Calling AmberGretchen and other cat food gurus . . .

[LAJennifer]

Some questions for all you cat food experts out there . . .

I''ve read all the past threads on cat food nutrition, but I have some questions that I haven''t seen covered. Since I''ve been taking care of Wellington, the feral cat outside (he is doing great btw), I''ve become more aware of cat nutrition and have him on a blend of Wellness Core and Natural Balance Ultra.

My 2 indoor cats have been on a prescription diet for years (Hills WD or Hills CD). Seth developed a bad case of FLUTD when he was 3 yrs. old. He never blocked because I caught it in time, but he did have struvite crystals. Vet put him on Hills CD and said it was ok for my other cat as well. A few years later he started getting a little chubby, so he was switched to Hills WD.

Since doing research for Wellington I decided to feed my 2 indoor cats better ingredients and give them wet food everyday. I have been giving them the same blend of Core and NB kibble, with Wellness, Trader Joes and Whole Foods 365 wet foods. They have been eating this food for about 3 months. Seth recently went to the vet and I told her I switched their food - she was ok with it as long his blood panels came out ok. Seth is soon to be 11 yrs old and his blood panels ended up fine.

However, I have testing his urine ph and I would like it to be lower. His ph is at least a 7 and maybe a little above.

I''ve been looking at other food choices - considered NV Instinct kibble, but the magnesium is very high. What do you guys think about Nature''s Variety Prairie kibble? (I have a bogo coupon for NV Instinct or Prairie). Has anyone looked at Wysong Uretic? It is formulated for cats with urinary issues, but doesn''t seem to have a lot of protein from meat sources.

I can''t do a completely wet diet, as we are often away for very long hours, so we have to leave a little bit of kibble out for them to munch on.

What do you guys think? Any insight is much appreciated.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

I'm not sure about all the health issues you're bringing up - but if you saw in my last post, my cat, who recently passed away, lived to be 17. All she was fed was Avoderm cat food which has omega fatty acids. She use to have skin problems and NO vet was able to provide a solution, and one day I happened upon Avoderm and all of that went away. She was never fed canned cat food. Only dry food and I would pour some for her every day and that was it.

Maybe the omegas help with various other issues and will reduce your cats' urine pH. You probably can find a store which has samples. . .
Here's the nutritional breakdown and ingredients. . .

ETA - ooops, I copied the info from the website, however it won't paste.

Here's the website:

http://www.breeders-choice.com/cat_products/avodermcatkittendry.htm

If you go toward the bottom there is a link to the "nutritional analysis."

 

[movie zombie]

we leave wet cat food out for 24 hours w/o problems. in fact, our cats seem to prefer the "well aged" food to the freshly removed from the can food......cats, go figure.

mz

ps i removed all dry food from my cats over one year ago and we''ve seen an improvement in ongoing health issues, skin, and hair for them all. my research also led me to a wet food diet only for our cats. however, it also convinced me that the best thing would be for me to go with the raw food diet for them but somehow with five cats i find it a bit intimidating to even contemplate beginning that regime.

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 4/27/2010 6:26:40 PM
Author: MC
Hi,


I''m not sure about all the health issues you''re bringing up - but if you saw in my last post, my cat, who recently passed away, lived to be 17. All she was fed was Avoderm cat food which has omega fatty acids. She use to have skin problems and NO vet was able to provide a solution, and one day I happened upon Avoderm and all of that went away. She was never fed canned cat food. Only dry food and I would pour some for her every day and that was it.


Maybe the omegas help with various other issues and will reduce your cats'' urine pH. You probably can find a store which has samples. . .

Here''s the nutritional breakdown and ingredients. . .


ETA - ooops, I copied the info from the website, however it won''t paste.


Here''s the website:


http://www.breeders-choice.com/cat_products/avodermcatkittendry.htm


If you go toward the bottom there is a link to the ''nutritional analysis.''

