Help with Grain free wet/dry food pls!!!

Hi, I live in the UK & do not know much about grain free cat food & would like to know your experiences with it. Some ppl disagree with dry food & some think it is fine.
I have a Birman cat who suffers from fur-balls, he gets 1 -3 per week depending on what he eats. I noticed he gets them more when he eats dry food. He seems to groom himself a lot. None of my other cats groom that much like he does. I do groom him regulary & even when I do that he has to go over it
I have tried different kinds of Fur-ball dry food & they don't work. I also haven't seen a difference with giving him ointments like- Defurr-Um plus or Johnsons hairballs remedy.
For the last 5 months now, I started using MC HEALTHY BITES hairballs remedy. They have made a difference, but I think it's time to change his diet.
I know that fur-balls can indicate IBD. I already have a cat who is 19 years old & has IBD .
So I have to make changes now.

He normally eats Felix as good as it looks, James Wellbeloved hairball formula. And occasionally has chicken roasted/boiled or tuna in water.
The last 2 days I tried giving him -Animal essentials plant Enzymes probiotic in his food but he puked it out straight away. That was very stressful seeing him react like that. Tonight I will put a smaller dose & see what happens.
For the last 4-5 days I have been researching on what food to use, but I am just going round in circles. I have read about the raw food diet, but I really don't think I could do that. I have trouble touching chicken let alone anything else.

My eldest cat who has IBD eats Royal Canin sensitivity/ boiled chicken with Purina Fortiflora probiotic.
It does help her but she does have days when her stools get worse. The vet stopped her Medrome because she has Metacam every other day for her arthritis. The probiotic has helped her through it.
I am also thinking of changing her food too , because she seems to enjoy the jelly more then anything else. Maybe the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal pouches instead. Hills Z/D has no jelly , so I really doubt she will eat that.
What probiotic brand does everyone else use? It seems like the Animal essential probiotic is not as tasteful as the Fortiflora. But I can not afford to give all 4 of my cats that, it is way too expensive.

Here is a few food brands I have looked at. If anyone has any good or bad experiences with any of these products pls share your advice, I would really appreciate the help.

FOOD IN UK:

ORIJEN Cat & Kitten
Porta 21 Feline Finest Sensible - Grain Free

Applaws chicken breast & pumpkin -can
Eukanuba intestinal formula- can
Thrive complete chicken & Turkey -can


Thanks

Felinelove said:

Hi, I live in the UK & do not know much about grain free cat food & would like to know your experiences with it. Some ppl disagree with dry food & some think it is fine.
I have a Birman cat who suffers from fur-balls, he gets 1 -3 per week depending on what he eats. I noticed he gets them more when he eats dry food. He seems to groom himself a lot. None of my other cats groom that much like he does. I do groom him regulary & even when I do that he has to go over it
I have tried different kinds of Fur-ball dry food & they don't work. I also haven't seen a difference with giving him ointments like- Defurr-Um plus or Johnsons hairballs remedy.
For the last 5 months now, I started using MC HEALTHY BITES hairballs remedy. They have made a difference, but I think it's time to change his diet.
I know that fur-balls can indicate IBD. I already have a cat who is 19 years old & has IBD .
So I have to make changes now.

He normally eats Felix as good as it looks, James Wellbeloved hairball formula. And occasionally has chicken roasted/boiled or tuna in water.
The last 2 days I tried giving him -Animal essentials plant Enzymes probiotic in his food but he puked it out straight away. That was very stressful seeing him react like that. Tonight I will put a smaller dose & see what happens.
For the last 4-5 days I have been researching on what food to use, but I am just going round in circles. I have read about the raw food diet, but I really don't think I could do that. I have trouble touching chicken let alone anything else.

My eldest cat who has IBD eats Royal Canin sensitivity/ boiled chicken with Purina Fortiflora probiotic.
It does help her but she does have days when her stools get worse. The vet stopped her Medrome because she has Metacam every other day for her arthritis. The probiotic has helped her through it.
I am also thinking of changing her food too , because she seems to enjoy the jelly more then anything else. Maybe the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal pouches instead. Hills Z/D has no jelly , so I really doubt she will eat that.
What probiotic brand does everyone else use? It seems like the Animal essential probiotic is not as tasteful as the Fortiflora. But I can not afford to give all 4 of my cats that, it is way too expensive.

Here is a few food brands I have looked at. If anyone has any good or bad experiences with any of these products pls share your advice, I would really appreciate the help.

