Tips For Getting Your Cat With Kidney Disease To Eat

When cats are going through kidney disease, the appetite often takes a hit. This is typically because nausea and a lack of appetite are one of the main side effects of blood toxicity rising. Since the kidneys don't process your cat's blood as well as they used to, your kitty may lose its appetite. However, it still needs to eat! If you're having trouble with this, try these tips.

Appetite Stimulants

One of the best things you can do for your cat in this situation is to talk to your vet. Veterinarians have access to a wide variety of medications that can help to boost a cat's appetite. These medications can be given on a regular basis or just when your cat seems to particularly not be interested in food.

Smell

For many cats, the scent of food can be extremely enticing. As a result, playing up the smell of food can get your cat interested in eating.

The easiest way to make your cat's food smell more strongly is to warm it up. You can use a stovetop or a microwave. Warming the food helps to dissipate the scent of the food, which can attract your cat from nearly anywhere in your home. Just make sure to allow the food to cool enough so that it's safe for your cat to eat. If your cat is anxious to eat and you want to speed up the food's cooling, you can put a little chicken or beef stock in it to bring the temperature down quickly and increase the meaty taste for your cat.

Nutritional Gel

There are some days where your cat may simply refuse to eat. Unfortunately, this is something most cats with kidney disease go through at one time or another. If your cat won't eat no matter what, you can use nutritional gel to ensure that they're getting vitamins and calories.

Nutritional gel is sold at most pet stores for cats and kittens. Either will work for your cat, but kitten nutritional gel is typically higher in calories and might be better for your cat if it's not eating.

Many cats will smell nutritional gel and immediately show interest. You can try putting a little on your fingertip and showing it to your cat. They may lick the nutritional gel up right then and there. However, if they don't, you can put the nutritional gel on their mouth, just below the nose. Your cat will lick it up to clean themselves and get the nutrition that way.

If your cat won't eat for a prolonged period of time, make sure to visit a vet clinic. All cats need to eat on a regular basis to avoid fatty liver disease, but it's especially important to not allow a cat with kidney disease to become weak or sickened due to a lack of food.

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