Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dante 
I'm going to take all the cans back and try something new. This is the first time this has happened so the inflamed pancreas
hopefully goes back to normal. Is raw the way to go? If not what brand of cat food would you recommend? Thanks for all the replies.
IMHO, yes, raw is absolutely the way to go..... Unlike dogs, cats are obligate carnivores - which means they were made to eat meat, and nothing but meat. That also means that they lack the ability to digest anything else... like vegetables, plants, herbs, etc. They do not produce the necessary enzymes for that.
With that stated, it is not something you introduce in an instant - for several reasons: 1- your kitty is probably addicted to kibbles and canned food, and all the junk in it; meat is much more bland, if you will, than the seasoned canned and specially kibbles. 2- it is very protein rich, so you have to introduce it slowly to not shock their systems and get them to produce those enzymes to digest that food properly.
There is a GREAT resources thread here on TCS on both nutrition and raw, including on transitioning your kitty to it:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240809/raw-feeding-resource-thread
The first step you will have to take, is to put her on all wet (is much healthier anyways), and on scheduled feedings - you can start with 4 meals since she will be sick now.... and needing all the food she can get, then go into 3 meals. One at breakfast, before work; one as soon as you get home from work, and one right before you go to bed.
Then you slowly start adding small amount of raw to the canned. From there, you reduce the canned, and increase the raw.
You can feed home made raw, where basically you feed chunks of meat with bone, and organs, or alternatively, there are plenty of brands of commercial raw in the market. For now I feed commercial - it is easier to transition for commercial, in a lot of cases, as the texture is similar to canned food.
My Base food is Rad Cat - it is 100% meat - no veggies.... (some of them have up to 5% vegetables). I am also in the process of introducing another brand called Nature's Menu - also 100% meat (purchased online). And in my freezer I have quite a few pounds of meat from Hare Today.... also all meat. Bare in mind, when I say all meat, it includes Meat/organs/bone (or food grade bone meal for Rad Cat, Straight Calcium for Nature's Menu).
For the cans, has your baby eaten anything at all aside from Fancy Feast? What does she like best - Gravy or Pate?
I forgot two things: Enzymes.... since she has pancreatitis, she should be on enzymes.... You should ask your vet about that.... A good one is Prozyme. Make sure if you put her on raw that she is on enzymes and probiotics....
And make sure she eats plenty...... especially during recovery.... she has to eat eat eat - so if Fancy Feast is what she likes, Fancy Feast is what she gets
But of course if she likes something better, that's great! just don't let her go without food because you want something better for her
Edited by Carolina - 2/4/12 at 11:51pm
But be aware of that too... 
for sure!!!! Thanks Anne..... and my apologies I did not bring this up before.... absolutely the vet should be consulted 
