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Old June 11th, 2008, 01:16 PM
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dogmelissa dogmelissa is offline
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Question Complicated cat feeding situation

Ok, I need help. I have a very complicated cat-feeding problem. Here's how it goes:
1. Taz (5 year old male tabby) eats from an auto-feeder. He is prone to obesity and has a very sensitive stomach. Current food is working for both for the most part, but he does have very smelly poos and they sometimes are soft. He is also on Clomicalm for stress/anxiety, and eats a wet meal daily of 2 tbsp plain yogurt mixed with 1 tsp generic brand canned food and water (with his pill). He also had crystals in his urine at one point, but this is under control with a weekly dose of cranberry powder added to his food.

2. Aubrie (~9 year old female ragdoll x) shares her food with the other 2 girls (similar age, both mixed breed) in a kennel with a magnetic cat door. She is very inactive (always has been), but doesn't overeat. Seems to be developing a sensitive stomach as she had diarrhea on her previous food (Natural Balance "Original") but it hasn't cleared up in the 3 weeks she's been on the same food as Taz. She is very picky about treats and as a result doesn't eat any yogurt/canned food offerings.

The other girls eat the same food as Aubrie but have no issues. I'm fairly comfortable that they will do well on anything I feed them.

The food they're all currently on is Eagle Pack Holistic Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon formula.

Food brand isn't as important to me as ingredients. I need a corn-free (or very low corn content) food for Taz's stomach, and prefer to keep all 4 cats on the same food. It must be kibble, I don't have the time for raw food, and I will not feed my cats canned food exclusively.

Any kibble suggestions are very much welcome.
Thanks in advance,
Melissa
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Old June 11th, 2008, 02:56 PM
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Have you tried them on a grain-free food ? such as Orijen, but other companies are getting on the bandwagon. I notice there are a few people here whose animals haven't done well on Orijen but that must be true of virtually every food.
Have you thought of adding some probiotics to the yogurt? Or some slippery elm syrup, both good for gut issues.
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Old June 12th, 2008, 12:12 PM
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Have not tried them on Orijen but I did briefly have Taz on Innova Evo which resulted in a really bad case of bloody diarrhea.

I haven't tried any additives to the yogurt for Taz, and since I can't get Aubrie to eat even any yogurt, I'm not sure how I might be able to do that for her. I can pill Taz no problem, but Aubrie is a different story - she fights like I can't even describe - the only time she actually moves with any speed! Is there a pill form that I might be able to try her on (something small enough that she could swallow)?

I will look into the Orijen, though I read some reviews yesterday and it seems Wellness is also a good brand - opinions?

Thanks!
Melissa
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Old June 12th, 2008, 12:32 PM
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My 8-yr old, mixed breed, kitty is eating Wellness kibble in the morning and Tinned (either Wellness or Fancy Feast) in the evening. She's doing excellent on it.

Why do you not want to do wet feeding ? Especially with a cat who has had crystals, the extra moisture content would be a good thing.
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Old June 12th, 2008, 02:25 PM
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I just empty the capsules of probiotic into my cats' food, it doesn't appear to have any taste. But the capsules - at least the ones I bought - are small enough for them to swallow, no problem.
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Old June 17th, 2008, 10:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kashi View Post
Why do you not want to do wet feeding ? Especially with a cat who has had crystals, the extra moisture content would be a good thing.
I can't do wet food with my cats - Taz with his crystals has a very expensive auto-feeder that dispenses dry food up to 6 times a day (he has had 4 feedings on it since I got it) which helps keep his weight under control and also helps with his stress level. My vet recommended I give him cranberry for the crystals and that is keeping them at bay.

The other girls are grazers, one of them is *very* picky about wet food (as in I've yet to find anything out of a can that she'll eat that's not actual tuna), and their food is left out all the time - canned food would get dried out, crusty and probably full of bacteria before they finished it off. Scheduling their food is not an option given our unique feeding situation.

So that's why wet food isn't an option. I do soak some of Taz's kibble in tons of water (I make his food a soup) with his yogurt in the evening.

Badger - what kind of probiotics do you use/where do you get them?

I have been adding the Eagle Pack Solution (Ingredients: Stabilized Rice Bran, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Natural Chicken Flavor, Inulin, Dried Aspergillus niger Extract, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Extract, L. acidophilus, L. casei, B. subtillus, B. licheniformis, B. coagulins, Aspergillus niger, Lactococcus lactis, Enterococcus faecium.) to Taz's dinner and his poops are significantly better. I've also been giving it to Aubrie - she doesn't want to eat it so I've had to force feed it to her which she hates - and I haven't had any liquid poops in a few days. Aubrie didn't get this stuff on Saturday or Sunday though, and she had a very sticky poo yesterday that required her to go in the tub to have it washed off her butt. So obviously this stuff works, but it says right on it that it's not for long-term use, only supplemental/short-term use, so I need to find something else. I think I will go pick up a bag of Wellness and transition them to it. The Wellness Indoor Health variety sounds good - opinions on this variety vs their others?

Thanks!!
Melissa
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Guardian of Taz (10) & one-eyed wonder Cube (11).
Forever in my heart: Patches Gizmo (1987 - 2008), Sierra (1999 - 2010), Rusty (1999 - 2012), Aubrie (1999-2014)


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Old June 17th, 2008, 12:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dogmelissa View Post
I think I will go pick up a bag of Wellness and transition them to it. The Wellness Indoor Health variety sounds good - opinions on this variety vs their others?
I would stay away from the Indoor Wellness (or any "indoor" food for that matter). It's WAY to high in carbohydrates for all cats at 38% of calories, but especially for a cat prone to crystals (carbs create alkaline urine, and alkaline urine is an ideal environment for struvite crystals to form). If you must feed dry, try Wellness CORE, which is much higher in protein and lower in carbs (11%). Other grain-free options are Innova EVO, Nature's Variety Instinct, Solid Gold Indigo Moon or Orijen. Just a word of caution on the lower-carb kibble: they also tend to be quite high in calories so portion-control is a must. They're also high in phosphorus, so if you have a kidney-compromised cat I wouldn't recommend feeding these to them.

As for leaving out canned food, it actually doesn't become the breeding ground of bacteria that you would think. There are many people, me included, that put down wet food twice a day and let their cats graze on it over the next several hours (even up to 12). Never had a problem. You can add a few extra tsps of water to slow down the drying out process. I realize you're reluctant to do the wet thing, but just thought I'd mention it anyway.
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