Desperately seeking stinky food for kitty with FLUTD :-)

angels4mom said:

I've found that a lot of foods without fish as the main ingredient still have fish or fish broth in them. My senior Mandie really likes the fish food. The ones with fish as main ingredient.

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True dat. :-)

I accidentally stumbled across Dr. Pierson's website last week and have really started reading the labels more carefully.  It's certainly been an education! :-)

wittens mom said:

 
Most cats love raw liver and it is super nutritious.

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Eep.  Something just occurred to me.

Since Buddy is FIV+, is it safe to give him liver from the grocery store?  Or are there certain sources to buy from that would be better for him?

I'm still on a major learning curve re: cat nutrition, raw diets, etc., and am still trying to wrap my warped little noggin around everything I'm reading. :-)

Please be careful if you're thinking about feeding raw--it can be dangerous if done improperly. 

There's an article in our Raw/Homecooked cat food forum that may answer some of your questions:   Feeding Raw to Cats - Safety Concerns

I second betsygee. Homecooked raw is really something that takes dedication and research to ensure you're doing it properly. There is a whole sub forum in Cat Nutrition, all the way at the top of the page. They're full of knowledge. There is commercially available raw food also. But for the issue at hand, needing stinky food for cat with damaged sense of smell, it may not be ideal. I've purchased several commercial raw foods and they have virtually no smell at all. Like, none! That's probably a good thing, but in your case, may not help right now. 

betsygee said:

 
Please be careful if you're thinking about feeding raw--it can be dangerous if done improperly. 

There's an article in our Raw/Homecooked cat food forum that may answer some of your questions:   Feeding Raw to Cats - Safety Concerns

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Thanks much for your concern and for the most helpful link. :-)

I'm still trying to read everything I can get my hands on to try to figure out what's best for Buddy in the long run, and looks like I'm going to be pretty busy for awhile reading all of the wonderful posts in the nutrition threads!  Right now, I want to start out as conservatively as possible and try transitioning him over to some non-fishy commercially prepared cat food, in case the fishy stuff really could be contributing to his FLUTD.  Then if I can clear that hurdle, I can gradually make any other changes if and when I actually know what I'm doing. :-)

I'm just having a little trouble with that first step at the moment. ;-)

Well it is hard for anyone to say.  The best thing would be start with a little bit, like 1/4 of a chicken liver and see if he eats it and how he does afterward.  The only problem I can see is if he eats it exclusively and it is not a complete food for a cat.   Cat's ulnike dogs seem to limit themselves to what they can handle.  Raw food is very digestible as it has its own enzymes.  My cats hunt, so are used to raw food.  Yours might need to start slow.  Good luck.

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rlavach said:

 
But for the issue at hand, needing stinky food for cat with damaged sense of smell, it may not be ideal. I've purchased several commercial raw foods and they have virtually no smell at all. Like, none! That's probably a good thing, but in your case, may not help right now. 

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Huh.  Well, so much for that idea.  Thanks for letting me know! :-)

I have to confess, at the moment, the thought of preparing raw or home-cooked food absolutely terrifies me!  I don't want to do more harm than good.  But I do want to learn everything I possibly can -- just in case I ever get that confident and brave. ;-)

Hi Again Cheeser,  

I would think that if you could get any kind of liver organic that would be the best.  Like if you buy an organic chicken for yourself and it has the giblets in it.  I have been seeing that other people think that raw would be bad for a cat.  As long as the liver is fresh I don't know why.  
Before there was cat food in cans, or dry, cat owners would go to the butcher and buy organ meat for their pets.  This is what cat food always was until about 60 years ago when Puss in Boots came out.  Also before even that people kept cats and didn't even feed them much, they just gave them a nice place to stay and let them mouse for a living.  So the cats physiology has not changed much in a few decades.

cheeser said:

 
Thanks much for your concern and for the most helpful link. :-)

I'm still trying to read everything I can get my hands on to try to figure out what's best for Buddy in the long run, and looks like I'm going to be pretty busy for awhile reading all of the wonderful posts in the nutrition threads!  Right now, I want to start out as conservatively as possible and try transitioning him over to some non-fishy commercially prepared cat food, in case the fishy stuff really could be contributing to his FLUTD.  Then if I can clear that hurdle, I can gradually make any other changes if and when I actually know what I'm doing. :-)

I'm just having a little trouble with that first step at the moment. ;-)

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 I certainly understand--I 'inherited' two kitties with IBD and when I started reading up on how best to take care of them, it was overwhelming--there was so much to learn.  

One step at a time--first is finding foods your kitty can smell and will eat, right?  

9lives and Purina said their 5.5 oz cans of food with gravy are only around 5% carbs which is a huge drop compared to dry.

betsygee said:

 
 I certainly understand--I 'inherited' two kitties with IBD and when I started reading up on how best to take care of them, it was overwhelming--there was so much to learn.  

