VETRISCIENCE Vetri-Science Laboratories Renal Essentials for Cats - 60 Count

Absolutely essential for my senior cat with onset renal failure and multiple system deterioration. This product has stabilized Isabelle more than anything else I've tried. I no longer have to administer sub-q fluids!UPDATED, 10 Jul 2017: This is listed as a chewable supplement. None of the animals for which I use this supplement will just eat this. The tablets are too big to pill and are not coated. The only time I would ever consider pilling an animal with this would be a large breed dog, and then coat the tablet with petroleum jelly so it will not get stuck in the animal's throat. Then follow with a generous amount of water to ensure the tablet is not lodged somewhere between the esophagus and stomach. I am puzzled why supplements such as these are not made in very small capsules or tablets for easy mixing/hiding in food or with Pet Tinic or other flavorful liquid (chicken broth, tuna water, etc.) to syringe feed. I only reach for this kind of supplement when an animal is suffering from onset system failure, which tends to happen with senior pets and/or onset end of life. At that point, the animal is typically not feeling 100% and most likely suffering from appetite issues. The last thing they will eat is this chewable tablet, even hidden in food - it's often challenging to find a food they will eat – period - when they are not feeling well, esp. a cat!I currently give this to two cats and one dog. All are senior with a myriad of issues to include onset end of life system issues/failures. I crush the tablets and mix them with their other supplements, Pet Tinic, Nutrical, and watered down Manuka honey for syringe feeding. I am well versed in advanced animal care and rehabilitation. The only way I know to ensure each animal stays on a regular schedule of dosing is to syringe feed. For those pet owners who do not have the knowledge of syringe feeding, or do not want to, I would say that this supplement would be challenging to use.I do stand by my original review, that this supplement has done wonders to stabilize all three animals in regards to renal and bladder issues, and overall GI stabilities.

