Kidney food?

One of my friends has a kitty who's recently been diagnosed with kidney trouble. It's not full blown CRF, but he has some kidney damage and as a result is losing protien in his urine. He's 13 years old and the vet said she has to put him on different diet to prevent further damage.

The problem is that he hates all the kidney-health foods she's tried so far and her vet is of the "give him no other options and he'll eat it" opinion.(she's currently looking for a new vet) She's been hand feeding him for two weeks because it's the only way to get him to eat and has even tried cooking homemade food for him with no luck.

I just thought I'd toss this out there and see if any of you with experience with kitties who have damaged kidneys have any food suggestions she could try.

Originally Posted by mews2much

What foods have they tried?

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Mostly the prescription stuff the vet's suggested - Medi-cal, Science Diet. I know she's tried the Purina NF (i think i have the letters right) as well as one organic brand - sorry, I'd have to ask the name.

With my CRF girl the best food was raw with some reg premium adult canned... YMMV

Has she tried clam juice over the food?? Did she "pate" style the homemade food ??

There's Royal Canin LP. I've seen a lot of kitties prefer it over SD, but I'm not sure against other brands.

All three of mine eat Purina NF canned (including Lola, who is not CRF.) They all also eat Hills k/d minced chicken canned (none of them will touch Hills k/d original!) I also feed Hills Science Diet Feline Maintenance, but I add 1/2 teaspoon of Aluminum Hydroxide gel powder (phosphorus binder) to it. I have fed Eukanuba Multi Stage Renal, and they ate that fairly well, but it is difficult for me to get, as no one here in town sells it. I used to purchase it in a neighboring town (the vet consulted with my own vet, so I didn't have to get Cleo examined before they would sell it to me.) It's been several years since I've purchased any (since it's quite out of my way to go there), so I'm not sure if they'd still sell to me.

Back when Cleo was first diagnosed, Royal Canin was made by IVD (Innovative Veterinary Diets) and was called Select Care Modified. Cleo didn't like it at the time. I haven't tried it since it changed to Royal Canin. I also tried Walthams Renal Support, which she didn't like. There is/was also a non-prescription renal food called Hi-Tor Neo Diet (made by Triumph), it has comparable protein/phosphorus content to Hills k/d, but Cleo wouldn't touch it.

As far as I know, these are the only canned renal diets available in the U.S. and Canada. I know very little about dry renal foods, as I don't feed dry food. I am totally unfamiliar with any of the foods available outside of the U.S.

My CRF cat would only eat Royal Canin-Waltham pouches till she got tired of them (she had them for about 6 months) after that she refuses to eat them, so I give her the Senior wet food from Royal Canin http://i30.twenga.com/3/tp/23/84/704...9951792384.png
is early kidney protection, she likes it, before that I tried lots of other food.
The best thing is to feed your kitty wet foods.

My CRF cat would only eat Royal Canin-Waltham pouches till she got tired of them (she had them for about 6 months) after that she refuses to eat them, so I give her the Senior wet food from Royal Canin it writes early kidney protection, she likes it, before that I tried lots of other food.
The best thing is to feed your kitty wet foods.