Early kidney failure in cat, where to get her special food?

wannabe_sybil

My cat, known as evil cat, had the same diagnosis, although she is elderly at 15. She had a history of urine problems and eventually the vet thought it was her kidneys and heart failing. I could tell she was getting creaky, she could hardly be bothered with anything and I had put this down to age.

We put her on the Hills Prescription Diet k/d, as advised, and she has recovered tremendously, her heart and kidneys are almost back to normal function and her malevolence is back to standard. It is as if she has shed years! The diet has made a tremendous difference and the dry food especially you only need quite a small amount per day.

The only thing now is that she is having problems with her eyes, because she doesn't drink enough or eat enough, but even that does not seem to be troubling her too much. Although it has been getting worse today, so I will be back to the vets again as soon as I can get an appointment.

I buy the Hills k/d stuff from
http://www.bestpet.co.uk/search_results.asp?sec=121&category=Hills_Prescription_Diets but if you google it you may find other sources. My experience of their service has been excellent. They have tinned food (evil cat is luke warm), pouches (she is okay with this) and dry.

I hope this helps. I am sure you are taking great care of your furry friend, and she is lucky to have someone as caring as you.

Lurker1972

My rescue cat was diagnosed with this last year, we don't know her age somewhere between 7 & 9

Our vets do supply it so am sticking them for now, but I've looked online at prices UK seemed to be one of the better priced suppliers

Kitty has the biscuits & loves them - considering she only has 3 teeth shes doing well

The vet said she could have occasional treats which does seem to help when she puts 'bored of this food' face on

Its probably naughty, but we do let her lick the cream off the milk bottle tops - she loves it & seems to know when the next one is due -she must be counting hte cups of coffee!!

Anyway, almost one year on, we have a very contented little round cat, I dread anything happening to her but she's been loved from the second we picked her up which is what really matters

You're looking after her & loving her so you won't let her down, no matter how long shes with you

x

MissyBee

Hi Dinah,

So sorry to hear about your cat :-(

My lovely cat was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure last month and he is only 2 1/2. I was completely devasted and still the thought of losing him makes me well up.

He is otherwise fine in himself, and displaying no symptoms at all - our vet caught this on a routine check up. Becuase of his young age and the fact they have caught it early, our vet thinks we will have a good few years with him yet, but I completely understand the shock and worry you are feeling.

Our vet has recommended Royal Canin Renal food, and so far he is loving it! We have been buying it from the vets but it is quite pricey, so I have just started searching online to see if I can get it cheaper.

Petmeds is looking like the cheapest so far.

Good luck on your journey with your cat, and hopefully we will both still be posting about it on here for years to come!

xx

Lurker1972

something else has just occured to me about the K/D stuff ...not that its a factor in kiity care, but its actually working out cheaper than feeding her normal food .... its working out at less than £4 a week which is probably £2-£3 less than i was paying before, its just the inital layout that feels painful

dichapman

I get diabetic food for my dog from petmeds, going through quidco. they have been the cheapest and most reliable for me.

wannabe_sybil

Just thought I would add that evil cat went to the vet yesterday, and despite being 15 and old in sin, she is doing really well, just on the food. The vet was really pleased with her kidney and heart function and her general condition. For us it is associated problems with her eye that keeps us dragging her back to the vet (poor man).

The food has really worked well for evil cat and given her a new lease of life. There is hope yet.

Dinah93

I think I will have to check out the pedmeds site this evening. The first place I found it it seemed to be 81p a sachet, which is over £11 a week, and they only did one flavour. Like a lot of cats I think mine gets bored if she gets the same food day in day out, so I need to find her a variety of flavours. Thanks so much to everyone who has posted, its great to feel like I have support here when I'm a bit lost.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I think Hills prescription wet food only comes in 1 flavor & my cat hated it lol.

Dinah93

Aye I've just been looking and noticed that! She will never eat one flavour all the time, so I'm going to have to look for some other options.

wannabe_sybil

With evil cat I ring the changes between the tinned food (one flavour only), the pouches (one flavour only) and the dry (one flavour only). At the suggestion of the vet she also gets an occasional treat of white fish, and your vet may be able to suggest ideas.

This is not recommended, but I have also given her dolphin friendly tuna in water as an occasional treat as well, and there is the issue of sandwich meat stolen, fish fingers stolen, chicken stolen etc. She seems to be flourishing. Your vet should be able to say if 'sins' are possible.

I am sure that it can be worked out. Good luck.