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What cat food helps early kidney disease? Hill's or Purina One?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 17 years and 7 months old | 9.5 lbs

Hello I was reading a post tonight about early diet changes to limit sodium, phosphorus and avoiding excessively high protein for slowing progression of kidney disease in a cat who may be in early early stages of kidney disease. Is it correct that hills science and Purina one mature formulas would be a good choice? thank you

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

Veterinarian

Published on August 28th, 2017

Yes, mature or senior cat formulas from either Hill's Science Diet, Purina One, or Purina ProPlan are all good choices for senior cats in the earliest stages of kidney disease. Generally speaking, most of these senior diets are formulated with slightly lower protein content and less phosphorous than typical diets for adult cats. However, there is no concrete evidence that suggests that lower protein diets will necessarily slow the progression of kidney disease in cats (this debate has been going on the veterinary community for 20+ years!). If Tony is showing early stages of kidney disease, switching to a senior/mature cat diet is unlikely to cause any harm and may provide some benefit. If you do decide to change his diet, be sure to do so gradually by mixing the old and new foods together over 5-7 days. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

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    Answered By Lauren M. Jones, VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 29th, 2017

    Yes, early diet changes to limit sodium and phosphorus, while avoiding excessively high protein can be quite beneficial to slowing the progression of kidney disease. Science Diet foods are formulated by veterinary nutritionists, have been tested extensively both in the lab and through clinical feeding trials, and have appropriately sourced ingredients. Only two other food companies (Purina and Royal Canin) can also make these claims, and all have their own production facilities with better quality control than other manufacturer's with shared facilities and a greater likelihood of cross-contamination. If you decide to switch Lola to the G/D diet, be sure to do so gradually by mixing the old and new diets over 5-7 days. I hope this helps to answer your question and that all goes well for Lola!

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