Cat with Possible Renal Disease Prefers Poor Quality Food

There are a lot of variables going into this issue, so I'll try to outline them as briefly as possible.

My 6 year old tuxedo cat Jade came to us as a stray in August 2016, with no previous medical records until we took her to be spayed, etc. at a local clinic. We took her to a local vet for a basic checkup and we found that she was suffering from severe stomatitis and we went through the process of giving her antibiotics before the surgery and after. She only had a few teeth removed. She didn't have any apparent complications until a week or so after her antibiotics ended in November and she became lethargic, refused food and water, and she threw up (mainly liquid because her stomach was empty). We took her to the vet and they diagnosed liver failure, but after a month of liver supplements, more antibiotics, and subcutaneous saline injections she improved and her liver levels came back to a more normal range. However, her kidney levels were starting to fluctuate towards the high side. We asked about renal diet but the vet said she didn't think she needed it.

During her sick spell in November, she had refused to eat her regular Sheba pate wet food (after eating her first full meal in a while, she threw it all up) and ate her regular Pure Balance dry food with water poured over top. Eventually she got sick of that, so I bought her a small bag of Wellness which she was not a huge fan of ($16 down the drain). Finally, I decided to try the first food we gave her, Purina Cat Chow (it took a while to switch her dry food the first time while she was still healthy). Her appetite was immediately revived. Ecstatic that she was eating, we fed her as much as she wanted with water poured on top (she didn't drink much from her water bowl during that period). Unfortunately, now that she is doing better she has gained a bit of weight (not obese but on the borderline) from her 7.5 lb when she came to us in August to around 10 lb now. (She is a petite cat) Also, she still refuses wet food for the most part.

My mother claims Purina Cat Chow Indoor is good because it has low protein (I've read its "low protein content but HIGH quality protein" which I know is not true of Cat Chow), which is said to be good for renal diets. However, I'm not comfortable with feeding her such a poor quality if she HAS to eat dry food for every meal. My parents agree that "if it's not broke don't fix it" but I worry that her unhealthy diet is making her more lethargic and we don't know the sodium or phosphorus content, which are also considerations for renal cats.

I would love *reasonably priced* suggestions for a cat that needs perhaps a lower protein content and as low phosphorus as possible (without prescription, since the vet claimed she doesn't need it). And advice on trying to convince my parents to give her better quality food/trying to give her more wet food.

Here's the little nugget, she has a bit of a pooch as you can see. Hahaha!

See these web sites for info on kidney disease and diet options:

http://www.felinecrf.com/

http://www.felinecrf.org/

You said her kidney levers were starting to go to the High side....are they still normal (on the high side of normal), or is she considered to be in stage 1 of kidney disease?  In stage 1, she should still be eating high protein food, albeit cutting down on phosphorus. 

The websites above even have food charts showing the amount of those, and the sodium content)  in many commercial foods, both wet an dry.   With my last kidney cat, I eventually jut went down the list and tried each food until I found things she would eat .    The key is to just get them to eat,though, as that is usually difficult.