Am I as evil as my cat thinks I am??

My cat is very disappointed in me right now.

Simba was starving when we got him, and I started feeding him Iams dry food, and Friskies soft packets morning and night - our neighbor had been feeding him for a few days before we took him in, and figured out that he REALLY likes the Friskies packets.

Well, we've been having really bad litterbox odor problems, so bad that I brought another stool sample to the vet a couple of weeks ago because I was sure he must be wormy (very soft stools also). Negative. I then tried changing his food (mixing with the Iams), which made him throw up several times a day and made the litterbox smell and soft stools worse. Poor guy.

There was a good thread on this forum where several people recommended just feeding dry Iams for litterbox odor issues, so I went back to that about a week ago, and we have been feeding him only that (no more Friskies). He gets a pounce or two a couple times a day, and that's it. He has stopped throwing up, his litterbox has quit smelling, and his stools are now normal. Yay!

The bad part is that now every time I go into the kitchen, Simba stares forlornly at his food dish, looks at me, looks at the pantry. Looks at the food dish, looks at me, looks at the pantry. Rubs on my legs (purring and being as cute as he possibly can), looks at me, looks at the pantry. You get the picture.

So am I totally evil? He just has such a touchy stomach, and his food is finally agreeing with him. At least he still seems to like me - frankly I'm amazed that he hasn't peed on my shoes or something like that out of spite. Has anyone else had to do this?

Perhaps you could give him just a teaspoon of his favorite food every couple of days? (Why am I taking HIS side??? LOL) See if that still affects his sensitive little tummy.

I have a sensitive tummy boy as well, and I've found out the hard way that if he has more than 4 treats I get a present. It did take some trial and (messy) error to figure out just how many treats he can tolerate.

And yes, I am a total pushover!

I am so sorry, you gave such a vivid description that I couldn't help chuckling at poor Simba.

Agree with Heidi, I also thought maybe a little bit of the Friskies as a treat too?

Don't cave, especially if it means your cat is doing better. It is as uncomfortable for them to have loose stools and throw up than it is for us to witness them doing it. Instead buy a can of sardines, and pour just a small amount of oil on the dry food. That is good for his tummy and his coat as well.

I just went and gave him a tiny bit for a treat, so Heidi and superkitty, Simba now considers you his best friends! He seemed happy with just a taste.

Hissy, I did that before I read your post. Hopefully the taste I gave him won't upset him. I was just feeling so bad for him. I will try your suggestion with the sardine oil. Do you think a taste of the sardines themselves would be OK? Maybe after I try a little of the oil and see if it sits well with him?

if your baby is better then you know better than he does that what you are doing is for his own good. stick to your guns and you both will be happy.

You can give him sardines, but watch the bones, and only feed him a tiny bit. They are so expensive in our neck of the woods that the humans eat the sardines and the cats get the oil.

Originally posted by Suzy
The bad part is that now every time I go into the kitchen, Simba stares forlornly at his food dish, looks at me, looks at the pantry. Looks at the food dish, looks at me, looks at the pantry. Rubs on my legs (purring and being as cute as he possibly can), looks at me, looks at the pantry. You get the picture

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He's laying that kitty guilt trip on you....don't cave into it (perfect visual!). In the long run he will be much happier with you if he is healthy rather than ill.

And hey, we're here for moral support too....if you get the urge to feed him his bad food, come on in and let us talk you out of it! LOL

Or in my case, a bad influence!! But now Simba likes me

you mean I shouldn't give in?? horrors!!

Any cat food with ground corn is hard to digest, and a sensitive tummy cannot handle it. My cats are on Nutro Natural Choice, and there is no ground corn in it, and it also does away with stool odor. And also changing food all at one time can usually cause diareah and vomiting, best to mix in bits of the new food with the old and gradually add more amounts of the new food. And here is a good tip about treats, Nutro just came out with a new product....healthy all natural cat treats!

Oh my gosh, you are caving in!! Don't cave in, don't look at that forlorn look and droopy big eyed look, wait, that's my son LOL! JB does the same, he has a sensitive tummy also. How old is yours? I had to put him on Iams, but now that he is going on four, I've been feeding him the Meow Mix which I may have to put him back on Iams since he is scarfing that down by the end of the day LOL! It's amazing how cats can eat the same food for years without complaint LOL!