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My cat won't eat kidney food. Is Entyce better than Mirtazapine?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 18 years and 11 months old | 9.5 lbs

Hi would mirtazapine and entyce work in the same way? I ask because tony is on 1/8 mirtazapine everyday and it doesn’t really seem to help as far as getting him To eat kidney food any easier. Would you recommend trying entyce or are they basically the same thing? Thx!

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 21st, 2018

Good question. They are both appetitive stimulants but are a different class of drug so they work in different ways. I think it is worth a shot trying to the Entyce. I would also highly recommend informing your veterinarian about this continued issue because often times the pets kidney values are really high, causing appetite suppression alone. Also ask your vet about getting Tony on Cerenia (anti-nausea) medication long term (can be given every other day in renal failure cats ) to help with his appetite. Often cats won’t eat because they are nauseous due to elevated toxins in their blood stream from the kidney disease. Also a product called Azodyl can help reduce kidney values more naturally. I hope these suggestions help you get Tony’s appetite back to what it used to be. Best wishes and take care!

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    Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 19th, 2019

    Mirtazapine is often used to stimulate appetite in cats and it now comes in a transdermal formulation that can be spread on the ear. The corticosteroid injection can have direct anti-cancer activity as well and it’s possible that Sadie could have another.

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on August 17th, 2018

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are a few medications for appetite stimulation but my preferred ones are mirtazapine and Entyce. However, the best thing to improve appetite is to find out what is causing the appetite to be low and treat it. I would encourage you to check in with your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a great day!

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    Answered By Maria DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on September 30th, 2018