Thanks, MC. I''m so sorry about your precious kitty. I will look into Avoderm (my cats eat the wet avoderm sometimes). I will definitely recommend it to my mother - she has a cat with some skin issues.

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 4/27/2010 6:32:36 PM
Author: movie zombie
we leave wet cat food out for 24 hours w/o problems. in fact, our cats seem to prefer the ''well aged'' food to the freshly removed from the can food......cats, go figure.


mz


ps i removed all dry food from my cats over one year ago and we''ve seen an improvement in ongoing health issues, skin, and hair for them all. my research also led me to a wet food diet only for our cats. however, it also convinced me that the best thing would be for me to go with the raw food diet for them but somehow with five cats i find it a bit intimidating to even contemplate beginning that regime.

Thanks for the suggestion. What brands of wet do you feed your kitties?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/28/2010 1:54:03 PM
Author: LAJennifer

Date: 4/27/2010 6:26:40 PM
Author: MC
Hi,


I''m not sure about all the health issues you''re bringing up - but if you saw in my last post, my cat, who recently passed away, lived to be 17. All she was fed was Avoderm cat food which has omega fatty acids. She use to have skin problems and NO vet was able to provide a solution, and one day I happened upon Avoderm and all of that went away. She was never fed canned cat food. Only dry food and I would pour some for her every day and that was it.


Maybe the omegas help with various other issues and will reduce your cats'' urine pH. You probably can find a store which has samples. . .

Here''s the nutritional breakdown and ingredients. . .


ETA - ooops, I copied the info from the website, however it won''t paste.


Here''s the website:


http://www.breeders-choice.com/cat_products/avodermcatkittendry.htm


If you go toward the bottom there is a link to the ''nutritional analysis.''

Thanks, MC. I''m so sorry about your precious kitty. I will look into Avoderm (my cats eat the wet avoderm sometimes). I will definitely recommend it to my mother - she has a cat with some skin issues.

Hope the avoderm helps your mom''s cat. It was so upsetting that it took so long to find a food that worked for our kitty! Avoderm is sold at many small pet stores (local mom and pop) and I''ve now seen it at Petsmart. With one of their membership cards it''s often a few dollars cheaper.

 

[Laila619]

I feed my cats Wellness or Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance kibble. Neither of them have by-products or corn. You could maybe check out the magnesium content of those.

 

[Little Monster]

LAJennifer,

Instinct is supposed to be an excellent food - I think it or Wellness would be great choices. I''m glad the cats'' blood work turned out normal...

Small comment on Natural Balance food... our 2 cats were on it for a while but suddenly their blood calcium levels were off the charts. Vets (3 separate ones

) ruled out lymphoma, other cancers, tumors, hyperthyroid problems, vitamin D poisoning, etc.) as a reason for the result... the only thing they could come up with was the Natural Balance food. As soon as they switched to Wellness, the Calcium levels returned to normal.

I used to suggest Natural Balance as a great alternative to Wellness as it is a little cheaper but still high quality. Not anymore... it did wierd things to 2 previously healthy cats who are back to being healthy now that they''ve stopped eating it : (

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/28/2010 2:22:12 PM
Author: Little Monster
Small comment on Natural Balance food... our 2 cats were on it for a while but suddenly their blood calcium levels were off the charts. Vets (3 separate ones

) ruled out lymphoma, other cancers, tumors, hyperthyroid problems, vitamin D poisoning, etc.) as a reason for the result... the only thing they could come up with was the Natural Balance food. As soon as they switched to Wellness, the Calcium levels returned to normal.

Are cats suppose to be checked for all these things - blood calcium levels and all that? How often? I take it a 7.5 month old kitten doesn''t need this, right?

