Do you think my diet is ok?

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums, the initial reason I signed up was to share some of my experiences regarding nutrition.

We have 2 cats, they are both 5 months old and are street cats from Singapore. By this I mean that we gave them homes after they were found on the street and taken in by us.

Initially we were feeding them Wellness Kitten Food. It seemed like a premium brand and we wanted them to be healthy. Unfortunately it didn't agree with either of their stomachs causing them to have a lot of diarrhea. We then tried Science Diet gentle on the stomach brand and this helped but long term we didn't like the idea of feeding them this food. Since it has corn products and one of my partner's cats died from Diabetes on this kind of diet we wanted to avoid this and go for something more natural.

This was when I decided to start cooking the food myself:

I cook chicken fillet mainly. For every 250grams (8oz) of Chicken I add:

1/2 teaspoon of bone meal.
1000mg Fish Oil
2 scoops of Life Extension Cat Mix (here for details: http://www.iherb.com/life-extension-...0-g/14888?at=1 )
I usually add in some pure taurine also, around 500mg per kg of chicken just to be sure they are getting enough.

The thing I am worried about is if they are getting the nutrition after I cook it. I don't do anything special I just cut up the pieces of chicken small and coat them in the supplements and then cook the chicken (not to the point of browning though).

Do you think that the value of the supplements is still there after cooking or am I burning them off? I just want to be sure they are getting all the nutrition they need. They were both born with Cat Flu (Feline Herpes) due to coming from the street and so they are always going to be a bit sick.

I know that a raw diet would be best. I don't have the facilities to grind up a whole bird though and I've tried to feed them the chicken raw and they didn't even try to eat it.

All opinions and help much welcomed.

Regards

//Philip

Hello Mek. As you'll find out TCS is a wonderful resource for asking questions and getting answers.

I'm not an expert or a nutritionist. So what I have to say is just my pragmatic response from someone who does a lot of cooking for people.

Seasoning food before cooking is done to add flavor. And some seasoning is done as a finishing touch.

I doubt bone meal would be affected. No idea about fish oil. The Life Extension would be the one to think about losing value when heated.

Another concern would be how well the supplements are distributed after cooking.

If it is possible what I would do is cook the chicken (and poaching in a small amount of water or chicken broth might be a better choice than saute in oil.)

Then at feeding time toss one portion with the appropriate amount of fish oil, bone meal, and Life Extension Cat Mix. That way you can be sure that there's no lessening of nutritive values by cooking, and be sure each cat is getting their fair share of the good additives.

You might also want to think about occasionally using a different protein source besides chicken. In England they often feed rabbit meat to cats. And perhaps infrequently some fish. That way your cats are used to different foods.

Lucky cats. Lucky you with two sweet cats. Can you post a picture so we can see how pretty they are?

Edited to add: I noticed that iHerb says to refrigerate the Life Extension after opening. So I'd be hesitant to heat it up when cooking the the chicken.

Please cunsult YOUR cat s vet...While many may not be nutrition experts they are schooled in the amounts of micro and macro nutrients needed to prevent and aid in illness recovery and managment

One even with supplements your diet is VERY incomplete( plus parts of the supplement actually could cause issues with your cat).. Fish oil would be void of nutrient value if cooked( or frozen)... it should be added right before serving...

Some on the internet believe they know more than a vet thus will tell you otherwise..But think this way ... If your dr says something your unsure of.// do you get a second medical opinion or run home to ask the layman what to do

I had them on this for about 10 days. I had substituted the lack of carbs with yogurt and had been giving them fish as an alternative protein but I just don't have the confidence to continue.

I am going to move them onto a wet food for a bit and then perhaps try and transition to one of the raw diets.

The problem is it's impossible to get things like Feline Pride or Nature's Variety out here in Singapore so I am really not sure what the best thing is going to be.

Both Natural Balance and Wellness wet food gave them bad stomachs. The only thing they had a good stomach on was Science Diet but I am very very hesitant to feed them this due to the ingredients.

Here is a picture of our cats: Chloe and Casper

http://i51.tinypic.com/2j10rad.jpg

Originally Posted by mek

I had them on this for about 10 days. I had substituted the lack of carbs with yogurt and had been giving them fish as an alternative protein but I just don't have the confidence to continue.

I am going to move them onto a wet food for a bit and then perhaps try and transition to one of the raw diets.

The problem is it's impossible to get things like Feline Pride or Nature's Variety out here in Singapore so I am really not sure what the best thing is going to be.

Both Natural Balance and Wellness wet food gave them bad stomachs. The only thing they had a good stomach on was Science Diet but I am very very hesitant to feed them this due to the ingredients.

Here is a picture of our cats: Chloe and Casper

http://i51.tinypic.com/2j10rad.jpg

Click to expand...

If they did well on Science Diet, there is really nothing wrong in feeding them that... It is way, way better IMHO than risking feeding them a diet that is not balanced and can bring on big and irreversible problems in the long run. At least SD is complete and balanced.
Cats will do well on different things... There are cats that will live 18-19 years eating supermarket brands that I would never ever consider, and they do just fine...
So, don't feel guilty or bad about feeding them Science Diet if that is what is available to you - if they do well on it, you can afford it, and is available, that is, in my book, a very good food!

