Never Ending Cat Food Dilemma

[Happi Bun]

We've tried so many different brands with our indoor cat's, but a problem always comes upso wetry yet another. A few off the top of my head we've tried; California Natural, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul, Nutro, Authority. After having tried all those, we switched to Taste of the Wild since holistic cat food seems to be the most recommended by people online. Our older female (going on 11 years) started rapidly losing weight.

She is a very picky eater, doesn't like any brand of cat treats. So wedecided to giveScience Diet a try. She gained the weight right back up.Her energy also went way up too! She actually plays like a kitten now. Our male (almost two years old) is the opposite and loves all food. He's pushing towards the overweight side. The problem with him on all thesedifferent foods including Science Diet is his stool often smells so incredibly awful. That may just be something we will have to live with though.

I saw a commercial for Blue Buffalo cat food andbeen debating about trying that. Also been pondering trying Eukanuba. Not sure... especially with Blue Buffalo I worry about Sassy losing weight again. I've read picky cats can have problems on it. You would think she'd like the holistic pet food better! It doesn't seem to be the case though.

Should I stick with the Science Diet or tryone of the other two I just mentioned?:twitch:

 

[missyscove]

To be honest, if she's that picky of an eater, I'd stick with the science diet since you found it and she'll eat it and is doing well on it.

Have you talked to your vet about the male's stool? It could be another issue causing it.

 

[Happi Bun]

Thanks for the input. We did mention it before. The vet seemed to think because he ingests so much other stuff like Hay and really anything he can come across. Also, when our other cat's were around his age they seemed to go through this stage of smelly stool. The vet didn't think it was anything to be concerned about, unless his stool looked unusual, but it doesn't.

 

[undergunfire]

My cats lost weight and had diarrhea on Taste Of The Wild. Those issues started popping up 2 weeks into a 15lbs bag, after we had tried out a 6lbs bag beforehand to do a slow switch over off of Chicken Soup. I called the company and complain...they refunded my money.

I have tried a ton of different dry cat foods over the past 2 years....all of them seemed to just not be the right one. We have finally settled on Natural Balance green pea & duck. It's grain free, too. With having 4 cats it does get expensive, though....it's $23 for 10lbs here. I go through 2 bags a month!

You might want to stick with just feeding a grain-included diet. I have heard some cats lose too much weight when being fed grain free. Have you tried Solid Gold, Eagle Pack, or Innova (EVO was too rich for my cats)?

Are you feeding any wet food? Cats need wet food in their diet for the moisture because dry food obviously lacks it. Most cats do not drink enough water and are in fact dehydrated. I feed Authority brand, Trader's Joe's brand, Pet Promise, Natural Balance, and sometimes I'll feed certain types of Friskies & SophistaCat to "suppliment" my spending. Those last 2 are not the best, but it has been said that even the lowest quality of wet food is better then feeding only dry food. The best part about feeding wet is that you can pick up random brands when they are on sale and it will not upset the tummy. Like, I feed Trader Joe's in the morning and Pet Promise at night.

Are you on the catsite.com forums? If not, you should join...there are a lot of knowledgeable people on there who really know about cat nutrition.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

BB has grain in it I believe? Grain is no friend to a cat. I bought one bag of BB for the dogs because I got a coupon, the dogs where sick for a week even after stopping it. I will never used BB again.

Pitten has bowl issues. He eats Taste of the Wild and has done amazing on it. He gets raw meat from time to time but he basicly eats his hard food, which I soften much of the time but not all the time so his teeth do not get in bad shape.

Have you considered using the TotW but adding some type of wet canned food to it? I personally hate Science Diet so that is what i would do.

 

[Happi Bun]

I was a member on catsite.com forums previously. I left because I hardly ever got replies on my threads, even when my beloved first cat that was with us for 15 years passed due to congestive heart failure. I have yet to try those really top (and pricey) brands like Innova. Both Cat's are given wet food (almost daily) along with dry, I even add some extra water because I know it's common for them to not drink enough.

However, Sassy still lost a bunch of weight on TotW even with wet food brands she likes being given on the side. We are talking a visible, hips sunken in, weight loss. So that was very bad especially at her old age. I do like how active both Cat's are since being on Science Diet. It's just I so often hear these days how much better holistic foods are.

