Question:
I have a 12 year old cat that has just been diagnosed with kidney problems. They are working as well as they should. It isn't bad yet, but the vets want to put her on a low protein kidney diet so they don't have to work as hard.
Now, the question is, do I purchase their brand of kidney food, or do I look for something else? I know their food is going to be full of fillers and preservatives so I'd like to avoid it if at all possible. Is there a brand of good quality food out there that would be good for her kidneys? Is there a homemade diet we could try? She's a fairly picky cat, and won't eat just anything.
On top of her kidney problems, her thyroid isn't functioning as well as it should. They don't want to put her on medication right away though, because it will wreck her kidneys even further.


Answer:
Kate, I'm sorry to hear that. CRF (chronic renal failure) is quite common in older cats. I came across several websites when Sydney was sick. The best one that I've found is http://www.felinecrf.com. It has a ton of information. There are links to diets (commercial and homemade) on this page http://www.felinecrf.com/managd.htm.
Given that my cat is on a vet diet, I can understand how you feel about the quality of the food. The ingredients in Syd's food disgust me. However, it is working and helping her to get better. Hopefully, she will be off of it soon. In your case, your cat will likely be on the food for the rest of her life...so it's a more difficult decision. Anyway, check out the link...hopefully that will help some.


Answer:
Oops, forgot to mention...
In Canada, Medical is supposedly the equivalent to the Innovative Vet Diets (IVD) in the US. Here is the link to their reduced protein diet.
http://www.medi-cal.ca/consumers/Fel...Protein_EN.asp


Answer:
There are good BARF resources out there to check out if you'd like to make a homemade diet for your cat. I'll see what I can find in terms of recipes for cats.