Cat has loose stools and trying to find out the best food to give him

Dear Cat lovers:  I am new to this site.  I have 2 2yr old male fixed brothers, inside cats.  One can eat anything.  But Jack has always been a bit sensitive to wet food and would have loose stools.

Well they were both fine on the cheap dry friskies for over a year until I read about nutrition and wanted to give them something better.  Since then nothing but trouble and my brain wants to explode.  They were just fine- no vomiting or diarehea.. 

Well I put them on Chicken Soup and great for one bag then next bag- vomiting and loose stools.  So I have been trying all sorts of brands.  When Jack had a bloody stool I panicked and took him to the vet who first put him on science diet wet.  Jack refused for the first time to eat, he hated it.  So they switched it to royal canin for sensitive stomachs.  No more vomiting or loose stools..

Because of the vet cost food- I transitioned him to Petsmarts' Authority- great for one bag- stabilizing- then next bag vomiting and loose stools.  My friend who has 8 cats and a wife in a vet clinic for 30 yrs said well try them back on the cheap stuff if he does well on that.  Well I must have done it too fast because he was exploding in the litter box both on the authority and same iwth the cheap stuff.

After 4 days I called the vet and they suggested putting him back on royal canin to stabilize him.  This has worked.  However I can't keep paying for it- so they said I can transition him to a good food after a week or 2 on royal canin.

I don't know who to trust.  My friend said a lot of people get paid to write reviews and to diss the competition so how can you be sure.  I read awful things about pets dying on Blue Buffalo, Royal Canin, Purina One...  My friend also said no grains isn't that healthy either.

I had a 21yr old cat and she ate cheap wet and ry and lived to a good ole age.  I never thought twice about it.  Now all these reviews have me scared.   It's gotten me more confused than ever-...

Can anyone tell me how to find a good food -a reasonable rate- that can help stabilize a cat-...with a sensitive tummy.  They both loved Purina One chicken and rice-but I think I transitioned them too quickly and the litter was a mess.  I am also concerned about Pacfiic seafood- with the radiation from Japan and dont' want to give them anything with pacific seafood or of course Chinese ingredients.

The vet was no help and only pushes the science and royal canin which i read isn't so great.

Any suggestions- my brain is so tired!

Thanks....

Hey there,

First, wet food is best for them. Avoid dry food from now on if you can. I know one of your boys was reacting badly to wet food, but this is a matter of finding the RIGHT wet food without some of the most awful ingredients that could be causing these issues. Second, you are right that Science Diet and Royal Canin are crap, but sadly vets and major food companies often have deals going on and a lot of vets are very poorly educated in cat nutrition. Next I have a bunch of questions for you.

Second, do any of the foods you have tried since the dry Friskies have any specific ingredients in common that Friskies does not have? Look at the labels for the foods you were feeding and note each and every same ingredient. I know this is probably time consuming and impossible to do, but you need to know exactly what the ingredients are in the food. Next questions.

What specific formula  of Chicken Soup did you feed Jack? What specific formula of Authority did you feed Jack? I am reading some of the ingredients on the Authority label and cringing. There is rice, corn, corn protein concentrate, and even more questionable ingredients. Grains and carbohydrates are both in general bad for cats - I have no idea where your friend got their info but I can assure you it is wrong. 

Also, please stay away from Purina as well. I am going to suggest some cat foods that may have a better chance of working for your boy and that are slightly cheaper than things like Blue and Wellness (both of which have more bad formulas than good in my opinion). First thing is first: you need to transition both boys from the dry Royal Canin to a better and cheaper dry food after the Royal Canin has settled Jack. 

