Losing sleep over food anxiety

Every time I think I read about a good food, I read scarey reviews, I want to get my ragdoll off purina wet and dry food, but donot know which route to go...Blue spa seems ok, but after i hear go grain free, then I read where the grain free hurt some furbabies...IS anyone got any information about which ones to at least avoid.?  I am taking the blue spa back to petsmart tomorrow and going a different brand.  i am so scared I will hurt jack since he got sick a  month ago ...still not sure what it is, ..xrays show slightly thick small intestine wall, and he had bad diarreah while testing, and blood work ok., he has had regular stools every other day, and urine is good, but he is so finicky and eats but not like he needs to to. unless its canned tuna, and now i know I can;t give that anymore its bad for  him...I need guidance even, the WWW is confusing with its star ratings., all we have is a walmart, target, grocery stores, and petsmart here....at least blue spa said if my cat did not eat it, I could take back the opened products and not lose money, n ow I need to know which product do i need,...should I give grains, but just select, no soy, no wheat, no gluten products?  i am pulling my hair out.

Your kitty is beautiful.  I have an IBD kitty which is what it sounds like you may have.   Each kitty is different in what they will eat and if they have digestive issues, what works well for them.  Part of it depends on what your budget is.  One of the best foods available is Nature's  Variety LTD but it is expensive, I can't afford to feed it regularly. 

I wouldn't really pay a lot of attention to the scare stories on the internet.  There are people with an agenda against any and all processed pet food and they seem to be over represented on the internet.  I would look for foods with as few ingredients as possible and still  a complete food that is within your budget.  The fewer ingredients the less likely they are to disagree with your kitty.  A lot of this is unfortunately is trial and error.

Should I just try to avoid the glutens and by products, and meat be first on list I guess., just concerned its the corn, etc making him have issues., I may just get a refund on all this, and start over, blue spa is pretty expensive, but I will give up something to let him be healthy I suppose, I want him to live as long as possible and not suffer with issues that maybe I could avoid., still praying its not IBD, Vet seems to think, I have coddled him to much during his first illness, hoping it was just something he ate, but i should put his food down, leave it and walk away, and he will not be suspicious of me as I have been watching him alot and I belive he is feeding off my emotions., its odd he wouldnot touch anything all day, then ate all the tuna on the plate I gave him isn't it..?  is he playing me, or what., I am so confused...I am adopting a tree next time...LOL So I guess i will just try something free of the 3 ingredients, and meat first...thank you question when you mentioned fewer ingredients which were you referring to? sorry feeling dumb right now.

Animals both kitties and dogs do pick up on our emotions and change their behavior accordingly.  I personally don't believe that cats manipulate in a way that we think of manipulation but they do pickup on our anxiety.  I would avoid glutens, things like artificial colors and flavors.  There will be chemical sounding things on the list after the main ingredients, those are the necessary supplements to make the food complete.  Before those ingredients I would look for something that is as close to just meat and liver as you can get and afford.

I think it's great that you take such wonderful care of your cat. If you're very worried, what I would consider is a consultation with a pet nutritionist. You can even schedule a phone consultation. Just make sure they see all of the cat's lab test results as these can affect their assessment. Other than that, changing food too often in itself can be a problem for some cats. I do agree with @Denice  that it's important to keep stress levels down.

I agree with Denice. Try not to stress too much, feed whatever agrees best with your cat (he's stunning btw). When it comes to choosing a food, if you can pronounce the ingredients and know what they are then it's probably ok. That's my start point with feeding. Another thing I go by with ingredients is 'is it the kind of thing that I might find in my kitchen?'

Avoiding gluten isn't a bad idea. Generally with sensitive tummies I go for a few ingredients as possible and all of them recognisable! Simple types of food are often best and settling things down.

Good luck.

Edit:- I didn't mean to avoid the vits and mins supplementation in the foods. It the primary ingredients that matter.

thank u all so much. i got fsncy feast so far hes eat 1/2 the can. at 2 different times. meats first ingredients appears to have no wheat. its better than nothing. will at least no hes had some food.

mema62 said:

Should I just try to avoid the glutens and by products, and meat be first on list I guess., just concerned its the corn, etc making him have issues.

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You might want to read this article about by-products before trying to eliminate them from his diet:
By-Products in Cat Food - Five Facts You Need to Know

I can only echo the advice to keep his food simple, i.e., with as few ingredients as possible within the limitations of your price range and availability, and try not to drive yourself crazy. What affects one cat won't affect another, and there are so many variables. Your cat may or may not have a problem with grains; it might also be a particular meat source that bothers him. You'll figure it out, but don't do too much experimentation at once.

great news. I researched and today I decided to just do immediate change as my ragdoll Jack just would not hardly eat his purina wet food or dry. i switched and held my breath. HE ATE IT. i went with petsmart brand Simply Nourish Ltd dry food. rabbit &chicken. no glutens no grains it looks like food we could eat. the wet food is great. Jack ate more than half of chicken stew with spinach. then he ate plenty of the rabbit and chicken dry food grain free. he ran and played. after all the purina complaints going on with china i just felt he had to come off. especially with vet saying his food was creating allergens probably. i did a 100% switch. he is doing great. i highly reccomend this food and its made in Arizona USA

That's fantastic news I hope he continues to do well on it.

i do have a question Jack only does 1 big pee a day. he seems healthy. poopies every other day is this ok. A s lso. hw does not eat a 3pf csn. ADD O HE ONLY EATS ABOUT 1 1/2 OZ. FOOD TWICE. FEW Keebles rabbit in between. is this ok. i even add alittle extrar wster in.hisfood I BETEEN. i also pick out tomatos