Taste of the Wild...weight loss & diarrhea.

undergunfire

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I posted over on the goosemoose cats forums because my 2 kitties (3 yrs & 1 yrs) have been on TOTW dry food for a bit over a month now. I started off with a small bag (which they did great on) and then purchased a 15lbs bag about 2 weeks ago when the small bag ran out.

Well..I have been noticing diarrhea lately and noticeable weight loss. Juju (3yrs) is a Siamese mix, so he was slender in the first place...but now he is really thin. My other kitty, Tibi, has always been a tubby...but now his sides are starting to look thinner from above.

I did a little "test" last night and put in a sample pack of Wellness Chicken dry into a dish and the TOTW into the other dish...my cat had all of the wellness gone by morning...the TOTW was untouched.

A really nice lady on the goosemoose cat forums sent me this link....


....and told me to switch my cats immediately off of TOTW. I am now researching frantically on what type of food I should buy.
 

snake_lady

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I don't see anything backing up an issue with TOTW.... The link is about a different type of food.

The test you did just proves that your animals prefer wellness over TOTW.

I'm not seeing your point really


Diarrhea can cause weight loss...... diarrhea can be caused by MANY different things.

My cats are on TOTW, and one of them if fed solely grain free, will develop diarrhea....so they are fed a mixture of different foods.. For example: the 2 kittens are fed TOTW, Wellness Kitten and Wellness Core.
 

stephanietx

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The weight loss may also be from the lack of grain in TOTW. Of course, TOTW may be a bit too rich for your kitty (or kitties) who's developed diarrhea. According to your unscientific study, they seem to prefer Wellness which is what I'd switch them to so they'd eat. Many pet stores will take back opened bags of food or you could donate it to a local rescue group.
 
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undergunfire

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Another person on that link was having issues with TOTW and other have been having issues with Diamond foods.

My kitties were doing totally fine...then all of sudden both are loosing weight and have diarrhea 2 weeks after starting a new bag of TOTW. This has never happened before...and other others having issues....it seems like it is the food. I am not sure what else it could possibly be. They don't eat anything else other than the dry TOTW. I have now started them on wet food, but that was only since Friday.
 
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undergunfire

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Originally Posted by stephanietx

The weight loss may also be from the lack of grain in TOTW. Of course, TOTW may be a bit too rich for your kitty (or kitties) who's developed diarrhea. According to your unscientific study, they seem to prefer Wellness which is what I'd switch them to so they'd eat. Many pet stores will take back opened bags of food or you could donate it to a local rescue group.
But they have been on the food for over a month...then all of a sudden I start seeing dramatic unhealthy weight loss and diarrhea? Why would I donate a possibly contaminated bag to a rescue? My cats haven't been eating this food nearly as much as they were before with buying the new bag.
 

auntie crazy

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I think Undergunfire was just trying to be helpful and give the members here a heads-up on a potential problem.

FWIW, I am the person who sent her the link, also in the interest of being helpful.


Not to hijack your thread, Undergunfire, but, Stephanietx, cats don't need and can't digest grains (nor fruits or vegetables) so I'm curious why you think a lack of grains would cause weight loss?
 

stephanietx

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IIRC, most grains are carbohydrates, which often cause kitties to pack on the pounds. If you switch from a food that has grains, which most do, to a food that is grain free, which TOTW and Wellness CORE are, then it would stand to reason that your cat would lose some weight because their carbs have been cut out. Of course, if you feed or supplement with canned food that isn't grain free, then your not cutting out carbs entirely, but you would be decreasing their carb intake.

I know that when we switched one of our kitties to a grain-free diet because she was diagnosed with FHV, she dropped weight because we'd cut the carbs.
 

auntie crazy

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Ah, I see. You're talking about overweight cats losing some of that weight when switched from a high-carb diet to a healthier one, not healthy cats losing weight because they're undernourished.

That wouldn't apply to Undergonefire's kitties, who weren't overweight, but it makes total sense to me now.

Thanks for replying!
 

carolina

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Hi there-
I am sorry you are going through this... That's scary!
If I were you, I would be contacting TOTW about returning the bag for testing, and possibly a credit; if there is a problem, they need to know.
I would also change the food immediately... Since you are not going to be able to transition, I would put them on a all wet diet, and slowly introduce CORE or other high quality food (IMO Orijen is the best, ACANA second), until they are back on their eating pattern...
It seems they are already on the all wet, so that's great!! Are they doing better? Has the diarrhea stopped? If it haven't stopped, please see a vet promptly...
Also, you can get Bene-Bac at Petsmart or Petco, and give to them for a few days to regulate their intestinal flora...
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by stephanietx

The weight loss may also be from the lack of grain in TOTW. Of course, TOTW may be a bit too rich for your kitty (or kitties) who's developed diarrhea.
Not for the same reasons and stated in later posts (ex. overweight cats).... When fed grain free ( 100% grainfree ) My cats gets diarrhea..... whether they can digest it or not, they need grain in their diet and then have well formed stools
(same thing happened on Wellness Core, and TOTW )

That is the point I was trying to make.


Diarrhea with weight loss is a symptom for a vet visit first and foremost, as there are many, many causes for it, not only a "possible" food problem.
 

auntie crazy

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This may sound like I'm splitting hairs, but I do want to add a little to the "grain/grain-free" discussion.

Biologically speaking, no cat needs grains. Nor fruits, nor veggies. They can't digest them and they don't need them. In fact, they're bodies have to work hard to process and pass these products.

