Vomiting, Lethargy problems on Kibble Diet + Raw/Wet Food

Hi guys, this is my first post on here and I hope it won't be my last

The female below is 9 years old:


Starting 5 months ago we began having problems.

Every week we'd find Vomit. At first it was in random places. Then  I noticed they would seek me out and vomit near me or right outside my bedroom door! I assume this is a subliminal way of them telling me they are sick as they never vomit near others in our house and I am the primary groomer, feeder, carer and slave
My god was this a painful process. They flat out refused to eat from it. They would not use their paws to physically drag the kipple towards them. 
The spikes seemed to perplex them. So I decided to do this in the reverse. I piled it high with Kibble so no spikes/ridges were exposed and gradually over 2 weeks I lowered the level to expose a milimetre at a time of these spikes. Within 2 weeks they had not noticed the appearance of the spikes and were eating between them! Now they were eating 10 times slower! Success!

Or so I thought.

The vomiting still continued, though half as much. But at least it was better than before right?

And even though they were eating slower, which is great, they were still gulping down the kibble whole and still eating too much.

So I took it a step further and began feeding them several smaller sized portions of kibble a day. No infinite amounts of food anymore!

But the vomiting continued. I was literally down to feeding them 2 teaspoons of kibble several times a day! I could not understand why such a small amount would cause vomiting!? 

Then the break through:

For the last 2 years I have always fed them 2 teaspoons each of their favorite food just before I go to bed, which is when the fluffballs are beginning to really come alive:

Now I know what you're thinking! Aha! It was the Fancy Feast!

NOPE!

Having listened to Vet Advice and many expert opinions over the months,  I had tried literally every good quality Dry Kibble! Even those that were kinder to cats that contained less chemicals and additives.

But I realized that they never vomited after eating Fancy Feast Wet Food!  Why is that? Nor did they ever have Diarrhea.

Both Cats love a daily teaspoon of Home Made Natural Greek Yogurt too. They never vomit or have Diarrhea   following Yogurt.

The light bulb went off in my head.

It must be "DRY" food in general!

So I eliminated all DRY Kibble cold Turkey. I felt so strongly about this that I ignored the "gradual weaning" off approach.

I began feeding them Wet Only, sticking to Chicken Florentine which they absolutely loved. I noticed that in the past, and even now, they always ate Fancy Feast slowly. Reallllllly slowly. As though they were savoring it and never wanted it to end. 

After 1 week of a Wet Only Diet of "Fancy Feast Chicken Florentine", neither Cat Vomited. Breakthrough!

They seemed less puffy and more alert!!

So I took things further and began to incorporate raw meat into the diet last week. I have been sneaking small amounts of Chicken, Lamb and Beef Mince into the Fancy Feast. 

They love it. So glad they aren't fussy about which Raw Meat too!

After 1 week of them eating the Raw + Wet Food Mix, both Cats have dramatically improved in ways I had never imagined:

1. Coats seems better groomed.

2. Their bodies have filled out more evenly. 

3. Tails are always high

4. They now follow us all around the house! Prior to this the 9 yr old was a bit scared. Now the moment you open your bedroom door she pushes her way in and jumps on your bed wanting to be scratched.

5. They smell better. They never smelt bad before, but now if I bury my nose in their coat, it has a sweeter more perfume like scent. It's amazing.

I felt so relieved to see this instant and sustained improvement, that I didn't realize 2 things.

Suddenly they were not pooping!

2 days passed and nothing. They were urinating though.

This was strange, considering a Wet Diet is more water than Dry. Why are they constipated? 

Should I take them to the Vet?

I now had success in stopping vomiting, but a new problem of constipation to deal with. 

Also, they were barely drinking any water now.

It seems that being creatures of habit, the Dry Kibble spurred on the drinking of water. Without it, why would they bother?

So I tried a couple of things for each meal.

To boost the fiber content I mixed in 1/4 of a teaspoon of fresh steamed pumpkin to the Raw + Wet Food Mix. 
They didn't notice or have an issue with the Pumpkin! Phew!

