What is the best food for our cats

When I adopted my little Sushi, he became very ill and after he recovered, my vet told me that in the Sonogram they took, his kidneys were smaller than they should be.  Since he was a rescue cat, they were not sure whether this was a birth defect or something of a problem.  My vet said that they recommended Fancy Feast Pate's and not the gravy chunk brand that it would be easier on his kidneys and that Fancy Feast was 80% moisture. She also had me buy Renal Dry Food for his kidneys so he could digest the food easier.

He went from a skinny bony cat to a healthy frisky cat in a matter of 3 weeks and has put on substantial weight.  Not heavy, just solid.  I can no longer feel his skeleton or his ribs, thank goodness.  I feed him around 1/4 cup of dry food and he eats 2 cans of Fancy Feast during the day broken up in sections . I work at night, so from the morning until 3PM, I am feeding him on a schedule.  He drinks from his water fountain so I know he is not dehydrated.

I am assuming since he has made such a marvelous recovery and he has become extremely active and playful in less than a month, that all is well.  I originally wanted to feed  him Orijen as I was told by a breeder that is the best dry food you can get, but he spit it out.  Now that we know about his kidneys, I want to prevent kidney problems.

Can anyone tell me how to make sure he is getting enough calcium for his bones and teeth?

Any thoughts on this?

Joyce

If you're feeding commercially made foods that are marked 'complete and balanced' (or similar) then your boy will be getting everything he needs just from his food

A great tip to boost hydration (especially important if you feed any dry food) is to add a little extra water to his wet food. Most cats accept this very happily, and it will help compensate for the dryness of kibble. There are more ideas in this article:- [article="30756"][/article]

Do, of course, check this with your vet first, but Sushi might benefit from lower phosphorus foods long term. This is a special case though, as he doesn't have kidney disease, just smaller kidneys, so I may well be being overly cautious here

So long as he's thriving, keep doing what youre doing. Its obviously working :bigthumb:

Hi, thank you for your reply.  I do add water to his fancy feast most times and to see him drinking out of his cat fountain, gives me great pleasure.  I checked and fancy feast Classics are complete.  He has a sensitive stomach and previously threw up quite a bit until I just had him on 2 cans of Fancy Feast and 1/4 of his renal dry good with some other special dry food for his stomach.  He cannot tolerate other cat foods - even the fancy feast with chunks and gravy.  I did not care what the food costs, I just wanted him to have the best.

Since they don't know if he is endanger of kidney failure, I am taking all the preventive measures I can to ensure him of a healthy life according to my vet's advice.  She is a humble woman and said if needed, we can always have a kidney specialist look at him, if necessary. So I know he is in good hands.  

The hardest thing is not knowing his background or how old he is.  I am so glad I joined the cat site as I want to learn all I can about cats.  They are multifaceted creatures.

Joyce

Well, it sounds like you have a great vet Trust her advice, and trust your instincts - you both know Sushi better than any of us here do :nod:

Oh - and never forget the old adage - the best food for your cat is the one he will happily eat, and can digest with no problems. The 'best' food in the world is useless from the tin, and even worse if it causes vomiting


It's always so hard not knowing the background of rescue animals, but rehabilitating them and giving them a wonderful life is so rewarding. Sushi is lucky to have such a wonderful mom