I just had time to pay attention to this after getting Alfie adopted. Whew! My sister and niece just had a cat put to sleep that was diabetic. It was malnurished even though they fed it the fanciest foods and kept it away from the other cat's food. At one point they had to give him insulin shots. I'm not sure if kidney problems are related to diabetes but a friend had 2 cats she had to put on home dialysis 3 times a week for kidney problems and that was just life support.....So, the normal cat could eat in a seperate room and come out when s/he was finished. Take up the dish. It's worth a try if you love the cat already.