Our question this week was:

Hello Dr. Jon:

My 15-year-old male cat has hyperthyroidism and kidney stones. He is responding to his medication and is on a prescription diet for his kidneys. He is not, as far as I know, in kidney failure. He is very active. Is it ok for him to eat the Greenies cat treats? He loves them!

Thanks,

Debbie Eads

Answer

Hi Debbie – thanks for your email. Your email indicated that you have a 15-year-old cat with hyperthyroidism and kidney stones. He is active and seems to feel good. He is on a prescription diet for the kidneys and medication for the hyperthyroidism. Your question is – is it okay for him to eat Greenies?

If the diet he is getting is for the nephrolithiasis (kidney stones), then no, I would not feed Feline Greenies. If the diet is for kidney disease and his blood values are normal, then it might be okay.

There is nothing in Greenies that he needs or has to have nutritionally.

However, I know it is fun to feed a special treat or snack to your pets.

Here is a suggestion. You could make "treats" out of the canned version of the prescription diet. For example, you can roll out the treats and cut them with cookie cutters (you can add a bit of flour if needed) and bake them for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F (until crisp) and give them at treats.

Many times the prescription diets are formulated to provide just what your cat needs for his problem. Any addition to his diet (such as other table scraps or treats) can disrupt that dietary equilibrium.

That is my opinion. Ask your vet what he thinks. If the diet is not important to dissolving his kidney stones, then he may indicate that other treats are fine.

An article that might be helpful to you is "What Are Prescription Diets for Cats?".

Best of luck!


Dr. Jon




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