However, all cats (obviously) are different and react to formulas differently. Snake_Lady's cat's digestive system reacts to the TOTW formula in some manner that manifests itself as runny poo, which happens to be "corrected" when she feeds a different dry food that has grain in it.

This does not mean Snake_Lady's cat needs grains (her cat is not a mutant
), it means to have solid poo on a dry food diet, the formula has to contain grains.

Hopefully, this makes sense and doesn't look like simple semantics!
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

This may sound like I'm splitting hairs, but I do want to add a little to the "grain/grain-free" discussion.

Biologically speaking, no cat needs grains. Nor fruits, nor veggies. They can't digest them and they don't need them. In fact, they're bodies have to work hard to process and pass these products.

However, all cats (obviously) are different and react to formulas differently. Snake_Lady's cat's digestive system reacts to the TOTW formula in some manner that manifests itself as runny poo, which happens to be "corrected" when she feeds a different dry food that has grain in it.

This does not mean Snake_Lady's cat needs grains (her cat is not a mutant
), it means to have solid poo on a dry food diet, the formula has to contain grains.

Hopefully, this makes sense and doesn't look like simple semantics!
I don't know, they act like mutants to me sometimes..


Seriously though: I was not trying to say that all cats need grains, just that mine do in order to have solid poo.

and how that relates to the thread at hand, is that perhaps the OP cats cannot handle grainfree either


But still, diarrhea with weightloss = vet visit
 

kluchetta

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Well, I hope the OP lets us know if they get ahold of TOTW about the possible contamination issue. I've been feeding my 5 TOTW for over a year, and they are doing extremely well. It would be bad if there was a recall of TOTW...Well, inconvenient, anyway.
 
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undergunfire

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

Hi there-
I am sorry you are going through this... That's scary!
If I were you, I would be contacting TOTW about returning the bag for testing, and possibly a credit; if there is a problem, they need to know.
I would also change the food immediately... Since you are not going to be able to transition, I would put them on a all wet diet, and slowly introduce CORE or other high quality food (IMO Orijen is the best, ACANA second), until they are back on their eating pattern...
It seems they are already on the all wet, so that's great!! Are they doing better? Has the diarrhea stopped? If it haven't stopped, please see a vet promptly...
Also, you can get Bene-Bac at Petsmart or Petco, and give to them for a few days to regulate their intestinal flora...
Thank you! This was very helpful. I took pictures of the bag, it's expiration date, & upc code... and will be keeping a sample. I am going to contact Diamond and let them know what is going on.

I will continue to feed wet and introduce in a dry food. I can't get Orijen nor Acana here. CORE, as well as EVO, probably will not work because it is too rich for my cats. I don't want to go through the whole "diarrhea all over the house" thing again.

I'm still searching on what food to get. I know it has to be the food and not another issue. BOTH of my cats are going through the same thing. They are still playful, same personality, eagerly eating their wet food, and drinking water....so that is why I think it is just the food causing the diarrhea. When I scooped the cat box earlier I did see a firm poop pile on top and I know it came from Tibi (1 year old), as he never covers his poo.

So, a firm poo pile is a good thing. I will hopefully decide which dry food to get tonight, then go and pick it up after work tomorrow.


Does the food absolutely need to be grain free?

Here is a list of foods that my feed store carries (plus we have a PetSmart & Petco here)....

Frozen: Aunt Jenni's, Country Pet, FarMor, Nature's Variety, Primal

Holistic: Avo Derm, Azmira, Bright Life, California Natural, Canidae,
Canine Caviar, Chicken Soup, Eagle Pack Holistic, Earth Born Holistic,
Innova/ Evo, Merrick, Natural Balance, Nature's Variety, Pet Promise,
Solid Gold, Wellness

Organic: Karma (95%), Natural Balance Organic (70%)

Premium: Diamond, Supreme Source

Standard: Atta Boy, Farm Style, Maintain, PMI

Super Premium: Eagle Pack, Exclusive, Iams/Eukanuba, Nutro, Professional,
Pro Pac, Pro Plan, Science Diet
 

auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

I don't know, they act like mutants to me sometimes..
Funny, funny. Especially at 2 in the morning, eh?


Undergunfire, can you feed them just wet foods?
 
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undergunfire

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Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

Funny, funny. Especially at 2 in the morning, eh?


Undergunfire, can you feed them just wet foods?
Yeah, I can. I just wonder how much more expensive it will be? I was spending about $25-$30 per month on dry food. We also have a small dog, 3 house rabbits, and 9 pet rats, as well as ourselves that have to eat.

I picked up Blue Buffalo (fish flavor...my cats really don't like anything else) 5.5oz cans at PetSmart for 99 cent each - on sale. They should each be eating one a day (half morning, half night), correct? That is $60 per month if I fed them that.
 

auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by undergunfire

Yeah, I can...I picked up Blue Buffalo (fish flavor...my cats really don't like anything else) 5.5oz cans at PetSmart for 99 cent each - on sale. They should each be eating one a day (half morning, half night), correct? That is $60 per month if I fed them that.
That's how much I fed mine when they were on canned.
 
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undergunfire

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I had learned that fish is bad for them though, right? I wonder how I would get my cats to like chicken flavors. I just purchased 15 cans of "fishy" flavors yesterday because I didn't want to waste money on chicken/beef/turkey flavors.

I can do some research and do comparisons with canned food to see what is the best for the money.

So, dry food isn't needed...at all?
 

yayi

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

I've been feeding my 5 TOTW for over a year, and they are doing extremely well. It would be bad if there was a recall of TOTW...Well, inconvenient, anyway.
Same here. No TOTW problem and my 9 like the taste.
 
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