Should i give renal food to my normal cat?

[Aafia Ijaz]

Hi. I’ve got a 3 year old cat (5kg). I wanted to ask if it is okay to give her royal canin’s renal food that I am giving to my other cat with renal disease? Would it be okay for her health and nutrition wise?
Before that i was giving her RC’s hairball care but two different cat foods of RC are becoming very costly for me.

 

[Alldara]

Hi. I’ve got a 3 year old cat (5kg). I wanted to ask if it is okay to give her royal canin’s renal food that I am giving to my other cat with renal disease? Would it be okay for her health and nutrition wise?
Before that i was giving her RC’s hairball care but two different cat foods of RC are becoming very costly for me.

Purina has an "over the counter" hairball care dry food that works quite well. I recommended to my sister and she said it's worked very well
Purina ONE Hairball Formula Dry Adult Cat Food | cat Dry Food | PetSmart

I don't think it would be bad to feel her the renal food per say, except that if she does need the hairball control, very serious problems can arise due to blockages from hairballs. So to prevent those problems, I think she should have hairball food.

 

[lisahe]

I had always been under the impression that cats who don't have kidney disease shouldn't eat renal diet foods but A Alldara 's advice is always sound so I wanted to learn more. Among other things, I found this brief page (from a nearby vet clinic), which also says healthy cats can eat renal diet foods. Maybe something else there will be handy for your cat with renal disease, A Aafia Ijaz .

I agree with A Alldara that it would be better to feed the cat something else, though, both to get the non-CKD cat what she needs to pass the fur and to help ease your spending. (Cat food can get so expensive!) Brushing can help a lot, hairball formulas can help, and some supplements (often with fiber) can help, too. Our cats get daily Vet's Best anti-hairball tablets, which they love and which are generally good for digestion even if a cat doesn't have a hairball problem -- they're great for helping to prevent constipation, too.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Renal foods may have been changed recently, and I am not aware of it. But, if not, then they still contain a lower amount of protein than 'regular' foods, which is not necessarily ideal for non-CKD cats. It is actually not even ideal for CKD cats until possibly the last stage of the disease. This is because it has now been recognized that lowering the protein in renal foods in the hopes of helping reduce strain on the kidneys is not as effective as once thought. It is also now understood that older cats, even ones with CKD, need more protein to help offset muscle mass loss that occurs naturally. If older cats need the protein to help maintain muscle mass, I think that would apply to younger cats as well.

Because prescription foods are mostly 'proprietary' one can never technically know what is in them that 'helps' with any of the conditions they are supposed to be made for. I think there are probably a ton of other ways to help reduce hairballs in cats that don't involve these 'hairball control' foods.

 

[lisahe]

Renal foods may have been changed recently, and I am not aware of it. But, if not, then they still contain a lower amount of protein than 'regular' foods, which is not necessarily ideal for non-CKD cats. It is actually not even ideal for CKD cats until possibly the last stage of the disease. This is because it has now been recognized that lowering the protein in renal foods in the hopes of helping reduce strain on the kidneys is not as effective as once thought. It is also now understood that older cats, even ones with CKD, need more protein to help offset muscle mass loss that occurs naturally. If older cats need the protein to help maintain muscle mass, I think that would apply to younger cats as well.

Because prescription foods are mostly 'proprietary' one can never technically know what is in them that 'helps' with any of the conditions they are supposed to be made for. I think there are probably a ton of other ways to help reduce hairballs in cats that don't involve these 'hairball control' foods.

FeebysOwner , yes, this has always been my understanding, too! And what you write about protein is one of the big reasons we also fed our (now deceased) kidney cat commercial foods that were low in phosphorus rather than giving her renal foods. But that was more than ten years ago so it's possible that some prescription foods have changed considerably. Looking at a few random dry and wet renal foods, they're most definitely a mixed bag, some with good sources of meat protein at the top of the list, others with lots of grains.

 

[Alldara]

FeebysOwner and lisahe My close friend also does the same for her cat's early condition. But he does have a max protein content of 70% (dry content), anymore and he becomes ill. We believe it to be related.

That being said too A Aafia Ijaz I've heard that any food higher in fibre *could* be good for hairball prevention, I just haven't heard any feedback personally of that being true. I'm allergic to cats so I don't have long haired cats to provide personal experience. Other than my sister, our other good friend lost their cat to a hairball related condition after two blockage removal surgeries and trying many food types. Our third friend gets her cat groomed and shaved at a longer setting, to shorten and thin her hair.

 

[zombibird]

Two of my cats have advanced kidney disease (one is 17 one is only 7 in IRIS stage 4) ) but they would not eat ANY of the Rx renal wet diets. They will eat the Purina NF kibble but one was down to 4 pounds so my vet has said getting any food in is better than none. I have been using JustFoodforCats lately and it seems to be making a a good change. They are gaining weight and being active. They also get subcu fluids every other day. I know I wont have them much longer but their quality of life has been much improved. The rest of the crowd (the other 12 seem pretty healthy) adore the stuff. No more expensive than other high qual foods but may be hard to find

 

[lisahe]

FeebysOwner and lisahe My close friend also does the same for her cat's early condition. But he does have a max protein content of 70% (dry content), anymore and he becomes ill. We believe it to be related.

That being said too A Aafia Ijaz I've heard that any food higher in fibre *could* be good for hairball prevention, I just haven't heard any feedback personally of that being true. I'm allergic to cats so I don't have long haired cats to provide personal experience. Other than my sister, our other good friend lost their cat to a hairball related condition after two blockage removal surgeries and trying many food types. Our third friend gets her cat groomed and shaved at a longer setting, to shorten and thin her hair.

And there's the thing, just like always: every cat is different, whether the health issue is kidney disease or hairballs or something else, so what works for one won't necessarily work for another.