Cat with kidney disease and history of AKI eating less and less wet food!

[angela638x]

My Lola has kidney disease and has been eating less and less wet food lately. She continues to eat dry food and is always excited for it.

I mix up the flavors of the wet food constantly and use two brands, Wellness and Weruva. Her dry food is prescription Hill's and I use an auto feeder.

Typically in the morning she will eat her wet food, then as the day goes on she gets less and less interested in wet (I divide up her feedings and give her some more at around 4:30/5, then a little before bed) and looks to the dry food.

I am worried about her getting dehydrated (her poop is already showing it), as she had an AKI 2 years ago and almost died. Should I give her less and less dry food? Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[GranolaLouise]

Trying to get them to eat wet food is a real problem. Buying over the counter brands they will eat is a very expensive rabbit hole!
If she likes Hill's there is a prescription wet food that is tasty you probably could add as a topper to a few kibble to ease her into wet foods...it is the renal Chicken stew and the Tuna Stew. But it needs a prescription. My cat has a hard time digesting it because she eats it so fast and regurgitates it. It has a very tasty aroma and I can't get her to stop eating it so fast!. But it needs a prescription to be ordered.

Another suggestion is a sub Q fluid treatment if you think she is getting dehydrated. That is not something to take lightly for a renal cat. My cat felt so much better afterwards.

At times I boil a skinless chicken breast and make a pate' from the meat and the broth, freezing portions to be prepare at another time.
You could add that as a topper to the dry foods.

I had a problem with finding a wet she would eat and I went to the vet and she gave me a variety of cans of prescription renal foods and she favored the Royal Canin brand.
I would encourage you to take her to the vet and ask about a fluid treatment and some prescription foods. If you find one she will eat, then order a case from Chewy and if she does not want it, you can call them and they will accept the unused cans.

 

[angela638x]

Trying to get them to eat wet food is a real problem. Buying over the counter brands they will eat is a very expensive rabbit hole!
If she likes Hill's there is a prescription wet food that is tasty you probably could add as a topper to a few kibble to ease her into wet foods...it is the renal Chicken stew and the Tuna Stew. But it needs a prescription. My cat has a hard time digesting it because she eats it so fast and regurgitates it. It has a very tasty aroma and I can't get her to stop eating it so fast!. But it needs a prescription to be ordered.

Another suggestion is a sub Q fluid treatment if you think she is getting dehydrated. That is not something to take lightly for a renal cat. My cat felt so much better afterwards.

At times I boil a skinless chicken breast and make a pate' from the meat and the broth, freezing portions to be prepare at another time.
You could add that as a topper to the dry foods.

I had a problem with finding a wet she would eat and I went to the vet and she gave me a variety of cans of prescription renal foods and she favored the Royal Canin brand.
I would encourage you to take her to the vet and ask about a fluid treatment and some prescription foods. If you find one she will eat, then order a case from Chewy and if she does not want it, you can call them and they will accept the unused cans.

When she first left the hospital two years ago, I did sub Q fluids on her for about a week or so before I was instructed to stop. She last had labs done a few months ago and they were completely normal - even better than before she became ill. She is currently drinking from her water fountain. I would hate to have to do sub Q again as it was so traumatizing for her.

She has tried all of the Hill's wet RX food and some Royal Canin - hated them all! She has consistently eaten Weruva and Wellness for 2 years. She will inhale stuff like Fancy Feast (I've used it to hide medication in the past) and if I sprinkle some freeze dried treats on top of her wet food, she becomes interested. I want to give her new flavors of Wellness and Weruva as I wonder if she is bored with the same ones I rotate, I am always just mindful of phosphorus and try to get the flavors that have the lowest content.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Here is a listing of Weruva phosporus amounts for your perusal: Cat Nutritional Information

I would just try introducing new wet foods and see how she likes them. If you need to use toppers, so be it. You can always crush up some of her dry food and sprinkle on top. Is the dry food a renal food, or some other prescription?

When our kidney cats were still with us, our Vet said to let them eat whatever they wanted, as long as they ate. Some of the foods they ate were extremely high in phos, while others were quite low. The Vet figures they all balanced out to make it ok.

 

[emocatowner]

There are advantages to dry food, including increased calorie density. I'd hesitate to take it away from a CKD cat that is eating it.

You can also look into stuff like Purina HydraCare for extra hydration.

For subq fluids, look into something like the EZ IV harness (you can make something similar yourself too). My dude was eager trotting towards me whenever he heard the velcro of that thing, even as he was too sick to eat. He just hated restraint, and being able to move around while getting fluids really helped him not only be ok with it, but appreciate it.

 

[lisahe]

For subq fluids, look into something like the EZ IV harness (you can make something similar yourself too). My dude was eager trotting towards me whenever he heard the velcro of that thing, even as he was too sick to eat. He just hated restraint, and being able to move around while getting fluids really helped him not only be ok with it, but appreciate it.

That looks like a wonderful invention!

Another possible option for subq time is to put the cat in a box. I don't remember if we did that because someone at the vet's recommended it or if Edwina just happened to be napping in a box when we wanted to give her fluids... either way, it worked really well because she loves boxes and the box kept her restrained but not constricted. The most important thing, I guess, is fit. The sides of the box weren't quite as tall as she is and she was able to move around a little but not too much.

 

[syzygycat]

My Lola has kidney disease and has been eating less and less wet food lately. She continues to eat dry food and is always excited for it.

I mix up the flavors of the wet food constantly and use two brands, Wellness and Weruva. Her dry food is prescription Hill's and I use an auto feeder.

Typically in the morning she will eat her wet food, then as the day goes on she gets less and less interested in wet (I divide up her feedings and give her some more at around 4:30/5, then a little before bed) and looks to the dry food.

I am worried about her getting dehydrated (her poop is already showing it), as she had an AKI 2 years ago and almost died. Should I give her less and less dry food? Anybody have any suggestions?

I've had 5 cats and learned different tricks for each of their dietary needs. But this is a 2mo old post, so before I type a long essay, do you still need help?