Hey all,
I have been prowling around the forums for a while now and have read many, many posts about what food to feed my baby. So many that I often get very confused on what is best. lol I'll first give you some history before I delve into my current question.
I've had my girl for about 10 years now. Found her outside in the middle of winter, took her in. Once I had her fixed she started packing on the pounds. She is a very small cat in regard to her stature but over the course of about 4 years she really chunked out on me. The vet started talking to me about getting her to lose weight and recommended she go on a prescription formula of Science Diet dry food, which was extremely expensive so I was never able to buy it regularly. I instead went with a non-prescription Science Diet. She ate that for the next 4 years and put on even a little more weight so finally, exasperated, I asked the vet what to do since I couldn't afford the prescription food. She said the main thing in that food that was going to help with weight loss was protein so I needed to find her a food I could afford that was as high in protein as possible.
I ended up finding a new brand that was specific to PetSmart that said it was natural and it was very high in protein. It wasn't a dry but wasn't quite a wet either. We did that for almost a year but that led to me looking into the more natural pet foods. After we moved to A2 I decided I wanted to get her even better food and started working on switching her to a canned/raw diet but as most of you know it's hard to get away from the dry at first so I compensated by buying a bag of Evo dry and rotating it with the canned and raw foods. The raw did not go over well at first. I got a try it pack of the Primal frozen and she didn't like any of it. A lot of the canned food she turned her nose up at as well. Around Christmas time she was being so picky and refusing to eat, plus I was super low on money, so she ended up eating mostly the Evo dry. All that got us was a constipated kitty and a charge card that now has a few hundred in vet bills on it.
So, in Jan we dropped the dry completely and it's been strictly Primal freeze dried turkey at 8pm (about 2-3 bars) and a rotation of various high end canned foods at 8am (one 3.5 ounce can of whatever I pull out of my arsenal that evening). For instance right now in the cupboard (all around the 3.5 ounce portion size) I have some Wellness pouches in a variety of flavors, a couple of Wellness cans, a couple cans of Taste of the Wild, a couple Natural Balance tubs, a variety of Natural Balance cans, three of the Halo cans in different flavors (these are the bigger size), a couple Tiki Cats, and a Canyon Creek Ranch. Technically it's difficult for me to feed her this well (financially) but, she's my baby and I'm willing to eat less so she can eat well. So for the purpose of this conversation, let's say cost is a small issue. (I try to stay around $1/can, look for sales, bulk purchase, etc.) We were just at the vet the other day and she had a dental cleaning, full exam, a shot, etc. She got a fantastically clean bill of health other than still being about 5 lbs overweight. I told the vet what, how she eats, and when. She said I should cut her freeze dried meal back to a bar and a half instead of 2-3 bars in an effort to get her to drop some more lbs. but, that the 3.5 ounce can in the am is a good portion. Miss "My god mom, help me I'm starving to death, can't you see?!" already wakes me up throughout the night and acts like she hasn't eaten in days on a regular basis so, this is going to be fun.
Another problem we have is she is SO picky. I can't seem to figure out just one or two kinds that she prefers (other than fish laden flavors which I try to keep to a minimum) so I end up buying like you see above and it's always hit or miss. Sometimes I put a can out and she devours it, other times I put a can out and she ignores it completely and I end up tossing it which kills me because it's all so expensive. I thought Halo was a hit for a while so I purchased some cans in bulk so, of course as soon as it arrived she decided she didn't like it anymore. :/ I ended up tossing most of it because she refused. Now the same thing is happening with the Primal freeze dried. She's been eating it a few months now, I thought it was a sure thing. I bought three huge bags in bulk and as soon as I opened the first one she now refuses to eat it. The Primal Beef and Salmon flavor makes her throw up. Every time.
It's just really frustrating sometimes. I am thinking about trying the Rad Cat and Felines Pride for her raw feeding once a day but I don't want to take her off the canned completely just yet...which leads to my actual question. (however, feel free to share thoughts/advice about any/all of the above)
This summer we are traveling. I am going to a research station for 8 weeks and she is coming with me. We will be living in a cabin and will not have access to a freezer or a **** for that matter (to store leftovers from a large can). I will need to stock up on 8 weeks worth of canned and/or freeze dried food that I can haul with me. I am unsure what to do about the Primal issue we are having right now and I hate just going to the store and grabbing a bunch of whatever and hoping she will eat it. Then she seems to like something well enough more than one time and so, I always think I have a good choice in food going, then I come on here and someone says something bad about it. Just tonight I read all kinds of bad things about Taste of the Wild which I just fed her tonight and she's been digging lately. I know I am going to get a ton of varying responses but, just looking for up-to-date, helpful advice about how to navigate this trip while keeping her happy and healthy. Thanks!!
p.s. Sorry for the lengthy post. :/
I have been prowling around the forums for a while now and have read many, many posts about what food to feed my baby. So many that I often get very confused on what is best. lol I'll first give you some history before I delve into my current question.