My preferred cheaper dry cat food is Pure Elements Canidae because it has a very simple ingredient list (aside from the vitamins, some of which are worrisome but we are trying to get your cats onto a better dry and hopefully wet eventually and thus necessary evils are needed). Compared to other dry foods, it is slightly lower in carbohydrate materials and just a little bit higher in animal based protein content. That is what you want for now. Furthermore, it does not have grains, wheat gluten, corn, dried beat pulp, yucca extract or several other weird and potentially harmful fillers that might be the culprits in Jack's issues. An eight pound back is about 24.00 bucks at Petco, but I think Pet Supplies Plus (I don't know if you have those where you are) sells it for slightly cheaper. It is still pricey but you get way more food for an eight pound bag at that price than you would get with a five pound bag of Blue for twenty some bucks with way more carb fillers and other undesirable crap in it. 

If you take my suggestion, transition slowly! If it works, the next step would be I hope to get them on wet food. Believe me, it can be done and done safely. I have suggestions for wet food and how to transition your more stubborn boy too, but one step at a time!

It is true that most vets haven't a clue when it comes to appropriate diets simply because they are given the option of learning about cat nutrition when they are trained.  It is an elective course meaning it is not required to acquire their license.

Cats are obligate carnivores meaning they require animal protein for food energy (versus carbohydrates for humans).  Grains should only be considered in their diet if tolerable because anyone who says grains are appropriate are simply wrong.  Grains are just fillers, plain and simple and for an obligate carnivore, have no use whatsoever. Think meat (or fish) only.  The fewer ingredients on a label the better.

Sadly it sounds like you can't afford these cats and have mentioned cost in regards to your feeding guidelines.  Put it into perspective: if you had a child that needed a special diet but you opted to provide a cheaper less nutritious diet instead, how do you think it would affect the child? Would you honestly let the child suffer because of cost?  Or would you find a way to ensure their health by providing the appropriate diet? Having said this above all, if you are willing to consider a cheaper brand/type of food you should consider giving your cats up for adoption.

Cats (and dogs) should be treated just as well as any member of the family.  To offer anything less is simply unacceptable.

Having said this if you are willing to continue, you should of course have them checked by a vet.  Bloodwork, x-rays the whole bit, especially if there is blood in the stools.  Try to find a vet that specializes in cats.

Second, stay away from dry food.  The manufacturing process alone is enough to sour anyone's stomach.  Simply put, there are very very few dry foods that even come close to a biologically appropriate diet for cats (petfood companies sell it for profit). Additionally not only are dry foods addictive (added ingredients to make them so) but they tend to cause renal problems as the cat ages.  Why?  Because in the wild a cat would obtain it's water from it's prey because the prey is up to 70% water, just like us humans.  With dry kibble their organs have to work twice as hard to extract any water.  When their system realizes there is no water coming from the kibble, they become dehydrated, thus the need to seek out a water bowl (or toilet).  When a cat is drinking from a water bowl, it is likely already between 3-5% dehydrated.  This can reek havoc on their renal system.

The best wet food has the fewest ingredients.  It contains no rice, wheat, corn or soy and has no meat "by-products" or meat "Meal".  Stay away from anything labelled "by- product" in the ingredients.  Rendering plants across North America are not FDA regulated so the meat that goes to these rendering plants can be from a variety of sources including euthanized animals (yes even dogs and cats) roadkill, diseased or dying animals etc.  It's disgusting but sadly allowable because pet food is not regulated and AFFCO is only a guideline, not mandatory. The meat "Meal" comes from these rendering plants as well. Meal is the primary ingredient in 95% of dry food (or it's plant protein, not meat protein).

If you absolutely must feed dry food, seek out Orijen (Champion foods).  It's expensive but it's made in Canada and is not derived from rendering plants...they make it locally using human grade food.  It is by far the only dry food I would even consider (and I did for a while) feeding my 2 little guys. I have since switched my cats to an all wet food diet.

Ironically many of the superior wet foods are too made in Canada.  FirstMate, Petcurean Go!, Performatrin are all real quality superior formulas for all life stages.  If I had to go with an American Brand I would try Merrick or Wellness as they are a bit less expensive.

