Another kitten food advice thread :)

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

So bad news: the kittens have a parasite (giardia) which I think is pretty common, but has been contributing to smelly poo, etc. I''m picking up their medicine tomorrow and basically disinfecting the entire bathroom tomorrow, especially their litter box (BF has late class tomorrow so I get to do this by myself

). And the kittens are getting baths.

Um, I was planning on gradually switching their foods in the next week or two since I''m starting to run low on Eagle Pack. I was planning on switching them to EVO, and I have a couple bags already, but I''m concerned now. Their poo is already runny from the parasite, and I hear EVO can contribute to diarrhea in kittens too, so now I''m not sure if I want to put them on just EVO.

I really like LynnB''s idea of mixing 3 different brands or so and feeding that, and I was thinking of doing EVO, Wellness CORE and Avoderm. I was also thinking of trying to move them to dry in the morning and wet at night. If they don''t like wet, at least mixing it in with their night dry food, just because I''m worried they''re not drinking as much water as they should.

Do you think this is a good idea (three dry foods - EVO, Wellness CORE and Avoderm) and wet at night? If so, do you think the three foods I''ve picked are ok, and do you have suggestions for what brand of wet food to go with?

Thanks all! Kipling and Dante say thank you as well!

 

[Octavia]

My cat was almost a year old before he could tolerate EVO. I know all cats are different, but your little boys are still so tiny, I don''t know that I''d start EVO just yet. If you do, maybe use a very small amount mixed with a lot more of the other foods.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 10/26/2009 9:30:41 PM
Author: Octavia
My cat was almost a year old before he could tolerate EVO. I know all cats are different, but your little boys are still so tiny, I don''t know that I''d start EVO just yet. If you do, maybe use a very small amount mixed with a lot more of the other foods.

I think I''ll definitely use a mix of some kind, and keep the EVO portion small. I might do a full 1/3 of each type of food when they''re older. What do you feed your cat, Octavia?

 

[Octavia]

B.E.G., we feed him a mix of Verus Life Advantage and EVO dry foods for breakfast, and Wellness wet food for dinner. I don't think that Verus is one of the "best of the best" brands (has brown rice and a little corn in it), but for some reason he's super picky and won't eat unless it's in there. We used to feed him Wellness Indoor Formula dry food, too, but at some point he decided he hated it and won't touch it. He's such a brat, but we love him anyway.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 10/26/2009 10:02:29 PM
Author: Octavia
B.E.G., we feed him a mix of Verus Life Advantage and EVO dry foods for breakfast, and Wellness wet food for dinner. I don''t think that Verus is one of the ''best of the best'' brands (has brown rice and a little corn in it), but for some reason he''s super picky and won''t eat unless it''s in there. We used to feed him Wellness Indoor Formula dry food, too, but at some point he decided he hated it and won''t touch it. He''s such a brat, but we love him anyway.

Haha well that''s why we love cats - their little personality quirks! Funny enough, my mom''s Chihuahua is like that too. He''s really picky about what he eats, including the wet food.

I just discovered a pet store carrying the premium foods halfway between my apt. and school - and they deliver for a pretty low fee. I may have to go check them out. I was thinking of the Wellness Healthy Indulgence grain-free wet foods to supplement their dry diet. Is that what you use, or a different Wellness food? I don''t think I want to do EVO wet - so it''s a toss-up right now between Wellness and Avoderm wet

The cats love their Feline Greenies treats though - whenever I''m in the kitchen they come in and beg for it, lol

 

[loriken214]

I''m no help here, as Coco is on special prescription foods, but my thoughts are with you as your babies get adjusted to their new diet....hope y''all feel better soon!

Lori

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 10/26/2009 10:19:51 PM
Author: loriken214
I''m no help here, as Coco is on special prescription foods, but my thoughts are with you as your babies get adjusted to their new diet....hope y''all feel better soon!

Lori

Thanks Lori!

I''ve been using my computer in the kitchen (otherwise they''d walk all over the keyboard, lol) and they won''t leave the kitchen now (since they get treats here). I have Kipling lying on the floormat behind me, looking all sad

 

[Heidi137]

I have a seven month old kitten and he''s on Science Diet kitten food. He will be on the adult formula in a few months. Since my cat is male, I''m going with a food that is good to help prevent urinary blockages (which can be fatal and are very expensive to treat).

