Do I have to get sub-Q fluids or can I keep upping his water intake?

A canned food or raw would be much better for his kidneys. There is a section on kidney disease that you should read.

http://www.catinfo.org/

Hello, ask the vet this question. only they are qualified to answer this. BTW there is an excellent site right here on Yahoo.. and it is Free to use it (thanks yahoo).. Ive been on over two years and they do not share your email address or anything else you wouldnt want. Just good answers. I cannot remember the name of the Kidney one but you will find it.. look for FLUTD which is the "feline lower urinary tract disease" and also the "for the love of cats " site and ask on there for the kidney group or you probably will be able to find it your self under YAHOO GROUPS CATS.

Good luck and God bless. Again only the vet can properly advise you on this as he or she knows the condition of the kidneys and whats needed. Take care. This can be managed.and he is young yet so there is hope. Ask about diet. I also got advice years ago from an old country vet to leave RANDOMLY placed water bowls (at least 2 extra) in addition to your cats main water bowl around your house where Kitty can find them. He explained that cats like to "hunt" for water as this is what they do in the wild. It is instinct. that is why they will drink from the toilet, fish tanks, watering cans or even your water glass if you set it down and walk off. Also only wash dishes in UNSCENTED soap and rinse VERY thoroughly under hot water. Cats sense of smell = much better than ours and they will not drink if they smell those spa type smells like lavender, green apple, etc that the dish soap has these days .also no dishwasher soap wash by hand. And it has recently been proven by one of the veterinary schools that plastic dishes for water leach bpa's and other toxic chemicals into the water and contribute to cancer in cats. The water stays in the dish long enough for this to happen. SO stainless is best they say. Good luck and take care. (Oh I am not sure, ask the vet but the sub q fluids may be absorbed in a different way than the water they drink.. sorry dont remember ask vet)..

Your Veterinarian should be the one to determine whether your cat needs sub cutaneous fluids and they should give you instructions on how to administer these fluids correctly. Some cats with chronic renal failure may need them from time to time, but most of the time the water they get from food and drinking is sufficient.

There are significant differences between the diet you are feeding and regular cat food and it would be a mistake to discontinue feeding this type of diet. The kidney diet I use, in the link below, is reduced in protein, sodium and phosphorus to slow the progressive nature of renal failure in cats. These dietary alterations are very important to the successful management of chronic renal failure.

Take a look at the video on kidney disease in the attached link for more information.