A cat food question

[columbine]

I got Smudge a fountain and he was scared of it. But he drinks happily from a glass bowl in the living room, just not a steel bowl in the kitchen.

Love, Columbine

[krazyaboutkatz]

Great thread idea Elyse. I used to feed all of my cats Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care dry and I some of their canned as well. Then later on I stopped giving them any canned which was a very bad idea on my part. When I had Cirrus he develped crystals and he had to have the PU surgery. A while later Storm also developed crystals and needed the PU surgery. Of course my vet back then recommended Hills C/D Presciption diet which has horrible ingedients. I later changed vets but I was still feeding a presription diet of Royal Canin S/O dry and canned. It was a little better than the Hills but not much. I was told that I could feed this to everyone without any problems.

Well my problems began with Starr. He started having severe diarrhea and Pearl started breaking out on her chin and lips. I had actually fed both Starr and Pearl Innova Evo dry and the regular Innova canned when they were kittens and they did well on this food. I tried feeding the rest of my cats the regular Innova dry and canned but after a while Storm got more crystals so I was forced to feed everyone the Royal Canin S/O again because Storm would refuse to eat his food if the others ate something else.

I changed vets again when my current vet didn't really know what else to do to help Starr. At first my new vet prescribed Hills ZD diet which also has horrible ingedients. He didn't seem to like it and he didn't do well on it. She later suggested that I try Innova Evo which is grain free. She also told me that Storm could also eat it as long as I he got plenty of canned food too. This is when I started feeding everyone Innova Evo dry and canned.

I noticed a huge difference in their energy levels, stools, fur, and ever since Storm's been on a grain free diet he hasn't had any more urinary problems. Although Pearl's problem is supposed to be not food related, I really do think that it is. It seems that as long as she's eating a dry food that is very high in protein like Innova Evo or Wellness Core then she doesn't seem to break out any more. After the Natura Products were sold to Proctor & Gamble I really didn't trust what they might do to Innova Evo so I decided to try another grain free food. I tried Nature's Variety but it was very expensive and over time my cats got sick on this food and they also stopped liking the canned food.

When I adopted Alani & Blaze they were eating Natural Balance Chicken & Green Pea dry so I eventually changed all of my cats diets to this along with the canned. They liked it but I noticed that they weren't doing as well on it because it didn't have as much protein and it had many more carbs. The kittens were also having diarrhea and mushy stools. Pearl also broke out again. I then decided to try Wellness Core dry and the core canned. They all loved the dry but not the canned. When I tried the grain free Wellness canned they all loved it and this canned food has also helped Storm to stay regular in the bm department. Before this even though he was eating canned food, he would still sometimes become very constipated.

After a while Alani & Blaze started having mushy stools again so I knew that I would have to change their diet but I didn't want to change my four adult cats diets because they loved their food and they were doing very well on it. I knew that grain free didn't seem to work for the kittens so I looked at a bag of Chicken Soup For The Soul and I liked the ingredients so I bought a small adult formula bag. I mixed it together with the Wellness Core and they were still having issues. When I was at the pet store again, I looked at the ingredients of the adult dry compared to the adult light dry and I noticed that the light had more protein, less fat, but more fiber. This is exactly what my kittens needed. Now I also feed them the adult hairball canned and so far so good. Finally nice well formed stools.

You need to learn to read ingredients and try to avoid ingredients like corn, wheat, meat by products, dyes, BHT, BHA, and ethoxyquin. I think that most of the higher premium foods are now eleminating ethoxyquin as a preservative. Although the higher premium brands will cost more, you will feed your cat less so the food should last longer. I was also told that the Wellness canned food is very easy for a cat used to a grocery store food to switch over to. I don't know why though. I know that this is a lot of information for you to take in. Good luck with your new diet search.

[Freedom]

I had 3 fountains, but with 15 pets, it was just nuts. I now have one 96 ounce stainless steel water bowl, which gets filled morning and night.

Mandy is in a bedroom separated and has her own small water bowl.

That's a point: switching to stainless steel bowls for food and water (unless you are using a fountain) is also important! The plastic interacts w/ some foods and over time the pet can have issues from this as well. I switched all my bowls in late January of this year. MUCH better w/ the dogs, not as noticeable w/ the cats. Alot less itching on the dogs.

[moosmom]

My vet feeds her cats nothing but canned, Fancy Feast. She says that dry food (any kind) causes dehydration, causing the kidneys to work harder. I do leave out dry food (with 30% protein) that they munch on during the day, though. Because Bart is so old, he gets fancy feast canned whenever he wants!!!!

I have found that in garbage food, it can cause crystals in males.

[kaycountrygal]

I've had cats all my life & until Dec 2010 I fed them food that I got at the grocery store. For Luke until December 2010, I fed him DRY Purina One Hairball Formula & DRY Purina Indoor Formula (I mixed it) & a small amt of canned Nine Lives or Fancy Feast. I would also give him Laxatone for constipation.

However, in Dec 2010 (here we go again) he had severe constipation and vet put him on canned Hill's w/d. From reading here on PT, I decided to put him also on canned no-grain Wellness.... and Laxatone for constipation & hairballs. I mix the w/d & the Wellness & Laxatone & it's working for us.

I get the w/d from the vet & I order the tall cans of Wellness from 1-800PetMeds as the tall cans dont cost as much as the flat cans & my Petsmart does not have the tall cans.

I cannot tell you how much better Luke feels these days. (He's 10 yrs old). Because of the moisture & ingreds in his food now, he is not constipated but I still have to put Laxatone in his food EVERY day. I can tell he feels better; he is more active & more like a cat. He likes to go on walks with us & is more active. He even plays some now.

So, the reason I went from basically DRY cat food to expensive canned food is because Luke just cannot handle dry food anymore & needs something better, something wet with good ingreds. Yes, his food is expensive but so was his constipation (over $500 counting everything) & I dont want him sick again so I'll pay for the expensive food. Pay now or pay later I guess is my motto... Kay in NC

[cassiesmom]

Thank you, everybody! You've given me a lot to think about and some questions to clarify with the doctor.

Cassie's water is in a Pyrex glass bowl. I can wash and rinse it, then put it in the microwave with water in it, zonk until the water boils, let it air-dry and refill it. (I don't have a dishwasher) She got bottled water for awhile when our pipes were being worked on, so she'd prefer only that. I give her filtered tap water.

I want to back up and explain. The shelter from which I adopted Cassie is no-cage as well as no-kill. When the cats are fed, more than one may eat from one plate, so there's no way to know exactly who's eating what. They are given wet food twice a day. The cats in the medical room get individual food and water, because they are in cages. Part of medical room care involves keeping track of what they drink and eat. but the cats in the remainder of the shelter have shared water dishes.

When I brought her home I kept her on the same schedule, wet food twice a day and dry food always available. Food has never been a problem unless she eats too fast and barfs. Now I feed her smaller servings 3 times a day. She would be happiest eating nothing but turkey or chicken, tuna, pureed baby food meat, and tuna juice! But that's not an option. I give her a bit of cooked chicken, tuna or pureed baby food meat as a treat, but not as her regular food. I love her tons and i want her eating an appropriate food. She also likes yogurt (especially licking the tin foil lid), peas, canned pumpkin, and milk. My sister's (RB) Siamese cat liked ham from the supermarket deli, of all things. If she was making a sandwich, he would come running when he heard her unwrapping the deli meat! She'd give him a bit as a treat. He also liked steak!

So - again - thank you ALL! I appreciate your help so much! Thank you! Could you please give your well-fed kitties some petting and hugs from me.