Trying new grain free food for my kitty

I am excited to try a new grain free diet for my kitty!  He is a 8 mo old manx, and the most amazing kitty i've ever owned, one of a kind!  He developed a blockage and has crystals.  Had him to the vet a few times and on antibiotics, we got through his first infection but now seems to be leeking pee and has a hard time having a poop from time to time, drinks tons of water and recently found the toilet even though his bowl is always ful,l time to buy a fountain   After reading about the "bad food" go figure i've had him on seafood selections friskies crap food!  Ihave tried many different expensive foods, but everytime i change anything he gets diareah and it's bath time 3 times a day! His bowels are very finnicky! So I got a grain free vegan food yesterday and am mixing it in to his crap food slowly, Got some cranberry extract also and hope for the best as I also cannot afford the constant vet checks Thanku for all the stories and info, appreciate it!

Welcome to TCS

It's good that you're going to grain-free food, but what do you mean by vegan food? What are the ingredients? Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they MUST HAVE MEAT to survive. Their bodies can't utilize plant protein the way humans do.

It's also best to stay away from fish, especially for males who have a tendency to develop crystals in the urine.

I agree with GoldyCat about diet needs. Check out www.catinfo.org written by Dr. Pierson. Great site about cat nutrition and litter box issues. She speaks about her cat Robbie with colon issues...might help your guy too?

Hi, I agree w/ the above & FYI, NO Cranberry. It's toxic for kitties! I learned this as well, after buying my cat a cranberry treat for UTI health.

Angel has been through Cystitis a few times, even though he has been on good food.  If you want to learn some more, you can always read through my threads, or others dealing w/ it as well. When I try to post the links for you, the wrong one comes up, so if your interested (a lot of good advice was given to me, you should check it out. I learned a lot!!), then just go to my page & click on threads started. Good luck & keep us posted.

Hi Laurie I love Manx cats :nod: Can you elaborate on the vegan thing a bit more? The grain free is great but I'm not sure exactly about the vegan. Have you talked to your vet about the cranberry extract? It's worth a call to him/her to make sure the cranberry extract is something that will help the condition. Keep us posted :nod:

Wet food is best for cats who are prone to urinary issues, no dry food at all. And no fish flavors. Even Friskies is OK, but only canned Friskies. And, yes, please elaborate about "vegan". . .cats definitely need meat, maybe you mean organic or something like that? But if it's dry it's still not good for him. Canned food does cost more than dry but it's much cheaper than vet visits!

laurie120,

Here is the link Laurie (LDG) posted for me when I bought treats w/ cranberry in them thinking they would help, not knowing better.

(From my thread, WORRIED-Angel having trouble peeing again, page2)

Needless to say after reading it, the bag went in the trash!

(I knew I had the info somewhere).

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245844/cranberry#post_3220685
 

Hi Laurie! Welcome and hope you come back soon to your thread!! We would love to hear more about your kitty and help you with a good diet. Check out the link that Peaches posted above by Dr. Pierson. for your kitty!