 

[DianaBanana]

Date: 10/26/2009 9:30:41 PM
Author: Octavia
My cat was almost a year old before he could tolerate EVO. I know all cats are different, but your little boys are still so tiny, I don''t know that I''d start EVO just yet. If you do, maybe use a very small amount mixed with a lot more of the other foods.

I agree with this...my raggies never could tolerate EVO but they do really well on Wellness CORE, I rotate with the Wellness Indoor formulas.

I''d recommend Natural Balance for canned...my babies love the Indoor Ultra. It''s the top pick on this list of recommended canned cat foods.

 

[DianaBanana]

B.E.G. - we also dealt with a giardia infection a while ago and it was really stubborn, took several rounds of treatments to get rid of it....that was some nasty smelling poo!!

Because giardia is ingested, it''s really easy for them to get reinfected from cleaning themselves. I had to bathe one of my raggies twice a day because he couldn''t seem to poop without getting it on his feet.

Hopefully your little ones can fight it off faster than mine did....good luck!!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 10/27/2009 12:05:45 AM
Author: Heidi137
I have a seven month old kitten and he''s on Science Diet kitten food. He will be on the adult formula in a few months. Since my cat is male, I''m going with a food that is good to help prevent urinary blockages (which can be fatal and are very expensive to treat).

Thanks Heidi! Ours are boys too - though I think I want to keep them on grain-free foods as much as possible. They are voracious eaters already - definitely don''t need any fillers

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 10/27/2009 12:28:24 AM
Author: DianaBanana
B.E.G. - we also dealt with a giardia infection a while ago and it was really stubborn, took several rounds of treatments to get rid of it....that was some nasty smelling poo!!

Because giardia is ingested, it''s really easy for them to get reinfected from cleaning themselves. I had to bathe one of my raggies twice a day because he couldn''t seem to poop without getting it on his feet.


Hopefully your little ones can fight it off faster than mine did....good luck!!

Thanks Diana! I will see if the pet store carries Natural Balance (I think they do) tomorrow! I need to get another food storage container (right now I have two - each can hold about a 5-7 lb bag) so I can do three foods and just shake them up.

Ugh, this giardia infection sounds like a pain. Their poo is definitely smelly - I''m glad that that isn''t the norm

I''m picking up some bleach tomorrow, putting the kittens in their carrier (since they like to butt in wherever we are, and I can''t close the bathroom door (well I could, but then I''d pass out, lol), then cleaning the litter box, sink, tub, bathroom floor, and washing some of the blankets they like to sit on. And then giving them a bath - I might have to wear rubber gloves for both parts - or else I''ll be scratched all over!

How did you get your cats to take the medicine? At the vet''s the other day, it was a HUGE struggle getting them to take a pill - and that was with the pros doing it! The vet suggested mixing it into their wet food, but they''re not on wet food yet

ETA: By the way, what is that gorgeous stone in your av? New diamond??

 

[DianaBanana]

Date: 10/27/2009 1:49:55 AM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl

How did you get your cats to take the medicine? At the vet''s the other day, it was a HUGE struggle getting them to take a pill - and that was with the pros doing it! The vet suggested mixing it into their wet food, but they''re not on wet food yet

ETA: By the way, what is that gorgeous stone in your av? New diamond??

I found, through a lot of pain, trial and error, that the best thing to do is to wrap them tightly in a towel and get the pill in the very back of their mouth behind the tongue. If the pill is fairly large, I''d cut it up and do it in separate doses. Whatever you do, do it fast.

Kitties aren''t dumb, mine wouldn''t touch the wet food with a 10 foot pole when they smelled the pill in there!

Good luck!!

FYI - the av is my 1.74 Brian Gavin K - doesn''t Brian take great pictures?

 

[Gypsy]

BEG, if you have issues with the pills, let me know. Long story short Duncan is a complete nightmare to give pills to so I have them specially made for him by a formulary pharmacy in NJ and shipped out to me. They are made into treats in various flavors, and he loves them, and the price isn''t bad at all (even with the overnight shipping because they need to be refrigerated). Hope the boys get well soon!

 

[Lynn B]

Hey, BEG, just saw this thread cruising PS quickly at lunch. Sorry about the boys'' parasite, EEK! Hope that resolves quickly for you. Please keep us posted.

So... I looked up the ingredients for Avoderm kitten formula and I think you can do better.

Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Ground Whole Corn, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Herring Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Whole Brown Rice, Ground Whole Wheat, Natural Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Tomato Pomace, Dried Milk Protein, Dried Brewers Yeast, Dried Chicken Liver, Dried Chicory Root, Avocado Oil, Avocado Meal, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Lecithin, Taurine Supplement, Dried Yucca Schidigera, DL-Methionine, Dried Kelp, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Niacin, Choline Chloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Biotin, Ascorbic Acid (Source of Vitamin C), Zinc Polysaccharide Complex, Manganese Polysaccharide Complex, Iron Polysaccharide Complex, Copper Polysaccharide Complex, Cobalt Polysaccharide Complex, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.

Corn is the 2nd and 5th ingredient... and I think you are trying to avoid that, no? (BTW, small rant: I hate it when pet food companies list the SAME ingredient [in this instance, *corn*] two or more times by slightly different names. They only do it to make the ingredient list "look better". If all the corn is lumped together, then corn might well be FIRST on the ingredient list, and the manufacturer''s are savvy enough to know that most consumers would avoid THAT!)

 

[Octavia]

Date: 10/26/2009 10:15:23 PM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
I was thinking of the Wellness Healthy Indulgence grain-free wet foods to supplement their dry diet. Is that what you use, or a different Wellness food? I don''t think I want to do EVO wet - so it''s a toss-up right now between Wellness and Avoderm wet

I don''t know if his Wellness food is any particular variety...it just says Wellness and has a little yellow triangle that says Grain Free. Each of the flavors has a different colored label that kind of a swirly pattern. We usually feed him Chicken (orange), Turkey (green), Beef & Chicken (red), and sometimes Turkey & Salmon (I think, but can''t remember if that''s the exact flavor. It''s the purple one). He doesn''t like most fishy foods so we generally stay away from those flavors.

We''ve also tried the Weruva foods, and he likes them for awhile but then starts to turn his nose up at them. They''re also more expensive than the Wellness. If he seems to be getting bored with his Wellness, we''ll rotate in some Weruva for a couple days and that seems to do the trick. Fortunately, it doesn''t seem to upset his tummy or anything.

 

[Laila619]

My kitten is 14 weeks old, and she goes positively bananas for Wellness dry kitten food (green bag). Just a recommendation!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Gypsy, thanks so much - so good to see you around PS again! As far as the pills go, so far so good. I went to the pet boutique in my neighborhood today. They carry all (and only) premium foods, so I got a bunch of sample packs - let's see, got Orijen Cat & Kitten, Natural Instinct Rabbit, Natural Instinct Chicken, and something else that I forget - Rocky Mountain something? Plus got some cat treats (Ziwi Peak) and a bunch of grain-free wet food. Started the kittens on wet when I got back, and they went crazy over it - inhaled the food and pills. So I hope they keep it up for the next 5 days!

I also cleaned their litter box and disinfected/cleaned our bathroom today. UGH. I wish I had gotten a regular litter box instead of an automatic - what a pain in the butt (or in my back to be precise). Then I gave the kittens a B-A-T-H (a real one) and they were NOT happy. Poor bedraggled kittens!

Oh I think what I may do is since I have a bag of EVO, mix that in with their current Eagle Pack until EP runs out, and also mix in equal portions of Instinct Rabbit and Orijen so they get a little of everything. And keep that out for them at all times, and feed them wet at night. On one hand, I feel like I'm going overboard, but on the other hand, food is so important, and I want my kittens to be healthy. I'm becoming a crazy cat lady already

I think I'm going to switch their litter too. We're using Arm & Hammer for multiple cats and I hate the smell (of the litter). The pet boutique also carries World's Best Cat Litter, which I've heard good things about, so I think I'll try that.

Lynn, thanks so much for looking that up for me! Yes, you're absolutely right. It's not nearly as good as I thought - definitely won't be going with it. Thanks!

Octavia, thanks! I think I won't be going with Wellness, only because the store near me doesn't carry it. It's such a pain getting things shipped. I'm going to have fun buying one of every wet food they have though

I'll let the kittens decide which they like.

Diana, LOVE your new diamond! Wowza! What are you going to do with it? Do you have a setting in mind?

Thanks Laila! Aww do you have pictures of her posted? I'd love to see!


ETA: Kipling's been chowing down on the mixed dry (from the samples I got) but Dante hasn't. I hope he doesn't end up being pickier!

 

[Laila619]

BrownEyedGirl,

Good luck with your boys! Here's a pic of my kitten that eats the Wellness (I should add that she is not a picky eater at all though, she would eat ANYTHING, lol. I do what you're thinking of doing, feed a little bit of wet food at night.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Awww Laila she''s so precious!! How long have you had her? How is she settling in?