Is what I'm feeding him alright?

clowangel

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Sho isn't too picky of an eater, but there are some brands even he will turn his nose away from. I'm a full-time college student so I can't afford expensive premium brand wet foods, but I can afford the premium dry foods.

So what I'm feeding him for wet food now is Fancy Feast--buying as many flavors as is available at my local supermarket. He had rejected Whiskas and Friskies. His previous owner said he rejected Fancy Feast... Well, he isn't rejecting it now. In fact, he really likes it.

For dry food, I'm giving him Wellness CORE, and he scarfs that down. I haven't done extensive research, but from what I've read, it's a pretty good choice. Although now, he's not supposed to be eating it since he's on a wet diet thanks to Urinary Tract Infection. However, in the mornings, I have to give him his medication and he won't touch the wet food with medication in it unless I mix in Wellness CORE.

What I'm concerned about is... is there enough nutrition in the food I'm giving him? Do I need to add vitamins or whatnot to his water? or supplement with something else? I know some people said that what's good for him is the food he's willing to eat, but I don't want him to get fat or poor nutrition.

For some background information, according to his previous owner, Sho is a purebred American Short Hair and is three years old.
 
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clowangel

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Like I said, I can't afford premium wet food.. so no. ><;
 

sharky

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Sorry missed that...

meow mix??

You are right in CORE not being UTI friendly

Yes technically the nutrition via the charts is good ... but it may not be for yours ... your vet can help in that area...

IMHO any wet is better than no wet
 

shanynne

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Originally Posted by clowangel

However, in the mornings, I have to give him his medication and he won't touch the wet food with medication in it unless I mix in Wellness CORE.
You could try putting the meds in a pill pocket or you can give it to him manually

To give manually, lie the kitty against a pillow on a couch, sit next to kitty. This helps to prevent kitty from running away <grins> As gently as you can place thumb and middle finger against sides of mouth avoiding pressing on kitty's lips to open his mouth. With a "pill gun" "pop" pill into kitty's mouth then follow through with a little bit of water in a syringe to make certain the pill went down OK and is not stuck in his esophagus.

You can get both the pill gun and syringe from your vet. Also you can ask your vet to demonstrate this technique. It's actually quite simple and helpful for cats, like mine for example, who won't eat their food if meds are in it.

Hope this helps!
 
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clowangel

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@Shanynne: He's taking a liquid medication. No pills. So...I can't use pill pockets. That is a good idea though, if I ever have to give him pills in the future.

@furryfriends50: Thank you so much! o.o; That will really help!

@sharky: You're right. Any wet food is better than none. Is it normal for cats to be picky about wet food and not dry? I haven't had to change the dry food at all. And from what I can tell, it's his favorite food.

So, according to the charts, it's fine? Thank goodness. His UTI is nothing serious, and is just a bacterial infection that came about because he had a blockage from stress (I'm guessing moving households can do that). Eventually, he'll go back to half dry, half wet.
 

sharky

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Yes .. Out of five kittys in my home one is Extrememly picky on her wet... two have defined preferences ... one eats most anything put down and one would eat the sink if I would let him


You are feeding "complete and balenced foods " ie similiar to our RDAs it will sustain life ... whether kitty thrives is dependant on kitty

Are you using aids to ease stress? ie feliway and rescue remedy
 
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clowangel

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I did look into Feliway...but I'm seriously broke. And that stuff is expensive. I can't afford anything after his $3000+ vet bills. The trip to the Emergency Vet Specialists and him being placed in Intensive Care for 48 hours really really drained my pockets. It would have been even more expensive if the doctor hadn't told the assistant to waive $800 or so worth of treatment because of our financial situation. The bills included his follow-ups too.

Right now, his food is being paid for by my mother. Although she hates Sho with a fiery passion, she's willing to look out for my wallet. She doesn't even know Sho was sick and had to be taken to the vet. If she did, oh boy, the house is coming down.

Oh alright, so cats differ in their preferences; that makes sense.

Thriving is an understatement. xD He loves the combination. The food his previous owner gave me (Whiskas) caused him to throw up once a week. Ever since I changed his diet, he's only thrown up once in the past three months. And he's not shedding much at all anymore. He used to walk by and the floor would be littered with hairs.

Question: What is RDA?
 

fiddledee

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Where are you trying to find the Wellness wet food? I have a limited budget and can afford the cans, they are about $0.90 each. I only feed him 1/4 of a can per feeding [mix it with dry], so a can will last me about 2 days, because sometimes in the mornings [full-time college student as well] I'm in a rush and I only give him dry food [I feed him 3 times a day].

Hopefully you find a good food mixture.
 
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clowangel

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@Fiddledee: I tried searching online... A 24 pack costs $38! I can't afford that. The thing is Fancy Feast is more affordable now because my supermarket has it for 3 for $2. What store did you get yours from? Local pet store?

@sharky: Oh, I see. Thanks. ^^
 

fiddledee

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Oh wow, that is expensive! I hardly ever buy a case, I probably will when I'm able to get a job next semester. I get his food at Petco. And a little update as far as that goes:

I'm kinda in your situation as well. The Wellness at the store used to be $0.90, but a week and a half ago it jumped up to $1.11 a can...
There are other sorts of foods available that I'm going to check out. Right now I'm just looking for something like wellness that doesn't have too many byproducts or grains as one of the first ingredients. There are many master lists of cat food on the Internet. I cannot remember the address [I'll post the link here if I do find it], but there was this list a lot of the foods on the market. It went by a star system--5 stars the best. It had the foods listed in alphabetical order, and was rated based on ingredients, quality, and expense. With that site, 3 stars or better means a decent food. The lower the stars on price the better.
 

littleraven7726

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Originally Posted by furryfriends50

Could you go to petsmart? They have fancy feast-2 cans for a dollar. I think petco sometimes has that same deal.
Also, stores like Wal-Mart & Target often have the 12 or 24 packs for cheaper per can when you calculate the price per can. I've been shopping at those stores or Kmart lately for better prices than Petsmart/Petco. I use Friskies wet most of the time because the cats like it, and it fits our budget.
 
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clowangel

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@Fiddledee: It is expensive! Very expensive! I'm still feeding my cat Fancy Feast since he really likes it (not as much as his Wellness Dry though). I compared all the ingredients and labels at the supermarkets around my house (there are three of them in a two block radius), and Fancy Feast seemed to have the best ingredients out of the supermarket brands.

Unfortunately, we don't have a Walmart around here. I've never ever seen a Walmart in NYC. O_O;

@furryfriends50: Heh, yeah thanks! ^_^ Someone gave me that link in an earlier post. It's a useful link. o.o; I've printed it out, and I bring it with me to the supermarket. xD
 
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