switching foods for variety?

[Lorraine]

does anyone switch their cats food for variety? Is it a good idea?
I have been fedding Royal Canin, which both cats seem to like, for several months now. I thought, maybe I should try something else, and maybe this will get Sammy's coat more smooth. He is soft, but more "plushy" textured, were as Romeo has smooth silky hair. I don't know if maybe Sammy just has this type of fur, naturally. ( he really is not shiny, his fur looks and feels like a stuffed animals!) I thought to try Solid Gold. I just sprinkled a bit in their bowls, to try the switch gradually. It tried to put a bit of flax seed oil in the food, but Sammy protested, and Romeo got the runs! What do you think?

[CatDad]

Unfortunately, it all depends on the kitty. Generally I would suggest aginst switching food for variety, if you have a good one. The reason I would say that is cats tend to more sensitive tummy's and switching foods on them can leave them with an upset tummy. However, having said all that if you are going to it sounds like you are doing it in the right way. Start mixing in a little and then gradually increase the amount of the new food.

So if you want to switch for coat health then that is not a bad thing.

In my situation I have too totally different kitties. Bob could eat a different food every day and be fine. He has an iron stomach. While Joey on the other hand will get an upset tummy at the drop of a hat.

As for the feel of the fur, that also depends on the cat. It may be that Sammy's fur is just fuffly and Romeo's is smooth silky hair because that is the way that they are. I could not tell you what is right in this. You may want to just call your vet real quick and ask. They may be able to let you know if the feel of the fur is healthy. That is what is most important no matter what the feel. Just Wanted to add that Sammy's fur sounds great to pet.

I unfortunately have no advice on the flax seed oil. I have never heard of using it for kitties. I do know that it contains omega-3 fatty acids that can be good for human vision among other things. Hopefully someone else will have an this.

I hope I have helped a little.

[rpcathouse]

What I have done from the start when I introduce kittens to dry food is mix it. I use Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, and Royal Canin kitten dry. So when they leave the parents can use all or some of the dry foods mix. I have mixed dry food with my adults for over 8 years. If one is out of stock it will not upset their stomachs if it is not there. This has seemed to work for me very well. And none of the cats have ever turned their nose up at it.

Stella

[Craftlady]

I've never understood how cat's can handle variety. I see people buying variety packs of can food and wonder how their kitty handles it.

Thumper when we brought her home from PetSmart, they had her on kitten food for week she was there. Thankfully she did ok without benefit of mixing food when we brought her home. When we've had to switch everyone for weight reasons etc we have to take it slow. It's been my experience when switching foods to mix old with new until they get used to the new. Learned the hard way we didn't mix long enough.

[Lorraine]

Thanks for the advice! So far, my cats are not too happy with the Solid Gold I put in their bowls. usually when I come home in the evening, their bowls are almost empty. Today, it looked as if they barely touched it!
I think that it a good idea to mix several foods up from the start, that way they are not so picky. My two have gotten very picky.

Cat Dad, I think you are right, maybe Sammy's fur is just different. I just never had a cat with that type of fur. He is fun to pet! I will however call the vet, just to make sure.