Starting a new thread since the new diagnosis. My picky eater senior kitty is confirmed to have kidney disease. They sent me home with Purina NF wet and dry, but he won't touch it. I know this is partly due to needing to get his toxins down. But is there another brand of food I could rotate with? Even when healthy he won't eat the same thing over and over.
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Food suggestions for renal diet?
- Thread starter tigerfit
- Start Date
Have you seen the Feline CRF web site? http://www.felinecrf.com/ There's lots of good info there about managing a CRF cat, including diet.
Here are some TCS threads on what to feed a CRF cat:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/308118/crf-ckd-cat-food
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/165343/good-quality-canned-food-for-crf
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240614/help-me-find-a-low-phosphorus-canned-food
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/219254/senior-food-for-crf-cats
Here are some TCS threads on what to feed a CRF cat:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/308118/crf-ckd-cat-food
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/165343/good-quality-canned-food-for-crf
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240614/help-me-find-a-low-phosphorus-canned-food
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/219254/senior-food-for-crf-cats
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Definitely check out the links LTS3 posted. I have been dealing with a picky ckd cat since August and the food lists were very helpful with determining what my renal diet options were (vet only carries a few options) and the phosphorus levels in regular food alternatives. Ask your vet if they carry any other renal diet brands. They should be able to write a prescription for them if they only carry one or a few options.
Jumbo was originally given Science Diet k/d. He wouldn't touch it. So they gave him a couple cans of Royal Canin LP Modified to try instead. He wouldn't touch it either. My vet didn't have any other options at the time. I decided to order Iams Renal Plus canned and dry from chewy.com with electronic prescription from my vet. I give him 1/4 can and 1/4 cup dry at a time because he won't eat more that that. He would eat the canned food for a few days and then not eat it for a few day and then eat it again for a few days and then not eat for a few day. Over and over. Then he had a liver test at the end of December and had lost more weight. The vet wanted him to try Royal Canin Renal Support D Morsels, Science Diet k/d Veg. & Tuna Stew & Veg & Chicken Stew and and Royal Canin Renal Support A dry. He doesn't mind the Iams or Royal Canin k/d dry foods. He gobbled up the first 2 cans of the Royal Canin Renal Support D Morsels. But then he wouldn't/won't touch it. He didn't like the 2 Science Diet stews either. Now he won't eat the Iams Renal Plus that was "okay" with either.
What he seems to like right now is Merrick's limited ingredient pates. I actually bought some for my 2 senior cats to try and he snuck into it. I felt bad taking food away from him when he was actually eating something so I just let him eat. He likes the turkey, chicken and duck. There's also a salmon and a tuna flavor, but I've gotten a couple cans of the salmon for the senior cats so far. I have yet to find leftover bits in his bowl so far with that food. He still eats the dry renal food. I still try to give him the canned renal food, but he doesn't go for it like he does Merrick's L.I.D. right now. He also hasn't thrown it up much as some other lower phosphorous foods we've also tried.
It's a lot of trial and error!
Jumbo was originally given Science Diet k/d. He wouldn't touch it. So they gave him a couple cans of Royal Canin LP Modified to try instead. He wouldn't touch it either. My vet didn't have any other options at the time. I decided to order Iams Renal Plus canned and dry from chewy.com with electronic prescription from my vet. I give him 1/4 can and 1/4 cup dry at a time because he won't eat more that that. He would eat the canned food for a few days and then not eat it for a few day and then eat it again for a few days and then not eat for a few day. Over and over. Then he had a liver test at the end of December and had lost more weight. The vet wanted him to try Royal Canin Renal Support D Morsels, Science Diet k/d Veg. & Tuna Stew & Veg & Chicken Stew and and Royal Canin Renal Support A dry. He doesn't mind the Iams or Royal Canin k/d dry foods. He gobbled up the first 2 cans of the Royal Canin Renal Support D Morsels. But then he wouldn't/won't touch it. He didn't like the 2 Science Diet stews either. Now he won't eat the Iams Renal Plus that was "okay" with either.
What he seems to like right now is Merrick's limited ingredient pates. I actually bought some for my 2 senior cats to try and he snuck into it. I felt bad taking food away from him when he was actually eating something so I just let him eat. He likes the turkey, chicken and duck. There's also a salmon and a tuna flavor, but I've gotten a couple cans of the salmon for the senior cats so far. I have yet to find leftover bits in his bowl so far with that food. He still eats the dry renal food. I still try to give him the canned renal food, but he doesn't go for it like he does Merrick's L.I.D. right now. He also hasn't thrown it up much as some other lower phosphorous foods we've also tried.
It's a lot of trial and error!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Thanks for the links and suggestions. Mine sounds a lot like your picky cat, he may eat something the first time and stop. My vet only carries the Purina NF. They are fine with me ordering online, I just hate having to blindly order a case of something not knowing if he'll touch it. The vet agreed that eating something, even a regular food, is better than continued weight loss. We're on day 3 of home sub-Q's, hoping his appetite improves soon.
I'll be searching locally to see if I can grab a few cans of different things to try.
I'll be searching locally to see if I can grab a few cans of different things to try.
You can buy single cans of food online: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/165078/where-to-buy-single-cans-online
Buying cans from a pet store is probably a better and quicker option. Check both the chain pet stores and the independent pet stores.
Buying cans from a pet store is probably a better and quicker option. Check both the chain pet stores and the independent pet stores.
Another good site for kidney disease information is Tanya's site (here), though it truly is comprehensive and a little overwhelming, particularly in the beginning. Even if you don't want to read all the medical information (some of which gets technical) the food charts are very helpful for finding foods with low levels of phosphorus. Catinfo.org has a similar chart (here in PDF format), though the data may be older.
I agree with CatMinionJess about trial and error, particularly given cats and their pickiness. (Our cats also love the Merrick LID foods: they seem to appeal to a lot of cats!)
FWIW, a lot of Weruva's foods are pretty low in phosphorus and might be worth trying if your cat likes shreds. Or even if he doesn't: our previous cat took a liking to them after eating dry food and pates for years. Fowl Ball in Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen line and their Steak Frites, in what's now their TruLuxe line, were big favorites. (Steak Frites has one of the lowest phosphorus levels of non-prescription foods.) I'm convinced the Weruva foods were helpful in improving her kidney numbers during her last months since she ate those more consistently than most of her other foods. A lot of Soulistic foods, which are made by Weruva, are also pretty low in phosphorus. (Soulistic and Weruva both have good nutrition information on their sites, making it easy to check phosphorus levels and other factors.)
Good luck! I hope the fluids kick in soon!
I agree with CatMinionJess about trial and error, particularly given cats and their pickiness. (Our cats also love the Merrick LID foods: they seem to appeal to a lot of cats!)
FWIW, a lot of Weruva's foods are pretty low in phosphorus and might be worth trying if your cat likes shreds. Or even if he doesn't: our previous cat took a liking to them after eating dry food and pates for years. Fowl Ball in Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen line and their Steak Frites, in what's now their TruLuxe line, were big favorites. (Steak Frites has one of the lowest phosphorus levels of non-prescription foods.) I'm convinced the Weruva foods were helpful in improving her kidney numbers during her last months since she ate those more consistently than most of her other foods. A lot of Soulistic foods, which are made by Weruva, are also pretty low in phosphorus. (Soulistic and Weruva both have good nutrition information on their sites, making it easy to check phosphorus levels and other factors.)
Good luck! I hope the fluids kick in soon!
