Renal Diet- can I ask advice please.

[Lookproperly]

One of my elderly cats has renal failure. He was diagnosed in January and the vet suggested a renal diet and semintra medicine. The diet he suggested was the Royal Canin renal diet wet pouches, supplemented by Royal Canin renal dry food.

My cat rallied quickly after his diagnosis, and ate like a horse. Since then he has become more and more fussy. The vet said it is fine to try other renal diets to see if he prefers them , can anyone recommend any?

The vet also said it is ok to give him some cooked chicken or fish, or tuna in spring water. This has confused me though as I thought the point was to restrict his protein intake and these things are pure protein?

It's so frustrating as he seems hungry, so I feed him and he looks at me in disgust and walks off. Before he was poorly I'd have ignored his fussiness but these days it is so important that he eats so it is becoming a problem.

Does anyone have any advice?

I use Hills Veterinary Diet pouches and dry food. My oldie prefers them to Royal Canin. We've reached an age (17) where I wouldn't give him a meal of tuna or chicken but I have in the past. I use those Thrive cat treats for him rather than Dreamies. Oh and a teeny bit of fish, tuna etc from time to time too...

Dcat has had renal failure for 3 years she likes the biscuits but won't touch the renal wet food. She likes constant variety of meat sachets and vet said it was more important to get her eating than insist on renal food which she point blank refused to eat.

My Twoago had serious renal problems and in the later stages, when he'd become very picky, I always regarded it as more important to have him just eating than to ensure that he was eating a particular food.

How old is he ?

Thanks for the advice.

Hes about 14.

He had a relapse in May, was suddenly very poorly, drooling really badly and I took him to tyhe vets faering that he had maybe reached the end of the road. He stayed on a drip and had anti-sickness injection and a few days later he was fine. The vet retested his and said his kidneys were no worse.

The vet thinks maybe it was caused by him not eating- and he confirmed that it is indeed most important that he eats something rather than nothing.

If my lovely old boy was to choose his own food he would live on dreamies and tuna- so I am trying to balance giving him what he wants, with not giving him too much food that will further damage his kidneys....

That may be the best approach to take. Giving him what he wants as long as it's not actively bad for him.

Good luck to him.