Wellness Brand Help?

I've been lurking on this site for a few months (since I adopted my 3 year old kitty), and as such took some recommendations for what to feed my cat. I recently transitioned him from iams to Wellness brand...and though he likes the food, it makes his poops and litter box REALLY stinky. I didn't used to notice much of a smell after he left his litter box and now I do, and now he's having loose stools/runny poo that's stuck in his fur after he leaves his box. He's been on the food for two weeks now and it hasn't gone away; he displays no other symptoms of illness so I don't think it's anything but the food. Has anyone else had this issue with Wellness?

It's so bad that I'm transitioning him back to iams until I can do more research.

Oh and I meant to add, he's on the wellness with chicken:

Dry food transitions need to be done slowly. If you increment by 25% every 3 days-1 week, the transition should go much smoother.

I hope you are also considering moving to wet food. Since you say you've been lurking on the site for a couple months, you've probably noticed the recommendations of wet/raw feeding over dry. Although you've chosen a very good brand, even very cheap wet food like Friskies pate, Fancy Feast classic line, or Sheba is considered better than the very best dry.

I did the transition slowly, I learned enough here to know to do that. He actually didn't have any issues until he was completely on Wellness, with no iams at all in his food! Poor boy is stinky and has had horrible gas.

I do give him wet food once an day (wellness brand, turkey, he's been eating it for the entire time I have had him) and he loves it but won't eat much of it at a time.

I have been scared to give him only wet due to how slowly he eats, because he tends to be more of a grazer.

I know that it's better to get him on a schedule but he is at a healthy weight and doesn't overeat (I track what I give him every day to make sure).

It definitely sounds like this particular food doesn't agree with him.  Someone else on this site said Wellness changed their formula on their dry food and it gave their cats problems too, but they thought it was because they didn't realize it had changed and didn't transition them slowly to the "new" food. 

I tried Wellness when I was feeding kibble, and NONE of mine liked it.  Now we don't feed kibble around here, so it's a moot point .  But in your case, I would certainly put him back on Iams until you figure out what food you want to put him on.   BTW, I think most cats fed kibble are grazers, who, when switched to canned or raw, or homecooked, learn to eat scheduled meals. 

jennandtonic said:

I did the transition slowly, I learned enough here to know to do that. He actually didn't have any issues until he was completely on Wellness, with no iams at all in his food! Poor boy is stinky and has had horrible gas.

I do give him wet food once an day (wellness brand, turkey, he's been eating it for the entire time I have had him) and he loves it but won't eat much of it at a time.

I have been scared to give him only wet due to how slowly he eats, because he tends to be more of a grazer.

I know that it's better to get him on a schedule but he is at a healthy weight and doesn't overeat (I track what I give him every day to make sure).

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Usually when cats produce smelly stools and gas, it is because some food is not being digested properly. It could be something in the Wellness diet (maybe one of the oils or some other ingredient), or the Wellness Turkey wet food.

I feed my cats the Wellness Grain-free chicken wet food and have had no issues with this food in terms of smelly stools or gas. I find most turkey diets in any brand, to be too rich.

You can switch back to the IAMS if you feel this is best, but in my opinion, the Wellness is a better quality food. If you choose to stay on the Wellness, you might consider giving your cat a good probiotic which helps to improve overall gut health leading to better digestion of food and absorption of available nutrients.

Usually when cats produce smelly stools and gas, it is because some food is not being digested properly. It could be something in the Wellness diet (maybe one of the oils or some other ingredient), or the Wellness Turkey wet food.



I feed my cats the Wellness Grain-free chicken wet food and have had no issues with this food in terms of smelly stools or gas. I find most turkey diets in any brand, to be too rich.



You can switch back to the IAMS if you feel this is best, but in my opinion, the Wellness is a better quality food. If you choose to stay on the Wellness, you might consider giving your cat a good probiotic which helps to improve overall gut health leading to better digestion of food and absorption of available nutrients.

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I don't think iams is best, it's just what the humane society had him on and I thought it would be easier on him to transition after a few weeks so he had some settle down time and not EVERYTHING was new. I did, from day one, supplement with canned Wellness, which he seems to love. When I started the transition in his dry food he did not pick around it or anything, so I thought all was good, until we completely stopped with the iams and he has these issues.
I will try another kind of Wellness dry (maybe it's the flavor that bothers his tummy??) And if that doesn't work, a probiotic. Thank you!

mrsgreenjeens said:

It definitely sounds like this particular food doesn't agree with him.  Someone else on this site said Wellness changed their formula on their dry food and it gave their cats problems too, but they thought it was because they didn't realize it had changed and didn't transition them slowly to the "new" food. 