But what about Water? I decided to make the mix more soupy and added a teaspoon of water.

They rejected it outright! Obviously the addition of water diluted the flavor and made it blander.

I decided to buy Lactose Free Milk and try that instead. I added less than the water. About 3/4 of a teaspoon to each meal. This has successfully introduced more fluid to their diet in a sneaky way.

Within 24 hours they began pooping again. 3 days later and I am happy to report that they are not vomiting and now they are pooping several times a day.

It amazes me the crazy journey myself and my kitties have been through. Amazing how Dry Food was the culprit, no matter how good the brand was.

After this experience I began aiming  at an all Raw Diet, but so far any attempts to mess with the 50/50 ratio between raw and fancy feast has failed. It seems that I have struck a happy medium of flavor for them. Any less fancy feast and they won't eat the raw at all. I guess we can't have it all right?

I would like to find a way to incorporate food that requires them to chew and gives them natural calcium. They need to work those jaws and teeth. But even chicken necks and wings marinaded in Fancy Feast are rejected. They just lick off the fancy feast! HAHA.

It can't be the flavor as they have no problem eating raw mince. I just think they are lazy and can't be bothered chewing on anything!

By way of compromise, I have tried to introduce small bite sized chunks of Raw Meat into the Mix. Usually 1 or 2 smaller pieces. So far it's hit and miss. 70% of the time they eat around it.

Wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences with :

1) Vomiting on a Dry Kibble Diet

And any suggestions on:

2) Reduced or almost non existent water consumption when switching to Wet Food and how to overcome this besides adding Lactose Free Milk?

3) Other suggestions of adding Fiber ? Even though Pumpkin is working great

4) Does it make a difference which Raw Meat Mince I am adding? So far they love Beef, Chicken and Lamb equally.

5) Can you suggest any additions to the new diet of 

50% Raw Mince + 50% Wet Fancy Feast + Lactose Free Milk for Hydration and Pumpkin for Fiber? 
 

I have known for a very long time that kibble makes some cats, like mine, vomit. I stopped kibble one year ago and the vomiting totally stopped. I felt my female cat was allergic to grains. I now feed grain free canned with freeze dried purebites treats only. I add quite a bit of bottled spring water to meals. They automatically drink much less and poop much less, this is very normal on a wet diet. Now if only the vets all knew what we knew, they could help so many cat owners.

My cats eat 100% raw. They haven't drunk water in years. Not a drop. There is a bowl of fresh water put down daily. Never seen them touch it. Each cat urinates 2-4 times daily. When cats are getting their water from their food like they're supposed to, they drink less. So your cats being on a wet food diet and suddenly decreasing their water intake neither surprises nor alarms me.

Also,as far as amount of poop. Why do you think your cats should be pooping "several times a day"? Poop is waste. Them not pooping for a couple days when they were transitioning from kibble was probably just their bodies adjusting to the change. All animals, including cats, poop less when we eat a cleaner diet (think about the difference when you spend a week eating pasta and pizza vs a week eating kale salads). My cats poop once every other day. Their poop is small, firm, and barely smells like anything. This is because their bodies are able to use most of what they eat. Kibble fed cats tend to poop a couple times a day because of all the carbs, which cats aren't designed to process like humans and dogs do. If you ever do decide to go 100% raw, get ready for a lot less pooping, and don't be alarmed. Also, if the pumpkin is to make them poop more, well I'd suggest stopping it. It doesn't sound like they were actually constipated in the first place.

Keep feeding them as many types of meat as they will eat. You're lucky to have cats who will agree to try new foods at their ages.

You can stop the lactose-free milk. They were urinating just fine before you started it because they weren't dehydrated. A dehydrated cat will drink water (unless it's quite sick). Again, on a wet food plus raw diet, your cats are getting WAY more hydration than when they were on kibble.

Lastly, if you're feeding 50/50 canned/raw, you need to make sure the raw is balanced. You can't just feed mince. They need a mix of muscle meat, organs, and bones. There is a lot of info on the raw feeding forum regarding this.