Possible food sensitivity? *long*

naturestee

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I'm having some problems with my 7 month old kitten Lily. I took her to the vet on Friday but I'm not sure how much I can trust her advice on food because she said she really likes Iams and Science Diet is her other favorite. And she prefers dry food.

Lily has been having gas problems. It started during a coccidia infection where she got really bloated. After treatment she would bloat very big and then "deflate" twice or more a day. We were going to bring her in again but she caught Eve's URI and was given antibiotics, which also killed off most of the bloating problems. This was in September.

She continued to have bloating problems but not nearly as bad. She wouldn't swell up as much or as often. I switched her dry food from Eukanuba to Chicken Soup and the bloating decreased some more but still happens. She's also been gaining extra chub. So Thursday I called the vet to make an appointment (and FYI, her URI came back that afternoon
).

Vet said she is chubby and put her on a diet. She gave both the kittens dewormers in case the fecal float missed them as that might be causing gas. She also said that switching the wet food like I do might be causing Lily's gas problems so I should only feed canned CS with the dry CS, instead of the Felidae and Innova I've been switching between also (those cans last 4 days, BTW). I think she was going to have me switch to Iams or Science Diet but I told her that CS lessened the gas and really improved Eve's coat a lot.

I also asked her if feeding only wet would be a good idea because Lily only seems to bloat after eating the dry food, and I've never noticed bloat when switching from several days of canned Felidae to something else, etc. She said no.

So for now I'm just going on her recommendations. Only CS wet and dry in the amounts she specified. I'll wait and see if it helps with the bloating too. But has anyone else had bloating problems from switching canned food? Especially since CS, Felidae, and Innova are fairly similar. I'm not really comfortable feeding only one brand because I don't think any one food is perfect.

Does anyone else have cats who get bloated after eating dry food? She doesn't stuff herself with it. Also, she did say that the canned food had much less calories than the dry. Wouldn't it be easier to control her weight with canned food?

 

mooficat

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Oh heck - what a worry for you and that you are not sure about your vets advice


I am sorry I cannot answer your question (s) I have 3 cats and they eat a mix of wet & dry, wet for breakfast & tea and dry for snack/treats. They have never had bloating problems.

Its very difficult when cats are ill and the vets tells you to follow a certain course of action - particularly with food. My reasoning would be that you know your cat and you know what she likes etc...........umm...........what a to-do !

Do you feel you could get a 2nd opinion ? I used a vet in the UK and I knew for certain he pushed dry-cat food onto his customers, well its not cheap is it !!

Also, if you havent done already, check on some internet sites, you may get some idea of whats going on that either makes you feel better about what your current vet is prescibing and what is wrong with you cat - OR - help you decide to use another vet. Something I did, was print information about cat-cones (the material ones) vets here only stock plastic - I took it in all the vets to show them - firstly to see if they had them and secondly to try and get them to stock them !

Oh I do feel for you


Heres sending lots of GET WELL SOON {{{{{vibes }}}}}} to your kitty and lots of hugs for you !

Maybe some of our other members have experienced these problems, so hopefully you´ll get some more replies !

Good luck and keep us posted !
 
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naturestee

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Thanks, Mooficat!

I don't know if getting a second opinion would be worth it. This is the only clinic in the area that does nutritional counseling, and the vet that does it is the one I had. The other cat vet at this clinic recommended Science Diet and Eukanuba to me when I brought the kittens in for their first appointment and also doesn't like wet food. This clinic also has tons of recommendations from the shelter vet, shelter workers, etc. From what I've heard of the other vets in town they won't be any better. Most send nutritional problems to this vet.


From what I've heard here, this is pretty typical of vets. They just don't get much education in nutrition and they prefer the foods that are marketed to them or the prescription foods that they sell. I don't think she had ever heard of Chicken Soup, Felidae, or Innova even though two of the three pet stores in town sell them.

Even worse, my hubby was with me and he believes the vet. Although he'll let me do as I wish with the kittens, I'm not sure if he'll approve.
 

pat

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I know you'll get some good advice from the nutritional advisor - Sharky - but in the meantime, you might find this site interesting...not because I am suggesting you go to a raw food diet - but because the site is written by a vet, and does a good discussion on why dry cat food is not the best option for cats (which I do agree with).

Visit www.catinfo.org
 

sharky

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The site Pat so sweety linked
is a great one..


If you suspect sensitivity I would suggest looking simple over "holistic"... Try one one meat one grain foods like felideas chn and rice or California natural...

If you can and have vet support I would advise homemade and raw diets ... These are easy to control and then you can find out what is causing the issues...

I am drinking my coffee so I hope that helps some... My Pm box is open if you have something you need in detail
 
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naturestee

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Thing is, if it is a food sensitivity I think it might only be the dry food. Hmm. I think I'll follow the vet's instructions for a few weeks, then switch to canned only if she's still having gas problems and see if that helps. I knew I should have gotten Lily's recommended calorie amount and not just the amount of wet and dry food she was supposed to get. I'll have to call her back.

Have you seen problems with switching wet food, especially between relatively similar formulas like Felidae and Innova? The vet said that was another possible cause and didn't like that I was changing their wet food around at all.

I don't think I'd get any support for raw diets from vets who prefer to feed dry Iams. I'm really not comfortable with the idea either.
 

russian blue

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Originally Posted by sharky

If you suspect sensitivity I would suggest looking simple over "holistic"... Try one one meat one grain foods like felideas chn and rice or California natural...
Originally Posted by Naturestee

Have you seen problems with switching wet food, especially between relatively similar formulas like Felidae and Innova? The vet said that was another possible cause and didn't like that I was changing their wet food around at all.
I've been reading as much as I can around food sensitivities since my cat, Nakita, has potential IBS. With the drug and food changes your cat has been through, I would stick to one simple food (ie - California Natural) and try it out for at least 3-4 weeks. Also, since dry food expands in the stomach by absorbing liquid, that could be the cause of the bloating. Your cat eats too much, then once expanded in the stomach, is too much for his/her system to handle. Take a piece of kibble and place it in a small amount of water and see how much it expands as a visual experiment for yourself.

Cat and dog allergies have increased greatly over the recent years so you can never be too careful in choosing the right food. To me, the simplier the food the better (instead of combining so many different proteins in one dry food). At least then, if your pet has a food allergy it's easier to determine.

Nakita never did well when I changed wet foods on her, but some cats are fine and only are affected when dry food changes are involved.
 
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