Is Mera Country Taste chicken dry food safe for my cat's kidneys?

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.

Kidney disease in cats, in most cases, is caused simply by a loss of function overtime. I think we see this more in cats because they tend to live longer than dogs, sometimes on the upward end of 15 to 20 years. As the pet ages, so do the cells that make up the kidneys, and this results in a loss of function (kidney insufficiency). In theory, yes we can preserve kidney function by adding more water to their diet. But I think that at some point the kidneys will still lose function because that is what happens naturally as the pet ages. With all that said, I still encourage owners to feed their cats wet food and use kitty water fountains whenever possible, to preserve kidney function for as long as physically possible.

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.

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)

There are many different opinions about pet food, even in the veterinary community. I think it is fine to offer canned and dry food to cats. Most people will leave dry food out and will offer the canned food once to twice a day but don’t leave that out as it will spoil. If the cats are heavy, look for low-calorie foods. Dry food isn’t that good for the teeth unless it is a special dental formula. These formulas have kibble that will not break until the tooth is fully engaged into the kibble. Otherwise kibble only helps to keep the tips of the teeth clean and not the gumline. Kibble is however not bad for the kidneys. Canned food is better for the kidneys because of the water content but if kidney disease does develop, cats will need a special diet for kidney disease. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions about Moe and Mac.

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.

It is safe unless Mel is allergic to it (quite rare). The efficacy of it is a source of discussion and honestly I have never seen great benefits from its administration. The food you are giving is perfect and is part of the treatment for chronic renal failure in cats. K/D prescription diet (Hill's) is a good quality food as well.