You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

The term "low salt" should probably be removed from the veterinary literature because it is misleading. 

The term "low salt" is misleading because it implies that the salt content is below the normal requirement of an animal. But in fact all foods - including those "low sodium" diets specifically formulated for use in heart failure cases - greatly exceed the animals minimum requirement for sodium - because their minimum requirement is extremely small. Indeed, it is virtually impossible to induce hyponatraemia by simply reducing dietary salt content. Adult dogs have been fed a ration containing only 0.0075% sodium for 23 weeks without showing any ill-effects (Morris et al 1976).

A number of studies have been conducted looking into taste and the palatability of so-called "low salt" diets with the following findings :

• Salt does stimulate taste chemosensory receptors in cats and dogs, so they can taste it
• Dogs prefer moist foods with a higher salt content
• Addition of salt does not increase the palatability of dry foods
• In hospitalised dogs "low salt" rations are accepted by most patients by the 3rd day of feeding
• In controlled palatability studies so-called "low-salt" rations often prove more palatable than regular commercial pet foods containing a higher salt content

If an animal is reluctant to accept a low-salt diet it is likely to be due to other factors than palatability, including :

• The veterinarian and/or owners preconception that "low salt" rations are not as palatable as the animals usual food -  resulting in resistance to their use
• Reluctance by the animal to change due to an established food preference - so change over foods gradually
• Anorexia induce by concurrent drug therapy eg digoxin
• Anorexia induced by advanced heart failure or concurrent diseases eg renal/hepatic 

References

Morris et al (1976) Vet. Med. Small Anim. Clin. 1225-12276

Updated October 2013