I tried Wellness when I was feeding kibble, and NONE of mine liked it.  Now we don't feed kibble around here, so it's a moot point

.  But in your case, I would certainly put him back on Iams until you figure out what food you want to put him on.   BTW, I think most cats fed kibble are grazers, who, when switched to canned or raw, or homecooked, learn to eat scheduled meals. 

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In my case I made sure to read on here about best methods to transition so I don't think it was too fast.
As to moving to wet food: I will try to transition him soon, maybe on a week i am on vacation from work; he loves a midnight nibble and I could see him raising a fit if there is nothing out for him to graze on.

(Oops sorry about format issues on previous post, I am typing on my phone)

Sounds like you have done all the right things Jenn. Sticking with the IAMS initially through the adoption and first weeks was a good thing. You will figure this out and eventually get your kitty on the right track!

All the best  

I'm new here, but thought I'd weigh in because I have experienced the same problem in the last 4 days. My kitty is named Minou (mee-new). She is a 3+ year old medium hair Brown Mackeral Tabby. She adopted me when she was a 6mo old feral kitten.

I initially fed Blue Buffalo Indoor, and she thrived on it for 3 years. Months ago, I saw some negative comments here regarding that brand and transitioned her to Wellness Complete Indoor (chicken), just to be safe. When the Blue Buffalo was gone, she ate just the Wellness. She has always had 'tootsie roll' stool and never had diarrhea. No problems at all with the transition or subsequent feeding.

Bought this latest bag on the 6th of Feb and had a little trouble finding it due to the new packaging. Clerk at Pe.tco helped me with that. After she finished her last bag, 6 days ago, I started feeding from the new bag. The next morning there was a huge wet mud-like stool in her box. (she's an indoor kitty). I mean this was a huge mass. I even checked for a leak in the ceiling to find its source!

That night she went again, a smaller amount this time, but wet like mud again, no form. This has been going on for 4 days. I usually let her graze, but withheld her food this morning and am heading out the door right now to buy some old formula in a small bag (if I can find it) and try to transition her back to Blue Indoor until her stool solidifies.

So I am writing this post is to confirm the change in litter box content after feeding the 'new' formula. By the way, the only indication of a formula change on the packaging is the statement, "NOW Even Tastier". The guaranteed analysis shows vitamin A at 5,000IU (which is not there on the old package), and Magnesium is at .12% instead of .098%. Other items in the ingredients list show only slight modifications in degree of content, but generally appears the same - However the result in her litter box isn't.

OK, off I go. Take care, all. Mike

Good to know I'm not the only one--and I know what you mean about the muddy stool--and so stinky! Are you going to keep her on Blue Buffalo, or try another brand of food after her stool solidifies?

I'm in the process of transitioning Byron to another brand of Wellness--I'm also feeding him less of the dry food, thereby increasing the amount of the wet food he eats (I think he has enjoyed that, he LOVES the Wellness turkey and chicken wet food). Since he's been eating that kind of wet food the entire time I've had him, I don't think it's the culprit so I'm hoping this change in wellness type will help. If not, I'll be looking for a different brand of grain-free dry food to get him.

I'm back from the store. Minou now has some old Wellness Indoor and a tiny bit of Blue Buffalo in her bowl. Alas, after I opened the Wellness I noticed the sell-by date was Jan 29 2014. Smells OK. Just my luck though, but probably why it was still on the shelf! I'll report back what happens after a short time.

The Pe.tco staff suggested a grain free food made in the US called Merrick. I am going to study on it to see what it is and if cat owners recommend it.

I sometimes feed her a snack of wet food, if she'll eat it. Only a couple table spoons though and not every day. Sometimes she is fine with it and other times she tries to bury it. I'm sure it has no nutrition to speak of, but it is the only one she'll tolerate, and I was thinking it would compliment the dry which she loves. (I tried a variety of wet food from Wellness and Blue and other top brands, but she buried them all under her rug)

But this latest event with the loose muddy stool began with that new bag of Wellness, and she had no wet food a week prior to it (or since).

Later, Mike

minou-dad said:

 
I'm back from the store. Minou now has some old Wellness Indoor and a tiny bit of Blue Buffalo in her bowl. Alas, after I opened the Wellness I noticed the sell-by date was Jan 29 2014. Smells OK. Just my luck though, but probably why it was still on the shelf! I'll report back what happens after a short time.

The Pe.tco staff suggested a grain free food made in the US called Merrick. I am going to study on it to see what it is and if cat owners recommend it.

I sometimes feed her a snack of wet food, if she'll eat it. Only a couple table spoons though and not every day. Sometimes she is fine with it and other times she tries to bury it. I'm sure it has no nutrition to speak of, but it is the only one she'll tolerate, and I was thinking it would compliment the dry which she loves. (I tried a variety of wet food from Wellness and Blue and other top brands, but she buried them all under her rug)

But this latest event with the loose muddy stool began with that new bag of Wellness, and she had no wet food a week prior to it (or since).

