Food Change = STINKY BOY!!!!! :-D

[Catty1]

With the recent thread about good foods, I changed my boys over to Innova Evo recently. They were on Medical Dental - which works for weight, teeth AND crystals - but I ran out on a long weekend, and figured it was a good time for a change.

Oscar doesn't, er, cover well in the litter box. This morning he dropped something that I could smell in the KITCHEN, a couple of rooms away!

I had to scoop it before I could leave!

Will this settle down as their systems get used to it?

I think it's great - still 3/4c per day, but it's smaller in size and no grains, so they don't inhale it. (Well, Oscar does - but he will eat anything! :D )

[kb2yjx]

Hey Catty1!!! Hope Simone and Delilah eat the EVO Chicken/Turkey and I cannot not recall stinky bm's!!! maybe Oscar's system is still adjusting to the new food!!!

[katladyd]

My vet warned me that I shouldn't change foods on cats that are prone to crystals. I haven't changed foods on my boys, but I hope your boys do well.

[Catty1]

Katladyd - I chose this food from some listed in a thread posted here earlier. The Innova was being fed to a kitty who I think had had PU surgery (will have to go reread the thread), and he is doing just fine.

It was about 4 years ago that Oscar had a really bad UTI. The amount of crystals was almost neglible...a week on the proper food fixed that.

However, he had blood in his urine for a month, poor baby. :(

The vet diagnosed idiopathic cystitis - it was caused by stress. He had been feral, then tamed, then I brought him home...and then a new kitty arrived. They got along fine, but even good stress is stress!

Vet wanted him on meds - thanks to PT I had heard about Feliway and asked to try that first. That was the vet's main concern. Oscar now wears a very stretchy collar and gets a shot of Feliway into the collar once a day. My vet loves the Feliway Collar idea, BTW! :)

He's been just fine. The two still get Royal Canin wet kd every morning.

I will check with my vet...but I also want to keep their weight and health good.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I've been feeding all of my cats Innova Evo for almost 2 years now and yes it does cause very stinky stools especially if they don't cover them up. Starr is very bad about this so either Storm, Pearl, or I will cover his stools up.

I think it's the high protein content that causes this. Some of my cats will also have stinky breath and my vet said that it's because of their high protein diet. I buy plenty of Oust and spray it when one of them does a stink bomb. It's worth putting up with to have healthier cats.

My Storm is the cat that you were referring to. He had struvite crystals and became blocked 2 times so he had to have the PU surgery. He was on Royal Canin Urinary S/O but he would still sometimes have UTI's. Since both Starr and Pearl need to be on a grain free diet, I switched everyone to Innova Evo.

Both my regular vet and holistic vet have approved this as long as Storm gets plenty of the canned food. I feed him about 2 large spoonfuls of the 95%Chicken & Turkey Innova Evo canned food and I mix it with some water so it's a thick soupy consistency. I give this to him 2 times a day. He's had normal urinalysis tests ever since and no more UTI's. He also seems to have more energy and the most important part is that he loves his food.:)

My holistic vet said that the grains in cat foods can effect some cats that have urinary tract problems but I'm not sure why. A long time ago I tried feeding Storm the regular Innova dry and canned food which contained rice. He loved it but he ended up getting a UTI so I had to put him back on the Royal Canin Urinary S/O. I guess the rice made all the difference. I hope that your boys will do well on this food. My cats get no more than 1/2 a cup of the dry Innova Evo and Storm only gets about 1/4 cup since he receives 2 feedings of the canned.

[K2QC]

Have you tried Rocky Mountain Taste of the Wild catfood? One of my devons doesn't cover his bm and when they were on Innova EVO also had the issue with the odor.

Both devons have been on Rocky Mountain for the last 5 months and I am so pleased with the results. It is a grain free formula & has roasted vennison and salmon, sweet potato and other veggies.

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/cats/rocky_mountain_feline_formula/

First I went to my local pet store and picked up a small size bag to see how they would take to it. Once I was sure BOTH cats were eating it (they actually were looking FORWARD to eating it), I purchased two of the bigger size bags online (luckily they had a special FREE shipping going on at the time).

I am extremely satisfied with this grain free food.

[Catty1]

Thanks, K2QC.

The thing is, I chose the 'stink bomb' stuff because KAK had a good history with it regarding her cat who had UTI's and TWO (poor baby!) PU surgeries.

I'd be happy to try something else if it helped prevent that. Is there a certain pH I should look for?

Also - anyone have any thoughts on POTATO being in the list of ingredients, even though it is way down the list?

[K2QC]

Potato is a carb for energy.

When cat foods contain "ash & magnesium" . . . low ash formulas are better for cats with history/tendency of UTI's.

Have you ever read about the benefits of apple cider vinegar and pets? I use the ACV on the scruff of the neck for cats who have "weepy" eyes and guess what - it actually works.

Here is the link to the page concerning UTI's. Info on some "earth" friendly remedies for UTI's in cats:
http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/bladder_infection.html

This is the link to the index page for ACV and pets:
http://www.earthclinic.com/pets.html#u

[K2QC]

Found this PH information on another site. You will notice the recommendation by vets concerning pH.

This is where I found the information. Please note this is excerpted information below and the full article is available at:
http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanagement101/f/foodurinaryhlth.htm

"A great deal of research has been on-going as to the relationship of diet to urinary tract health, and the thinking has changed over a period of just a few years. Originally it was thought that diets high in magnesium and ash contributed to the problem; now more emphasis is being placed on the pH of urine (acidic or alkaline). (Veterinarians recommend a range between 6.0 and 6.5)"