Food for sensitive stomachs

I recently took my cat to the vet, because he had diarrhea and I was worried. While talking to the vet, I mentioned how he has a history of regurgitation - he used to regurgitate more than once a month, then I incorporated wet food into his diet and it has occurred less often - and that was something that she wanted to look into. I also mentioned that it happens directly after eating, but she noted that eating too fast shouldn't be a big issue.

She wanted us to try a couple things to see if it's allergy related or something else, and the first thing we are doing is feeding him strictly wet food. Same brand, same flavor (Wellness Salmon Sliced Entree) for two weeks. And if he regurgitates, then she wanted to try a hypoallergenic food.

Which leads me to posting this: He threw up today, and I know the next step is recommending a change in food and the vet's office has Hill's Prescription Diet. But that's not the mostly quality food, right?

I would like to continue what I was doing before - a daily diet of wet and dry food. Can anyone recommend a good quality brand of both wet and dry food for sensitive stomachs? Or a good quality hypoallergenic food? (I don't know if those two things are different.)

This way I can mention it to her, and perhaps try that if it's a better quality than Hill's.

Thank you!

How long had you been feeding the Wellness sliced salmon before he threw it up? I have a former (for now) chronic vomiter that reacted badly to and threw up a few times when I offered her the Wellness sliced salmon one day (a few months ago). She had not vomited at all for a few weeks prior to this, and had eaten the food regularly before but hadn't had it for a couple of months. Maybe there is a bad batch of food sometimes or some foods like Wellness are too rich for some cats. My cat has been doing well on prednisone, and I try to eliminate common allergens or potentially problematic ingredients like corn, wheat, soy, fish (now), and carrageenan from my cats' diets, just to be safe and avoid vomiting. I have no idea if they have any allergies though.

Most prescription foods contain some, if not all of the so-called bad ingredients. As far as the dry food, Blue Buffalo Basics duck is what I use. It is supposed to be for sensitive cats, and it works well for mine, but as I'm sure you know, all cats are different. Natural Balance has a limited ingredient duck and pea food that might be good. Nature's Variety dry food could be another good choice. They have a couple of LID choices as well. Bear in mind, I do not know if any of these foods are considered "hypoallergenic," but they could have less irritating ingredients in them.


As far as the canned, my cats (including my IBD/former vomiting cat) do well on Pride by Instinct Lucky's Lamb, Daredevil's Duck, and Rockstar Rabbit. They like the lamb the best, by far. They also do well on Halo Spot's Stew lamb. None of these foods contain the above mentioned ingredients that a lot of people try to avoid, but they would not work if you are wanting to do a single protein or limited ingredient food. Natural Balance LID canned and Blue Basics canned might be good for sensitive cats, but they do (I think) contain carageenan, so that is something to consider.

I am by no stretch of the imagination a qualified cat nutritionist, but if you are just looking for a few brands to ask your vet about, those could be a good place to start.

Good luck!







cat that used that had a bad

Another canned food that I forgot to mention is Weruva Paw Lickin Chicken. It basically just consists of shredded, boneless, skinless chicken breast and the added vitamins and minerals. My cats won't eat it but maybe yours would.

My cat Catness has a sensitive stomache also after taking her to the vet 3x for fecal floats everything has came back clean they put her on Rx Science Diet which was expensive. She's done well on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken formula dry cat food and Purina One Sensative Systems formula dry cat food . Hope this helps you avoid a lot of mess!

Try Nature's Vairety Limited Ingredients: http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-limited-ingredient-food-dogs-and-cats It comes in both canned and dry. The ingredients are better quality than the HIlls prescription stuff and costs much less.

Thank you all for your input and advice!

He was eating the Wellness Salmon Sliced Entree (and only that) for less than a week before he threw up.

I have heard that it's possible that the food is too rich. Could that cause regurgitation? If so, would all higher quality brands be too much for him or is it a trail-and-error process in determining what food he can handle?

Littlekitty1 said:

I have heard that it's possible that the food is too rich. Could that cause regurgitation? If so, would all higher quality brands be too much for him or is it a trail-and-error process in determining what food he can handle?

