Non-RX foods your CKD cat actually eats

[Renn_aissance]

My 14-year-old Himalayan is more or less stable in early stage kidney disease. He has been on RX dry food for the last two years and he has made it extremely clear that he is DONE WITH THAT TRASH and refuses to eat it. What he would like to eat instead: his brother’s (high protein) food, the dog food, some rice in sauce he jumped up on the counter to get, my husband’s pizza, etc. He has the dietary preferences of a raccoon most of the time, so when he turns his nose up, it’s not caprice.

I’m looking for non-RX dry foods that are moderate protein and phosphorus, suitable for a kidney cat. (Or a palatable RX option we haven’t tried yet- he does not care for Hill’s, Royal Canin, or Purina.) We tried a couple of the foods at the top of the Feline CRF low-phosphorus list like Now Fresh’s senior recipe and he declined. So: are you feeding something non-RX that is reasonably good for a kidney cat and that your cat finds acceptably tasty?

We have the wet food side of the equation taken care of (Weruva) but he won’t eat enough of it to meet his caloric requirements, so we do dry food for all-day snacking. Fortunately he is an excellent drinker.

[JB]

The Daves wet was a bit hit for our last CKD kitty for a while. Then his taste changed, and he loved the Royal Canin Renal Support E, so if you haven’t tried those, they’re worth checking out. I did have to order the Daves by the case from Chewy (I think? Maybe Amazon?) but could buy singles or the RC from PetSmart

For the dry food, you might get a box (unfortunately no singles that I know of) of the ProPlan HydraCare as a small mixer for the dry food to see if it will encourage more intake

[2DogsFarm]

My FIC guy did well on Iams Urinary for several years.
Purina One Urinary was also tolerated.
He said NOPE to Hill’s - dry & canned - from the vet.

[risuenaVT]

@JB

For the dry food, you might get a box (unfortunately no singles that I know of) of the ProPlan HydraCare as a small mixer for the dry food to see if it will encourage more intake

This is exactly what I do with my CKD girl. My vet gave me some samples when she first recommended it (and then offloaded all of her remaining samples on me because my cats were the only ones in her practice who actually liked it. I did not complain). She loves her hydracare and once the kibble has soaked it in, she happily eats her kibble.

But tuna juice or broth or some other liquid that your cat finds appetizing could potentially also work to make the kibble more appealing?

[cardinale]

THE CKD cat that I kept going for over two years basically got whatever she would eat from among Fancy Feast pates and gravy dishes, plus a little non-prescription dry food as a treat. I just couldn’t force her to eat a restricted diet, plus it was a multi-cat household. She got daily fluids + periodic mirtazapine. I think she did well longer on that regimen than if forced to eat only prescription foods, which she rejected.

[OzarksRider]

My CKD cat likes Hill’s Urinary Hairball Control Chicken Recipe dry food. My other 3 cats like it as well. According to the FAQs on Chewy’s website, it has 0.62% phosphorus and 34.2% protein on dry matter basis.

Don’t know if you’re doing this, but I drizzle liquid vitamin B12 on my CKD cat’s wet food, and he seems to like the taste. I’ve read that with age and CKD, cats’ intestines don’t absorb nutrients very well, and I think supplementing with B12 won’t hurt and might help.

[Renn_aissance]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I’ll talk to his vet about the B12 at his next appointment in a couple of weeks. That’s not a bad idea.

Appetite is not the problem, fortunately- I’m currently feeding him his brother’s food mixed in with his and he eats that fine, and he has maintained a healthy weight and good condition. But Orijen Adult is not particularly suitable for a kidney cat!

He’s funny about what he likes and doesn’t. He has finally settled into being a grazer (which is good- when he first came to us he would gorge himself and then yak it all back up.) But this means he wants to have a moderate breakfast, then come back in two hours to snack, then come back in two hours to snack… and if I give him more wet food than he wants in a sitting, it will sit there and get gross, and of course then he won’t eat it. Same with soaked kibble. We have a pretty good balance right now where he gets as much wet food as he will eat in a sitting at the times when he will eat it. Just need to figure out all those snacks, which are NOT, good sir, a chicken nugget you jumped on your father’s desk to steal.

[JB]

for wet food, what he doesn’t eat can go into the fridge, and then if he doesn’t like cold food (we have some who don’t care, some will strike) then nuking it for a 10 seconds or so, or adding a little very warm water and stirring, can warm it up enough

But kibble that had liquid added, yeah, that gets icky lol

[Renn_aissance]

Well, after some experimentation, it appears that he has reached the stage in his life where he simply wants variety. Doesn’t matter what I give him, he will devour it for the first three days, and then it is no longer interesting. Unless, of course, it is in his brother’s dish.

My current solution has been to go to the pet store and purchase anything I can find that is halfway nutritionally appropriate and comes in a small bag, then rotating between products and mixing up kibbles in his dish so that every meal looks a little different. And, yes, this includes his brother’s food. Far less interesting when it appears in his own meal bowl.

A friend of mine is contemplating fostering cats and asked her cat owning friends how much they budget per month for food. I told her to go ask everybody else and leave me out of this.

[Angela_Freda]

@JB

for wet food, what he doesn’t eat can go into the fridge, and then if he doesn’t like cold food (we have some who don’t care, some will strike) then nuking it for a 10 seconds or so, or adding a little very warm water and stirring, can warm it up enough

And a little extra water is a good thing for myriad reasons