If Anyone Can Solve This Feeding Issue You Will Be My Hero.

[jen]

So here is the situation:
~Emma, 20 year old Himalayan with kidney disease who WILL NOT EAT CANNED FOOD or anything but her medium quality dry food my mom has fed her, her whole life.
~India, 14 year old Torti who will ONLY eat dry but will switch to other drys without much problem
~Roxy, 6 year old food monster will eat ANYTHING and is a little heavy

Emma needs to be transitioned to canned food for her kidneys. She isn't at the point where she needs SubQ fluids yet, she doesn't have the kidney breath yet. I am trying to prepare my mom for what is to come without freaking her out, but stressing the importance of getting Emma onto canned food. Mom has tried all her favorite toppers (she loves people food, cheese, milk, yogurt) to try to get her to eat. Ideally she would leave out the canned or at VERY least dry kidney food for Emma when she gets hungry in hopes that after awhile she will realize this is all that is available to her. How long do we let her not eat before giving in? She is 20 and she has to eat. She weighs about 6lbs and has always been tiny and dainty so she can't afford to loose much.

I also viewed the various websites recommended to other people here about how to get dry food lovers to eat wet, and toppers to entice them to eat. Maybe we hadn't tried them all and still need to work on it, but none of her favorites worked. I am familiar with Dr Pierson's suggestions and Tanya's Guide to Kidney Disease.

Meanwhile India needs to eat, she is a grazer and eats a few kibble here and there. If her food is left out Roxy will eat it and Emma will just go to eat it too instead of her canned or kidney dry diet. If Emma's food is left out Roxy will eat it.

Any ideas how to solve this? If Emma is just left to eat her favorite dry food (which is a thought, to not stress out a fragile 20 year old and just know she won't be around as long) what are we looking for exactly to know when it is time to take the next step with fluids or whatever? Can anyone recommend OTC suppliments (ideally with links!) for kidney health?

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome!!

Thanks!

 

[Furballsmom]

Have you tried moisture in the kibble? The only thing is that moistened kibble can't be left out for more than 40 minutes or so.

Have you tried probiotics?

Would you consider microchip activated feeders?

Here's a post of mine that could have something for you and your mom
Young Kitten Refusing To Eat

 

[jen]

Oh no we haven't tried moisture in the kibble. Lol after everything we tried it would be crazy if that works.

Is there harm, other then to the bank account (lol) in the other 2 cats eating some of the kidney diet here and there?

 

[Furballsmom]

I've read that there are members who allow their other cats to eat the kidney food. I'd look at the ingredients and compare foods, see what you think.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Well, it doesn't work for every cat but.....
moistening the kibble helps. Usually. And when that is accepted, adding a TINY amount (I'm talking a scant 1/8 tsp. of wet or canned food) to the mix gets them going, usually. If not, 1/16th of a tsp. of wet food to the dry (think "gravy", not topper) sometimes works. Think "gradual dietary change", injected with steroids, multiplied by 1,000 for a cat =D

Another idea is taking dry food, crushing it in a coffee grinder or food processor and then coating very small pieces of wet with it to encourage them to at least consider this weird wet crap as food. Monitor what they eat, and always be willing to offer dry as a food intake.....seems counter productive...but the last thing we want with an elderly CKD cat is to stop eating completely.

( jen IMO you're a very highly respected member here, and I'm not picking at you....I know you know you don't "tough love" a cat on food.
But I thought I'd mention that for anyone, present or future, reading this post. And for those folks, don't "starve" a cat into eating canned or wet food off dry, this will not work. At all!)

 

[jen]

Ahhh yes thank you. I should probably asked that a little differently. I wouldn't starve her of course, I just know when we put down the food she doesn't want and she sniffs and walks away you feel bad and immediately want to give her what she wants. So I am trying to get my mom to do some more coaxing and hand feeding even before just putting the food she likes down and walking away. Of course she wants to immediately give in and thinks it's mean to make her eat what she doesn't want.... Ugh lol hope that makes more sense.

I will definitely suggest she grind up the food and coat bits of wet, that might work. That's pretty genius. I wonder if she could even cook up little bits of wet to biscuits.

Thank you again!

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[happilyretired]

I had two cats in chronic renal failure, and my vet suggested FortiFlora sprinkled on their wet food to stimulate their appetites. My boys loved it and ate well until the 'end.'