Senior cat with kidney disease won't eat wet food. How to stop UTIs?

Question

My 14 year old cat has been diagnosed ias having kidney disease, she won't eat the 'special' wet food but likes the special dried biscuits, however, she keeps getting UTI's she looks very healthy, but I can tell she's feeling off when she doesn't eat! She has approximately 30% kidney function in both kidneys, I'd like to 'keep her around' for as long as she can 'handle' her condition, any advice on how to stop UTI from re occurring and how to get her to eat special wet food? Pet's info: Cat | Russian Blue | Female | spayed | 14 years and 4 months old | 7 lbs

Christie Long, DVM · Accepted Answer

I know of 3 excellent kidney-specific diets for cats - Hill's k/d, Royal Canin's Renal LP, and Purina's NF. I'm sure as your vet explained, kidney diets are designed to be low in phosphorus and protein, and they produce less nitrogenous waste (less work for the kidneys). Wet food is preferred when managing kidney disease, mainly because it adds additional moisture to the diet, and kidney failure tends to cause animals to "leech" fluids from the body, so the additional water is necessary. Having said that, cats can be very difficult when it comes to changing diets, so if she absolutely won't eat wet food, I would try the dry variety of any of the foods I recommended above. Most veterinary internal medicine specialists feel that getting a kidney failure cat to eat is more important than specifically what it eats, so if you absolutely can't get her to eat a kidney diet, you may have to resort (at least temporarily, while you transition her) to feeding her what she will eat. As for the UTI's, the best thing you can do to help prevent those is to keep her well-hydrated. Again, wet food will help, but if she won't eat it, consider "floating" her dry kibble in water, or adding a very small amount of low sodium chicken broth to her water to encourage drinking. You might also talk to your vet about administering some fluids under the skin once or twice weekly to increase hydration; most cats tolerate this well and it can be easily done at home.

Senior cat with kidney disease won't eat wet food. How to stop UTIs?

Most Helpful Answer

Related Questions

Why is my mouse's eye swollen, cloudy, and has pus?

What fish dog food helps dry skin if my dog eats Science Diet?

What's the best way to feed my hamster when I'm going on a trip?

Can chickens eat bell peppers daily and what about veggie salads?

Is Purina Layer Pellets good for chickens? What other feeds exist?

My newly adopted pet won't eat hay. What can I do to encourage it?

Share