Costco feline maintenance dry food quality

jimmylegs

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I took my cat Louie to the vet for diarrhea, he is now being treated for isospora, but the vet said he might also be having a bad reaction to food. I told him I feed Costco dry food and Friskies canned. He seemed dubious about the Costco stuff, thinking it couldn't be a good quality food. But everything I've seen says it's a real cut above the usual grocery store quality, it claims to use no corn and no by-products, right? what can i tell him about its quality?

On the flip side, is it possible for a food to be 'too premium'? Louie is an alley cat we recently took off the street, he has probably been eating garbage for the past year or so, is it possible the Costco food is too rich for his poor system? If so, is there anything I can do for him? He's only been on this diet for about a month.
 

zoeysmom

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The main things about Kirkland is that the first ingredient is meat, it has no byproducts, and limited grains (rice, but no corn/wheat). It is also well-priced for the quality.

It is possible for a cat just not to handle a certain food well, for whatever reason. I know grain-frees are often too rich for cats, not sure if that's the case when there are grains involved. On the other hand, he may not handle grains well at all, and may need a grain-free.

It's hard to say....but not to worry, Kirkland is a decent food...your vet just may not know what the ingredients are (or even what ingredients are desireable).
 

jack31

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If anything I would worry about the friskies canned being the cause. I know my outdoor cat I feed it to poop reaks when she is eating it--it can't just be canned diet, because my boys inside eat canned and it doesn't cause their poop to stink.

Leslie
 

goldenkitty45

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May be the Friskies. Costco food is made by the Diamond company so its pretty good food. Try a higher quality canned food instead of the Friskies.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by Jack31

If anything I would worry about the friskies canned being the cause. I know my outdoor cat I feed it to poop reaks when she is eating it--it can't just be canned diet, because my boys inside eat canned and it doesn't cause their poop to stink.

Leslie
I wonder how come your doctor is worried about Kirkland, and not Friskies....

Anyway, it could be so many things... My Bugsy is allergic to chicken! I can feed him the highest quality food, or even raw, but If I give him chicken, he has violent watery diarrhea.
I don't think Kirkland is too rich for his system. Since you got him out of the streets recently, he could have parasites. Giardia is one that comes to mind... Giardia will not show in a regular stool test, you need to ask your vet to check his stool specifically for it - you can also discuss with your vet the possibility of treating him with Metronidazole - it treats giardia, and it is an anti-inflammatory for the GI tract during diarrhea of unknown causes...
I agree with removing Friskies from his diet...
You might want to try a blend diet for a while... There are some brands of food out there that have limited ingredients, are easier to digest, and also a way to rule out food allergies. FYI, cats can develop food allergies anytime in their lives, so this could also be a new issue, regardless of what he ate before.
Vibes for your baby
 
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