Need help with a diet question...

muzbymom

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I have been trying to sort this out for a week now and my brain is pretty well scrambled. I have 6 cats - 4 indoor, 2 garage/outdoor. The easiest is probably to list them and then list what I'm trying to accomplish.
Snow - CRF
Whisper - a little chunky
Chenille - either has hairball issues or food issues
Muzby - he's just spoiled
Pippy - stomatitis
Star - no issues that I'm aware of

We have Snow on Hill's k/d, wet and dry and he's doing so well that we (us and our vet) are considering backing off on the fluids and stepping up the wet food some. Chenille tends to vomit, sometimes there's a hairball, usually it's very soon after she's eaten, kibbles are pretty much intact. We are going to keep Snow on the k/d, not my first choice for ingredients but it ain't broke so I'm not going to try to fix it. Everyone else was on Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea dry. Initially, we needed a limited ingredient for Snow, he's part Manx with no tail (which I've come to learn has an impact on the muscles back there). His poops had issues and when that happened he would leave evidence wherever he sat in the house (ick!). The limited ingredient made a huge difference. Then in April he was diagnosed with CRF. In order to attend to him, I added Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea Wet to the diet of the other cats so they would be busy while I was doing fluids. That's right about the time Whisper started getting what my husband called her 'winter coat'. I've never seen a winter coat that looks like a football in the stomach...but I digress.
A couple months ago Pippy was diagnosed with stomatitis, not a big surprise, his mother had it so bad we had to put her down. Have I lost anyone yet?
So...in an effort to simplify my life I am trying to find a food for the other cats that won't hurt Snow if he sneaks some and that Pippy can eat. I tried mixing in Hill's Oral Care dry with the NB Duck & Pea and, knock on wood, Chenille hasn't thrown up since, or yet. The phosphorus levels in the Hill's Oral Care and Hill's Sensitive Stomach are pretty low (low 70s) and the By Nature Organic is grain-free (rumored to help with stomatitis)and fairly low phosphorus. So if I feed Snow the k/d, Pippy the By Nature Organic wet (with Cod Liver Oil and Lactoferrin), and the rest of clan Hill's Oral or SS supplementing with By Nature Organic wet, does that sound pretty well balanced? Lastly, any thoughts on whether the Sensitive Stomach is that much gentler on the system than the Oral Care? The ingredients in the Oral Care look marginally better. Normally I wouldn't feed the cats Hill's, but I'm trying to keep continuity in case Snow decides to have a snack.
Sorry this is so long...I'm about to lose my mind with this. I dream about dry matter analysis and guaranteed analysis, etc.
 

sharky

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I know it is alot to ask but can you link both foods?? the oral and sensitive ...

If memory serves the sensitive has lots of grain first which is actually sorta good cause it lowers the CRF stuff
 
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muzbymom

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If you mean mix them, yes I could. Snow's main diet would be the k/d but since I can't feed that to the other cats I want them to be eating a food that won't really upset the apple cart with Snow if he decides to help himself at some point...which happens periodically...and which will become more of an issue if we try to back down on the fluids and control the CRF with diet. I tried the Oral Care with the other cats because of the larger kibble size, thus forcing Chenille to chew the food instead of just swallowing it. So I think I will pick up a bag of the SS and start mixing it in with the Oral Care (and Natural Balance which I'm phasing out...sadly, because it really has worked well for the cats and my dog). For some strange reason the cats seem to like the Hill's Oral better than the NB Duck and Pea, to the point where they pick out all the Oral Care and eat the NB when they have no other choices. BTW, the reason I picked the By Nature is that it is available close by at Petsmart. I may end up going to Wellness but that's quite a bit more of a drive.
Thanks for your input, by last night I had so many numbers and percentages and ingredient lists running around in my head I didn't know if I was coming or going.
 

cloud_shade

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I think sharky meant put links to the ingredients.

Hill's Feline Oral Care Adult Chicken:
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/pro...45524441760387

Ingredients:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Ground Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Calcium Sulfate, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Average Nutrient Contents
Nutrient
\tDry Matter %
Protein\t34.1
Fat\t22.0
Carbohydrate (NFE)\t31.1
Crude Fiber\t7.5
Calcium\t0.82
Phosphorus\t0.75
Sodium\t0.37
Potassium\t0.69
Magnesium\t0.058
Taurine\t0.23

Hill's Feline Adult Sensitive Stomach
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/pro...45524441760713

Ingredients:
Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Pork Meal, Dried Egg Product, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken Liver Flavor, Oat Fiber, Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, Iodized Salt, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Average Nutrient Contents
Nutrient
\tDry Matter %
Protein\t35.1
Fat\t21.8
Carbohydrate (NFE)\t37.0
Crude Fiber\t1.0
Calcium\t0.82
Phosphorus\t0.71
Sodium\t0.32
Potassium\t0.67
Magnesium\t0.055
Taurine\t0.22
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by cloud_shade

I think sharky meant put links to the ingredients.

Hill's Feline Oral Care Adult Chicken:
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/pro...45524441760387

Ingredients:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Ground Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, Calcium Sulfate, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Average Nutrient Contents
Nutrient
\tDry Matter %
Protein\t34.1
Fat\t22.0
Carbohydrate (NFE)\t31.1
Crude Fiber\t7.5
Calcium\t0.82
Phosphorus\t0.75
Sodium\t0.37
Potassium\t0.69
Magnesium\t0.058
Taurine\t0.23

Hill's Feline Adult Sensitive Stomach
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/pro...45524441760713

Ingredients:
Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Pork Meal, Dried Egg Product, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken Liver Flavor, Oat Fiber, Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, Iodized Salt, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Average Nutrient Contents
Nutrient
\tDry Matter %
Protein\t35.1
Fat\t21.8
Carbohydrate (NFE)\t37.0
Crude Fiber\t1.0
Calcium\t0.82
Phosphorus\t0.71
Sodium\t0.32
Potassium\t0.67
Magnesium\t0.055
Taurine\t0.22
Yes .. One day I will put a sentence together


Your cat is saying I like chicken not duck
... have you ever tried NB reg or light ( chicken , lamb and duck )

The sensitive has two grains and a fat prior to a meat ( which is pork )... the % ages look good for a CRF cat ( this is where I say double check with the vet ) as does the oral care
 
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muzbymom

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Sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought you might mean that but decided I must have misunderstood. I considered the Natural Balance but Hill's phosphorus is lower I think. (all the numbers are a blur right now) And again there was the continuity with the k/d for what that's worth. And I guess we'll find out sooner than later...I had to take Snow to the vet tonight (have I mentioned I have the best vet in the world?), there's a little spot on one side of the button that came loose so we're going to eliminate the fluids for a week and give that a chance to heal without the strain of the fluids stretching the skin there and do a blood test a week from Monday and see how his numbers are. But now that I've brought it up...what about mixing the Oral and SS for the other cats? I caught Snow sneaking some of the Oral Care tonight. I need to post a picture of my little man (13lbs) Snow with his button.
Thanks again for all your help!
 
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