I've had my girl for about 10 years now. Found her outside in the middle of winter, took her in. Once I had her fixed she started packing on the pounds. She is a very small cat in regard to her stature but over the course of about 4 years she really chunked out on me. The vet started talking to me about getting her to lose weight and recommended she go on a prescription formula of Science Diet dry food, which was extremely expensive so I was never able to buy it regularly. I instead went with a non-prescription Science Diet. She ate that for the next 4 years and put on even a little more weight so finally, exasperated, I asked the vet what to do since I couldn't afford the prescription food. She said the main thing in that food that was going to help with weight loss was protein so I needed to find her a food I could afford that was as high in protein as possible.
I ended up finding a new brand that was specific to PetSmart that said it was natural and it was very high in protein. It wasn't a dry but wasn't quite a wet either. We did that for almost a year but that led to me looking into the more natural pet foods. After we moved to A2 I decided I wanted to get her even better food and started working on switching her to a canned/raw diet but as most of you know it's hard to get away from the dry at first so I compensated by buying a bag of Evo dry and rotating it with the canned and raw foods. The raw did not go over well at first. I got a try it pack of the Primal frozen and she didn't like any of it. A lot of the canned food she turned her nose up at as well. Around Christmas time she was being so picky and refusing to eat, plus I was super low on money, so she ended up eating mostly the Evo dry. All that got us was a constipated kitty and a charge card that now has a few hundred in vet bills on it.
So, in Jan we dropped the dry completely and it's been strictly Primal freeze dried turkey at 8pm (about 2-3 bars) and a rotation of various high end canned foods at 8am (one 3.5 ounce can of whatever I pull out of my arsenal that evening). For instance right now in the cupboard (all around the 3.5 ounce portion size) I have some Wellness pouches in a variety of flavors, a couple of Wellness cans, a couple cans of Taste of the Wild, a couple Natural Balance tubs, a variety of Natural Balance cans, three of the Halo cans in different flavors (these are the bigger size), a couple Tiki Cats, and a Canyon Creek Ranch. Technically it's difficult for me to feed her this well (financially) but, she's my baby and I'm willing to eat less so she can eat well. So for the purpose of this conversation, let's say cost is a small issue. (I try to stay around $1/can, look for sales, bulk purchase, etc.) We were just at the vet the other day and she had a dental cleaning, full exam, a shot, etc. She got a fantastically clean bill of health other than still being about 5 lbs overweight. I told the vet what, how she eats, and when. She said I should cut her freeze dried meal back to a bar and a half instead of 2-3 bars in an effort to get her to drop some more lbs. but, that the 3.5 ounce can in the am is a good portion. Miss "My god mom, help me I'm starving to death, can't you see?!" already wakes me up throughout the night and acts like she hasn't eaten in days on a regular basis so, this is going to be fun.
Another problem we have is she is SO picky. I can't seem to figure out just one or two kinds that she prefers (other than fish laden flavors which I try to keep to a minimum) so I end up buying like you see above and it's always hit or miss. Sometimes I put a can out and she devours it, other times I put a can out and she ignores it completely and I end up tossing it which kills me because it's all so expensive. I thought Halo was a hit for a while so I purchased some cans in bulk so, of course as soon as it arrived she decided she didn't like it anymore. :/ I ended up tossing most of it because she refused. Now the same thing is happening with the Primal freeze dried. She's been eating it a few months now, I thought it was a sure thing. I bought three huge bags in bulk and as soon as I opened the first one she now refuses to eat it. The Primal Beef and Salmon flavor makes her throw up. Every time.
It's just really frustrating sometimes. I am thinking about trying the Rad Cat and Felines Pride for her raw feeding once a day but I don't want to take her off the canned completely just yet...which leads to my actual question. (however, feel free to share thoughts/advice about any/all of the above)This summer we are traveling. I am going to a research station for 8 weeks and she is coming with me. We will be living in a cabin and will not have access to a freezer or a **** for that matter (to store leftovers from a large can). I will need to stock up on 8 weeks worth of canned and/or freeze dried food that I can haul with me. I am unsure what to do about the Primal issue we are having right now and I hate just going to the store and grabbing a bunch of whatever and hoping she will eat it. Then she seems to like something well enough more than one time and so, I always think I have a good choice in food going, then I come on here and someone says something bad about it. Just tonight I read all kinds of bad things about Taste of the Wild which I just fed her tonight and she's been digging lately. I know I am going to get a ton of varying responses but, just looking for up-to-date, helpful advice about how to navigate this trip while keeping her happy and healthy. Thanks!!
p.s. Sorry for the lengthy post. :/
