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Old March 19th, 2009, 05:32 AM
Snugasabug Snugasabug is offline
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Kitten Food - Medi-Cal?

Hello -

I have a beautiful 10wk old kitten who has just entered our life. She is currently eating Nutrience Kitten Growth. (She nibbles on the dry food and has a tsp of wet food twice day) She is very tiny - 1.4lbs and has long dark brown fur.

After taking her to the vet for a check up, she recommends switching from Nutrience to Medi-Cal Development kitten food.

She currently has foul smelling poop, and the vet found her to be somewhat gassy. She also suspects that due to her laid back personality, she did not get a lot of nutrients within her litter. There were no parasites found on her fecal float. Her "poop" is of normal consistency - not loose or watery at all.

The vet feels that a switch to Medi-Cal will help her gain weight and help her coat look beautiful and shiny.

I worry that it's just a ploy to get me to purchase "Vet-supplied" food rather than one that I could get at a pet store.

Is that switch really the best option? What about switching to Royal Canin instead of Medi-Cal? (Same company makes both foods, from what I can figure out)

What would you recommend?

Here are a few pictures of "Licorice!!"
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Old March 19th, 2009, 07:03 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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The best food for your kitten is a raw diet, you would be amazed at the muscle mass that they develop on raw.

If you are not into raw, then the second best is Kitten Wellness, canned. It is far superior to any vet food or Royal Canin. Another of my favourites is Nature's Variety Instinct, it is not specifically for kittens, but has a very high meat protein content so it is great for growth too. Read the ingredients and decide for yourself. Cats are carnivores, not meant to eat grains for veggies, but meat.

Here is some good reading info on cat nutrition:

http://www.catinfo.org/

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

Here are some websites for cat food:

http://www.naturesvariety.com/instinct_cat_can

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_w...can_index.html


http://www.medi-cal.ca/diets/diets.php?diet=25
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Old March 19th, 2009, 07:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snugasabug View Post
I have a beautiful 10wk old kitten who has just entered our life.
And what a cutie she is!!


Quote:
Originally Posted by Snugasabug View Post
After taking her to the vet for a check up, she recommends switching from Nutrience to Medi-Cal Development kitten food.
Of course she'd recommend Medi-Cal, what does she know about feline nutrition except what the pet food company reps taught her in school or the propaganda leaflets they drop off at her clinic . Here are the main ingredients in Medi-Cal Development dry:

Quote:
Dry - Development

Chicken Meal, Rice Flour, Corn, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, Citric Acid and Lecithin), Dried Whole Egg, Corn Gluten, Tuna Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Beet Pulp, Flax Meal,
Poor ingredients, and way too many carbohydrate sources. Cats need MEAT!! Even the canned is heavy on the grains, with 12% of calories coming from carbohydrates:

Quote:
Canned - Development Formula

Water Sufficient for Processing, Beef, Beef By-Products, Chicken, Rice Flour, Mackerel, Brown Rice, Guar Gum, Flax Meal,
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snugasabug View Post
She currently has foul smelling poop, and the vet found her to be somewhat gassy.
I would recommend switching from the Nutrience kitten food she's on now to something with higher quality meat and no grains. And no more dry food!!! A quality wet food like Wellness, Innova Evo 95% meat, Nature's Variety, By Nature Organics..... She doesn't need a specific kitten food, just a good source of protein and fat. Here is more food info for you to check out: www.catinfo.org

ETA - came back to add some stuff about a raw diet and saw that Love4himies already mentioned it. But ya, even if you don't go ALL raw, incorporating some fresh meat into your kitty's diet would be a really good idea.
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Last edited by sugarcatmom; March 19th, 2009 at 07:17 AM.
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Old March 19th, 2009, 07:50 AM
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Ok food guru's got here already! Listen to these two, they know their stuff!

I just wanted to say welcome and your kitten is ADORABLE!!!! More pics please!

My guys were on Nutrience as kittens too, and Windy was a gas-machine, she could clear a room! As soon as I switched to better food the gas got a lot better. Most of my guys are on Wellness canned now with some kibble (single sourced protein and low to no grain) and they are all doing great!
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Old March 19th, 2009, 11:13 AM
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What a cutie!!!!

Great advice from two who know what they're talking about. If your girl doesn't go for the raw or the Wellness, another good food to give her is Innova Evo. They have a cat/kitten formula.
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Old March 19th, 2009, 04:32 PM
Snugasabug Snugasabug is offline
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So....for our second cat...if getting rid of Nutrience for the kitten, would the best option be to get rid of the Nutrience for our 6+yr old cat? He was on Nutrience as a kitten and then Nutrience Elite (hairball formula) He has done very well on this food, and has yet to cough up a furball!

I hate to go ahead and switch him as he has been on this food for years.

WWYD?
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Old March 19th, 2009, 04:53 PM
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So....for our second cat...if getting rid of Nutrience for the kitten, would the best option be to get rid of the Nutrience for our 6+yr old cat?
Yuppers. Even more so. It's really not a quality product. Here are the main ingredients:

Quote:
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken meat (30.0%), ground maize, brewers rice, pearled barley, chicken fat, dehydrated chicken, dried beet pulp, rice bran, dried egg, hydrolysed chicken liver, yeast extract, flaxseed meal, ....
Loaded with carbs and even though your cat has done fine so far, that doesn't mean he wouldn't do even better on better (ie wet) food. There is a difference between surviving and thriving. My cats were also "fine" on kibble - until they weren't, and one came down with diabetes at age 9 and the other died of IBD at age 11.

