Cat Smart People give some advice

[fuzz16]

Got a cat today at the animal shelter. They were swapping a bunch of cats out from petsmart and ive been looking at this guy for a few days and the bf and i had been talkin...i brought him home today.

he is eating purina pro plan and i got the salmon-ideally better than the chicken. so that i could switch him over to holistic select for now and well see how he does with that.

i also have wet cat food-from holistic select, evo, innova, and wellness.

how much should i feed of each? he needs to put on some weight.

also he is shedding horribly, which with better food i am expected it to help shed less..but he is matted in a lot of places. i cut what i could out but some are to close to the skin. anything i can do?

and i bathed him-as much as he prob hated me for it-but his fur is still very nasty and oily looking. any ideas? no idea about any of his past...hes a stray

 

[NorthernAutumn]

The shedding part caught my eye. My parents' cat lost all of its fur when we got him initially. He was a stray kitten. He became bald over a period of time, then grew all the hair back in. The vet confirmed it wasn't mange; we waited it out, and it all grew back in fine. So, it's definitely something to monitor.

What were they feeding him at the shelter?

Is he eating well?

BTW, congrats to you on your new addition, Brenda!

 

[fuzz16]

they were feeding him purina pro plan...so i just got a 3# bag small enough to switch him over.

i dont think hes mangy, my sisters dog had mange. this cat never itches.

he is eating good. gave him half a cup of his food last night and ill start switching him over after knowing he has no diereha. he had two tpspns full of the wellness wet food and ate that up pretty fast


THANKS!



which this sounds weird but i totally had a dream someone told me holistic select is a high priced food thats bad for your cat...i know it has grains in it to clarify that before my dream becomes real. lol.
other options are evo-to rich right now for him
taste of the wild- still may be too rich for what hes been eating

 

[undergunfire]

About the mats.....do you have a pair of clippers? You will need to shave out the mat if its close to the skin, don't risk cutting it out with shears as cats have super delicate skin. So, if you have clippers then you can take a #10 blade (usually come standard with a clipper) an shave it off real quick. If you don't, then look into taking him to a groomer, so they can shave off his mats real quick...it might cost you $10 or so.

 

[LV426]

I've found that some cats when they are kept in cages get so unnerved that they begin shedding. My own cat never stays over night at the vet even if he's sick because being in a cage makes him drop all his fur. So it's likely now that you have him in a home that his fur shedding will taper off.

You may need to shave off the mats but I wouldn't take him to a groomer unless you have to. If the skin isn't caught up in the mat then cut it down as small as you can and then you can probably work the rest out with a comb.

For my cats I'm a free feeder of dry. They can eat all they want whenever they want. For a cat that needs to gain weight I would especially make sure he has access to food. Being stressed from being in a cage could be why he's so thin. As for canned, I'd just feed him one 5oz can a day.

I have fed the Holistic select in the past to my cats as dry but I switched to a grain free formula, Blue Wilderness. I really like the results in my cats. Their coats are shiny and healthy and the litter box isn't as stinky.

 

[fuzz16]

not a fan of blue from a past experiance and its expensive-would prefer taste of the wild or evo

the groomer was gonna charge me 20 to shave behind his ears and a couple spots on his neck. i was kinda shocked.

i played with them tongiht and got them mostly out, im plannin to work on them more tonight with some horse conditioner.

i didnt think about the amount of stress he was in being a cause of hair...figured it was the bad food.

 

[undergunfire]

I wouldn't put anything on his mats to try to "loosen" them, I personally think it would make them worse. You aren't supposed to wet down mats because it causes them to shrink up. $20 isn't a bad deal to have your cat be brushed out and have its mats removed, as a bath/brush out (and nails cut) is $60+ in a grooming salon. If his mats are as bad as it sounds, then trying to brush them out is going to cause him pain/discomfort and its never worth it to put them through the stress.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

Evo is being sold out to P&G.


Go with TOTW or buy a bunch of cases of Evo now.

all my fosters come in shedding its stress induced.