Again look for quality food with limited ingredients and try to only feed wet or a combination 75% - 25% wet/dry.  Personally I would recommend staying away from Purina, Hills, Friskies, Iams and any other bargain brands because they are full of @!$%.

Thank you so much Historian.!!  I appreciate so much your time to explain.  I will read through more thoroughly and study what you said and try some of the foods you mentioned.

Best wishes to you!

Aonecatlover said:

 
Dear Cat lovers:  I am new to this site.  I have 2 2yr old male fixed brothers, inside cats.  One can eat anything.  But Jack has always been a bit sensitive to wet food and would have loose stools.

Well they were both fine on the cheap dry friskies for over a year until I read about nutrition and wanted to give them something better.  Since then nothing but trouble and my brain wants to explode.  They were just fine- no vomiting or diarehea..

Well I put them on Chicken Soup and great for one bag then next bag- vomiting and loose stools.  So I have been trying all sorts of brands.  When Jack had a bloody stool I panicked and took him to the vet who first put him on science diet wet.  Jack refused for the first time to eat, he hated it.  So they switched it to royal canin for sensitive stomachs.  No more vomiting or loose stools..

Because of the vet cost food- I transitioned him to Petsmarts' Authority- great for one bag- stabilizing- then next bag vomiting and loose stools.  My friend who has 8 cats and a wife in a vet clinic for 30 yrs said well try them back on the cheap stuff if he does well on that.  Well I must have done it too fast because he was exploding in the litter box both on the authority and same iwth the cheap stuff.

After 4 days I called the vet and they suggested putting him back on royal canin to stabilize him.  This has worked.  However I can't keep paying for it- so they said I can transition him to a good food after a week or 2 on royal canin.

I don't know who to trust.  My friend said a lot of people get paid to write reviews and to diss the competition so how can you be sure.  I read awful things about pets dying on Blue Buffalo, Royal Canin, Purina One...  My friend also said no grains isn't that healthy either.

I had a 21yr old cat and she ate cheap wet and ry and lived to a good ole age.  I never thought twice about it.  Now all these reviews have me scared.   It's gotten me more confused than ever-...

Can anyone tell me how to find a good food -a reasonable rate- that can help stabilize a cat-...with a sensitive tummy.  They both loved Purina One chicken and rice-but I think I transitioned them too quickly and the litter was a mess.  I am also concerned about Pacfiic seafood- with the radiation from Japan and dont' want to give them anything with pacific seafood or of course Chinese ingredients.

The vet was no help and only pushes the science and royal canin which i read isn't so great.

Any suggestions- my brain is so tired!

Thanks....

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I could have written this post only now I have issues with one constipated and one thin/finicky cat. I also don't have as much a problem with cost. I too had three cats that lived to be over 15, the oldest was 21 when he crossed over. I too am at my wit's end and hope to find relief at thecatsite. You are not alone!

Dear Scorp- Just wanted to wish you good luck and thank you for your post.  I think it all boils down to finding a food they like and a lot of problems will disappear from what I've been researching.  I am certainly going to take into consideration all the nutrition advice I received here and try it out.  But it boils down to what they like.  I appreciate people's advice but am going to overlook the fact graciously that they tried to make me feel bad for feeding the cat's cheaper food.  If someone is struggling financially they shouldn't be told to get rid of their beloved pets ESPECIALLY when they are trying to rectify the situation.

Aonecatlover said:

 
Dear Scorp- Just wanted to wish you good luck and thank you for your post.  I think it all boils down to finding a food they like and a lot of problems will disappear from what I've been researching.  I am certainly going to take into consideration all the nutrition advice I received here and try it out.  But it boils down to what they like.  I appreciate people's advice but am going to overlook the fact graciously that they tried to make me feel bad for feeding the cat's cheaper food.  If someone is struggling financially they shouldn't be told to get rid of their beloved pets ESPECIALLY when they are trying to rectify the situation.

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I agree completely. Thanks to you.