 

[undergunfire]

I personally think it will be better in the long run for them to be on something else other then Science Diet. It might be working for them now, but later on you might be paying the price because it isn't a good food. Maybe you can mix it with a better food, so they aren't just eating SD? Thats great that you are feeding wet!

I don't think that Innova is pricey compared to Blue Buffalo. I can get higher end foods from the local grain store for way less then what PetSmart even charges for Authority.

I think its funny that on thecatsite everyone loves TOTW and thought I was crazy when I said my cats were getting sick from it. If it was 1 cat, then I wouldn't have thought it was the food....but both cats going through the same issues at the same time? Thats reason to believe it was the food. I like thecatsite just for reading...I stopped posting on there because you are right, people don't really comment on your threads.

How long do you give it before you switch to another dry?

 

[juliew19673]

I'm currently going through the same thing; I have a cat who is 21 and half (yup - had her since she was 5 weeks old).. Lately she's turned her nose up at her beloved Innova Evo; tried Natural Balance/Wellness - she was having none of it (even tried warming it up); then last night I remembered the one thing that always brings her around - Gerbers Basics chicken flavor (yes - baby food). Expensive, but usually after a few days on this she'll go back to her Innova. May try the Traders Joe food (you never know what will work)..

 

[Raspberry82]

Hmm. I guess I've been very lucky. My family used to have a bunch of cats growing up, but none of them were picky eaters. Maybe if you got some ground beef or chicken breast, cooked it and then added it minced up with her food she'd go back to eating it?

Sorry you're having a tough time with your kitties!

 

[undergunfire]

Raspberry82 wrote:

Maybe if you got some ground beef or chicken breast, cooked it and then added it minced up with her food she'd go back to eating it?

I don't suggest feeding cooked meat - you should always give raw over cooked.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

"I don't suggest feeding cooked meat - you should always give raw over cooked."

Raw meat is proper but any commercial food is cooked so how is the hard crappy food better than real cooked meat?

If you are going to feed meat, it should be raw, but you can not feed it with hard/soft commercial food because they will get sick.

You can always make her food. I have been through bouts of doing that with everyone. Take various meats, organs and veggies and blend together so they will eat the vegs and the organs, and then feed other meat on the bone. Of course, with cats you would not give the veggies, unless you believe something diffrent.

 

[Happi Bun]

The only uncooked and fresh kind of meat Sassy eats is Tuna. Did I already mention she refuses to eat any kind of cat treat, commercial and home made? She really is such a diva, but we love her. I'm sure with persistence she would come to like a raw diet but to be quite honest I don't have the time or confidence to go that route. She does like the wet Trader Joes brand cat food, which appears to be holistic and have very good ingredients. It worries me that it's such an unheard of type of food though.

Here is a picture of Sassy.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

I have not tried TOTW I will be this month when my wellness runs out I have heard mixxed reviews on it.

Its seems some cats can handle it some can't

I would go with wellness they have a few different flavors personally i would get them off science diet.

 

[fuzz16]

i have a cat with your same problem. she was bottle raised by me from day 1 after she was abandoned. she has not ever...been perfectly right. lol. shes very uncatlike. but she is very picky as well...i was on royal canin for awhile, she liked it. but then i tried felidae and she LOVED it. but felidae is a lot like blue buffalo i think and not the best.
i doubt its recommended but i do a mixture of foods now...it keeps her weight up and her healthy because she does have an overactive thyroid. (shes about half naked now from it -.-)
i do evo mixed with wellness core-fish and fowl mixed with felidae senior. i also do a can of either eagle pack holistic food or wellness, or felidae for her wet food.

evo is very rich and a lot of cats cant handle it, but its an amazing food and i really like it

 

[Nela]

My cats are both on Science Diet as recommended by my vet. Of course, I guess that recommendation also has to do with what is available locally. Both my cats love it. I admit, I had tried since to get them on a cheaper food but right away they started looking kind of scruffy and all that joy. I have since found it in bigger sizes and they are staying on it. I also noticed my male smells worse but heh, means i have to clean more often - unfortunately :grumpy:Lol. Do you have carbon filters on your litterbox? I have found that those help a lot (I have asthma so I try and use all the littlest things that can help)

Hope you find a solution to your liking :rose:

 

[Happi Bun]

We are making the transition to Purina Pro Plan Indoor Care. I went to Petsmart and looked at various brands. Science Diet's first ingredient is Chicken By Product Meal with a protein at 30% min. Purina Pro Plan Indoor Care Salmon and Rice Formula has Salmon as the first ingredient and 40% min protein. This is what the gal that bottle fed and fostered our younger male for the SPCA fed her cat's and she was very pleased. So we will see how this gone goes.

