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Grain free dry and canned cat food?

post #1 of 29
9/15/11 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
My 10 year old cat has boughts of diarrhea with some blood and mucus. I was told on here to try a grain free dry and canned food since she probably is allergic to the corn,whey,or wheat in the food now (science diet).

I have tried blue buffalo chicken, but my cat doesnt like the food and refuses to eat it.

I looked up Evo dry as suggested here, it has peas,apples,eggs,cottage cheese, and salt as ingredients, are you sure that's good ingredients for cats?
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post #2 of 29
9/15/11 at 1:21pm
I feed Taste of the Wild, and all my cats eat it. (sorry, don't know about Evo), but I used to have 5 cats, now 4, and they love it!
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post #3 of 29
9/15/11 at 2:10pm
Right now, mine are loving loving the Weruva Cats In the Kitchen Love Me Tender (in pouches)
Water Sufficient For Processing, Chicken, Tuna, Duck, Tapioca Starch, Sunflower Seed Oil, Tricalcium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Nicotinic Acid (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement

http://www.petflow.com/product/weruv...tender-pouches

There are other flavors and categories (canned), too.
http://www.petflow.com/explorer?pet%...eruva&limit=10

Also, a fav is Wellness - mostly the Turkey and Salmon (canned).

(I'd rather not feed any fish, but sometimes when you need them to eat, you just have to weigh the pros and cons.

I also serve the dry food from Taste of the Wild
http://www.petflow.com/product/taste...n-dry-cat-food, and I think Wellness has grain-free dry, too.

I heard that beef is sometimes difficult for cats to digest - you might research info about that if you're feeding beef flavors???

Now, as for as the Weruva Ingredients - I don't know the pros and cons exactly, but, ... it seems that whatever my cats LOVE, it turns out to be bad for them ... well, at least it does fit the OP's original question - it is grain free.
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post #4 of 29
9/15/11 at 3:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessicaromano View Post
My 10 year old cat has boughts of diarrhea with some blood and mucus. I was told on here to try a grain free dry and canned food since she probably is allergic to the corn,whey,or wheat in the food now (science diet).

I have tried blue buffalo chicken, but my cat doesnt like the food and refuses to eat it.

I looked up Evo dry as suggested here, it has peas,apples,eggs,cottage cheese, and salt as ingredients, are you sure that's good ingredients for cats?
For what it is worth the Evo Chicken and Turkey dry food is the only dry food my Savannah seems to be able to digests. I also use Taste Of the Wild dry food.

Some good caned grain free cat foods "according to my cats" are: Chicken Soup For The Pet Lovers Soul (adult type), Dave's Chicken, Dave's Turkey, Before Grain Chicken and Tuna, and that is all they like so far.
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post #5 of 29
9/15/11 at 3:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessicaromano View Post
I looked up Evo dry as suggested here, it has peas,apples,eggs,cottage cheese, and salt as ingredients, are you sure that's good ingredients for cats?
Certainly not as primary ingredients, but IIRC those are waaay down on the ingredient list and are likely just for a bit of flavor.

Personally, we do Blue Wilderness grainfree dry and various wetfoods (with simple to digest grains like brown rice; no corn/soy/wheat/etc), and I don't know if its the best but definitely no poo issues to date and they seem very energetic and Buttercup's coat in particular is very rabbit like. *knock on wood* For palatability I would guess its "mediocre", as while they still run to it whenever the timer goes off at 11PM, I think its just because they haven't eaten since 2-3PM, as they will always choose wet over it if both are available which is good as I don't want them wasting wet food which doesn't last.
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post #6 of 29
9/15/11 at 3:19pm
ya' know - dry food (kibble) may be the problem ?

here's one of favorite resources for cat care:

http://www.catinfo.org/

here's another link - re: diarrhea
http://catcaretips.org/your-question...food-diarrhea/
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post #7 of 29
9/15/11 at 3:44pm
I read message boards of vets and some promote Evo for cats with diarrhea. They said they have had success with it. My guess is that it is quite digestible. I am talking about Evo canned mind you.

