A Great Kidney-Friendly Cat Food with One Major Drawback and a Side Effect - My Cat's Story

Hello everyone!

I've been putting off writing this review of Purina Pro Plan NF RENAL FUNCTION cat food for a while, until my opinion of it was fully formed. And today's the day)

About the cats

I have four cats, which I've brought back from Uzbekistan at different times. That's the most cheeky and handsome one)

Kitten Seryozha

But today's review isn't about him. Seryozha has some health issues, but they're not as severe as the 'hero' of today's review, kitten Lapik (he's a disabled cat with three legs, a bitten-off tail, and part of an ear missing).

Kitten Lapik

That's the cat who's currently munching on this 'miracle' cat food from Purina Pro Plan.

Purina Pro Plan NF RENAL FUNCTION cat food

There's also a cat called Suslik at home, who's Seryozha's mom.

And there's also Chernysh, a cat who used to live with Lapik in the place where we rescued him.

Cat Chernysh

In short, it's a whole menagerie at home. Every animal has its own needs, problems, and personality. But I won't go into that, because it's a never-ending story.

Lapik's health story

Lapik is a three-year-old cat, who used to be a stray. He has good teeth, but his build is more like a six- or seven-month-old kitten. He's missing one leg, part of an ear, and part of his tail. It's likely that he was bitten by dogs.

When he was first spotted, he was in good shape, weighing around three kilograms. He showed a lot of interest in food, and would eat it all up without sharing it with anyone.

We took him in from the streets and initially kept him in a shelter with other animals. There, he supposedly (I'm writing this because I don't know for sure) got all the necessary vaccinations, including rabies and distemper, and was treated for worms.

On several occasions, it was noticed that he would go to the bathroom in the wrong places. Plus, he had a fungal infection, which we managed to clear up, but a sore on his neck has remained.

After we brought him from Uzbekistan to Russia (during the journey, he got a lot of stress, of course), we didn't immediately give him any treatments or de-worm him. He adapted to his new environment over the course of a month. The other cats (at the time, there were two of them) were quite aggressive towards him. But Lapik's appetite remained good.

I have to admit, I was a bit concerned about his abnormal abdomen. To me, it looked rounded and unusual, and it was quite firm. A month later, they dewormed him with Melbimax.

He handled the deworming medication really poorly. He was lethargic, apathetic, had no appetite, and was being picky. About a week later, he started to return to normal. We'd never encountered this issue before, and we didn't react correctly to it. Maybe we should've given him a sorbent instead. Of course, he lost weight during this time and continued to lose it afterwards. He started looking like a little skeleton, with visible bones (by the way, they seem quite brittle).

All our visits to the vets yielded nothing. None of the treatment protocols or diets helped bring him back to normal.

I'll attach screenshots of the vet's recommendations. The preliminary diagnosis was Hypothyroidism. We ran tests for viral infections, and they were ruled out. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a general blood test done since we just couldn't get a blood sample. We took him to several clinics, but none of them could manage it. We gave him Ferumlek and vitamins, but nothing seemed to help. They also diagnosed him with enterocolitis and cystitis.

So, what's the situation now?

His stool is still irregular. Sometimes it's liquid, sometimes it's paste-like, and sometimes it's a loose sausage. Good days are when it happens four times.He's drinking a lot of water and sometimes lies next to it.He doesn't play with the other cats, but when he wants food, he becomes very active, almost hyperactive.He sleeps a bit, but his sleep is fragile.His fur is dull, and he grooms poorly (although he does groom a bit). He sometimes has issues with his fur, where it falls off or fails to regrow. For instance, half of his nose is bald and won't grow back. He also had a gummy wound on his leg that peeled off. We treated it, and it healed. The fur they shaved for the ultrasound still hasn't grown back.His appetite is ferocious. He eats his food quickly, takes food from others, and would devour a whole elephant if he could.He doesn't like any of the medicated foods we've tried (we've tried both holistic and premium brands). He's currently on Purina Van, and he eats both wet and dry food. We try to avoid giving him natural food, but it's sometimes hard since we have three other cats at home.That's how our last message to the vet looked (we had a whole trainload of vets, but none of them were suitable for us). The vet from Moscow prescribed a specific set of medications and a Renal food series for us. First, we had to give them a urine sample (since we couldn't get a blood sample).

Urine analysisThe analysis showed that Lapi's body isn't absorbing protein properly. Some other indicators were a bit off as well. Based on this, they diagnosed him with chronic renal insufficiency.

Packaging/Cost of Purina Pro Plan NF RENAL FUNCTION

I'll be honest, when your pet's not feeling well, the last thing on your mind is the packaging. But I'll give you the lowdown - the smallest packaging size is 350 grams, which costs around 650-700 rubles. And, despite the larger size being around 2 kg, I'd recommend starting with the smaller one, especially if you're new to this brand. Why? I'll explain in the 'palatability' section later.