 

[Little Monster]

MC,

No, you certainly don''t need to worry about Calcium in a 7 month old kitten unless something seems to be going really wrong. One of our cats started acting very strange -- yowling for no good reason, lethargic, losing weight, etc. We were scared to death something was horribly wrong. The vet did a complete blood panel & other tests... initially they were concerned it was cancer as high calcium levels are often the 1st signs. After x-rays, ultrasounds, more bloodwork, bacterial cultures, etc... and two separate specialists... they decided it must be from the food. After transitioning to Wellness food, we re-tested both cats bloodwork (we tested cat #2 even though he seemed fine because they were concerned it was something environmental or food)... everything was back to normal with Wellness...

so, long story short... no, don''t worry about these things unless the cat is acting differently or acting sick...

lots of healthy kitty vibes to your new Kitty MC!!

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 4/28/2010 2:14:18 PM
Author: Laila619
I feed my cats Wellness or Dick Van Patten''s Natural Balance kibble. Neither of them have by-products or corn. You could maybe check out the magnesium content of those.

Yeah, they are both currently eating Wellness Core and Natural Balance (and they love both these foods). The magnesium content is ok for both these foods. My male''s urine ph is just running a little higher than I would like. Maybe I could add some kind of a supplement that would acidify the urine?

 

[LAJennifer]

Date: 4/28/2010 2:22:12 PM
Author: Little Monster
LAJennifer,


Instinct is supposed to be an excellent food - I think it or Wellness would be great choices. I''m glad the cats'' blood work turned out normal...


Small comment on Natural Balance food... our 2 cats were on it for a while but suddenly their blood calcium levels were off the charts. Vets (3 separate ones

) ruled out lymphoma, other cancers, tumors, hyperthyroid problems, vitamin D poisoning, etc.) as a reason for the result... the only thing they could come up with was the Natural Balance food. As soon as they switched to Wellness, the Calcium levels returned to normal.


I used to suggest Natural Balance as a great alternative to Wellness as it is a little cheaper but still high quality. Not anymore... it did wierd things to 2 previously healthy cats who are back to being healthy now that they''ve stopped eating it : (

Ok, that is scary about the NB! I would love to feed Instinct but the magnesium level is more than double what is recommended for at cat with struvite. I think I''m going to try Natural Balance Prairie - the magnesium is a lot lower in this food.

I wish more of the premium brands would make a food specifically for urinary issues - Purina does, but it is mostly corn and fillers. Wysong Uretic is the only premium option available. What do you think of the ingredients:

Wysong Uretic:
Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Giblets, Ground Oat Groats, Fish Oil, Salt, Dried Whey, DL-Methionine, Taurine, L-Lysine, Eggs, Plums, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols as a source of vitamin E), Ground Wheat, Dried Wheat Grass Powder, Dried Barley Grass Powder, Whey, Dried Yogurt, Lecithin, Citric Acid, Sage Extract, Rosemary Extract, Dried Kelp, Garlic, Black Pepper, Artichoke, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus lactis Fermentation Product, Yeast Culture, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Protcinatc, Iron Protcinatc, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Protein-ate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement.

 

[Little Monster]

a couple things that are supposed to help with FLUTD...

get your cats drinking more water -- or eating more wet food to get the moisture there -- sometimes one of those continuously-moving water fountains can entice a cat to drink more. or, make sure you are putting out fresh water every day, maybe more often (our cats seem to drink the most right after we put down the dish).

now that I''mthinking about it more... diets HIGH IN MAGNESIUM (or other minerals) can worsen FLUTD -- so perhaps the Instinct food is NOT such a good plan : (

if your cat was doing well on Hill''s C/D but was gaining weight... perhaps mixing the C/D with the W/D could help keep the urinary problems at bay, as well as help lose some weight? if you''re feeding both wet & dry, perhaps he could get the super-low calorie W/D as wet, and the C/D dry?

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2142&aid=214

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 4/28/2010 2:44:49 PM
Author: Little Monster
sometimes one of those continuously-moving water fountains can entice a cat to drink more.

Some cats also like to drink from the tub faucet. If I left the water dripping, my cat would jump into the tub and drink from it. She prefered that to regular water and I''m pretty sure she only drank from the tap because her water bowl was always full.