Basically, anything after salt in the ingredient list can be considered as low in amount. So Evo probably has barely any of the veggies.
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post #8 of 29
9/15/11 at 4:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloriaJH View Post
ya' know - dry food (kibble) may be the problem
Usually its the ingredients rather than how its cooked/packaged, since there are plenty of cats that have had issues w/ wet food that had lots of corn/wheat/soy etc allergens in it, and the other type of diarrhea is usually viral or bacteria related (too much bad; or insufficient good such as after taking antibiotics) w/ shouldn't be a factor.

The catinfo site is clearly not very scientific and is particularly biased, since the first and second statements right on the page are patently false (see sig).
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post #9 of 29
9/15/11 at 9:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducman69 View Post
Usually its the ingredients rather than how its cooked/packaged, since there are plenty of cats that have had issues w/ wet food that had lots of corn/wheat/soy etc allergens in it, and the other type of diarrhea is usually viral or bacteria related (too much bad; or insufficient good such as after taking antibiotics) w/ shouldn't be a factor.

The catinfo site is clearly not very scientific and is particularly biased, since the first and second statements right on the page are patently false (see sig).
?????
Lisa A. Pierson, DVM's website. She is widely read and respected.

http://feline-nutrition.org/about-us...line-nutrition

Quote:
Lisa A. Pierson, DVM, graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in California in 1984. Her passion for feline nutrition, and how feline diseases relate to species-inappropriate diets, came about in 2002 when she was researching feline nutrition for her cat Robbie who was dealing with severe intestinal issues. She launched Catinfo.org, in 2003 with the goal of educating feline caregivers regarding optimal feline nutrition. Her practice is now limited to consulting worldwide. The most common health issues she deals with are kidney disease, diabetes, urinary tract issues, inflammatory bowel disease and obesity as these all have strong ties to unhealthy diets.
I value her input, and have not found any of her statements to be "patently false".

I agree that she probably is biased. However, having cats with health issues that she writes about, I understand her bias, too.

Dry food is that - DRY, and it is my view that a moist food has more health value hydrating a cat than dry food. So far I have not found any information that says that cats don't require moisture for vital organs to function.

For fear of hijacking this thread, I won't go further.
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post #10 of 29
9/15/11 at 9:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloriaJH View Post
Lisa A. Pierson, DVM's website. She is widely read and respected.
I know who she is, there have been discussions before, her opinions are not shared by her peers in the American, Canadian, or British Veterinarian Medical Association on various issues who are likewise considered an authority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloriaJH View Post
I value her input, and have not found any of her statements to be "patently false".
I said "the first and second statements right on the page are patently false", which they are if you see the link in my sig that show specific verifiable examples that contradict what she says. Most birds can fly, but make a statement "all birds can fly", then you're 100% wrong and that is her mistake.
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post #11 of 29
9/15/11 at 11:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducman69 View Post
I know who she is, there have been discussions before, her opinions are not shared by her peers in the American, Canadian, or British Veterinarian Medical Association on various issues who are likewise considered an authority.

I said "the first and second statements right on the page are patently false", which they are if you see the link in my sig that show specific verifiable examples that contradict what she says. Most birds can fly, but make a statement "all birds can fly", then you're 100% wrong and that is her mistake.
Potatoes potato's, tomatoes, tomatos
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, etc..

Your link (of your thread) was closed because other members were in disagreement with 100% of your premise in your first post and the discussion went off topic.

You seem to be attempting, to re-start your discussion in this thread.(?)

I've heard you, I don't agree with you about your conclusions, enough.

It's up to members to research and decide his/her own best feeding plan.

I tried NOT to hijack this thread, I hope that you will, also, decide the same. Peace.
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post #12 of 29
9/16/11 at 12:32am
I was merely pointing out the factual (not opinion) flaw in two out of three statements in the first link you provided, and pointing out that its usually the ingredients that are the issue, not the manner in which it is cooked. Most cats are fed some kibble, and most cats don't have diarrhea. The second link you provided is regurgitating the information provided on the first link from catinfo, but then contradicts itself in the bottom "admin answer" citing that "definitely too much wet food in a cat’s diet will cause diarrhea; Cats need a solid in their diet", which is also not true as there are plenty of cats on this forum that eat only wet and have perfectly healthy stools.
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post #13 of 29
9/16/11 at 2:09pm
C'mon, guys, please don't hijack the thread. We all know there is a lot of debate on dry food.