Oh, and your orange kitty is also adorable. What a face!!!
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Old March 19th, 2009, 05:08 PM
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Your kitties are beautiful

My Puddles was "fine" on corn filled kibble, until her fur turned greasy, started to loose muscle mass, and became lethargic. At 13 she has developed muscles, her fur is beautiful again and gets the zoomies again. This took about six months to transform. She is now on a 50% raw, 50% NV Instinct.

I have had three vets comment on the physique of my foster kittens, they are also on a 50-50 raw/Instinct or Wellness diet.
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Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
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Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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Old March 19th, 2009, 05:20 PM
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OMGosh! What a face! 6 years old? He looks like a kitten.
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Old March 20th, 2009, 05:46 AM
Snugasabug Snugasabug is offline
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OMGosh! What a face! 6 years old? He looks like a kitten.
LOL! Yea...he's handsome. Here's what he looked like as a kitten. He is a great cat!
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Old March 20th, 2009, 05:48 AM
Snugasabug Snugasabug is offline
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Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I don't know about going raw (I may be convinced thought) so I think I will opt for the wellness option.

Serious question though for those who've been on dry and made the switch. Did it affect the litter box scent? I am super paranoid about having my house smell like a litter box...I worry that all wet food diet would contribute to a cat-smellly house.
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Old March 20th, 2009, 05:59 AM
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In my "limited" experience it is the results of dry food that stink up the house more so than canned. In fact, with canned you may find the BM's to be smaller and better consistency once kitties get used to eating it. The better the quality of food the more they absorb the less comes out the other end to smell up your house.
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Old March 20th, 2009, 06:39 AM
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And I have found that litter box odor has been getting better since starting the switch to canned (I still have two hold outs that don't want it)... but have always found that litter box odor has more to do with how often it's cleaned and what type of litter is used. I'm proud to say that with 6 cats I still get comments of how my house doesn't smell like it at all! I have lots of litter boxes, use wheat litter (pine is great too, but I'm allergic) and they are scooped every night and cleaned out completely every month or so.

Oh and that floofy kitty is just gorgeous!!!
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Old March 20th, 2009, 06:57 AM
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Jasper had super stinky poops and diarrhea on cheap kibble , then I switched him to orijen kibble, still stinky, but firm, now he is on raw/Instinct and it has gotten so much better. Sweet Pea has lost almost all the stink from hers since being on raw/Instinct. Puddles never had stinky poops.
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Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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Old March 20th, 2009, 07:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snugasabug View Post
Serious question though for those who've been on dry and made the switch. Did it affect the litter box scent? I am super paranoid about having my house smell like a litter box...I worry that all wet food diet would contribute to a cat-smellly house.
During the transition to wet, there may be some smellier, looser stools, but this goes away once the cat's intestinal bacteria adjust to the change. To help the process, you could add some probiotics to the wet food. It's best to use a high-potency, multi-organism, non (or minimal) dairy capsule. Natural Factors makes a good one: Ultimate Probiotic 12/12. You only need a pinch (like 1/6th of a capsule) per dose, a couple doses a day.
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Old March 20th, 2009, 07:37 AM
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I'll agree with KR here. Mine all have poop that smells, not horrific, but it's poop, and it still smells. However, I have found that the litter I use helps. I also use a wheat litter (Swheat Scoop) and I clean their boxes out in the evening. I also change their litter every two weeks, so I've never really had a huge issue with a smelly house.
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Old April 7th, 2009, 09:21 PM
Snugasabug Snugasabug is offline
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Update....+ Pics

So it's been just short of 3 weeks since I last posted. We've made the switch to Wellness. Both the dry and canned kitten food. The change in Licorice is amazing. Once she started to eat more Wellness than Nutrience, she blossomed! She is a changed kitten! Her fur looks much healthier, she is gaining weight and doesn't feel bony and too thin. She loves LOVES the Wellness canned. Mulligan, our other cat, is also thrilled with the change, and is enjoying Wellness canned + dry his Nutrience + all the kitten food he can get! LOL I swear that Mulligan has gained 30lbs since bringing this kitten home. I have find an acceptable dry food for Mulligan to get him off Nutirence completely as well. The kitten is on 90% wellness and 10% Nutrience until the bag of Nutrience is finished.

Here are some pictures so you can see the transformation for yourself. Let me know what you think!
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Last edited by Snugasabug; April 7th, 2009 at 09:36 PM.
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Old April 7th, 2009, 09:25 PM
Snugasabug Snugasabug is offline
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And just a few more....

Thanks again to everyone for helping me understand kitten/cat nutrition.

(And no, Mulligan hasn't experienced any hairballs at all! And our litter box issues have resolved themselves.) Licorice was a shaking, tiny little kitten and has transformed into a fantastic happy, friendly energetic cat.
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Last edited by Snugasabug; April 7th, 2009 at 09:37 PM.
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Old April 8th, 2009, 07:15 AM
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They are both beautiful! Licorice's face is just like my Oksana's! She reminds me of when my girl was a kitty.

You are very lucky to have such gorgeous furbabies.
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Old April 8th, 2009, 11:27 AM
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They are lovely, Licorice and Mulligan look adorable
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Old April 8th, 2009, 11:51 AM
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Gorgeous kittens! Yummy little faces.

I have been converted by these fine cat savvy people but I think I was very resistant to the idea.

Thankfully I listened to them. Now my Siamese no longer looks like a lighbulb! The persian's coat is gorgeous and the other two look fabulous as well. I have even tried raw....2 out of 4 like it but I continue.

These gals sure know what they are talking about ...even converted me!
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Old April 8th, 2009, 01:07 PM
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I am so glad you have started to make the transition, you will find the change amazing, especially if you decide to try the raw diet, the change will even be more.

Good luck

PS: I wouldn't have believed food made such a difference either until I saw it before my eyes, especially the change in my senior, Puddles.
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Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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