Cat update

[ellid]

According to the vet, Siren is having trouble concentrating her urine, whatever that means. She's going to have to go on a prescription diet. Tomorrow the vet's going to give me a sample pack of various prescription cat foods to see what Siren likes...and I just looked up the prices on-line and nearly had a heart attack. $25 for 3 pounds of dry food??? $1.50 a can???

Can anyone recommend a renal food that won't bankrupt me? cathouse_mary? Help?


UPDATE:

I just tried the Hills prescription dry food and she LOVES it. Just inhaled the stuff in something that approached a feeding frenzy. She's now sacked out, guarding the crumbs, by the radiator in the bathroom, looking very content.

I swear, she hasn't been this enthusiastic about food since strawberry season ended.

Comments

[canellaphile.livejournal.com]

I've been there, twice, with prescription food. It's expensive, but they are our fur children. ;)

I hope it helps Siren!!

[psyfic.livejournal.com]

I'd rec making it yourself.

Several recipes here:
http://users.ameritech.net/critterz/crf_recipes.htm

You can make some on the weekend, store it in a tupperware container in the fridge and portion it out each day, heating it in the microwave if kitty prefers heated food. Some prefer it cold. If she's used to canned food, just blend it after cooking to that consistency and scoop it out. Easier to portion, too.

[cathouse-mary.livejournal.com]

This! The main problem with the pre-made prescription diets is that cats hate them - they have no flavor.

Other things:

Goose fat is a wonderful flavoring, and one goose renders out an amazing amount of it.

Chicken fat can be found in the kosher section of the grocery store.

Canned pumpkin: mine really love it.

Powdered egg yolk and powdered dried vegetables can be found at bulkfoods.com - I vouch for the egg yolk. I use enough of it that I have bookmarked the page!

[embermwe.livejournal.com]

Yes. THIS!
Hills and Royal Canin are the major producers of precription renal diets. In general, they are filled with things like "corn gluten meal" and "powdered cellulose" and "chicken liver flavor". Ugh. corn and sawdust, dusted with liver flavoring. What a thing to feed a carnivore.