Sensitive Stomach formulas?

My cousins just moved away, leaving their cat with my mom. The poor kitty has Issues. The main one is that he throws up, a LOT. He's always been this way. The only thing that keeps him from barfing constantly is using a Sensitive Stomach formula---usually Science Diet, Iams, or Purina ONE. They dropped off a bag of Purina ONE this time. He can't have any other kind of kibble or canned food without barfing.

So. . .what better brands could we try that might have the same effect as the Sensitive Stomach foods? What's in those formulas that keep him from barfing anyway? My mom's cats were on Chicken Soup Hairball/Senior the last time he was at her house, and that didn't work for him. She would prefer a kibble that all the younger cats could eat (the old cats are on all canned). I guess Purina ONE isn't too bad, but if there's a better one I'd rather point her in that direction. And is there an additive we could put in his canned food that would help? Poor barfy Boots.

I guess it is finding what the cat is senstive too... Many avoid wheat , soy , corn and fish... all can be allergens but are also except for wheat harder to digest...

I would think more like 1or 2 meat one or two starch formulas... I used to recommend Natural choice but it now has wheat... so that would be a ? of is wheat in the foods he seems okay with

Going by the ingredients lists of the sensitive formulas, I would put Purina One and Royal Canin in the midrange quality with the major difference being cost. I don't know about Iams, didn't find the ingredient list for it, but the one time I bought that brand every one of my cats turned up their noses at it. I wouldn't touch Science Diet with a 10' pole---no, make that a 20' pole.

Blue Buffalo Basics looks good, but is very expensive. My personal choice would be Authority Sensitive Solutions, which is higher quality than Purina at a fairly reasonable price. That should also work for the other cats in the household.

At this point whatever food works is the best food.

Good luck finding something that the poor kitty can keep down.

Um, I know the Purina ONE has soy. . .I was reading the label earlier, let me find the websites. . .

Purina ONE Sensitive Systems:
Turkey, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, turkey by-product meal, oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), dried egg product, whole grain corn, animal liver flavor, soybean oil, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, caramel color, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, taurine, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, . . .etc.

Iams Digestive Care:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Chicken, Brewers Rice, Corn Grits, Dried Beet Pulp, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Flavor, Fructooligosaccharides, Dried Egg Product, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Dried Yeast, DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride. . .etc.

Science Diet Sensitive Stomach:
Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Pork Meal, Dried Egg Product, Whole Grain Corn, Chicken Liver Flavor, Oat Fiber, Potassium Chloride, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, vitamins. . .etc. (ugh, this one's terrible. I won't consider this an option)

He's done fine on all of those. The foods he's tried while here (in the past) and did not do well on were:

Chicken Soup adult:
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Turkey meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, ocean fish meal, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, zinc proteinate. . .etc.

Chicken Soup hairball/senior:
Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, turkey meal, white rice, powdered cellulose, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, ocean fish meal, flaxseed, egg product, potassium chloride, methionine, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, zinc proteinate. . .etc.

And I think Nutro Max Cat Adult Salmon flavor:
Chicken Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Flour, Ground Rice, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Ground Whole Wheat, Natural Flavors, Salmon Meal, Salmon Protein Concentrate, Yeast Culture, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Menhaden Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Taurine, Zinc Sulfate, Dried Cranberry, Ferrous Sulfate. . .etc.

Hmm, yeah, Authority doesn't look too bad:
Turkey, Turkey Meal, Brewers Rice, Oat Groats, Salmon Meal, Poultry Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Rice Flour, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Fructooligosaccharides, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamin Mononitrate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 supplement, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine.

I might recommend that one. I wonder if it comes in the big bags? Probably not (ETA: haha, nope. It's right on the website---only in 4-pound and 8-pound bags. Oh well).

Nothing helped Eden but Purina ONE, however due to the other cats I had to switch. She's now on Natural Balance Chicken & Green Pea (light green label). I mix in Pro Plan sensitive stomach as she really likes that, too.

the one is not bad ... you will not one similarity of the ones he can have ... CORN lot of it and no wheat ... or barley or cellulose( often has wheat)


Maybe try purina naturals more cost effective and still decent than one or authority..

Petsmart has the big bag s and some targets

It's not a big deal that the Authority doesn't come in the big bags. . .it's just more cost-effective that way so I was hoping. Authority is usually about the same price as the special formula Purina ONE in the smaller bags, so I'll probably grab a bag next time I'm at Petsmart and see how he does. But it doesn't have corn, do you really think that's a big factor? It also doesn't have wheat so if that's the problem it might work.

The ProPlan looks pretty similar to the ONE, but with lamb instead of turkey. I wonder how he'd do with lamb.

Do you think Purina Naturals would work? I know my cousin tried a few different foods before settling on the Sensitive formulas, but I don't know if that was one of them (she was living in a really small town and options were very limited). Might be worth a try, though if the ONE is working I don't know if there's a point in making a lateral switch.

Corn is actually one of the ingredients I try to eliminate first when I'm trying new food for the kitties. That's one of the reasons why I like Authority better than Purina.

Originally Posted by GoldyCat

Corn is actually one of the ingredients I try to eliminate first when I'm trying new food for the kitties. That's one of the reasons why I like Authority better than Purina.

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Well, yeah, me too, but as sharky pointed out, it IS a common link between the foods he does well on, so maybe he needs corn so as not to throw up. He, of course, could stay on the ONE indefinitely (whatever works!), but I would rather have the other cats on something better, and it's best for that household if all the cats are on the same food. So I am going to try the Authority because it looks the best of the Sensitive formulas. Hopefully he'll do well on that.

Are there any canned foods with corn? LOL, probably not. I wonder if a tiny bit of grits mixed in would settle his tummy. Or oat bran or something like that.

I have seen canned food with corn but normally the rest of the ingredients are well.....And no it is not a common ingredient in canned foods.. I would suggest looking for oats

It could be a matter of it is working dont change it

Yeah, I thought of that. But it seems like he should get SOME canned food, ya know? He's not a healthy cat in general (he had a bad start in life), and it would be nice to keep him looking halfway decent (he's so skinny!). And I bet his kidneys aren't in great shape. Once he settles in I might take him in for bloodwork.

Do you have access to Eagle pack?

Sounds quite a bit like my Phoenix he's a real puker... he actually impacted as a very, very young kitten.

Now these aren't cheap but what i used here is Royal canin selective 40 protein preference and blue buffalo finicky feast now he has access to both and barely every tosses his cookies on these, chicken soup he puked on like crazy, he can also tolerate the purina one sensitive lol

My other two cats do well on these foods to although neither of them are pukers.. i do add wet food twice daily but i only used friskies or fancy feast... he only sometimes eats wet though... it's offered daily but rarely does he eat both morn & eve meal, it's usually one or the other.

Originally Posted by sharky

Do you have access to Eagle pack?

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I don't know. . .I've never looked. I'll check the usual stores and their website. Is there a particular formula you had in mind?

Originally Posted by Willowy

I don't know. . .I've never looked. I'll check the usual stores and their website. Is there a particular formula you had in mind?

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Yes in both dry and canned... dry is there hairball think the bag is blue

We had a similar issue with one of our kittens and the only food that worked both for her and our budget was Natural Balance grain free. She is sensitive to poultry so WE use salmon but that is entirely up to you what flavor to get.

We have only found it at PetCo.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/