FOOD IN UK:

ORIJEN Cat & Kitten
Porta 21 Feline Finest Sensible - Grain Free

Applaws chicken breast & pumpkin -can
Eukanuba intestinal formula- can
Thrive complete chicken & Turkey -can


Thanks

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For dry food, Orijen, Porta 21 Feline Finest Sensible, and Applaws Chicken and Salmon are all good for dry foods and they are grain-free. Orijen is the best dry food on the market, so it is really worth it if you can afford it, but it can be a little pricey. I always give my cat Applaws Chicken and Salmon and he really enjoys it a lot

I would not recommend feeding your cat Applaws or Almo Nature wet food since they are not complete and lack essential vitamins. I would recommend any of these wet foods: Thrive Complete, Animonda Carny, Bozita Feline Tetra Pak or cans, Natures Menu, Lily's Kitchen, Catz Finefood, Feringa, Grau, Miamor Ragout Royale, and HiLife. All of them are wonderful quality cat foods, affordable and complete (, but Thrive can be a little pricey) I believe Thrive Complete is one of the best wet foods available and it really is amazing. It's shredded and complete. My cat absolutely loves Thrive complete and he can't get enough of it.

Thanks Jenniator , So glad I found some from UK who understand our brands here.
I have 4 cats so I think it is best to get 2-3 brands & stick to that.
Do you know if the wet food would agree with my cat who has IBD? She can only eat wet food because the dry is too hard for her to eat .

Felinelove said:

Thanks Jenniator , So glad I found some from UK who understand our brands here.
I have 4 cats so I think it is best to get 2-3 brands & stick to that.
Do you know if the wet food would agree with my cat who has IBD? She can only eat wet food because the dry is too hard for her to eat .

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Your welcome I'm so happy I could help you ^^ Actually I am from the Netherlands Our Dutch Zooplus has almost all the same good quaity brands. But I do know a few that are only available in the UK Like Lily's kitchen, Natures menu, and HI-Life from seeing other people recommend them. I do have Natures Menu and it is a pretty good food I think 2-3 brands is a perfect rotation. Unfortunately I'm not sure if the wet food would agree for your cat with IBD. I don't know much about IBD, so I can't really say. I think it would be alright, especially the Pate types since they are made for sensitive cats and are very easy to digest. But don't take my word since I am not 100% sure

Still you have much better knowledge then me

Her teeth are not strong enough to eat dry food. Different websites have different views a bout dry food. Some say that dry food contains too much carbohydrates so wet food is better.

But I have seen more grain free dry food then the wet grain free. This is why I kept going round in circles, couldn't decide what was best.
My eldest with IBD , eats Royal Canin sensitivity but I nam noticing weight lost. I think she only enjoys licking the jelly but later eats the meat pieces ,because she has no choice. I brought a whole chicken tonight to boil for her tomorrow. Her stool has become loose again

Felinelove said:

Still you have much better knowledge then me

Her teeth are not strong enough to eat dry food. Different websites have different views a bout dry food. Some say that dry food contains too much carbohydrates so wet food is better.

But I have seen more grain free dry food then the wet grain free. This is why I kept going round in circles, couldn't decide what was best.
My eldest with IBD , eats Royal Canin sensitivity but I nam noticing weight lost. I think she only enjoys licking the jelly but later eats the meat pieces ,because she has no choice. I brought a whole chicken tonight to boil for her tomorrow. Her stool has become loose again

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Thank you I'm still pretty new at this though. I've actually been researching a lot since 6 months ago. I've talked to a lot of people on this fourm and another fourm about pet nutrition and different brands. There really are a lot of helpful people here. I've learned from talking to people here that wet food definitely if better than dry food A lot of members encourage feeding a only wet diet. I still feed my cat Applaws Dry or else he wouldn't eat enough during the day and he would start starving himself. So it's alright if your cat isn't able to eat dry food since the wet is better. But I don't think a little dry food would hurt either Grain-free dry and wet are the best option since cats aren't meant to digest grains, so it can really upset their stomach.

All the wet food brands and types I listed are Grain-free and really good quality I know when you first start searching different brands, it can be very overwhelming since there are so many and it's difficult to know where to start. I've heard from other people on the fourm that Royal Canin isn't a very good brand since it has grains and very low quality meat. It upset me a lot when I first heard that because I was feeding my cat that brand. I believed they were a really good brand and there products are also expensive They just have really good marketing to make you believe it's a good brand and they have vets sponsor them. I mean of course it's better than Whiskas and brands like that, but it's still not nearly as good as the brands I listed in my previous post.

I'm sorry to hear about your baby losing weight and having bad stool I think a grain-free diet could really help her since it also helped my cat that has a sensitive stomach. Is she having diarrhea? That could result from dehydration, so make sure she is drinking enough water. I searched a little about IBD. Everyone says a Grain-free diet wet is really good. They also say to stay away from dry food since it has to many carbohydrates which isn't good for a cat with IBD especially and dry food also dehydrates them more. Lamb, Duck, and Chicken are the best proteins for a cat with IBD since they are easier to digest and better for sensitive cats. People also say to be careful since every cat with IBD has different reactions to different proteins. Like some have bad reactions with beef, so they can't have it.

