I know we have a bunch of cat people here, and I'm in need of some cat wisdom.

The short version is that our 12-year old male cat was just diagnosed with kidney disease (failure? insufficiency? What the heck do you call this anyway?) following routine bloodwork and verified with urinalysis. DH and I always thought that, with his fireball personality, he'd be the kitty to expire in a blaze of glory, not some slow chronic decline. So we're still adapting to this new idea. Right now, the vet (whom we love) thinks we can manage this with prescription food and routine labwork to monitor his condition.

This brings me to my first question: We've been feeding a re-hydrated raw food (Prowl), made with extra water, up until now. We like it because it's raw, grain-free, a good source of hydration, and convenient. The cats love it. Now the vet wants us to switch Auric to Hills K/D, whose label makes me cringe compared to the Prowl label. From what little I've read, low-protein doesn't necessarily spare the kidneys and it's more an issue of a) high-quality, low-waste protein and b) nitrogen, potassium, and phosporus reduction as a result of high-nutrition food. The idea of feeding a obligate carnivore a low-protein diet doesn't feel right to me. But I want to do what's right for him. If I'm off-base and K/D is the best thing, say so. If you can help me have an intelligent, fact-based conversation with my vet about not feeding K/D, please do!

Question #2: For those of you who have been down this path, what practical advice do you have for me and DH? It can be anything from "here's what we fed" to "here's what we had to do while on travel" to "here's how we knew it was time for euthanasia". Right now, we're just a little overwhelmed with this new reality.

Thanks for listening.