[Maurey]

senior diet which has had removed some of the stuff they don't need

I was under the impression that senior cat diets just had lower calories. IME, most senior cats have trouble putting on and keeping weight, as opposed to losing it. Or are there most monumental differences in the senior foods sold in the UK?

Might also be worth looking into low phosphate wet foods that aren't marketed as renal (or aren't veterinary diets). There are a few good quality foods in the states that are low phos, but unsure in terms of what's available in the UK.

Edit: FWIW, here's Tanya's list of low phos wet foods (includes a comprehensive list for the UK, as well) https://felinecrf.org/which_foods.htm
With kidney cats, it can be a struggle to get them to eat, so ultimately you want to feed them the best quality thing they WILL eat.

 

[Maurey]

I've asked two vets if my HT girl should be OK having fish as I read it was not suitable for cats with her condition, but the vets really just seem as though they don't have any

See if you can find or get a refferal to either a holistic vet (not to be confused w/ homeopathic), or a vet nutritionist. They should be able to help you more comprehensively.

FWIW though, fish is not recommended to cats with any conditions where phosphorous or excess metals/minerals are something to be avoided in the diet. My friend's cat w/ urinary issues (cystitis, crystals, etc) doesn't get fish, though his condition is pretty well-managed just by diet once he was transitioned off the urinary hills food.

 

[Maurey]

Well, to be honest, I had always thought that ''senior'' diets were just a gimmick, and had never thought to buy them for old cats - they just got what the rest had. It was not until I had a young cat with CKD who would not touch the renal, and the vet herself actually said that despite him being a youngster I should try to get him on senior pouches as they were more appropriate to his needs. It's actually the only time a vet has offered any dietary advice, most vets seem not to interest themselves in diet.

(sorry for the double post, apparently this quote got cut off)

Imo, they're just suggesting that b/c they have nothing better to offer. Maybe they made an association of older cats having renal issues more often, hence maybe a younger cat w/ CKD would benefit from senior food. From my understanding, there's no real difference other than the lower calories and higher price. Apparently, vets that don't specialise in holistic care or nutrition will get a couple vet food sponsored lectures about what vet food to prescribe for what condition, and don't really get much education on nutrition beyond that.

I'd suggest checking out the CKD food list I linked earlier, see if there are any wet foods on there you haven't tried for your kitty yet. Maybe you'll stumble onto something your kitty will enjoy that'll help manage it through diet.

 

[Maurey]

I have had a look at Taya's site, but there doesn't seem to be a list of foods for the UK, only the US - so still a bit confused.

Tanya does have a list of UK foods, you can ctrl+f for them if you're having difficulty finding them. Here's a direct link to the section with UK foods https://felinecrf.org/which_foods.htm#ckd_diet_choices_uk