cats. It may have slightly less protein than is needed for younger cats. Unfortunately, Fancy Feast has a higher amount of fat and salt in it, so it does cause cats to gain weight. I recommend feeding your other cats a dry kibble, there are light or diet options from Hill's available as well. Being overweight can cause diabetes and other medical conditions in cats, so it is definitely a good idea to have them lose their extra weight. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

I really like Hill's Science Diet, Iams (very inexpensive), or Purina for better options that are much better than Fancy Feast. It is good that you want to go with a wet food, since cats are not big water drinkers. This will help promote good kidney and urinary bladder health. You can also mix in the wet food with dry to help stretch out the wet food and make it even more affordable! IF you are going to transition her to the new food, please make sure to do this over the course of a week to help avoid an upset stomach. Here is a website link on how to do this successfully! https://www.hillspet.com/cat-care/nutrition-feeding/switching-cat-food Best wishes with your furry friend Luna and thanks for visiting Petcoach! Take care

No, this is absolutely not correct to say that. kidney failure can be cause by various reasons but in most cases the exact reason is unknown. when kidney failure is already present, dry food and food with high protein levels can cause the kidney failure to get worse faster.