Question about wet cat food

Hello everyone:

My cal Lucas has been suffering fron feline acne for some time now and I've taken him to the vet several times. It is not too bad, but he does scratch a lot and his face looks red and has black heads around his mouth. He's been on antibiotics, we changed his bowl to stainless steel and we wash it everyday, he was prescribed some creams and I even listened to my vet and changed his food to Science diet sensitive skin (MY BIGGEST MISTAKE becase that food made him worse). I also clean his face everyday and I tried cleaning his face with a mild acne medication. Nothing works.

I read that wet canned food could help so I wanted to try that. Lucas has always eaten dry food, so I knew it was going to be a difficult change, but I went and I bought some cans of Fancy Feast and friskies, they were turkey and chicken, and he hates them, he won't even try them. I think he hastes the way they smell.

I really want him to eat wet food because I don't know waht else to do to help him with his skin condition. Can you all please tell me which ones are the best and which ones are your cat's favorites?? I want to buy him something he likes.


Thanks you all so much in advance.

Tamar

My cats hate Fancy Feast of any kind. Try Max Cat, Iams, or Natural Balance. I mainly stick to chicken, lamb, beef, venison, duck. They don't like any of the gravy kinds or the "sliced meat".

Thank you so much. I will go see if they have those at the supermarket or walmart. I should have asked here before buying the fancy feast.

Just a quick question. Do his bowls sit on a plastic mat? If so, remove the mat.

Also, make sure you wash his dish well each time you feed him. I bought about 10 of them at the dollar store and the dirty ones go in the dishwasher after each meal and a clean one used every time.

I totally agree about the bowls...I would suggest using either stainless steel or glass and washing (or changing out for a new bowl) after each feeding. I have about 9 of the anchor-hocking glass bowls (the ones that hold about 1 cup and come with plastic lids) and I change them after each feeding. I also change out the steel bowls I use for dry food each day.

One of my cats was prone to feline acne too...I was feeding mainly dry food and reusing the bowl for 2-3 days before washing it. When I started doing 1 wet feeding and 1 dry feeding a day and washing or changing out the bowls each time his acne disappeared. I used a damp washcloth and/or the nature's miracle pet wipes to clean his chin when it was bad.

As to the wet food...not sure what to say. Each cat is different. I've tried friskies, fancy feast, meow mix, also authority (petsmart brand), natural balance, nutro natural choice and nutro max, wellness, EVO, california natural, and merrick cans / pouches with mine.

I can't get them to touch any nutro max or nutro naturals cans, they won't eat fancy feast, they won't touch merrick OR wellness (although these 2 brands are often the only cans some people can get their cats to eat).

I have the most success with friskies (I try to avoid the very fishy ones and only use the pate style), authority, natural balance, and EVO (the beef, not the chicken / turkey or the original). One common factor is that they prefer "loaf" or "pate" style... not the chunky, strips, shredded, or very soupy (i.e. merrick) cans. Also, they don't like very dry food, so I have to mix in water with most cans.

I'd say your best bet is to try several "styles" (i.e. pate, loaf, shredded, etc.) and see which style he likes. Also try cans of different ingredients....with the friskies / ff, etc...the main ingredients are usually the same...i.e. most start with animal or poultry by-products, so my theory is that they don't taste very "different" to the cat...you might want to try something like nutro max or authority (both are pate/loaf style), which has a distinct main ingredient (i.e. duck, beef, lamb, chicken, etc.) and see which he likes. My cats LOVE the natural balance vennison/pea and duck/pea cans...they smell more than others and I think they may add something to make them more appealing.... My cats have liked pretty much any flavor of authority (they are only at petsmart, but are relatively cheap)...favorites are the beef and the lamb.

I would say to stay away from the cans with fish as a main ingredient...if you can't avoid it all together (I think the only friskies flavor without it is mixed grill)...as fish isn't the best for your cat.

At this point, it's pretty much a crap-shoot in determining what your cat likes, just try a lot of different flavors / styles and see.

Art

I haven't read everything in the previous posts, but make sure you use metal or ceramic bowls. Also, if you live near a PetCo, check out the Wellness GRAIN-FREE foods. Sometimes the grains really aggravate kitties with sensitivities.

Stephanie

This article is one veterinarian's view on feline acne. Good practical info.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...tem=felineacne

Another link with good info. http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=163591

This link is about getting your cat to eat wet food.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=163739

The forum has great information and help. Hope the acne clears soon.

Mine are significantly more cooperative when I blend their food with some water. Mixing by hand didn't work at well. I use the Magic Bullet and put the food in with a bit of water and blend it for a few seconds. I usually try to make it the consistancy of gravy.

When I first got the girls and was trying to find a wet food for them, I remember them really liking Avoderm. It was a little pricey for me, so I switched to Authority and they seem to like it - but only the chicken and lamb flavour, sometimes the beef (NOT the chicken and liver, oddly). Recently, I found Blue Spa on sale and all varieties have been a success so far! They really liked Merrick's Cowboy Cookout, but not the other variety I tried (Pot Pie, I think). They didn't like Wellness, but I haven't tried it with the blender yet.

My experience has been very much trial and error, as yours probably will be too. From the sounds of it, every cat has different preferences and it takes a bit to pinpoint what your cat will eat. I always figure getting them to eat wet food would be easier if I put their dry food up for a while so they were hungry when I gave them their wet food.

Good luck.

Thank you alll so much, I appreciate how all of you took the time to help me.


Yes, Lucas is using stainless steel bowls and I wash them after each use, I've tried everything. I will follow all your suggestions and I will buy different food to see what he likes.


You all have been so helpful, thanks so much

Tamar

Not sure how deep the bowls are, but some cats eat better from a plate or shallow bowl. Might even try putting the food on paper plates

UPDATE


Thank you all, you have all been so helpful, I really appreciate your advice.

I bought wet food, several brands and Lucas didn't even touch them, he hates every brand, I tried for two days and he didn't even tried it. It was a little funny because he went and smelled the food and then started acting like he wanted to cover the food, he started scratching the floor just like he does to cover his poop with the kitty little, hehe.

I gave up, he just won't eat wet food, so I started doing a research about feline acne and dry food and I read that the best dry food for Lucas would be a natural food like natural Balance, but sadly, no store sells that brand in my area (western Puerto Rico). So I went and bought Purina One Sensitive systems, it says its #1 ingredient is turkey. I will try that and see what happens. This has been so hard, I just want what's best for Lucas, I love him to death.


Thank you all

HUGs!

Not sure what online sources that you might have to order food. This is one I have used. Look to see the different brands of natural dry food.

www.onlynaturalpet.com Look at natural dry cat food.

Hope that gives you a few more options. Good luck.

Thanks so much for the link, I'm considering ordering natural food, but OMG the shipping to Puerto Rico is so high, it is $19 priority shipping. I will see what i can do about it, Thanks again

Try petfooddirect and see what their shipping is... The only downside for them is that you have to order by the case...they don't sell by the can.

waggintails is also good, sells by the can, but the shipping is also steep.

Art