I've had Jumbo for about 4 years. He was a stray, neutered, de-clawed and is around 8 years old now. I took him to the vet for his yearly checkup in May. When they weighed him, he had dropped from 12.44 last year to 10.88. The vet said the weight loss and him being an extremely vocal cat could suggest hyperthyroidism and that he could really use a dental cleaning.
I had noticed he wasn't eating much of the senior kibble (Hills Science Diet) I'd switched all 3 cats to earlier this year. So I got him a bag of the previous food they'd been eating (Nature's Recipe). He did seem to start eating more then. I took him back a week later for the thyroid test. That checked out okay. No hyperthyroidism.
But it seems lately he's back to not eating much again. I put 1/2 cup of kibble in his bowl in the morning and often, half of that is still in his bowl the next morning. On the weekend they've each been getting half a 5 oz can of Friskies for breakfast, then their usual amount of kibble later in the day. Jumbo will usual eat all his wet food by lunchtime. He will also eat Greenies and vitamin or calming chews when I give them to him.
I've been concerned about getting the dental cleaning due to his weight loss, plus I've had a very busy last few months and couldn't get to it. He did have one 2 years ago. I obviously don't want to risk putting him under anesthesia if he's sick. Additional blood work is required for cats over 7. Normally they do it the same day as the cleaning. But my vet's office has 2 locations and does the surgeries and dental cleanings at the one that is farther from my house. So I took him Saturday morning (2 days ago) to the get blood work done at the closer office were we go for yearly exams. It didn't take long at all. As we were leaving, the tech said they'd have the results today and if everything checks out, I shouldn't wait more than 6 weeks to schedule the cleaning. They'd need to retest if I waited longer no matter what the results were.
The tech called about half an hour later. She said everything looked good, but the vet said his kidney levels were a little off. She said it would still be okay to schedule a dental cleaning. She said Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin make a kidney diet food that they carry if I wanted to start him on that and to let them know any time if I wanted to pick some up or need a prescription. She did not actually say Jumbo has kidney disease. Would you have a dental cleaning on your cat if it had a kidney problem? Or a potential kidney problem?
So I'm a little confused now and still worried about Jumbo. I thought I could find a kidney diet food at Petco or 1-800-petdmeds, but I'm not seeing anything. Is kidney diet food only sold through a vet? I don't want to have to order food from the vet's office. I know he won't eat Hills Science Diet and I haven't tried Royal Canin for my cats.
I think maybe he hasn't been eating as much because his teeth hurt and perhaps that is what has caused the weight loss and kidney level issue. He does always seem thirstier than the other 2 cats. Maybe he does need more wet food in his diet, not necessarily the RX kidney food. I did pick up a case of Iams 18 count 3 oz cans at the store on Friday thinking the smaller cans would less wasteful to dole out to him. They've all eaten Iams before and been okay with it. He ate one can that night. Not all at once though. I had to keep putting him in front of his bowl to nibble. He ate 2 cans plus a small amount of kibble throughout Saturday and again on Sunday. This morning I gave him half of a can in one food bowl and filled his other bowl with kibble. By the time I left for work he'd only eaten half of that half can. I imagine he will be starving when I get home and won't have touched the kibble. I would really like to get him back up to 12 lbs.
For those of you that feed a mostly or all wet food diet, how do you manage it working full time and not being home for over 10 hours a day? Also what brands (affordable) do you recommend? I know I will not buy Blue Buffalo. When I tried a bag a couple years ago, my girl cat developed a cough which went away when I went back to their old food. Also the Hills Science Diet is most likely out for Jumbo as he doesn't like the senior food. They also won't eat the Nature's Recipe wet food.
Sorry this is lengthy, but I wanted to include all the back info to get the best recommendations. Thank you for reading this far!
I had noticed he wasn't eating much of the senior kibble (Hills Science Diet) I'd switched all 3 cats to earlier this year. So I got him a bag of the previous food they'd been eating (Nature's Recipe). He did seem to start eating more then. I took him back a week later for the thyroid test. That checked out okay. No hyperthyroidism.
But it seems lately he's back to not eating much again. I put 1/2 cup of kibble in his bowl in the morning and often, half of that is still in his bowl the next morning. On the weekend they've each been getting half a 5 oz can of Friskies for breakfast, then their usual amount of kibble later in the day. Jumbo will usual eat all his wet food by lunchtime. He will also eat Greenies and vitamin or calming chews when I give them to him.
I've been concerned about getting the dental cleaning due to his weight loss, plus I've had a very busy last few months and couldn't get to it. He did have one 2 years ago. I obviously don't want to risk putting him under anesthesia if he's sick. Additional blood work is required for cats over 7. Normally they do it the same day as the cleaning. But my vet's office has 2 locations and does the surgeries and dental cleanings at the one that is farther from my house. So I took him Saturday morning (2 days ago) to the get blood work done at the closer office were we go for yearly exams. It didn't take long at all. As we were leaving, the tech said they'd have the results today and if everything checks out, I shouldn't wait more than 6 weeks to schedule the cleaning. They'd need to retest if I waited longer no matter what the results were.
The tech called about half an hour later. She said everything looked good, but the vet said his kidney levels were a little off. She said it would still be okay to schedule a dental cleaning. She said Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin make a kidney diet food that they carry if I wanted to start him on that and to let them know any time if I wanted to pick some up or need a prescription. She did not actually say Jumbo has kidney disease. Would you have a dental cleaning on your cat if it had a kidney problem? Or a potential kidney problem?
So I'm a little confused now and still worried about Jumbo. I thought I could find a kidney diet food at Petco or 1-800-petdmeds, but I'm not seeing anything. Is kidney diet food only sold through a vet? I don't want to have to order food from the vet's office. I know he won't eat Hills Science Diet and I haven't tried Royal Canin for my cats.
I think maybe he hasn't been eating as much because his teeth hurt and perhaps that is what has caused the weight loss and kidney level issue. He does always seem thirstier than the other 2 cats. Maybe he does need more wet food in his diet, not necessarily the RX kidney food. I did pick up a case of Iams 18 count 3 oz cans at the store on Friday thinking the smaller cans would less wasteful to dole out to him. They've all eaten Iams before and been okay with it. He ate one can that night. Not all at once though. I had to keep putting him in front of his bowl to nibble. He ate 2 cans plus a small amount of kibble throughout Saturday and again on Sunday. This morning I gave him half of a can in one food bowl and filled his other bowl with kibble. By the time I left for work he'd only eaten half of that half can. I imagine he will be starving when I get home and won't have touched the kibble. I would really like to get him back up to 12 lbs.
For those of you that feed a mostly or all wet food diet, how do you manage it working full time and not being home for over 10 hours a day? Also what brands (affordable) do you recommend? I know I will not buy Blue Buffalo. When I tried a bag a couple years ago, my girl cat developed a cough which went away when I went back to their old food. Also the Hills Science Diet is most likely out for Jumbo as he doesn't like the senior food. They also won't eat the Nature's Recipe wet food.
Sorry this is lengthy, but I wanted to include all the back info to get the best recommendations. Thank you for reading this far!