Best food for a Yorkie with pancreatitis and possible kidney disease?

Hi and thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would stick with a low fat prescription diet such as Hills I/D or Royal Canin Low fat gastrointestinal. Continue this diet until your one pet is over their pancreatitis episode. Then you can slowly transition them back to a senior diet which is typically lower in calories and higher in protein and carbs. My top brands are Royal Canin, Hill’s Science Diet, Evo or Eukanuba. Best of luck with your fur babies and their new diets. Take care!

I would be concerned that his diet is lacking in the micro nutrients, minerals and fatty acids. Lean meat, veggies and rice do not contain significant amounts of calcium, fatty acids...etc. This could contribute to his low weight. Dogs who have kidney disease will also commonly lose body condition as well. I would recommend to reach out to a veterinary nutritionist who can formulate a complete and balanced diet for Bingo that will meet his body calorie needs as well as address the vitamins/mineral/other nutrients. The diet will also address his pancreatitis and kidney disease. The kidney disease needs to be controlled by having low Phosphorus and low protein so this can be tricky. You veterinarian may have a recommendation for a nutritionist or you can look online. May nutritionist offer online consultations or phone consultations making the process easy. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

No, urinary food is designed to treat bladder conditions such as stones and not designed for older dogs. Royal canin mature small dog would be the most appropriate option to minimize age related risks and 6-12monthly urine exams can help to identify an early kidney changes. Therapeutic kidney diets are not recommended as a prevention and should only be used if kidney changes are detected

I'm sorry Sophie has been so sick, but it's great that her liver enzymes have dropped! Royal Canin is a high quality food, and if your vet thinks she should eat Royal Canin GI canned food, then I agree. The vet knows which food would be best for Sophie giving they have been working with her in person, but knowing the quality of Royal Canin as a food, I think it's a great choice for her :-)

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The soft stools are not normal. Also, the most important thing is to feed a low fat highly digestible diet. My own dog has a long history of pancreatitis so I have been through this for a long time. The best diet out there for dogs with pancreatitis is the Royal canin gastrointestinal low fat diet. I would recommend that you consider switching to a more balanced prescription diet like that one. There is no known benefit in feeding a grain free diet. Good luck and have a great day!

Honestly, with pancreatitis a dog needs a super low fat diet and the only ones that fulfill this are prescription diets. I would recommend canned and dry Hill's i/d low fat. If this was his first bout of pancreatitis he may only need to be on this for a short while. If he has had multiple bouts of pancreatitis then he needs the super low fat diet for life. Hope this helps. If you have more questions please feel free to post again. Best wishes!

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.