Conflicted about cat food after visiting vet

awsomepatates

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 12, 2015
Messages
11
Purraise
3
Location
Ontario
Hi all, so my kitty has had diarrhea for the past month after we transitioned him to wet food (Friskies, and pet valu house brand). I've read a ton about cat food so I'm not totally ignorant on the fact that usually wet food doesn't cause diarrhea. However I went to my vet for the diarrhea issue and she suggested switching back to dry food to stop the diarrhea along with pro-biotics. I asked about long term implications and she said that many cats do fine on dry food and that wet food is recommended for cats susceptible to renal disease (old age, prelim symptoms). So now I'm conflicted - I know wet food, long-term, is good for kitty but his sensitive stomach doesn't seem to allow for it. Is there some sort of compromise I could make? I fully intend on heeding the vet's advice, but I'm looking for long term solutions. Also, I can't afford 100% grain free/fish free wet food - student budget, so that's not an option...
 

catpack

TCS Veteran
Kitten
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
3,271
Purraise
646
Location
Southeastern USA
You could certainly do something like a 50/50 diet, or whatever you feel is best for you and your cat.

Since your kitty does seems to have a sensitive stomach I would suggest feeding a higher quality limited ingredient wet food (Nature's Variety Instinct is my favorite, Wild Calling is good too.) Sometimes by-products, carrageenan, and other gums can cause kitties to have GI issues.

Also, since you are on a budget, have you looked into ordering online? I am a big fan of Chewy.com. They have excellent prices and excellent customer service. I use them both personally and for the rescue I help run.
 
Last edited:

Kat0121

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
15,030
Purraise
20,342
Location
Sunny Florida
Hi all, so my kitty has had diarrhea for the past month after we transitioned him to wet food (Friskies, and pet valu house brand). I've read a ton about cat food so I'm not totally ignorant on the fact that usually wet food doesn't cause diarrhea. However I went to my vet for the diarrhea issue and she suggested switching back to dry food to stop the diarrhea along with pro-biotics. I asked about long term implications and she said that many cats do fine on dry food and that wet food is recommended for cats susceptible to renal disease (old age, prelim symptoms). So now I'm conflicted - I know wet food, long-term, is good for kitty but his sensitive stomach doesn't seem to allow for it. Is there some sort of compromise I could make? I fully intend on heeding the vet's advice, but I'm looking for long term solutions. Also, I can't afford 100% grain free/fish free wet food - student budget, so that's not an option...
I'm sorry that your kitty isn't feeling well. Did the vet ask you for a stool sample to test for worms or any other parasites?

What kind of Friskies are you feeding? The pates are the best ones. A lot of traditional vets are not experts on feline nutrition. When I talked to my vet about feeding the girls when I first got them and was planning on switching to all canned, she was very nonchalant about it and just said stick with high protein and low carb. 

There has to be a reason why she has diarrhea. Is she allergic to anything? A certain protein that is in the food she eats now?

You can give her a probiotic and you can also give her plain canned pumpkin. The probiotic can be found on Amazon and the pumpkin in the grocery store by the canned pie fillings. Just make sure that the only ingredient in the can is pumpkin. NOT pie filling. The spices and such are no good for her. I give mine a teaspoon per day in their food. The pumpkin is a good source of natural fiber and helps regulate the amount of water in the colon. The probiotic adds good bacteria to her tummy to aid digestion. 

If you are going to switch to an all dry diet, she will need to be encouraged to drink plenty of water. A fountain is good for this as is freezing no salt added chicken broth in ice cube trays and adding them to her water to add flavor. 

I'd personally go with the probiotic and add pumpkin to her current before I went to all dry.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

awsomepatates

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 12, 2015
Messages
11
Purraise
3
Location
Ontario
Would love to use chewy, but I'm from Canada so shipping is a bit out there in terms of cost. I'll see what switching to dry does to his poop then try to see if I can incorporate wet food. Unfortunately I'm limited to $40/mo for cat food so I may not be able to afford 50/50 with higher quality wet and dry food with the prices here in Canada... I'll see what I can manage. Was just conflicted about dry only as prescribed by the vet
 

Columbine

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
12,921
Purraise
6,224
Location
The kitty playground
Follow your vet's advice and go back to kibble for now. Once his tummy is stable again, start a really gradual switch over to the wet. It may be that you made the change a little too quickly and his stomach didn't have chance to adjust.

