question re corn in food

runnerup · Feb 11, 2011

Hello,
I'm totally new to this site and I can't believe I haven't found it sooner! I am confused as to what is good for my cats to eat.
I took in an abandoned 10 yr old (Westley) cat last year. He was vet-checked and in good health at the time. But he vomited quite frequently. I finally asked my vet about it while my kitty (1.5 year old Shana) was in for her annual check up. She asked what I was feeding him. I said Authority. Oh you could SEE the disgust on her face! She told me to throw that garbage out and feed my cats Natural Balance.
It had been a year since he was last at the vet, so I took him in the following week. We did blood and urine tests. Turns out he had a UTI. She put him on Royal Canin Urinary S/O. I understand that the S/O will adjust his urinary ph balance, etc... but it's so full of corn. Is this really good for him?
From what I can understand, Authority is "bad" because it's heavy on corn, right? Am I missing something here?
I just spoke with the vet this morning and Westley is clear of his infection. She highly recommends he stay on the special food. In fact, she wishes she could get all male cats in the world on this stuff it is so good, she said! She sounded so sincere. But this has left me puzzled... I was looking for a better quality food for my other cat (more meat, no corn, etc) but I'm not sure what I'm looking for anymore. Can someone shed some light on the issue please?
Sorry this got kind of lengthy. Thanks!

saitenyo · Feb 11, 2011

Did you try asking her about the corn? I.e. asking why she feels this stuff is fine but the Authority wasn't?

My understand is that UTI cats on dry food require a certain specific ingredient balance to help prevent crystals, but I've also heard that dry in general isn't very good for cats that are prone to UTIs, because lack of proper hydration can be one of the factors in the development of UTIs, since more dilute urine helps prevent the buildup of crystals.

You may want to talk to your vet about the possibility of putting your cat on some kind of wet food (without corn in it) that may suit his needs while alleviating your concerns about the ingredients.

I don't blame you for being concerned, I don't feed corn to my cats either. It's a high-glycemic grain and I feel the amount of corn (and other carbs) in most housecat diets probably contributes a great deal to the high rates of obesity and diabetes seen in housecats.

runnerup · Feb 11, 2011

Hi saitenyo,
I didn't feel like I was knowledgeable enough to question my vet

I have only recently started "educating" myself about feline nutrition. My childhood cats grew up on Friskies! Mama cat lived past 20 years so it never even occurred to me that it could be bad.

My cat drinks plenty of water so I'm not concerned about crystals (he doesn't have any). He was put on the food to adjust his ph levels to deter bacteria from flourishing. We got special canned food as well, but he refuses to eat it. Tried a different brand and he refuses that as well. I have one more brand to try. But the vet said if he was eating the special dry food, he should be fine with "regular" canned food.

He is neither overweight nor diabetic, so maybe he is just fine on this food. It just threw me since I had just started reading about how all that corn wasn't good. And I was looking for a new food for my other cat (who was told to go on a diet). The vet said she could eat the same food as long as I portion control. But I'm unsure about giving her that much corn since she is already overweight.

Add to the mix the fact that I have to feed foster kitty her own special food (d/d)... feeding has gone from free feeding to strict supervision =\\

goldenkitty45 · Feb 11, 2011

My boy was on that after the UTI. But I added in canned foods (chicken, lamb or beef) in high quality and added raw beef to his diet. He was fine.

However, he still wound up having another UTI but had a reaction to the meds and passed away in a few days. We suspect (as a few other breeders do too) that he had an underlying kidney/liver problem that just triggered the seizures and death.

Most vets will be against canned food claiming dry is better for teeth, etc. In reality the cat really is better off eating more canned and raw then dry.

saitenyo · Feb 11, 2011

Yeah, it does sound like you're facing a fairly complicated feeding system now with every cat needing a different type of food. :/

I generally believe that barring certain specific medical circumstances, most cats thrive best on diets deriving most of their nutrients from animal proteins, especially diets that are less processed, like raw diets. I have one cat who had digestive sensitivities causing frequent loose stool, and another who was overweight, and both improved a little when I switched them to a quality grain-free canned food (and eliminated kibble entirely) and then when I switched them to raw, both their issues disappeared entirely.

I now have two very healthy cats of proper weights, no stool issues, and extremely soft, healthy coats. I've heard similar stories from many other raw feeders.

The issue of course is that a lot of vets are not well-educated on cat nutrition, and react very negatively to raw diets (since the pet food companies that pour money into veterinary education make a strong effort to convince people that raw is unhealthy and dangerous). But I'd recommend researching it a bit and drawing your own conclusions. It may end up being a surprisingly simple solution that works for all your cats, without having to juggle three different special diets for all their individual needs, since they'll be getting the sort of food their bodies are naturally designed to eat.

I can recommend some good sites and books if you're interested.

sharky · Feb 11, 2011

I would also have questioned .... Corn can have its place in a UTI friendly diet if you are feeding dry... I agree canned is often better and MOST canned foods do NOT have corn ( the ones with corn are usually extremely poor quality)...

S/O is a Prescription food and I would wonder why it was prescribed as senior s and Uti RXs are not a normal combo...