For the OP, I feed my cats dry Before Grain by Merrick in the Chicken flavor. We just recently transitioned, and they seem to like it. With the knowledge I gained from this board, I've bought multiple filtered water dishes for my apartment... and as for wet food, I'm glad you started this thread! As much as my everything hates wet food based on previous cats who would eat themselves sick, beg for wet food, etc... I think I'm going to at least start incorporating it into their diet out of my growing fear of the eeeevil crystals.
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post #14 of 29
9/16/11 at 3:04pm
Jessica, if you haven't taken the kitty to a vet, it's something to consider. The problem could be IBD, colitis, something caused by parasite or infection, like c. difficile, e. coli... any number of things, including cancer. Your kitty is a senior.

If you haven't already had her to a vet (along with a stool sample), I think that's something that should be top on the priority list. Of course it can be caused by allergies. But at this stage in her life, IMO it's better to ensure it's not caused by something that needs to be treated by just diet if you haven't already.
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post #15 of 29
9/16/11 at 8:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Jessica, if you haven't taken the kitty to a vet, it's something to consider. The problem could be IBD, colitis, something caused by parasite or infection, like c. difficile, e. coli... any number of things, including cancer. Your kitty is a senior.

If you haven't already had her to a vet (along with a stool sample), I think that's something that should be top on the priority list. Of course it can be caused by allergies. But at this stage in her life, IMO it's better to ensure it's not caused by something that needs to be treated by just diet if you haven't already.
I made a thread about her going to the vet but all replies were that its her diet. She goes to the vet each year and has had deworming and this problem keeps coming back and as recent as 2 years ago bought in stool samples vets said everything was normal, the vets always say "it's worms" after I persist about her problem but I disagree. Also, my cat has be on amoxicillan a few times in her life for URI, so c. difficile could be a possiblity, I actually had that myself and seeing her symptoms worries me. But I dont know how cats get treated for that, the meds I was on I felt like death for a month!

Like I said she never had this as a young cat so only things that have changed are diet,stress, and having had antibiotics.

I want to find a food she eats that is healthy, so that after I do, if she continues to be sick, I know it's not from the food.

I was questioning one of the cat foods with cottage cheese, simply because I heard cats are lactose intolerant, and I dont know how milk will help a cat with diarrhea issues? Unless cottage cheese is different than cows milk?
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post #16 of 29
9/16/11 at 9:58pm
If I were you, I'd get a second opinion from another vet. Tests should be done, not just 'she has worms, here's some pills, goodbye.'

I would find a new vet While you change to a better food because if it is something serious, who knows when it could get worse?

The foods I recommend are Blue Buffalo, Before Grain and Evo.

Oh, and when you change, do it slowly. Only a few new kibbles the first day, and make sure it is at least a full week before she is on the new food 100%.
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post #17 of 29
9/17/11 at 8:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
If I were you, I'd get a second opinion from another vet. Tests should be done, not just 'she has worms, here's some pills, goodbye.'

I would find a new vet While you change to a better food because if it is something serious, who knows when it could get worse?

The foods I recommend are Blue Buffalo, Before Grain and Evo.

Oh, and when you change, do it slowly. Only a few new kibbles the first day, and make sure it is at least a full week before she is on the new food 100%.

I would not recommend trying Evo dry food right now. Some of us have been having issues with the Evo dry food turning into crumbs and the cats won't eat it. If you do decide to try the Evo buy a small bag to make sure it will be usable. I have been feeding my cats Evo for years but the quality has gone down-hill since the buy-out. I am planning to to switch my cats to a different grain free dry because I am sick of wasting my money.
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post #18 of 29
9/17/11 at 3:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessicaromano View Post
My 10 year old cat has boughts of diarrhea with some blood and mucus. I was told on here to try a grain free dry and canned food since she probably is allergic to the corn,whey,or wheat in the food now (science diet).

I have tried blue buffalo chicken, but my cat doesnt like the food and refuses to eat it.

