Questions Concerning Cat Food for Older Cat Losing Weight

Hello, what a great website!

I was doing some research and googling about cat food since I am concerned that my 14yr old Maine Coon Cat, Callie, is getting thinner. She has always been a little under weight, but the last 6 months it has gotten to the point that I am worried.

For years I fed her mainstream kibbles, not really knowing that regular supermarket cat food was unhealthy for cats. About 9 months ago I started giving her Primal Raw (turkey or pheasant). For the first 4 months I transitioned her with some canned food and the raw, then went 100% raw. When I went 100% raw, she began to have constipation problems, so bad that she could barely walk at one point and I had to bring her to the Animal Emergency Hospital, where they injected something that made her go. They also injected some saline solution into her, which seems to have almost killed her for some reason (she had the shakes and was very week for 2 days).

So, about a month ago I got her some Pet Guard kibbles, and her stools come back to normal.... well, even MORE than normal... Spare you the in depth details, but to send a hint: I thought a dog was sneaking into her litter box!

So, last week (no weight gains still), she got sick: She was very week, her hind end was just about dragging behind her and she lost even more weight. So, I got more raw food, and she seems alright now, but I know she will get constipated and not be gaining weight! Talk about a catch 22... and that's not it;

Now we're getting to the Meat of the matter: I am looking for an organic food that doesn't have any type of fish stuff in it (since, from what I have read, most cats are allergic to fish). Maybe I should try a different raw food? I have read that kitten food would help adult cats gain weight, so that is an option, but I have yet to find any "organic" cat food AT ALL that doesn't have some type of fish stuff in it. I mean, sure there are some cat foods out there that aren't certified "organic" that may very well be more healthy than some that are "organic", but I don't know what to do.

Also to be noted is that I have gotten Callie a water fountain (the 360, and she drinks enough water now to hydrate a horse!).

Any thoughts, suggestions, resources, insight or just plain old tell me what to do, would be kindly appreciated.

Thanks for taking to time to listen to me ramble.

Before doing anything else, I would get her a senior panel.
Constipation, weight loss, and excessive drinking sound like symptoms of a serious condition to me.

Originally Posted by Minka

Before doing anything else, I would get her a senior panel.
Constipation, weight loss, and excessive drinking sound like symptoms of a serious condition to me.

Click to expand...

Hopefully you have one the the starting to be numerous raw savvy vets having one is wonderful and they can guide you to the "normal " for raw but not a normal for kibble fed...

Most cats are not allergic to fish but it is not a natural meat for them ( ie only one wild cat has fish as a main diet) and yes can in some cause urinary and allergy issues...

I will send you a Pm ... your cat may need a very simple addition to the raw diet of course ALWAYS consult your vet before taking any internet advise on this kind of thing ....

Originally Posted by Minka

Before doing anything else, I would get her a senior panel.

Constipation, weight loss, and excessive drinking sound like symptoms of a serious condition to me.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply; Sorry, I should have mentioned that when I brought her to the emergency room, they did run numerous tests, including kidney and thyroid, and all checked out to be within normal parameters. It was suggested that it could be due to her ingesting hair. She does groom her hair alot (even obsessively, if that's possible), and she will even eat hair of hers from the rug sometimes. Any thoughts about what to include in a diet to help move fur through her digestive tract?

I use butter or catnip to aid digestion and move the hairballs along

Originally Posted by sharky

Hopefully you have one the the starting to be numerous raw savvy vets having one is wonderful and they can guide you to the "normal " for raw but not a normal for kibble fed...

Most cats are not allergic to fish but it is not a natural meat for them ( ie only one wild cat has fish as a main diet) and yes can in some cause urinary and allergy issues...

I will send you a Pm ... your cat may need a very simple addition to the raw diet of course ALWAYS consult your vet before taking any internet advise on this kind of thing ....

Click to expand...

Well, fish tend to absorb toxins in the waters which they live in, and unfortunately the waters the fish live in these days is laden with pollutants, and farmed fish even worse with all the chemicals that are dumped in to their water. I tend to stay away from fish myself, so I wouldn't feed my cat anything I consider unhealthy for myself, not to mention with her aging I would prefer not to take any chances with the possibility of her being allergic to fish.

We actually do have a "holistic" vet, although I haven't recently spoken to her about the raw diet. Good idea though, I do plan on bringing Callie back in for some breed specific testing (for conditions common with Maine Coon).

Originally Posted by sharky

I use butter or catnip to aid digestion and move the hairballs along

Click to expand...

Thanks. I might try that.

I was told that too much oil (like olive oil) would cause them to throw up the hair balls, as apposed to digesting them. Does butter cause your cats to throw up at all? Is it like real butter, or ordinary supermarket type?

Originally Posted by Wendie_Ann

Thanks. I might try that.

I was told that too much oil (like olive oil) would cause them to throw up the hair balls, as apposed to digesting them. Does butter cause your cats to throw up at all? Is it like real butter, or ordinary supermarket type?

Click to expand...

my local one has the real stuff but the processed stuff works too( just not margarine)

olive oil also works normally to send the other way not throw up( I have only used a bit over a teaspoon for oils )... the goal is to send the hair ball out the back end

One the fish I totally understand .. those of us using fish tend to use small ones like sardines aka less garbage in the lower member of food chain( I keep a PCB , heavy metals card in my wallet and know where the fish was caught )

You can also give her vaseline to move hairballs along.
But if she is excessively grooming, she may have an allergy. so you may want to move her to a L.I.D. diet.

Originally Posted by Minka

You can also give her vaseline to move hairballs along.
But if she is excessively grooming, she may have an allergy. so you may want to move her to a L.I.D. diet.

Click to expand...

many of us avoid petroleum products unless a dire emergency