VetriScience Kidney Health Chews, Renal Essentials Supplement for Cats, Kidney Care and Support with Mushroom, Astragalus Root, Nettle Seed and Herbs, Chicken, 120 Count

These chews are more like meaty Gummis than "treats". I break them into little pieces and add to the meal.This is why I give them five stars - kidney cats pee like crazy, dehydrating themselves and depleting their potassium and B vitamins, which leads to weakness and other problems. Giving subcutaneous fluids as we do (it's not that hard, don't be scared), there's even more peeing. These chews replace the lost vitamins and minerals and I have seen a real difference in our girl, who is in her second year of lab-verified kidney failure.Use a high-quality canned food (if they won't eat a "prescription" food, what's the point?), a spoonful of Gerber pureed jarred meat stirred in, the crumbled chews, two a.m. and two p.m., and once a day 2.5 mg of a Pepcid tablet - quarter a 10mg tab. Kidney kitties also get sour stomachs because of their imbalances, and if they feel yucky, they won't eat. This combined plan is keeping her eating, perky, and not just wasting away.The Gerber meat probably doesn't have kitty-required taurine, so it's being used to tempt and is soft on her elderly mouth, not a complete food. Works great. The Pepcid can be crushed and stirred into the food, but better put in a clear gelcap and given with a piller followed by an eyedropper squirt of water to be sure it goes down.Sub-Q fluids are key to flushing out the stuff the kidneys can't handle anymore - there's lots of online info about the needs of cats in kidney failure. These chews won't replace adequate fluids, but I can see a real difference in her strength since we started these.Good luck and I hope this helps.

The are excellent chews to help your cat if they are experiencing kidney/urinary issues. We had two cats with renal problems (one due to bladder crystals, the other due to genetics), and these chews helped improve their lab results for kidney function. The reason for taking off a star is because our cats did not find the scent or flavor appealing enough to eat. I had to mix these in with enough wet food that they wouldn't scent them in the food. As long as I could get them to eat these daily, the benefit was there. The vet was pleased with the change in renal lab values closer to normal ranges, and I was pleased knowing I was doing all I could to keep my elderly fur kids as healthy as I could.These chews are supposed moist, but when I first opened the bag their consistency was on the dry side. They crumbled easily for adding to their wet food, and I suspect that their drier texture was one reason the cats didn't enjoy them on their own as treats. The scent (to me) wasn't horrible, and as time went by it faded a bit every time the bag was opened. If you do purchase these for your cats, make sure you keep them as airtight as possible and possibly add something like marshmallows to the bag to help keep/add moisture to the treats to keep them from drying out.This isn't my first experience with VetriScience products. I've purchased other cat as well as dog items from them, and for the most part have been very, very pleased with the results. Our vet also recommends these products (though she doesn't sell them), so that helps me feel comfortable giving them to our pets.

I have a 6 year old female cat who has had 4 urinary tract infections over the years - mainly crystals in her urine. This last time was brought about by the stress of moving. She was given an antibiotic injection which definitely helped, but I wanted to do something a little more proactive in trying to keep her urinary tract healthy, since she seems to have this problem at the drop of the hat. I purchased 4 different products and so far I've only had a chance to try 2 of them, this one and Pet Naturals UT Support for Cats (45 count).I paid about $11 and there are 120 chews in the Vetri-Science bag and it recommends 4 chews per day which breaks down to 30 days worth of chews. They are very soft and easily break into smaller pieces. My cat is suspicious and picky and won't eat them unless I disguise them amid crunchy treats that have no health value whatsoever. She will still try to avoid them, so I also have to give them before she eats. Considering the number of chews for the price, so far I'm happier with this one.I paid about $8 and there are 45 chews in the Pet Naturals bag, it recommends 2 chews per day and that breaks down to only 22 days of chews. These are not that soft, so I've had to cut them into smaller pieces and again mix them into crunchy treats with no health value. She likes crunchy treats better than soft, so she doesn't pick these out, but the fact that that there are only 22 days worth of chews in the bag makes it not such a great deal.As soon as I've evaluated the other 2 products, I will update this review.

I didn’t have any luck with a sick buddy or the others even wanting to taste the product. Even the feral outdoor guys.So not much to say other than that.In my best Forrest G voice.

My cat has early stage kidney issues so it's important that he eats these supplements. For the first few months he ate them right down but now turns up his little feline nose at them. I also give him the joint support chews at the same time. So I put all 3-4 of them into the microwave for SIX seconds only. It softens them up and makes them easier for him to chew. It also brings out the aroma a little more though I think they stink, I guess they appeal to Jinx. They must be given right away before they cool and harden up again. I've always broken them into halves or thirds and I still do that and now he eats them like a champ. We'll see how long this lasts. But in their original state, note Vetriscience!!, they are too hard and too large for a cat to eat easily plus ridiculously expensive.