I looked up Evo dry as suggested here, it has peas,apples,eggs,cottage cheese, and salt as ingredients, are you sure that's good ingredients for cats?
Hi, Jessicaromano!

Have you tried any grain-free canned foods? Wet foods are much easier to digest (since they are closer to the cat's natural diet) and there are quite a few out there now that are pretty high quality, as far as canned foods go. Wellness, Natural Balance, and Felidae all have grain-free varieties, while Nature's Variety Instincts and Evo's 95% Meat products are all grain-free. These are all good choices for older cats who need the best nutrition we can give them to support their kidney, digestive and urinary tract health.

Alternatively, if you really wanted to up the ante, you could try some of the commercial raw frozen products. These are all minimally processed and you would probably see quite a few benefits besides a reduction in stool quantity, odor and softness if your kitty was fed any of these.

CatInfo.org really is a great resource for basic nutritional information as well as several of the more common ailments, such as urinary tract issues. LittleBigCat.com is another outstanding source of information, and Dr. Hofve is constantly updating and adding new information. The Feline Nutrition Education Society has a site as well, Feline-Nutrition.org, that is chock full of articles and studies from veterinarians, feline nutritionists and many other experts on a plethora of nutrition- and health-related topics.

Hope you're able to find something healthy for your little old lady!

AC
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post #19 of 29
9/18/11 at 8:53am
I feed EVO grain free wet and Wellness Grain Free wet (along with Nature's variety grain free medallions and raw chicken)

I had a stray who had diarrhea and it cleared up within a week.

I love Evo, it has higher amount of protein that other grain free wet foods. The only problem is that my cats only like the chicken/turkey and chicken only flavor so I use wellness to promote variety.

I think you should try the Evo wet grain free. If you go to a local pet store (not petsmart, petco) they sell 13oz cans that is more cost effective. It costs me roughly less than $10 to feed 2 cats a week.
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post #20 of 29
9/18/11 at 1:19pm
Hi Jessica. I just saw your thread in the health forum, and replied to you there.

Vibes for you and your kitty.
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post #21 of 29
9/21/11 at 2:41pm
Thread Starter 
I went to the pet store today to try and find a grain free canned food. They ONLY sell Blue Buffalo canned food (same as dry food im feeding), nobody sells Evo here or any other grain free can food!

I noticed my cat was actually eating a small amount of the blue buffalo dry food, when all this time I thought she wasnt.

My question is, if I feed her 2 blue buffalo cans per day, with the BB dry food, if she eats very little dry food but all of the canned food in a day, is that enough for her for proper nutrition? She is 12 pounds, and the cans say 2 cans per day for 6-8 pounds, but then again she is a little overweight so perhaps it should be good?
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post #22 of 29
9/21/11 at 4:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessicaromano View Post
I went to the pet store today to try and find a grain free canned food. They ONLY sell Blue Buffalo canned food (same as dry food im feeding), nobody sells Evo here or any other grain free can food!

I noticed my cat was actually eating a small amount of the blue buffalo dry food, when all this time I thought she wasnt.

My question is, if I feed her 2 blue buffalo cans per day, with the BB dry food, if she eats very little dry food but all of the canned food in a day, is that enough for her for proper nutrition? She is 12 pounds, and the cans say 2 cans per day for 6-8 pounds, but then again she is a little overweight so perhaps it should be good?
How many ounces are the cans? Most cats seem to do well on about six ounces of canned food per day, but it can vary depending on the cat's metabolism, activity level, etc. (pet food companies seem to universally recommend more than cats really need).

I'd try about six ounces of canned a day for a little while (no dry) and see how that goes. If she starts losing weight, make sure she's not losing more than a few ounces a week - feed her another once or two per day if that happens - and watch for when she reaches a healthy weight... if she continues to lose beyond that, increase her food intake an ounce or two per day until she begins to maintain.

AC
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post #23 of 29
9/21/11 at 8:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy View Post
How many ounces are the cans? Most cats seem to do well on about six ounces of canned food per day, but it can vary depending on the cat's metabolism, activity level, etc. (pet food companies seem to universally recommend more than cats really need).