One step at a time--first is finding foods your kitty can smell and will eat, right?  

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It is a bit overwhelming sometimes, isn't it? ;-)

Thank goodness there's so much helpful information on the internet these days, and so many nice people to help each other out.  Back when I got my first cat *mumble, mumble* years ago, I bought whatever prescription diet the vet told me to buy, all of the best of intentions. :-)

angels4mom said:

9lives and Purina said their 5.5 oz cans of food with gravy are only around 5% carbs which is a huge drop compared to dry.

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Huh.  I'll definitely look into that.  Thanks!

cheeser said:

Huh.  I'll definitely look into that.  Thanks!

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The lowest carb dry I found was Pro Plan at about 22%.

wittens mom said:

 
Well it is hard for anyone to say.  The best thing would be start with a little bit, like 1/4 of a chicken liver and see if he eats it and how he does afterward.  The only problem I can see is if he eats it exclusively and it is not a complete food for a cat.   Cat's ulnike dogs seem to limit themselves to what they can handle.  Raw food is very digestible as it has its own enzymes.  My cats hunt, so are used to raw food.  Yours might need to start slow.  Good luck.

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Thanks for all of the additional info!

Buddy used to hunt when he was a stray, but that's been awhile.  So if I ever try this at some point, I'll go slow as you suggest.

I just need to add a little pizazz to his canned food to try to tempt him to eat some non-fishy flavors, and so far, he's fighting me every step of the way. :-)

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angels4mom said:

The lowest carb dry I found was Pro Plan at about 22%.

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Thanks!  I'll keep that in mind as I try to transition my other kitty from a mostly dry food diet to one that's mostly (or all) canned, and every bit of information helps! :-)

I think everyone who uses this site should subscribe to Dr. Becker who is a holistic vet who publishes an onoline newsletter every day.  she says that any dry food is absolutely the worst thing you can give your cat barring a deficient homemade diet   Dry cat food just does not have enough moisture for cats who are not by nature big drinkers and would get a lot of their moisture from their prey.  A good canned food is much better.  With the sauce canned foods though you are paying for a lot of water and they are more artificial than the pate kinds.  The best diet is a raw one made with scientific specifications for cats which can be done at home- She has a cookbook.

wittens mom said:

I think everyone who uses this site should subscribe to Dr. Becker who is a holistic vet who publishes an onoline newsletter every day.  she says that any dry food is absolutely the worst thing you can give your cat barring a deficient homemade diet   Dry cat food just does not have enough moisture for cats who are not by nature big drinkers and would get a lot of their moisture from their prey.  A good canned food is much better.  With the sauce canned foods though you are paying for a lot of water and they are more artificial than the pate kinds.  The best diet is a raw one made with scientific specifications for cats which can be done at home- She has a cookbook.

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...and that's her opinion.


There is no one diet that is perfect for every single cat. What one cat thrives on may kill another.

Smelliest food, paws down, is Go! Trout, which may be smelled through the bag and has a funk that will permeate the room. Wellness Core is pretty ripe, too, if you can get the cat to eat it. Royal Canin Special 33 is one they usually can't resist. As far as canned food goes, the non-fish ones all seem pretty tame. Heating them up will help, as others have suggested. Adding something like Wysong Dentatreat, liver powder, or Cosmic Tuna Flakes might make a difference.

wittens mom said:

 
I think everyone who uses this site should subscribe to Dr. Becker who is a holistic vet who publishes an onoline newsletter every day.  she says that any dry food is absolutely the worst thing you can give your cat barring a deficient homemade diet   Dry cat food just does not have enough moisture for cats who are not by nature big drinkers and would get a lot of their moisture from their prey.  A good canned food is much better.  With the sauce canned foods though you are paying for a lot of water and they are more artificial than the pate kinds.  The best diet is a raw one made with scientific specifications for cats which can be done at home- She has a cookbook.

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Thanks for the info.  We've had a death in the family, but I'll try to take a look at that site as soon as I have more time to really sit down and read it.

Up until recently, my vets have always recommended a dry food diet, and I trusted them.  Now I that I've been doing quite a bit of research (especially after my FIV+ cat developed FLUTD), I realize that I need to be more proactive about my cats' health.  Oh, and I've also changed vets to one who is more supportive re: preventive care and that sort of thing. ;-)

So right now, I just have two immediate goals:  to get my sick kitty transitioned over to a non-fish flavored canned food that he can actually smell and will eat, and to transition my other cat from a mostly dry diet to one that's all canned, and go from there. :-)

AbbysMom said:

...and that's her opinion.

There is no one diet that is perfect for every single cat. What one cat thrives on may kill another.

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Thanks bunches. :-)

If there's anything I've learned with my cats over the years, is that they're like snowflakes -- each with different needs.  Some have just been a little flakier than others. ;-)