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Mariacmrn

Member Since 2026
16 yo cat with stage 2 ckd. Tried Hills Rx diet & canal. Sheldon just had teeth cleaning & 1 pulled. Vet said no dry food for 2 weeks. He usually eats can food 4x/day with small amt dry food available duringthe day & overnight. He's not eating enough can food. Any food suggestions, supplements?
 
Hi and welcome! Sheldon sounds a lot like my guy Pookey. Similar age, stage, and recent dental. Pookey felt a lot better after the extractions.

How's his appetite? Is he reliably eating the Hills RX? If so, maybe you could look into wet food auto feeders. Cat Mate and Petlibro are two I see talked about a lot.

There are a lot of low phosphorus food options. See Food Charts. I personally have had success with Weruva BFF Play Pates.

Maybe @SqueeM3 or @Chai&mocha will have some other ideas for you.
 
He's worse after the dental. Won't eat KD cans. He doesn't like auto feeders , previously tried dry food auto feeder, he hated it. Right now his favorite thing is babby food ( give as last resort since it's not good for him). Have you used any supplements or appetite stimulation?
 
Did they send him home with pain meds? Pookey was on Onsior and Gabapentin post-dental.

I’ve used Ondansetron for nausea. Mirtazapine for appetite stimulant. I don’t think you’d want to stimulate appetite until any potential nausea is under control though.

Do you think he’s nauseous? Or in pain?

You could try some plain boiled chicken too, that seemed to help Pookey get back on track recently after a bout of pancreatitis. Fortiflora or small amount of Parmesan cheese as a topper might help. More tricks here: Nausea & Decreased Appetite
 
Usually you don’t need RX food at stage 2. Look at the food list and see what foods are lower in phosphorus that he likes. Pain meds can take away the appetite. When Chai had a tooth pulled she ate baby food first a day or two and then back to her regular food and she only got pain medication for a day or two.
 
Pain med made him loopy. Offered KD, baby food, tiki cat pouches, wellness turkey pate. At different times he'll eat one of them but yesterday was a real struggle. I've slept 1.5 - 5 hrs sleep / night for a week now. I'm exhausted! I've had many cats over the years, most with kidney disease later in life, but he's my most challenging. I've also been an RN for 50 yrs( now retired) so I'm use to dealing with complex medical issues .
We moved last Sept which only complicates matters & had to say goodbye to our other senior cat last Nov ( I know he really misses her).
 
It sounds like he could be nauseous. Do you have any ondansetron? It works great for nausea. Losing a buddy can be tough. Max developed pancreatitis when I lost Tiffany.
 
I've tried everything, mixing with baby food with everything,4 different can foods, boiled salmon ( he ate some of that), boiled chicken breast, etc. He was eating ok, the day of dental work, and a few days after. Fed small frequent meals, that worked until yesterday afternoon, last night & today's been a nightmare. Calling Vet tomorrow. He has follow up appt scheduled on Friday.
 
As soon as the Vet said he could have some dry food ( he did have a tooth pulled) he did a complete turnaround. Eating can & dry food (mainly KD) like crazy! My old Vet only wanted him off dry food a few days, this Vet said 10-14 days.
He really didn't like his regular diet/ schedule being upended like that.
Thanks for checking!
 
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