I just saw this after sending you a message & you have answered some of my main concerns I guess when your a cat lover, you can't help yourself helping others. I know I am also like that. I maybe OTT at times. I can not see any animal suffer, & feed all wild animals in my back yard. From birds , squirrels & foxes.
It makes me feel good to be able to help them. I get really frustrated when I can't help ,especially now my own cats.

This morning I ordered:

For my cat with IBD:

THRIVE COMPLETE POULTRY 6 X 75g
APPLAWS CHICKEN BREAST & PUMKIN 6 X 70g

Cat with fur-balls:

ORIJEN CHICKEN CAT & KITTEN
BOZITA FELINE TETRA PAK - HAIR & SKIN- SENSITIVE

And for the other 2 cats:

PORTA 21 FINEST SENSIBLE -GRAIN FREE
BOZITA FELINE TETRA PAK- OUTDOOR & ACTIVE
BOZITA FELINE TETRA PAK - INDOOR & SENSITIVE

I hope I didn't make any mistakes with the order & they are all suitable for them. I didn't order a lot for my cat with IBD just in case they don't suit her. Or for my Ragdoll cat, who is far too fussy. I hope she will eat the BOZITA indoor food.

The other two are not too picky especially if it dry food.

The Vet suggested ROYAL CANIN SENSITIVITY chicken & rice, how can this food be for IBD If it contains rice. I have fed her for 2 years with this!
It has been only 5-6 days since I found out that she should be on Grain free/low carbs diet. I feel annoyed because I have been putting my cat at risk, no thanks to the vet!

Do you know if there is anything else to give her, that helps for arthritis. Not really happy with Metacam.

Felinelove said:

I just saw this after sending you a message & you have answered some of my main concerns

I guess when your a cat lover, you can't help yourself helping others. I know I am also like that. I maybe OTT at times. I can not see any animal suffer, & feed all wild animals in my back yard. From birds , squirrels & foxes.
It makes me feel good to be able to help them. I get really frustrated when I can't help ,especially now my own cats.

This morning I ordered:

For my cat with IBD:

THRIVE COMPLETE POULTRY 6 X 75g
APPLAWS CHICKEN BREAST & PUMKIN 6 X 70g

Cat with fur-balls:

ORIJEN CHICKEN CAT & KITTEN
BOZITA FELINE TETRA PAK - HAIR & SKIN- SENSITIVE

And for the other 2 cats:

PORTA 21 FINEST SENSIBLE -GRAIN FREE
BOZITA FELINE TETRA PAK- OUTDOOR & ACTIVE
BOZITA FELINE TETRA PAK - INDOOR & SENSITIVE

I hope I didn't make any mistakes with the order & they are all suitable for them. I didn't order a lot for my cat with IBD just in case they don't suit her. Or for my Ragdoll cat, who is far too fussy. I hope she will eat the BOZITA indoor food.

The other two are not too picky especially if it dry food.

The Vet suggested ROYAL CANIN SENSITIVITY chicken & rice, how can this food be for IBD If it contains rice. I have fed her for 2 years with this!
It has been only 5-6 days since I found out that she should be on Grain free/low carbs diet. I feel annoyed because I have been putting my cat at risk, no thanks to the vet!

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Glad I could help Just responded to your letter! Yeah I always enjoy helping other people with advice when I can since I know how stressful and overwhelming it can be finding the right foods. I also can't stand to see a animal suffer It's even worse when it's your own baby. I think the brands and types of food you picked are perfect !!! Porta and Orijen are really good dry food brands.  Bozita and  Thrive Complete are really good wet brands. I'm really glad you went with the Thrive Poultry pack since to much fish isn't good. Thrive Complete is one of the best wet foods available and it has really high quality ingredients, so I think it will be perfect for your baby with IBD. My cat really loves the Applaws Chicken breast and pumpkin, but be careful feeding to much of it. It does have high quality meat and ingredients. The problem is that it's not a "complete" food, so it doesn't give all the vitamins and nutrients that a complete wet food would give. I'm sure it would be fine though since you are feeding it along side Thrive Complete which is a wonderful quality cat food Just make sure you are not giving the Applaws every day for a extended period of time. They do have an Applaws Pate available which is in a pate style and it's a complete food. It's good you ordered a test trial for everyone to see what works and what doesn't Also every cat has different tastes, so that can play a huge role.

Yeah it really is unfortunate your vet recommended Royal Canin sensitivity My vet also recommended it before. Rice isn't the best protein and it's not really made for cats to digest. Royal Canin is also full of grains, by-products, and low quality meat. I've actually wondered how vets could do that, but this is what I've heard from people on the fourm. They say that vets don't have any training in feline nutrition, so they are not actually sure what is good food. But Royal Canin does pay them money to endorse and sell their brand, so that's why they always recommend Royal Canin. I'm sure the vet thinks it's good quality food, but they don't have the nutrition knowledge to know it's actually bad for cats. It is crazy how we can do a little searching and learn a lot more than a qualified vet about cat nutrition.