How long to transition my picky cat to a kidney diet with stimulant?

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.

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.

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

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.

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)

This can be fairly normal behavior for a cat with a decrease in appetite, and I would guess that Tony's kidney disease may be making him less interested in food. You could try a different variety of food, and you may want to buy several different flavors of the kidney diet. You can also scoop a smaller amount out onto a plate and refrigerate the rest so the food isn't wasted. If Tony seems to be losing weight and not eating much food you may also want to ask your vet about an appetite stimulant.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Appetite stimulants sometimes do not help so it is not uncommon to be in this spot especially if there is significant underlying disease. I would recommend you contact your veterinarian who knows the entire medical history to make further recommendations. There are other appetite stimulants that can be tried such as Entyce. Good luck and have a great day!