Authority is a decent food for a very good price... realize many vets are like us .. they fall for marketing without further research...

Remember : The best food for your cat is one he/ she does well on!, two you can easily afford and three you are comfortable with feeding

runnerup · Feb 11, 2011

For now, I will be keeping him on the S/O. He's clear of his infection and seems to be doing well on the food.
As Sharky said, he is doing well on it and it's affordable, so why not.

but @saitenyo, I would love some recommendations on reading material, just for my own edification and so maybe I'll feel more comfortable questioning my vet next time!

goldenkitty45 · Feb 11, 2011

Hopefully he will be ok. My biggest problem with any dry food is the fact that males tend to GET UTI's on an all dry diet, so I don't see how putting him on dry food only will stop him from getting more UTI's.

runnerup · Feb 11, 2011

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Hopefully he will be ok. My biggest problem with any dry food is the fact that males tend to GET UTI's on an all dry diet, so I don't see how putting him on dry food only will stop him from getting more UTI's.

Oh he gets canned food too, just not the "special" ones from the vet.
Do you think it's something in the dry food or the lack of moisture in dry food that contributes to UTIs? The lady I got him from implored me to feed some canned food to him since males tend to have urinary problems from not getting enough water. But boy this cat drinks plenty of water (no diabetes).

Edited to add: Oh and I just saw your previous post! I'm so sorry to hear about your cat =(

feralvr · Feb 11, 2011

It is the moisture content, that is why wet food is better than dry for all cats. Before I knew this, I fed mostly dry with very little canned added in. I had two male cats then that had UTI's. As soon as I fed then ALL wet food, no more UTI's.

sharky · Feb 11, 2011

Originally Posted by Feralvr

It is the moisture content, that is why wet food is better than dry for all cats. Before I knew this, I fed mostly dry with very little canned added in. I had two male cats then that had UTI's. As soon as I fed then ALL wet food, no more UTI's.

Yes .. see modern canned food is actually about 10-25% higher moisture than a cats natural prey ... the moisture makes for easier digestion and elimination of excess nutrients

auntie crazy · Feb 12, 2011

Originally Posted by saitenyo

Yeah, it does sound like you're facing a fairly complicated feeding system now with every cat needing a different type of food. :/

I generally believe that barring certain specific medical circumstances, most cats thrive best on diets deriving most of their nutrients from animal proteins, especially diets that are less processed, like raw diets. I have one cat who had digestive sensitivities causing frequent loose stool, and another who was overweight, and both improved a little when I switched them to a quality grain-free canned food (and eliminated kibble entirely) and then when I switched them to raw, both their issues disappeared entirely.

I now have two very healthy cats of proper weights, no stool issues, and extremely soft, healthy coats. I've heard similar stories from many other raw feeders.

The issue of course is that a lot of vets are not well-educated on cat nutrition, and react very negatively to raw diets (since the pet food companies that pour money into veterinary education make a strong effort to convince people that raw is unhealthy and dangerous). But I'd recommend researching it a bit and drawing your own conclusions. It may end up being a surprisingly simple solution that works for all your cats, without having to juggle three different special diets for all their individual needs, since they'll be getting the sort of food their bodies are naturally designed to eat.

I can recommend some good sites and books if you're interested.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

My boy was on that after the UTI. But I added in canned foods (chicken, lamb or beef) in high quality and added raw beef to his diet. He was fine.

However, he still wound up having another UTI but had a reaction to the meds and passed away in a few days. We suspect (as a few other breeders do too) that he had an underlying kidney/liver problem that just triggered the seizures and death.

Most vets will be against canned food claiming dry is better for teeth, etc. In reality the cat really is better off eating more canned and raw then dry.

Some very good information here! I second all of it. (And GoldenKitty, I don't know how long ago that happened, but I'm very sorry for your loss.)

Originally Posted by runnerup

For now, I will be keeping him on the S/O. He's clear of his infection and seems to be doing well on the food.
As Sharky said, he is doing well on it and it's affordable, so why not.

but @saitenyo, I would love some recommendations on reading material, just for my own edification and so maybe I'll feel more comfortable questioning my vet next time!

Hi, Runnerup, and welcome to TCS!

First, I'd like to say how awesome of you to take in a 10yr abandoned cat like that - we need more people like you in the world!

Second, about the kibble.... cats are descended from desert animals and don't have the same "thirst-drive" as non-desert dwelling critters, such as ourselves. Although they will drink some water, it's rarely enough and cats on kibble are chronically dehydrated. This stresses their organs and can, among other things, cause UTIs.

And you're spot-on about feeding corn to cats - it's a cheap filler for the pet food manufacturer and does nothing good for our cats at all.

Hopefully I'm not stepping on Saitenyo's toes, but here are three websites you can peruse for more information. All are either completely or partially written by feline nutritionists and/or veterinarians:

feline-nutrition.org
catinfo.org
yourdiabeticcat.com

Best of luck to you and your fur-family!

question re corn in food

runnerup

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saitenyo

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runnerup

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goldenkitty45

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saitenyo

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sharky

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runnerup

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goldenkitty45

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runnerup

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feralvr

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sharky

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auntie crazy

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