 

[MeAndB44]

bunnybunbunb wrote:

If you are going to feed meat, it should be raw, but you can not feed it with hard/soft commercial food because they will get sick.

I've always been told to never feed raw meat to an animal for the same reasons you wouldn't eat raw meat yourself.

Also, keep in mind the raw meat is not a complete diet. You'd need to supplement it with fruits and veggies to provide complete nutrition. Carnivores often eat the stomach contents of their prey, giving them the fruit and veggie type things that they need.

Also, keep in mind that a cat's tasting experience is much different than a human's tasting experience.

Let's say that you give your cat chicken flavored shredded wet food and he decides to try it. Let's also say that he enjoys the chicken flavor and the gravy but he doesn't like the texture of the shredded food. He doesn't just say to himself, "I don't like shredded food." He says, "I don't like chicken flavoring or shredded food." All because of disliking a specific texture.

It's really complicated, but I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Happi Bun]

Outside/Stray Domestic Cat's eat raw meat. Let's not forget their ancestors which eat a completely carnivorous and raw diet. Human's can eat raw meat as well, just look at Sushi. Though regarding Animals vs Humans and a raw meat diet: Animals have different immune systems and bacteria in their stomachs that can handle what they consume. Just like we can eat Chocolate but it's very bad for species of animals to consume it.

 

[undergunfire]

MeAndB44 wrote:

Also, keep in mind the raw meat is not a complete diet. You'd need to supplement it with fruits and veggies to provide complete nutrition. Carnivores often eat the stomach contents of their prey, giving them the fruit and veggie type things that they need.

Cats DO NOT need fruits and veggies to survive. In my opinion (and many others) a raw diet is the best diet out there because you can mimic their ancestors diets. The only reason why a lot of people don't feed raw is because it can be expensive depending on what meat it is/where you get it, they don't know about it/its benefits, are afraid they won't do it correctly, don't want to handle raw meat, etc.

Let's say that you give your cat chicken flavored shredded wet food and he decides to try it. Let's also say that he enjoys the chicken flavor and the gravy but he doesn't like the texture of the shredded food. He doesn't just say to himself, "I don't like shredded food." He says, "I don't like chicken flavoring or shredded food." All because of disliking a specific texture.

This does not apply to all cats. I can feed my cats shredded on occasion and they always go right back to eating the regular loaf. A cat will "eat with its nose", then really won't know that its shredded until they take a bite. If its chicken flavor and they like chicken...they will take a bite and if they decide they don't like it, then they will walk away.



Amber....if you are going to feed Purina with that min. protein %, then can you up the feeding on the wet food? They'd do much better eating mainly wet then they would the dry.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

MeAndB44 wrote:

bunnybunbunb wrote:

If you are going to feed meat, it should be raw, but you can not feed it with hard/soft commercial food because they will get sick.

I've always been told to never feed raw meat to an animal for the same reasons you wouldn't eat raw meat yourself.

Also, keep in mind the raw meat is not a complete diet. You'd need to supplement it with fruits and veggies to provide complete nutrition. Carnivores often eat the stomach contents of their prey, giving them the fruit and veggie type things that they need.

Also, keep in mind that a cat's tasting experience is much different than a human's tasting experience.

Let's say that you give your cat chicken flavored shredded wet food and he decides to try it. Let's also say that he enjoys the chicken flavor and the gravy but he doesn't like the texture of the shredded food. He doesn't just say to himself, "I don't like shredded food." He says, "I don't like chicken flavoring or shredded food." All because of disliking a specific texture.

It's really complicated, but I wish you the best of luck!

you do know that our body is made to eat raw meat just like our carnivore counter parts do in the wild? We have teeth like cats dog made for chewing meat and veggies. We can eat raw we just have to get our bodys used to it just like your dog or cat. Sorry learn that in my pre basic for Nursing school. Well college basic but my teacher will be my teacher in nursing school to.

Most people don't even consider this as to why our bodys are made to live 200 years but most don't even make it to 80.