Do you think it would harm them to give them a bit of minced chicken,
raw or boiled?

On a plastic disposable party *plate* not a bowl try putting a little
drinking water (about 4 dessert spoons) with/around wet food (do not
mix). feeding them less  solid this makes the cat "fuller" and eats
less if over weight. Effectively putting cat on diet

You can use any type of plate I find the plastic party ones cheap and
disposable if needed (they can be washed) Cats (often) do not lick
water if whiskers touch side of a bowl

I don't see any problems with occasional quality dry food as long as
water is present. Any/all quality cat food is formulated so shouldn't
matter, the Cat will decide what it likes (Dry is good/better for
cleaning teeth)

Fact is your cat is simply getting old and like most, people included,
will start showing age and some problems associated with it

Petzl
--
A: Because it disturbs the logical flow of a message.
Q: Why is top posting a sloppy form of writing?
<http://allmyfaqs.net/faq.pl?How_to_post>

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I have 17-year-old cat, Alex, with CRF and heart issues and status post
pancreatitis/diabetes (now in remission). Here are my comments for what they
are worth (I am not a veterinarian). I have two other senior kitties whose
lab values are also creeping up to the high end of normal:

I refuse to put my cats on a low protein diet. Cats are obligate carnivores
and need protein to maintain their muscle strength. I don't think there is
any conclusive scientific evidence that demonstrates that low protein diets
increase the life expectancy of CRF kitties, but low protein can lead to
muscle wasting. I'm not saying that I am putting him on the highest protein
diet around, just not going the low protein route. I do limit his phosphorus
intake, however, by choosing a diet that is low phosphorus. He is also
*taking pills to bind the phosphorus so that it can be excreted*. FTR,
Alex's BUN and creatinine numbers are close to being within normal limits
(although on the high end) and have actually IMPROVED with his current
regular protein, low phosphorus diet (in the year and a half since his
diagnosis).

I have just ordered a case of Hill's Science Diet Senior canned food. It
bothers me that it contains a lot of pork products (which I have never seen
in any other canned cat food of any sort) and a lot of other crap, but it
does seem to fit the bill in terms of its being regular protein and low
phosphorus, and my cats really like the beef and chicken flavors (weren't
too crazy about the turkey). I'm not sure about the caloric content. If you
need a low calorie food canned cat food, which is also low phosphorus (and
is lower protein), I found a winner with Naturalife fish and veggies (and no
cats don't need vegetables). But it's human grade food, no byproducts, and
Alex really liked it. It also comes in chicken, turkey, and seafood flavors.
Naturalife also makes a dry food which is also low calorie, low phosphorus,
low protein. I agree by the way that canned food is the way to go as much as
possible. I do leave out dry food for snacking. Royal Canin Mature 27 Indoor
Cat  is low phosphorus, low protein, low calorie and is another possibility
for dry food (as you can probably tell, like you, I've also been driving
myself crazy with this). My cats like it a lot. But now, I'm going to be
buying the Royal Canin Active Maturity 28, however, which is the high
calorie one because now they've actually lost too much weight. I think I may
mix the two Royal Canin formulas for a happy medium.

Check out:     http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/dry.htm,
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/dryfood.htm ,
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm and
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canned.htm

These webpages list the protein content, phosphorus, and in some cases
caloric content of a couple of hundred different cat foods (canned and dry).
I've been selecting cat foods based on these lists. I also tried the Wysong
Gourmet Liver which is high quality and fit the requirements for the CRF
kitty, but all five of my cats hated it.
Good luck.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.