Switched to grain free

I am a bit of a lurker who has a question. I slowly switched my kitties over to Orijen the last couple of weeks. I did some research and had a conversation with the guy at the cat food store. I told him my girls eat dry, and he said this was his suggestion.

It has been going well except for my younger one. I'm not sure the best way to say this, but she has been leaving skidmarks, all of the house. There is no scooting.

Is the food too much for her system? It's like her poo is just sticky or something.

time for a vet check.. it very well could be the food , what was the prior food? but it could also be a infection or worms

Chicken Soup. I didn't think it would be that big a deal. It seems to have calmed down this week. I'm watching the box as well. The poop just seems a bit more moist. Not to be graphic.

that is the main reason people go back to with grain formulas ... often the grain frees are just to rich for the tummy

My cats had the same problem. The key is slow, sloooooow transition. As in, several months of feeding a mix of half grain-free food to eventually just the grain-free. Now they poop like champs!

yes try mixing the foods together with only a little of the grain free at a time at first for a week. slow slow slow. 

I definitely agree with the slow transition. Every cats system is different and some have a harder time digesting new foods than others, especially new dry foods. You may also notice that their stools don't smell very good either. Try and only mix a couple of pieces with their regular food and slowly add more each week.

Are you only feeding dry? If so, I would highly recommend feeding at least some wet food so they stay hydrated (dry food is very dehydrating).

Here's a good link about dry food, that I feel is worth sharing:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-dry-food-is-bad-for-cats-and-dogs/

But if you must feed dry food, here's a link about the best dry foods on the market

http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2011/08/best-dry-cat-foods-so-far/

Cheers,

-Holly

My 15 year old (come this June 13th) manx breed cat has always been a "drinker". He drinks water like a cow. This year he's been sleeping a lot more due to his age and started losing weight. I took him to the vet and the vet (she) said, he needs more protein in his diet.

My cat has never liked wet food, pate' or raw food. When I tried these foods when he was a few years old, he balked for at least 30 days at a time and would barely eat. My vet said he can't do this at his age now. It could kill him because he'd lose a lot of body weight fast and it would stress him.

So, we decided since he likes dry food, a dry food with a good amount of protein in it, relatively low in carbs was the logical choice. Starting January 4th of this year, I tried Blue Buffalo Duck (40% protein) and he liked this a lot. His weight almost came back to where it was when he was in his prime. I then tried Innova Prime Chicken (42% protein) and he ate it, but not enthusiastically.

My next choice was (and what he's eating now) is Nature's Variety Chicken & Turkey (50% protein). This is his favorite food. When he gets done eating it, he licks his chops for quite some time and then has a good drink. His weight is now where it was when he was 7 years old. He gets fed twice a day, early morning and late afternoon and the total for the day is 1/2 cup.

I slowly transitioned him to each of these foods. He's never had any kidney or stomach problems. His coat is super soft and silky. No cat litter problems either from these foods.

My cat does have one small quirk. He doesn't like stale dry cat food. This is why I buy these foods in the  2.0--2.2 lb bags. He always finishes these bags before the food inside goes stale.

All cats are different. What worked for him mght not work for your cat, but give it a go. Just try a little experimentation and go slowly.

Have you guys noticed this thread is almost 2 years old?

I guess I didn't even notice, I just clicked it, read and replied. Thanks for pointing that out Mschauer!
 

In response to the problem of stale food, the food can actually go bad if it sits out too long. I keep mine in a big plastic Sterilite tub with a flap top, basically a giant cereal keeper. This prevents me from overfeeding when trying to dump from a giant bulk bag (I keep a scooper in the tub) and keeps the food fresh. It also protects the food against mice, though once baby Boots grew up, mice were no longer a problem.

Orijen is a really good, grain free dry food. But for optimum health you should add in some canned foods as well (if you don't want to eliminate dry altogether).