My cat just returned from surgery (neutered)

My vet sold me a collar that I have to put in order to protect to wond. He hates it. Just lays in one position miserably, and does nothing.

I took it off, and am observing the behaviour (if he licks the wound)! Poor boy...

He is fully awake now, but strange. I call him, and he doesnt come to me as he used.

Hes just... strange... wary.

Again, the Vet advertised Royal Canin as the best food in the universe for neutered cats.

She said a neutered cat will most probably develop urinary problems and gain weight if the food is not adjusted: and there is this new dry "royal canin neutered satiety balance" that he should eat. 3 Kg (7.7 lbs) costs 43€ ($55).

Should I stick with my 50% dry Orijen (premium) + 50% canned food (moisture)? To be honest I am worried with the possibility of him getting overweight...

I've addressed the issue of food with several vets and found there are as many opinions as there are stars in the sky.   Generally as long as you stick with the better brands your cat will do better.  I've noticed a big difference in my cats health after I switched from Friskies or Purina One to Hill's Science Diet.  Yes they more expensive in upfront but it saves you vet bills later.    Several brands out there are actually very good.   Nutro, Wellness, Mills, many more I don't remember.   If you go to a Petsmart or Petco you can find a ton of them with many choices such as foods with a leaner calorie count, for an older cat, hairball control and sensitive uninary systems.   Just check with a vet for the best variety to fit your cat.   My cats get wet food int the morning and dry food at night I think a half and half diet works best.   Good luck.
 

Now that this topic has been moved to Cat Nutrition area... there are some questions that are currently occupying my mind:

- Should a cat have a specific food for its breed? Asking because my Vet suggested a few commercial dry options as being "great" for persian cats like mine, (with the ingredient XYZ for the fur, the ZYX for the urinary tract,.)....

- I feed him twice a day: In the morning (before I leave), in the evening (before going to bed) - I just drop a certain fixed amount of food and he takes a few hours to eat everything. He likes to eat a bit at a time. Is this procedure correct? Or should I limit the amount of time he has to eat?

- What is the best possible food I could ever give to my cat (in order to prevent urinary and overweight issues)? Raw food?

Right now I am feeding my cat Orijen dry (grain free) in the morning + ordinary canned food in the evening... I am worried because his poop smells bad, and read that it is a bad sign.

I have been googling this questions for a while and am tired of contradictions ("grain free is the best"; "no, canned food is the best as it is moist"; "no, raw food is the best, it is natural"; "No, raw food has bad bacteria, you have to cook it."; "but still it is insufficient, you have to add some supplements" ....   AHHHHH!!!!  )

So many contradictions in the world of pet foods (raw, wet and dry)!!! Personally, I don't believe anyone knows the true answers!!!!

I have had lots of cats over the last 30 years. I have fed all dry food and they have been good drinkers. Some were fed really ucky dry food before I knew better. Even now what I feed lots of people on pet forums think is bad. I can afford it though, it agrees with my cats, and they are very healthy. None of my male cats have ever had UTI's.

As long as he drinks well and is eliminating well I would'nt be to worried. I think what you are doing sounds great!!!

My little man gets nuetered Monday. Oh, and with all the cats I have owned none has ever worn or needed to wear a collar after nuetering or spaying. Same with my dogs.  

It's normal for your cat to act a little strange after surgery. The anesthesia stays in the system for a while. It can also be the cause of bad smelling poop. You asked about the best diet for urinary health and weight issues. A dry food diet can contribute to these problems because it can cause dehydration - resulting in urinary issues and dry food has a ton of carbohydrates which cats have no use for and causes weight gain. For those reasons (and more) I would consider a wet or raw diet. If you are comfortable with raw, a lot of pet stores sell pre-made raw that you do not need to add anything to.  I you do decide to stay with some dry food Orijen has healthier ingredients than Royal Canin no matter what the vet says. Read the labels and you will see for yourself. It's not to complicated if you just try to follow the most important rule- cats need to eat meat and stay hydrated. Wet food or raw has more meat and moisture than dry.

You also asked about feeding your cat a little at a time. You could feed him in the morning, after work and right before bed.

JaVo2004 said:

- Should a cat have a specific food for its breed? Asking because my Vet suggested a few commercial dry options as being "great" for persian cats like mine

Click to expand...

