Food Change

Greetings,

I have a question about changing cat foods, I know that I should be mixing and doing it gradually under normal circumstances. However in this case it appears that Jack has some problems with the food he had been eating and we (the vet and myself) are trying to figure out what in the food he is allergic to or having problems with.

I bought some innova evo dry thinking no grains... good place to start. Yesterday and today I mixed it with the old food 50/50.

At 4 months-ish is his tummy likely to be as sensitive to quick change as at a younger age?

In the case of a potential food allergy or digestion problem with something in the old food... should I just up and switch it? Or is mixing it but a bit speedier than I would otherwise (my current plan) the way to go?

Thoughts experiences? Poor Jack... its just been one thing after another since the little guy came in to the world. Course I seem to be taking it harder than he is.

Evo is really hard on the stomach. None of mine can actually eat it because even if they keep the evo down they throw up most anything else even when they normally wouldn't. My kitten also had really bad diarhea whenever she got even a couple bites of evo. I had better luck using California Natural for my allergic cat and the kitten. I know lots of people suggest using innova or california natural first before switching to evo unless you've been using a similar no grain food because evo is so different from most foods and can cause alot of upset when first fed. I definitely would not switch quickly but if you need to get him off the current food use something in between like the CN. A temporary diet of boiled rice and chicken or hamburger is often suggested by vets to eliminate allergens (you can add things back in slowly to test for a reaction) or to settle stomachs while switching to a new food.

well... nuts, I will have to check with the feed store I found that has the nutra products to see if they carry california natural.

For what its worth, Jack hasn't had any actual diarhea. His stool is softer than I am used to seeing from a cat and very smelly. The tipping point came over the weekend when there was a single small drop of blood I noticed on his bottom as soon as he came out of the box. Jack has been tested for alot of stuff since i have had him and I he has seen the vet 6 times since I took him in around mid august.

The vet seems puzzled. I tried to locate a feline specializing vet (I recently moved to this area) and haven't had any luck so far. I haven't seen any more blood on him or in his stool since that incident on sunday.

I agree simplier is better ... likely where you got the EVO can get Cal natural both are made by natura

yeah, i agree

thanks... sounds reasonable... one more question how long before I should see some sort of difference if its working or alternately really not working once I switch?

If the problem was definitely in the food and the food you switch to doesn't cause stomach upset then you should see improvement within the week. Usually I give it about a month if they aren't getting worse before deciding whether to continue with that food or not in case they are just having difficulties with switching.

Just wanted to say... THANKS!!! The california natural has been working out very well over the last month.