Food not specified for renal diet but seems renal diet friendly.
I think my cat may have CKD, he just turned 16. His only real symptom, based on what I can tell, is vomiting about 1-2x a week, which is mainly just liquid, and weight loss. Water consumption seems to have decreased in recent weeks, but that may be due to me rotating his wet food and adding more water. He still pees at a normal frequency (although at times he used to pee a LOT, just in the past year or two). Solid waste, his coat, energy, all seem kinda fine for his age, all kinda fluctuate. He definitely eats less dry food, but I think that's b/c it's the brand I got. He's always been picky about dry food.
As a side note, the pattern I've noticed is he has only ever vomited when I feed him Delectables bisques, accidentally neglected to feed him wet food for a day, or has a full cat box. I have heard an empty stomach, bad cat box, etc can also cause liquid vomiting. I've been sure to avoid the bisque, feed him wet food 1-2x daily, and keep his box clean. He vomited mainly liquid this morning, and I realize his boxes weren't too clean (not terribly saturated either, but definitely "dirty"). But I am still thinking it is CKD.
Anyway, I'm not quite ready to pay a vet $300-500 to tell me he has CKD. I'd rather kind of test things out myself first. I read hybrid diets of renal food and non-renal food rotated/combined can be fine for both CKD cats and healthy cats, but it depends on the ratio, how it's mixed in, etc. And I'm not sure I wanna go that route yet either.
I have found some non-renal wet food that has no phosphorus (and no added sodium for some) and has added potassium, fairly high on the ingredient list. However, they still seem high in protein for the size. These are Kindfull brand pates and Fancy Feast Layered Delights. He loves the Fancy Feast (which has no added sodium) and I add water when I serve it to him. I can't quite remember how much he likes Kindfull (it's been out of rotation for a couple weeks maybe?), but he eats at least some of it when I give it to him.
My question is, is "hybrid" food like this, which isn't designed for renal cats, but just happens to have some added benefits for renal cats, but also still has negatives like high protein a good starter as a test for a pseudo-therapeutic diet? Are there other brands/foods out there like this? I have an inkling that if he is officially diagnosed w/ CKD, he will not like renal diet foods, so I'm trying to find a middle ground of something I know he likes. Thank you!