    Typically it takes a few doses to really work, but I would be hopefully that it has some play in why Tony was hungry. I would continue with the medication as prescribed. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Hi tony started taking an 1/8 mirtazapine appetite stimulant every 48hrs on sept 30th to help him eat his kidney food. It hasn’t helped much.. I’m still mixing kidney with his senior food and he is still being very picky. My vet told me start giving
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! Appetite stimulants sometimes do not help so it is not uncommon to be in this spot especially if there is significant underlying disease. I would recommend you contact your veterinarian who knows the entire medical history to make further recommendations. There are other appetite stimulants that can be tried such as Entyce. Good luck and have a great day!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Hi if tony should need an appetite stimulant to help him want to eat his kidney diet are there going to be any side effects of an appetite stimulant? Tony is only in early stages of kidney trouble but my vet has asked me to try kidney food. Thx!
Not really. The appetite stimulants are only used intermittently until the cat is eating well on their own. They don't have many side effects. There are multiple companies that make a prescription kidney diet. You should pick one and try it. If Tony doesn't like it, you can always try a different one. I personally like Royal Canin diets but Hill's kidney diet is also great. Purina also has a veterinary prescription line. All have dry and canned versions. I prefer the canned diets for cats with kidney disease due to the high water content. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/royal-canin-veterinary-diet-renal-support-s-dry-cat-food ) ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/royal-canin-veterinary-diet-renal-support-t-slices-in-gravy-canned-cat-food ) I agree with your vet. These prescription diets are very helpful with early kidney disease. I hope this helps. Please post again if you have more questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Hi Tony has been transitioned to kidney food for about a month now but honestly feeding time is a constant struggle.. he walks away to try to steal my other cats food and I follow him around with the bowl, or I have to sprinkle a bit of hers on top t
Maybe try a different brand. There are several brands that carry kidney diets, and many have different flavors within the brand. You could try wet vs dry. Some of the brands have a palatability guarantee, meaning you can return it if Tony doesn't like it, but make sure to ask the vet about it. He may also benefit from Cerenia for nausea, which is common in cats with kidney disease.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi tony has not been liking his kidney food lately and I’ve tried all the Rx kidney foods from royal Canin, hills, purina. He’s been to vet for labwork and only abnormality is low potassium so we’ve increased his dosage of tumil k. Until the potassiu
Royal Canin carries a diet called Senior Consult which has restricted Phos but not as low as the renal diets so it is not appropriate to feed instead of the renal diets. I recommend to discuss this option with your vet before making any diet changes since they are the most familiar with Tony's history. You may ask your vet about an appetite stimulant such as mirtazapine. Many renal cats want variety. Many owners will keep several renal food options and will switch the kibble every week to keep it interesting. Most cats will go back to eating a diet that they had previously stopped eating so you may try circling back. You should also ask about the return policy when purchasing the food in case Tony won't eat the food. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat had urine tests that showed no other problem but phosphates and alkaline urine,7.5ph,he has prescribed some things,one of them is paste with content dl-methionin,which side effect is to decrease appetite,but he already has very poor appetite a
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! There are a few medications for appetite stimulation but my preferred ones are mirtazapine and Entyce. However, the best thing to improve appetite is to find out what is causing the appetite to be low and treat it. I would encourage you to check in with your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a great day!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I am in contact with my vet but am seeking a fresh take/opinion. CHF cat is not eating, is on several heart meds, incl. mirtazapine for a stimulant. It's not working. What am I missing? What could be making him nauseous/not wanting to eat? med side
Thank you for submitting your question regarding Hank. Here are a couple of my thoughts for you to discuss with his veterinarian. You can try Cerenia which is an anti-nausea medication. Entyce is a new appetite stimulant that may be tried in replace of the mirtazapine. It is only approved for use in dogs, but has been used off label in cats. You can consider switching to a potassium sparing diuretic such as spironolactone which may allow him to come off of the potassium supplement. I would avoid the ginger at this point and try other options as there is no way to know if it will interfere with his cardiac drugs. I typically try one thing at a time so that I know what is helping. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Hi can I use a freeze dried raw dinner morsel as a topper on Tony’s kidney food? It seemed to really help him enjoy his kidney food today , like never before. He is in early stages, and kidney food has been a struggle even on an appetite stimulant.
Hello, thank you for your question about Tony. I am sorry to hear that Tony does not seem to love the kidney diet; these are known to have a bland taste so many animals do not like them. The freeze dried morsels have a high protein content; most veterinarians recommend minimizing protein ingestion in patients with kidney disease. However with that being said, the main goal in any patient with kidney disease is to ensure that they eat. If this helps Tony eat his food regularly I think it is ok to add this as a meal topper. One other thing you could try (if you are using dry kibble) is to add a small amount of low sodium chicken broth to moisten the food and help improve the taste. Hope this helps, good luck!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Our cat Duchess, age about 10 yrs, had been chewing on plastic. We tried to stop it but then she started pulling the hair out of her tail. Duchess stopped eating and was taken to hospital last night. They said it was hyperthyroidism and gave us Fe
Hello. Yes, there are appetite stimulants that we often give to cats & I am sure your veterinarian is aware of this. Common ones are mirtazapine & cyproheptadine. Cerenia is often used just because it treats nausea, and a newer product called Entyce is being used extra-label in cats ( it is only approved for dogs right now, but the company is working on a cat application). One of the adverse effects with Felimazole is the possibility of loss of appetite. Sometimes discontinuing the medication for a few days & restarting at a lower dose gradually increasing to full dosage is necessary. Hopefully, Dutchess will be feeling better soon. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi! Tony has been on 1/8 mirtazapine appetite stimulant every 48 hrs for about 11 days to help him like his kidney food and what I’m noticing is that he’s real hungry for his senior diet but still picky with the kidney food. I expected the appetite s
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! I would mix his old food in with the kidney food. Go slow with the transition, over several weeks. There are also other companies that make prescription kidney food. He may like one of those better. Don't get discouraged, keep trying! Good luck!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
My vet is having tony try to transition to a kidney diet but whether it’s his kidney food or his senior diet he tends to lick the pate rather than pick it up in chunks and once he’s licked too much of it he no longer wants it and I have to start a f
This can be fairly normal behavior for a cat with a decrease in appetite, and I would guess that Tony's kidney disease may be making him less interested in food. You could try a different variety of food, and you may want to buy several different flavors of the kidney diet. You can also scoop a smaller amount out onto a plate and refrigerate the rest so the food isn't wasted. If Tony seems to be losing weight and not eating much food you may also want to ask your vet about an appetite stimulant.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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