Later, Mike

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The sell by date is how long they can guarantee the freshness and nutritional content of the food. Probably not a huge concern, but I would still return the bag if it's convenient. They shouldn't be selling expired food.

Not really familiar with the Merrick line in dry, but they reformulated last year and many people don't like their new formulas because they went higher carb.

What wet food are you giving her? Wet food is generally regarded as a better choice than dry, so I find your statement that it has no nutritional value confusing. Are you saying that because the amount is so small?

I knew someone would ask that ;-)

For the record, it is (now don't laugh) whiskas Purrfectly Fish Tuna Entree, made in Thailand from flaked Tuna (8% protein, 2% fat, 87% moisture, taurine 0.05%). It is the ONLY wet food she will even sniff at, let alone eat, and then, only on occasion. I just wanted to give her some moisture besides water once in a while. She let's me know when she will accept it, by first staring at her rug where the plate usually goes, and then looking at me, speaking a single gentle mewl. If I put it there without her asking, she buries it unceremoniously.

Well, she just now ate the Blue Buffalo portion of the kibble and left the Wellness...

jennandtonic said:

 
...Are you going to keep her on Blue Buffalo, or try another brand of food after her stool solidifies?

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I think I will stay with the Blue for a while if 'things' improve. I've heard nothing negative about it lately; have never had a problem with it; and she loves it. I will still investigate other options though. Hope your kitty is better. Yeah, you are right about the smell... whew!

jennandtonic said:

I've been lurking on this site for a few months (since I adopted my 3 year old kitty), and as such took some recommendations for what to feed my cat. I recently transitioned him from iams to Wellness brand...and though he likes the food, it makes his poops and litter box REALLY stinky. I didn't used to notice much of a smell after he left his litter box and now I do, and now he's having loose stools/runny poo that's stuck in his fur after he leaves his box. He's been on the food for two weeks now and it hasn't gone away; he displays no other symptoms of illness so I don't think it's anything but the food. Has anyone else had this issue with Wellness?

It's so bad that I'm transitioning him back to iams until I can do more research.

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Hi, my cat ( now 2) was on Wellness chicken about a year ago and I had to switch it after the first bag. His poop had some white dots in it, he had bad gas, hos coat didn't shine and the worse problem was that everytime he would eat the food he would throw up after. it wasn't good for him at all. I switched from it to instinct and he loves it but because I also feed him wet, his favorite one right now is wellness simple the new ones they came out with. I would switch from it and go with another dry food.

jennandtonic said:

 
Has anyone else had this issue with Wellness?

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I just found a thread started 2 days before yours with the same issue. I don't know how to link to it, but they have some information about the formula change. I'll try this and see if it works: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272320/wellness-new-dry-food-formulas

I think wellness' issue is the addition of MORE magnesium. Magnesium is used as a stool softener/laxative in HUMANS! So adding MORE to a cat food might really cause some problems!!!

I find that generally, ruling out health issues, when my cats poop smells bad over time, its usually the food not agreeing with his digestive system giving him an irritable bowel.  Stinky poop, to me, is always a sign of trouble.

You might want to put him back on his old food  to level things out until you can decide what your next move is..  What is the reason for you deciding to change him?   

Sounds to me like whatever is in the new food, is something that just doesn't agree with him or he is allergic to some ingredient.  Wellness is a good food, but I used to use Iams and its not a bad food either. But that doesn't mean your cat will do ok on it....its trial and error in my book, with a consultation from my cat vet thrown in.

Iams is not a good food. Sorry to go against you. Wellness USED to be great. But it's been played with too much and A LOT of cats, here on our board and at our local pet store, are getting sick on it.

I would trust 100 times more than ANY vet I've been to, the opinions of a certain few here on this board, Sharky being one, and she can tell you the others here that know THIER stuff. Vets only get a few HOURS of nutrition education while in school. Even then, a lot of those nutrition classes are sponsored by science diet!!!

SD is a TERRIBLE food. So are most "vet" foods. Only use them if they are ABSOLUTELY necessary and try to supplement with a better food when you can. I had a male cat that did really well on SD cd. I hated feeding it. But it kept him out of the vet, and alive and happy. But I made sure to feed SD cd WET and subbed in a good dry to make sure get got good nutrition.

All food is NOT alike in the least! Find threads on here telling you best wet and dry goods to feed your cat, and then feed the best food you can afford. Keeping in mind, cats eat WAY LESS on a good food. And another plus, you go through Kessler litter as well!!