My two 16 year old cats have chronic kidney disease and my local vet specialist recommended this diet to help slow the progress of the disease. I got both the dry and canned food. One problem with cats in renal failure is they sometimes don't want to eat. The canned stuff especially has a wonderful smell and I put down a can of this alongside a can of another food I know they all love. We have 6 cats and they ALL immediately turned their noses up at the old food and chowed down on this stuff.
Further, I was a little anxious about the "chicken by-product meal" and some other ingredients. After reading up on the Hills website, those aren't really "by-products" the way we think of them. For cats, organs as well as meat are important sources of nutrition. When a chicken for human consumption is carved up for the breast meat, for example there are organs like the lungs, liver, and other internal bits that, in the wild, the cat would normally eat. Those other parts are a good source of vitamins and minerals. Hills sources specifically these parts. Since they are technically the by-product of harvesting chickens for human consumption, that's how they get labeled. The trouble is, by-products are a wide-ranging and vague category. Some cat foods might contain who knows what, but I think the Hills people are doing it right. You can find videos online of tours of their factories and get a better feel.
The most important thing about this particular diet that makes it good form my household is that all of my cats can and do eat it. Now I do supplement the diets of the younger cats with some high-protein canned food, but overall this one seems to be doing well so far. Its low phosphorous count and higher-quality digestable proteins make it a good choice.
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