Give him about 3 weeks he should be fine if not take him to a vet. Yes holistic select is a expensive crap in a bag food.

I would do TOTW or Wellness.

 

[fuzz16]

im going to talk to the groomer again today. we send her a lot of business but she doesnt like my boss because he wasrude to her one time....a couple times. so maybe shell cut me a deal.

i just read up on P&G...i will have to buy a couple big bags before all this happens...thats kinda scary as those are al decent foods. hopefully they dont ruin them...i have a lot of customers whose pet cant eat much else..

id do wellness core. you do TOTW, right? i read someone had but cant remember if it did good for them or not

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

P&G has taken over many foods I have already gotten emails about them changing their product. And they have not even finalized the buy out yet.

TOTW/Taste of the wild is a good food is just a hit or miss food either cats do great on it or horrible on it.

So buy a small bag of TOTW before you buy a huge bag. Wellness core is good I buy the one with grain in it to me the benefits are not enough for another 1 a pound for a bag of food.

Boss is a beautiful healthy cat he ate wellness green bag witch is kitten formula tell 6 months then we put him on TOTW dry and Evo wet he does great on it. But I just got 6 cases of Evo when that runs out we will have to see about his wet.

If you can afford to I would do 50 percent dry 50 percent wet. I am at 40 percent wet and 60 percent dry.

 

[Flash]

I would fill his bowl and let him eat what he wants and when he wants. I free feed my cats but if he's skinny give him more for awhile. I gave Tori Wellness and she loved it but now she's on prescription Royal Canin because she has crystals due to her metabolism not what she was eating. I also give her the wet food B.F.F. Best Feline Friend it's great I just started it never thought I'd get her off of Fancy Feast.

Congrats on your new kitty. I have a Persian that matts up easily and I either use the Furminator or my clippers to cut them out.

 

[Krissa]

I have tried many of the grain free brands on my kitties and I really love Wellness Core and Taste of the Wild. I normally switch between the two, depending on coupons and sales. My cats seem to have the most energy and have wonderful coats on these foods.

I feed one cat the Wellness Core canned because she is a picky eater and she needs to put on weight - she gets distracted while eating easily and forgets to eat. My vet suggested adding a small amount of vegtable oil to her wet food to add some calories, and it helps prevent hairballs. (A very small amount btw).

 

[Sweetie]

I have a cat named Cuddles, he is at my mom's. His fur mats up, and we either brush them out or cut them out. I would brush the mats out. Cats with medium to long hair need to be brushed daily to weekly to avoid their fur from matting. For the mats close to the skin just work them out with a comb or even a brush.

 

[Icarus]

As for his coat (I have a horse with a similar coat issue) I would add a small amount of oil to his food. After roughly a week or so, you'll start to see an improvement in his coat. It'll be shinier and healthier

BEST OIL - Salmon Oil, found at human health stores. You don't need much for a kitty. How much does he weigh and how old is he?

SECOND BEST - Fresh, raw meat in very small amounts to avoid digestive upset. It also has fats and oils in it to help with coat issues.

THIRD BEST - Olive Oil, or canola oil. Do not give hydrogenated oil. Real butter in small amounts also makes for a happy kitty, and a healthy coat.


With any oil, you must be diligent and not feed to much, otherwise your kitty will get the runs. Small amounts, proper for your cat, however, do have it's coat benefits. Do not feed corn or vegetable oils. While they are likely to make your cat rather fat, they are not all that good for him.

My horse has dry, flaky skin, dull, coarse hair, and hair loss. Especially on his forehead where he sweats under that little lock of hair that hangs between the eyes. He gets a 1/4c of corn oil per feeding. Your cat probably needs somewhere in the range of 1/8tsp every other, to every three feedings

 

[fuzz16]

thanks for everyones comments, his shedding has subsided to nearly nothing. but when i left for a canoe trip he was shedding HORRIBLE when i got back, but is getting decent again

he weighs about 9lbs but is underweight and no idea on age...im guessing 2-3?

if his hair gets worse i will try the oils but right now hes doing great