Now, let's talk about the price. In my opinion, it's overpriced. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. The 'Purina people' always say it's the best, made with the best formulas, and so on. But, as a regular consumer, you don't need to read a whole essay about how great their products are. What I want to know is why it's so expensive, considering the affordable ingredients they're using.

The Composition of Purina Pro Pla NF RENAL FUNCTION for Cats with Kidney Disease

This is straight from the manufacturer's website (and the packaging):

Maize*, rice*, soybean meal*, wheat flour*, wheat gluten*, animal fat, dried poultry protein*, flavour and aroma enhancer*, maize gluten*, egg powder*, pea fibre, dried beetroot, minerals, fish oil, amino acids, yeast, vitamins, antioxidants.

So, why do I call it affordable? Anybody who knows the cost of ingredients will understand that there's nothing 'expensive' here. It's all about maize, rice, and soybean meal. Cheap and cheerful. Sure, maybe the ingredients are mixed or processed in some way, but the fact remains - we're using cheap ingredients and selling it as a premium product. And, as usual, the vitamins are in short supply - last but not least.

What the Manufacturer Claims to Offer in Purina Pro Pla NF RENAL FUNCTION for Cats with Kidney Disease

These are their 'selling points' and 'foundations' for why this is a therapeutic food. So, let's start with the first one:

The increased content of Omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids) helps maintain kidney function in late-stage chronic kidney disease.

I'm not seeing where the increased content is in the composition. If I'm being honest, I'd expect to see some actual evidence of this:

Omega-3 fatty acids - fatty fish, especially mackerel, sardines, herring, kizhuch, chavycha, keta, herring, salmon, anchovies; seaweed, fish oil, rapeseed oil, linseed oil, sunflower oil, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.

And how do they determine this 'increased content'? Fish oil with Omega-3 fatty acids can be bought at a veterinary pharmacy for around 50 rubles. Cheap and cheerful.

So, this 'point' for me is highly questionable.

And then there's the second one:

Limited amounts of high-quality protein help reduce muscle wasting and the production of toxic substances in protein metabolism, while limited amounts of phosphorus help slow the progression of chronic kidney disease.

We, as consumers, have no idea where this 'high-quality' protein comes from. Obviously not from the maize.

And my favorite - the third one:

High palatability for cats with reduced appetite

This dry food has poor palatability. It's a real challenge. First, if you feed by the grams as indicated, it's a disaster. My cat started losing weight. When the first packet arrived, after three days, my cat just stopped eating it. He looked like he was staring at nothing, not even sniffing it. I had to remove it and adjust his diet. Then, after some time, he started eating it again, but it was a hit-or-miss situation. This food is clearly not to my cat's liking. And that's not surprising, given that the food has a meat smell but no actual meat.

So, the palatability of this food is a significant drawback. It's just not there. Nor is there any variety in flavors to keep the animal from getting bored.

By the way, the manufacturer recommends warming it up, which seems to make the cat more 'loyal' to it. I'm not sure about the temperature guidelines, though.

Purina Pro Plan NF RENAL FUNCTION cat food

What are the side effects of this food?

My cat's stomach has been struggling with it for two months. Every time my cat eats this specific dry food, he ends up with diarrhea. It's quite... unpleasant.

Purina Pro Plan NF RENAL FUNCTION cat food reviewsHow can you check the effectiveness of this food?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I mean, what's the point of it all? Any cat owner with kidney issues would likely give their pet both food and medication, right? So, this food is just an addition to the treatment. It's like human medicine. You have a condition, you need to adjust your diet and take pills. I'm not sure how this food affects my cat's body, if at all.

Purina Pro Plan NF RENAL FUNCTION cat food

What conclusions can I draw?

Let's put it this way: I'm generally unhappy with this food. Paying a Russian average pension for just one pet per month, I expect to understand what I'm paying for. Not just the packaging, and definitely not the brand's reputation. I want to pay for results and understand how this food works. My cat doesn't like it. It's not appetizing, which is a problem. There's diarrhea after eating this food, which is another issue. I don't get why there's hardly any meat in the ingredients, given that cats are predators and wouldn't naturally eat corn and other stuff. I think the manufacturer should have clearly explained the ingredients and their effects. What should I expect from this food? My cat should gain weight, become more active, or something else? I have no idea. It's a pet, after all. It can't tell you anything. In short, I'm unhappy. I'm paying a lot of money for this food and still have so many questions."

Other articles you might find helpful:

Monge food for cats with dermatosis and excessive hair loss - a detailed breakdown of the ingredients;

A decent food for removing hair from a cat's stomach, but not without its drawbacks;

My story of adopting my Uzbek cats for the first time - please don't repeat my mistakes when you bring them home;

Calming aids for cats - my personal experience;

An affordable anti-parasite treatment for kittens with a good composition - I'll share my experience with the side effects