What a lovely picture! Your cats are beautiful.

Mek

How are the kitties doing?

Originally Posted by mek

I had them on this for about 10 days. I had substituted the lack of carbs with yogurt and had been giving them fish as an alternative protein but I just don't have the confidence to continue.

I am going to move them onto a wet food for a bit and then perhaps try and transition to one of the raw diets.

The problem is it's impossible to get things like Feline Pride or Nature's Variety out here in Singapore so I am really not sure what the best thing is going to be.

Both Natural Balance and Wellness wet food gave them bad stomachs. The only thing they had a good stomach on was Science Diet but I am very very hesitant to feed them this due to the ingredients.

Here is a picture of our cats: Chloe and Casper

Click to expand...

First things first - Oh-my-gosh, what an adorable picture!!!!!!

Second - Welcome to TCS!! As with any community, you'll find a variety of opinions here, but on the whole, TCS is a wonderful place for good, solid cat-related information.

Now to answer your questions. If those were my cats, I would not feed them what you're offering. Although it's clear you love your new family members, and the thought behind what you're doing is admirable, it's an incomplete menu that would likely do more harm than good.

Given your entire set of circumstances, I'd start trying to find a canned food that worked for your kitties. Maybe if you list the specific flavors of Wellness and Natural Balance you've tried, we could help identify the ingredient(s) that might be causing the issue and/or make suggestions for replacement foods?

Again, welcome to TCS! You did a wonderful thing rescuing those kitties and I, for one, love meeting people like you.

If Science Diet was working for your kitties, I'd transition back to that. At least that way you know you're getting a balanced diet that the cats are doing well on. And to me that's the key - not what some folks on the internet say, but how your particular cats act and feel, and if everything looks good during their vet visits.

Believe me, I know how confusing it can be to pick out a food, especially when you're trying to do research on what's best. Feline nutrition is an evolving science - and there's no 'one food fits all' solution out there.

Bless you for trying to hard so take the best care of your kitties - but don't be afraid of Science Diet, or any other commercial food available to you, as long as your cats are thriving on it. Most vets will be delighted to talk about your nutritional concerns - they may not be certified feline nutritionists, but they've had years of training and experience on the effects of nutrition on cats, and want your cat to be healthy as much as you do.

Originally Posted by darlili

If Science Diet was working for your kitties, I'd transition back to that. At least that way you know you're getting a balanced diet that the cats are doing well on. And to me that's the key - not what some folks on the internet say, but how your particular cats act and feel, and if everything looks good during their vet visits.

Believe me, I know how confusing it can be to pick out a food, especially when you're trying to do research on what's best. Feline nutrition is an evolving science - and there's no 'one food fits all' solution out there.

Bless you for trying to hard so take the best care of your kitties - but don't be afraid of Science Diet, or any other commercial food available to you, as long as your cats are thriving on it. Most vets will be delighted to talk about your nutritional concerns - they may not be certified feline nutritionists, but they've had years of training and experience on the effects of nutrition on cats, and want your cat to be healthy as much as you do.

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Due to your location I would guess that Science Diet is going to be the most premium food you can find..

Got another thread going about one of our cats not eating as much as she should however:

Have tried Avoderm, Natural Balance, Solid Gold Tuna, Addiction (Duck one) as canned food.

We haven't been giving any Dry food because we suspect it was this that caused the bad stomachs (wellness/natural balance dry). Pretty sure that the boy cat just has a very sensitive stomach.

Solid Gold Tuna is a huge hit and is very good on the stomach but doesn't seem to be a good idea as an everyday food because of the Mercury. Therefore still not sure what is best, most of these foods seem to give him a not great stomach (could be grains). Will try Wellness Core canned food next and see how that pans out.

Any suggestions for canned foods welcomed, especially something similar to Solid Gold Tuna without the mercury!

Originally Posted by mek

...
Have tried Avoderm, Natural Balance, Solid Gold Tuna, Addiction (Duck one) as canned food.

...

Click to expand...

If you don't mind, what particular flavors of these brands?

AC

Avoderm Ocean Fish and Turkey/Chicken Varieties
Natural Balance Turkey and Giblets
Solid Gold Canned Blended Tuna
Addiction Herbed Duck Confit with Sweet Potatoes

I've tried all these and over time in the past before I tried my stupid died in the original post I had tried some others.

What I am learning is that perhaps a food with a Stew / Meat and Gravy type food like the Tuna it might be good. ChloÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] does not seem to like the Pate style so I would love to get a good food with no corn / grain in that style. I did actually email Solid Gold and they told me that there is no Mercury in the food and they do random tests on the final product and the source Tuna. I have no idea how trustworthy that is however.

Last night I got the Wellness dry food out again out of desperation. ChloÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] has not been eating well recently and it got worse when she was recently spayed. I put her in our bedroom and she slept with us last night meaning she could have a bowl of food out the whole night with risk of Casper eating it. She ate almost a full bowl (probably around 5 tablespoons) during the course of the night. This was great since she is looking very thin but once again she got mushy poop in the morning.

I think today I might try and order a different dry food and see if I can find something without the stomach issues. Maybe Taste of the Wild if anyone has tried that? I also need to find a canned food in the meat and gravy style I mentioned earlier.