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I think this truly is often a trial-and-error process, so I've found it helpful to keep a food diary because it makes it easy (or at least easier) to know what might be causing regurgitation/vomiting. One of our cats has trouble with potato, which is in lots of foods; others have already mentioned grains above. Even a specific protein can cause problems, which is why foods with just one protein/meat source can be so handy.

@LTS3 mentioned Nature's Variety foods, which are very good if your cats will eat them (ours prefer shreds over pate!). FWIW, our cats get lots of Tiki's foods, Weruva's Cats in the Kitchen chicken foods, and Nutro Natural Choice's foods that don't have carrageenan. We don't feed much of anything with fish except Tiki's chicken/salmon. These are all grain-free, potato-free, carrageenan-free, pea-free, high-protein, low-carb foods that the cats will consistently eat... and do well on, despite their moderately sensitive stomachs.

Good luck! 

Littlekitty1 said:

Which leads me to posting this: He threw up today, and I know the next step is recommending a change in food and the vet's office has Hill's Prescription Diet. But that's not the mostly quality food, right?
 

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No, but what's the point of quality food if he can't keep it down?

My kitty has the same problem, and we're trying out different brands. He would not touch Hill's though.

Thank you all so much for your advice and recommendations!

Question: When would you all worry about the regurgitation? I already am, but I don't know if I should continue trying new foods or go along with the vet and order the x-rays and ultrasound (which totals around $800). I want what's best for my boy and I want him to be okay, but I want to be financially cautious and I don't want to put him through unnecessary stress.

He sleeps well, drinks well, plays well, and goes to the bathroom well. But sometimes, after what I interpret as eating too much/too quickly, he regurgitates. This month, it has happened three times which is more often than other cats I know. Thoughts/advice?

(Also, my vet said I shouldn't feed him chicken or beef. I've never fed him beef, but why no chicken?)

Littlekitty1 said:

Question: When would you all worry about the regurgitation? I already am, but I don't know if I should continue trying new foods or go along with the vet and order the x-rays and ultrasound (which totals around $800). I want what's best for my boy and I want him to be okay, but I want to be financially cautious and I don't want to put him through unnecessary stress.

He sleeps well, drinks well, plays well, and goes to the bathroom well. But sometimes, after what I interpret as eating too much/too quickly, he regurgitates. This month, it has happened three times which is more often than other cats I know. Thoughts/advice?
 

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With the caveat that you should always consult regularly with your vet, I think this is something only you can decide. My cat vomits pretty regularly -- it used to be a couple of times a month. Like yours, he never had any other appetite or alertness issue. Then when he started vomiting every other day, I brought him to the vet and ordered ultrasound and all that fun stuff. He's on medication now, but he still vomits a couple of times a week.

Littlekitty1 said:

(Also, my vet said I shouldn't feed him chicken or beef. I've never fed him beef, but why no chicken?)

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Chicken is notorious for being the cause of food allergies in cats which leads to vomiting. Your vet is likely testing for food allergies, and eliminating chicken from his food is a quick way to eliminate one leading cause of food allergies.

Littlekitty1 said:

He sleeps well, drinks well, plays well, and goes to the bathroom well. But sometimes, after what I interpret as eating too much/too quickly, he regurgitates. This month, it has happened three times which is more often than other cats I know. Thoughts/advice?

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If you're fairly certain he regurgitates because he's eating too fast, it might be worth trying things like raising his food a little (we built little platforms for our cats) and/or spreading the food out on a dish so he can't gulp it all down too fast. Those things -- and feeding the cats small meals four or five times a day -- have helped keep our fast-eating cat from scarfing and barfing. There are special dishes for slowing a cat's eating, too, plus I think I've also read that some people put golf balls in cat dishes.

I feed pride, tiki, red barn, fussie cat, Nutro natural chunky chicken and Merrick pate, in rotation and my vomiter stopped for good. No dry just Purebites for treats.

Just wanted to add that we have a cat food reviews section. You're welcome to add your reviews there and see what other members liked and disliked - 

http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/cat-food

My cat stopped vomiting after deworming and dry food removal. She used to vomit once every 2 or 3 days. I went canned or freeze dried grain free.