******************************************************************************************************************UPDATE: BELOW ***************************************************************************************************************** NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW! There are a lot of kidney support products out there (quite a few just on Amazon) and they answer the question differently; some uniquely and others with some commonalities. I detect two major groups of products: 1) SUPPORT for healthy kidneys up to early stage disease and 2) TREATMENT for early to late stage disease. And no big distinction is drawn between products for humans and those for pets; vets seem to be prescribing or recommending products without much regard for the species of the patient. This product falls under the first category (SUPPORT) and relies mainly on a slew of herbs, Omega-3 fatty acids, and the B-vitamins. Other brands may rely principally on amino acids, probiotics, bovine kidney extracts, different specific herbs, vitamins, or an array of various (sometimes only partially disclosed) ingredients. Which ones are ESSENTIAL? Your guess is as good (no, better) than mine. I have no clue. My rating of this product is not based on its nutritional or clinical value. I am just taking a long shot. Only time, if any thing, will tell whether our currently healthy pets will avoid kidney disease. Our pets accept the product with meals, even lick their food bowl clean, and this particular product is reasonably priced. I combine the reviewed product with a human-grade (& more expensive) formula by Standard Process called RENAFOOD, which relies on amino acids, bovine kidney extracts, one herb (tillandsia), and vitamin A (separate, mirror-image review). As for the second (TREATMENT) category of renal products, there does not seem to be any less variety of (disagreement over) ingredients. For one of our cats (the mom-cat & genetic contributor to our other three) that has failing kidneys our vet prescribed Rx Vitamins' Amino B-Plex, which relies mainly on about a dozen amino acids, potassium, the B-vitamins, and one herb (spirulina) and, of course she prescribed a low protein/low phosphorus renal diet (Royal Canin and Purina). Doesn't sound much different from the "support" formulas, does it? A couple of the more prominent treatment products on Amazon (Azodyl and Epakitin) have their own (mostly undisclosed & expensive) formulations. The prices tend to go up as the condition worsens--huh! Some others I plan to check out with our vet are: Standard Process' Renatrophin PMG, Candioli's RENAL and RENAL ADVANCED powders, and CLINICARE RF liquid. In summary: the reviewed product looked like a good bet and seemed to matchup with Renafood without much duplication. Our non-renal patient cats like the taste of both products and the averaged nominal cost is mid-range (circa $15; less with the human-grade Renafood dosage reduced to 1/20th and the RENAL ESSENTIALS cat tabs dosage by 1/2 for our 10-pound felines).SPECIAL NOTE ON DOSAGES: (Nothing new here, just thought it could benefit repeating). Recommended dosages by supplement marketers are not, with any general assurance, science-based or even regulated. Each marketer is free to specify dosages; an obvious potential conflict of interest situation. One suspects that the marketer sets the dosage as high as the market will bear in order to sell more product. At best, one suspects that the dosages are inflated to cover the extreme end of the useful (and safe?) spectrum (user's condition, sensitivity, body mass, environment, etc.). Sometimes the dosage instructions are incomplete or vague; one suspects for the same profit motive. Occasionally the marketer will provide dosage ranges (body weight ranges, for example) and one is left to infer (or, preferably, not) that the dosage recommended is for the highest weight in the range and also left to do the match for the lower weights in the ranges. Even here one suspects that the dosage still will be inflated after making the inference and doing the math. Marketers could make it easier by giving dosages per smaller units of body weight (say @ 5 or 10 pounds, especially with pet products). This also would make it easier for the buyer to adjust the dosage down further to match the need in less extreme circumstances and make comparisons with other products, but that consumer-friendly ease would conflict, again, with the marketer's profit motive. So, the more specific the dosage the better but even here there probably is a "fudge-factor" and room for experimentation. If the supplement has an equivalent prescription version I use the Rx dosage for the supplement; otherwise, I reduce the supplement dosage down to 1/4 or 1/2 until I get better dosage information. And this reminder about dosages does not even touch the larger question of supplement RELIABILITY (sources, ingredients, additives, contaminants, toxicity, consistency, labeling, procedures, oversight, etc.) which some medical professionals estimate to be less than 30%. Some medical professionals avoid off-the-shelf and online supplements entirely on the basis that reliability cannot be purchased at retail pricepoints. Even with fuller (FDA) regulated drugs, reliability is problematic. This note was not prompted by or directed at the particular product reviewed here. I have reviewed several products where the issue of dosages was encountered and this seemed to be as good a place as any to insert this general cautionary note. I have no reason to suspect that this product is not within the 30% group of superior supplement products.If I get any better data on SUPPORT or TREATMENT options I will edit this review to further refine what is, for kidney health, ESSENTIAL.******************************************************************************************************************UPDATE: !!! I HAVE BECOME A DOUBTER !!! Unless a kidney health product (and website/ad) meets the following requirements I have no confidence in its effectiveness: 1) Acknowledge the main nutritional elements for kidneys, namely WATER, EXERCISE, VET-DIET (and, of course, keeping the pets off smoking); 2) Relies on scientific studies (independent, double blind, control group, peer reviewed, replicated--those kinds of things) of exotic foods/ingredients that only small, scattered populations would (if ever) in evolutionary history have access to; 3) omits reference to practices of ancient civilizations; 4) refuses to base conclusions about the effectiveness of the product/ingredients on deductive reasoning (non-inductive reasoning only works with disciplines that have "rules", such as law and theology). I WILL NOT BE PURCHASING THIS PRODUCT AGAIN and will obtain omegas and B-vites in a product without the other unproven ingredients. This review was updated on March 15, 2012, to add more dosage details and on July 1, 2012, to reflect my personal conclusions and evaluative criteria. A side note: I am up to 6 oz of water for our non-CRF cats and up to 4 oz. for our CRF mom-cat (and the vets say give them all they can handle). Hope all this is helpful to others concerned about pet kidney health.******************************************************************************************************************

This is a giant horse pill I have to jam down my cat's throat twice a day. It takes some skill to clear his windpipe with it. Tip: Wet the pill first and slide it down to clear the windpipe. He doesn't like it, obviously, but I do it to keep him alive because he won't eat kidney prescription food. I know it it is helping him, so this is the route we have to take. But be aware, this is not chewable. A cat will not eat this as a treat; it's hard as a rock. He also will not eat his food when I try to crush it up into the food. So again, it does work to improve his kidney function. But as I said, it's a gigantic pill for a horse, but for a cat. I hope no cat has choked on this because it's possible. I gave 4 stars because he's alive.