Grain free food too rich?

jezahb

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Ok, this might be a little long, if you don't want to read all the details go to the last paragraph.

My friend has a cat named Oliver, he is 5 years old, altered and healthy weight. No chronic health issues that we know of, other than a previous bowel obstruction removal done (he has major PICA) when he was a year old. He has recently developed diarrhea, my friend says it has been going on since I convinced her to switch from Science Diet Sensitive Stomach (which her vet had talked her into previously for her other cat Jasper who threw up previously, though upon talking to my friend it seems his vomiting was brought on by him eating too fast right after he was rescued and not the food) to Earthborn Holistic which is a high quality grain free food that was in her price range (actually cheaper than the junk SD food). I am over there a lot and hadn't noticed diarrhea until recently when he vet put him on Clindamycin for a runny nose, since then his diarrhea has been BAD, constant and pure liquid. I recommended probiotics and bought some for her, but he hadn't even been on them long when she had to bring him to the vet due to being dehydrated from the diarrhea. The vet talked her into putting him on another antibiotic (no reason I can see for that since he doesn't have an infection and all that will do is further deplete his gut flora), switching him with no transition time back to Science Diet prescription I/D food and gave him fluids. The vet also told her that Earthborn may be "too rich" for Oliver which I think is BS, I cannot imagine a Science Diet food which has the first two ingredients listed as non-meat but grains is a better, healthier choice for any cat. I really need advice as to whether this actually has any basis in fact, because now my friend is thinking she needs to switch her cats back to SD and I hope that isn't actually the solution. I have looked at the foods she was feeding before (canned and dry), compared them to Earthborn and there are no new ingredients so that rules out allergies.

Too long; didn't read: My vet told my friend that the cause of her cats diarrhea was that grain free food is too rich and wants her to switch back to Science Diet (which she conveniently sells for a huge profit). Is this possible? Can a grain-free food be bad for a cat and grain filled junk better? 
 
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lisahe

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From what you're saying, it sounds like Oliver started having problems when the antibiotics were introduced, is that right? How long had he been eating the Earthborn before the first antibiotics, the Clindamycin?
 
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jezahb

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He started the Earthborn in late October, so almost 5 months ago. The Clinda was started January 8th just about. I am almost 100% positive he didn't have diarrhea before the antibiotics, as he had gotten to a point after being off Clinda for a month that he needed emergency fluids and vet care, no way he had diarrhea for 4 1/2 months! Yet my friend was really nervous about switching off the Science Diet in the first place (her vet did a real number on her, convincing her that SD was the only food that her cats could eat) and has been bringing up "reasons" to worry about it for months so she swears now that he had diarrhea since he switched to Grain-free. In November her complaint was that their poops were too hard on Grain free. Then that the cats ate less of the grain free and therefore must hate it and be starving themselves. Then the complaint was that their poops smelled more on grain free. So needless to say her claims that it has been going on for nearly 5 months are a little doubtful. Yet I am on here asking anyways because I don't know for sure, so wanted to ask if it is possible that grain free could be the culprit and if her vets claims that grain-free is "too rich" could actually hold any validity (If you cannot tell I very much distrust vets when it comes to pet food). 
 

nora1

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I'm going to have to agree with this...to a point!

I went through something very similar to this with my cat. When we adopted her, she was eating ProPlan kibble. I switched her to Blue Buffalo (very slowly), but she had horrible diarrhea! I then tried Halo (with grains), which was ok with! I then switched to the grain free Halo, and again the diarrhea returned! I then put her back on grains for a few months to give her system a break. But I then tried Orijen, and slowly mixed the 2 as well for weeks! All seemed fine, until a few weeks into being on Orijen 100%, then the diarrhea started again!

Long story short, I decided to switch to 100% canned food - grain free - which she is thriving on! No diarrhea! I will occasionally give her a few pieces of Acana dry, on her wet food if she doesn't like that particular one.

So the moral of the story - She does great on grain free canned, but not grain free dry! Go figure :lol3:

Maybe suggest to your friend to switch to grain free canned instead of wet?! Or supplement the diet with an occasional can of grain free, here and there.
 
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abbyntim

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Hard to say. There could be something in that particular brand of food that does not agree with your friend's cat. Grain free dry food has other starches to bind things together and form the kibble pieces. Think potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes. Sometimes those vegetables are just as irritating to a cat as grains.

Don't get me wrong. I just looked at both ingredients and the Science Diet looks like garbage. The Earthborn is pretty high in protein, much from the pea protein, I bet. Maybe your friend's cat needed a more gradual transition from a high carb moderate protein dry to a high protein moderate carb dry. Or will do better on a lower protein dry.
 
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jezahb

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Maybe suggest to your friend to switch to grain free canned instead of wet?! Or supplement the diet with an occasional can of grain free, here and there.
I don't think she will go for just feeding them wet food, she has always free fed them dry like I do and doesn't want to switch to schedule feeding. That said, she does already give them wet food twice a day, Natural Balance grain free so they do get that and have always been fine on that. Another reason I find it odd that the vet is trying to blame the grain free dry food saying it is too rich, I would think grain free wet food of any brand would be richer than dry food as far as fat/protein content. Am I correct in that assumption? It is hard to figure out since protein % are lower on canned food because the moisture is so high. 
 
Hard to say. There could be something in that particular brand of food that does not agree with your friend's cat. Grain free dry food has other starches to bind things together and form the kibble pieces. Think potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes. Sometimes those vegetables are just as irritating to a cat as grains.
The wet food she has always been feeding them has the same ingredients as the Earthborn, that was my first thought as well, that something in the Earthborn in particular didn't sit well with him but there are no new ingredients (unless you count the probiotics Earthborn adds which are pointless anyways since it is cooked). 
 
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