Most of the Persian breeders I know prefer RC Persian as it's shaped in a way that's easy for them to pick up being a flat faced breed. They also feed raw and wet food.

In my opinion raw is the best diet for cats, but it's not practical for everyone.

JaVo2004 said:

Now that this topic has been moved to Cat Nutrition area... there are some questions that are currently occupying my mind:

- Should a cat have a specific food for its breed? Asking because my Vet suggested a few commercial dry options as being "great" for persian cats like mine, (with the ingredient XYZ for the fur, the ZYX for the urinary tract,.)....

- I feed him twice a day: In the morning (before I leave), in the evening (before going to bed) - I just drop a certain fixed amount of food and he takes a few hours to eat everything. He likes to eat a bit at a time. Is this procedure correct? Or should I limit the amount of time he has to eat?

- What is the best possible food I could ever give to my cat (in order to prevent urinary and overweight issues)? Raw food?

Right now I am feeding my cat Orijen dry (grain free) in the morning + ordinary canned food in the evening... I am worried because his poop smells bad, and read that it is a bad sign.

I have been googling this questions for a while and am tired of contradictions ("grain free is the best"; "no, canned food is the best as it is moist"; "no, raw food is the best, it is natural"; "No, raw food has bad bacteria, you have to cook it."; "but still it is insufficient, you have to add some supplements" .... 

 AHHHHH!!!! 

)

Click to expand...

You are going to get a variety of opinions here.  For now, I am going to give you my experience.  I have had two male cats, both diagnosed with struvite crystals at an early age.  My vet recommended C/D dry food, made by Hills for the first cat and he ate it with a little water in the bowl with it for several years until the second cat was diagnosed.  The second cat would not eat it, so the vet put them both on Hill's W/D, which he said was a weight maintenance diet, but with proper ingredients to help the urinary tract.  The first cat lived to age 14 with no urinary problems  The second cat is now 14.  He lost some weight and maintained it and never had any problems caused by this dry food.  He had been totally blocked before twice and required being put to sleep and unblocked.  In May he was diagnosed with liver cancer and hyperthyroid.  He was put on thyroid medicine and because of appetite issues his food was changed.  I went the route of probiotics and prednisolone to get him eating again.  The vet wanted to put him on all wet food at this stage.  After trying three wet prescription foods, we found one Muffin would eat, Purina UR.  He is now having that, but from time to time he holds out for the dry prescription and I give it to him,  His kidney function is good and no recurrence of crystals.  Good luck with your cat.

I know nothing about breed specific foods.

I do know that feeding a cat just takes a little common sense, and some vets seem to have forgotten this. Cats are obligate carnivores. . They have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates, and in nature, they eat nothing but other animals. You don't put a fence around your garden to protect it form the cat. If you want to learn more about a cat's nutritional needs in the context of being... a cat, this is a very helpful site: http://www.catinfo.org

JaVo2004 said:

Now that this topic has been moved to Cat Nutrition area... there are some questions that are currently occupying my mind:

- Should a cat have a specific food for its breed? Asking because my Vet suggested a few commercial dry options as being "great" for persian cats like mine, (with the ingredient XYZ for the fur, the ZYX for the urinary tract,.)....

- I feed him twice a day: In the morning (before I leave), in the evening (before going to bed) - I just drop a certain fixed amount of food and he takes a few hours to eat everything. He likes to eat a bit at a time. Is this procedure correct? Or should I limit the amount of time he has to eat?

- What is the best possible food I could ever give to my cat (in order to prevent urinary and overweight issues)? Raw food?

Right now I am feeding my cat Orijen dry (grain free) in the morning + ordinary canned food in the evening... I am worried because his poop smells bad, and read that it is a bad sign.

I have been googling this questions for a while and am tired of contradictions ("grain free is the best"; "no, canned food is the best as it is moist"; "no, raw food is the best, it is natural"; "No, raw food has bad bacteria, you have to cook it."; "but still it is insufficient, you have to add some supplements" .... 

 AHHHHH!!!! 

)

Click to expand...

You are going to get a lot of different opinions here.  Cats are obligate carnivores.  That said, many cats do quite well and live long healthy lives on a dry diet if they drink enough water.  The key here being hydration and the ability to keep their weight in check.  Kibble is carb and calorie dense so monitoring their weight and water intake is essential on an all kibble diet. 

The Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition recommends an 80% wet to a 20% dry ratio.  Waltham is one of the world's leading authorities on pet nutrition but is now owned by Mars which is also the parent company of the company I work for,  which is the Nutro company.  I am a Pet Nutrition Specialist with Nutro.  That does not mean I am biased towards one type of feeding or the other as those that know me here can tell you.  Personally, I have found all 4 of my cats to do best on a 90% wet to a 10% dry.  I feed their main meals (wet) twice daily.  Once in the morning and once in the evening.  All of my cats eat Nutro wet and I also feed other premium wet foods to give them a variety of textures and flavors.  Their kibble is Nutro Max Cat Indoor Chicken.  It's the only kibble they will touch so it's what they get   I measure out their daily intake of kibble and put it in timed feeders which disburse the kibble at 3 different times during the day, in between their wet meals.  I do this mainly for grazing and the 10% seems to satisfy this need in them.  You can find more about Nutro at http://www.nutro.com/natural-pet-food/natural-cat-food.aspx   I also feed feline Greenies and Greenies 'Smart Bites" as treats.  They love them!

I have lucked out with my veterinarian in that he is dedicated to animal rescue and has educated himself on pet nutrition for both felines and canines. Many vets have minimal nutrition education in their vet school curriculum  and rely upon the vendors for information regarding nutrition.  Keep that in mind when discussing nutrition with your vet.

I have never heard of any breed specific cat food.  I *have* heard of breed specific dog food and consider it nothing but a marketing tool used by pet food companies. 

I know very little about a raw diet.  I do know that in order for it to be successful, one has to approach it with full nutrition and safety in mind.  For raw I will refer you to the raw forum here.  Lots of excellent advice for you from the people that have chose a raw diet for their cats http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-feeding-for-cats

Best of luck to you in your quest.  Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns that I may be able to help you with.

First-the-surgery,its-just-that,surgery,even-tho-its-minor,its-still-surgery.My-kittens-were-neutered-on-a-Fri-morn,I-picked-them-up-after-work,they-were-pretty-out-of-it,did-not-want-to-eat-or-drink,that-is-normal,its-the-anastesia.They-were-back-to-their-normal-selfs-by-Monday,and-each-cat-reacts-differently-to-anastesia.

Your-kitty-did-not-need-a-cone,your-vet-lied-to-you,and-it-was-just-a-way-for-her-to-make-money-off-someone,who-does-not-know,and-who-trusts-their-vet,as-one-would-trust-their-doctor.

When-a-cat-is-neutered,all-they-do-is-slice-open-the-testicles,suck-out-the-stuff,then-glue-them-back-together,thats-it,thats-all-there-is-to-it.Its-not-like-a-spay,where-the-surgery-is-invasive,and-even-then,they-don't,put-a-cone-on-them,unless-the-kitty-just-won't-leave-the-stitches-alone,which-is-pretty-rare.

I-have-show-cats.There-is-NO-breed-specific-food.Its-just-something-the-marketing-people-came-up-with,to-sell-the-product,just-as-"sex-sells".You-have-to-know-what,issues,your-cat-may-or-may-not-have-and/or-need,and-then-you-look,for-those-ingredients,in-a-food.

Persians-are-prone-to-PKD,they-are-also-prone-to-HCM.Doesn't-mean-every-Persian-is-going-to-get-them,just-that-they-are-prone-to-them-and-you-have-to-be-aware-of-it.

Boy-kitties-are-prone-to-crystals/urinary-issues.Does-not-mean-every-one-is-going-to-get-them,just-that-you-have-to-be-aware-of-it,and-feed,them-appropiately.I-have-a-crystal-kitty.

You-need-to-feed-a-grain-free-food,and-you-need-to-feed-wet,mixed-with-water-so-its-real-soupy.This-keeps-them-flushed-out.Grains-is-the-biggest-cause-of-crystals,its-one-of-many,but-its-the-biggest-one.

Even-if-you-feed-wet-at-one-feeding,and-dry-at-the-other.

Forget-Royal-Canin,show-people-won't-touch-it-with-a-10ft-pole,and,its-full-of-grains.

This-is-a-good-site-to-read.

http://catinfo.org/