I'd try about six ounces of canned a day for a little while (no dry) and see how that goes. If she starts losing weight, make sure she's not losing more than a few ounces a week - feed her another once or two per day if that happens - and watch for when she reaches a healthy weight... if she continues to lose beyond that, increase her food intake an ounce or two per day until she begins to maintain.

AC
The cans are 3 oz, so 2 a day equals 6 oz. My cat is 10 years old (a senior) and is not very active. This is the canned food I got, in various flavors. http://www.petco.com/product/110946/...e-001b2166c2c0
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post #24 of 29
9/21/11 at 9:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessicaromano View Post
The cans are 3 oz, so 2 a day equals 6 oz. My cat is 10 years old (a senior) and is not very active. This is the canned food I got, in various flavors. http://www.petco.com/product/110946/...e-001b2166c2c0
My cat is 16lbs and semi-active and he needs only 5.5oz a day. I would do as Auntie Crazy says and ditch the dry food. My cat refused to lose more than a pound when on a combo of wet and dry and only started losing when I switched him to all wet. He's lost 6lbs since March.

If your Petco doesn't carry anything more than Buffalo as grain-free, as long as she doesn't have allergies, I think for sanity's sake, you could also use foods with grains in them. I used to only feed grain-free, but now since I don't mind doing the math, I instead buy high-protein, low carb foods. I never buy anything with less than 42% protein and avoid corn, soy and dyes. Innova, Merrick, and Holistic Select are three of those foods.
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post #25 of 29
9/23/11 at 1:22pm
General rule of thumb for a wet fed only amount... 1/2 once to one ounce per lb of body wt ( ie the ideal body wt) .. so a 12 lb cat who should be 10 would be 5-10 oz a day... In my experience 3/4 of oz seem to keep wt at right level and 1/2 oz for wt loss ...

Remember ANY wt LOSS should be closely monitored by a Vet .. Also the vet normally if asked will devise a calorie idea for a diet ( most do not like to as this is a bit of work)
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post #26 of 29
9/24/11 at 2:39am
My guys love wellness pouches. Be careful, there are grain free and reg choices.
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post #27 of 29
9/30/11 at 4:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cat Person View Post
For what it is worth the Evo Chicken and Turkey dry food is the only dry food my Savannah seems to be able to digests. I also use Taste Of the Wild dry food.

Some good caned grain free cat foods "according to my cats" are: Chicken Soup For The Pet Lovers Soul (adult type), Dave's Chicken, Dave's Turkey, Before Grain Chicken and Tuna, and that is all they like so far.
Sorry for jumping in , but my 7 mo old Sanchez has a diahrreah problem too worse with some foods less with others have to buy in the grocery any suggestions?

Thanks
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post #28 of 29
9/30/11 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ladycatus1969 View Post
Sorry for jumping in , but my 7 mo old Sanchez has a diahrreah problem too worse with some foods less with others have to buy in the grocery any suggestions?

Thanks
Hi, are you feeding dry food?
Some web vets say that any wet food is better than kibble.
Check out the link in my previous post here.

here it is again: http://www.catinfo.org/

here's another link - re: diarrhea
http://catcaretips.org/your-question...food-diarrhea/

Sorry that you must shop in grocery stores - have you tried online? I've been shopping online with PetFlow.com - free shipping with a $59.00 order - they do pretty good with their prices, product selection, and service.

Welcome to TCS!
Gloria
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post #29 of 29
9/30/11 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloriaJH View Post
Hi, are you feeding dry food?
Some web vets say that any wet food is better than kibble.
Check out the link in my previous post here.

here it is again: http://www.catinfo.org/

here's another link - re: diarrhea
http://catcaretips.org/your-question...food-diarrhea/

Sorry that you must shop in grocery stores - have you tried online? I've been shopping online with PetFlow.com - free shipping with a $59.00 order - they do pretty good with their prices, product selection, and service.

Welcome to TCS!
Gloria
P.S. I don't know if I need to add this - but, just in case --- you need to really consider contacting you vet. You don't know if food is his/her problem - could be something more serious. Dehydration is something of serious concern IMO.
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