Also, look at the ingredients on the wet foods you were feeding. It's possible he's a little sensitive to one or more of the ingredients. If he's fine on kibble, I'd guess the most likely culprits are carrageenan or gums (guar gum, xanthan gum etc). I can't make brand suggestions as I'm not familiar with American/Canadian brands. My best suggestion it to pick one flavour of the 'cleanest' (purest meat) foods that you can comfortably afford and see how he does on that. If all is well, introduce a second flavour etc etc. This way you should be able to pinpoint which ingredient (if any) causes the problem.

Also, remember it's perfectly fine to feed a combination of wet and dry food. Ideally you want to aim for at least 50% as wet, but more is better (if doable).

You can overcome the dehydration issues from feeding dry by making sure your cat drinks around 1 cup/250mls liquid a day. A really easy way to do this is to boil some plain chicken in water (no salt/seasonings). Keep the chicken for yourself, and serve the liquid as a yummy broth for your cat. It's a surefire winner in this house ;) There are more tips and tricks here[article="30756"][/article]
 

Kat0121

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Messages
15,030
Purraise
20,342
Location
Sunny Florida
Would love to use chewy, but I'm from Canada so shipping is a bit out there in terms of cost. I'll see what switching to dry does to his poop then try to see if I can incorporate wet food. Unfortunately I'm limited to $40/mo for cat food so I may not be able to afford 50/50 with higher quality wet and dry food with the prices here in Canada... I'll see what I can manage. Was just conflicted about dry only as prescribed by the vet
What kind of dry do you feed?? All of mine were on dry when they came from the shelter (the girls ate Science Diet and Henry ate various forms of Purina- whatever was donated) and the smell of their poop could knock a buzzard out of the sky. 


Most dry foods are loaded with all kinds of fillers that cats' bodies do not need. The more efficiently their bodies utilize the food they eat, the less waste there is and the less smell there is, too.  Cats are obligate carnivores. They require a diet that is high in protein and low in carbs and a lot of dry foods simply don't fit that description

Do you have something similar to Chewy in Canada? I personally use Amazon's subscribe and save for a lot of canned foods, but that wouldn't help you much either. Amazon Canada doesn't offer S&S for cat food. 

If the vet hasn't done any tests on her stool to rule out any invaders such as worms or parasites, I'd do that before simply changing her to an all dry diet. 
 
Last edited:

tennesseecatmom

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
3
Purraise
19
Location
Tennessee
If you must go with the dry food diet, at least supplement it with some canned food.  Mix extra water in with the canned food to help increase your cat's water intake, which is a huge plus when concerned about his renal health.  You might also try switching to the actual Friskies brand since not all store brands are created equal.  

Do some research on how many calories per day your cat actually needs to make sure you're not over-feeding him, which could save you some money now and some health problems for him later.  I've read that outdoor cats need 35 calories per pound per day and indoor cats only need 20 calories per pound per day.  I discovered I was feeding mine almost twice as much as they really needed, and I was following the feeding guidelines on the side of the 
 

misterwhiskers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
2,013
Purraise
714
I agree with switching back to the dry for now. What brand of dry do you use?

As for canned, while Friskies (pates) aren't all that bad, anything with the word "value " in the name doesn't sound very good.

When the diarrhea stops, maybe you can slowly introduce Sheba or Fancy Feast pates as kind of a "between cheap and expensive " food.

And if there's a Tractor Supply near you, you might want to check out their 4Health line of canned and dry foods. They really look decent, come in grain free too, and the price is comparable to Friskies.
 

missmimz

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
2,301
Purraise
365
While it may be true that wet food doesn't cause diarrhea, its entirely possible that the specific wet food you are feeding is the cause in your cat. Non-pate friskies flavors are loaded with weird stuff like wheate gluten which can irritate cats tummies.

You've already got a lot of good advice from others. If you go back to friskies stay with the pate fish free ones only, Turkey and Giblet is good. look into Fancy Feast Classic's or Sheba. 
 

DreamerRose

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 11, 2015
Messages
8,743
Purraise
11,082
Location
Naperville, IL
Wet food caused diarrhea in my cat, too, so I put him back on dry food for over a year. I think it's okay unless you have an older cat with kidney problems. I had one cat who lived to a ripe old age and never ate anything but dry food - and not the best, either. The issue is that a cat on dry food may not get enough water, but I got a fountain for Mingo and he drinks plenty of water. You can do that, too, and the dry food will work better on a budget.
 

crazy4strays

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 4, 2015
Messages
1,468
Purraise
306
Location
East Tennesee
You could go back to the kibble that you were feeding the kitty. Then try a different canned food for the cat and see how he tolerates it.

I've known multiple people who lost neutered male cats to urinary problems on an all or mainly dry diet. Studies show that cats on dry food consume roughly half the water that cats on wet food only consume, even when the cats on dry food consume more water from a bowl.

I have two kitties, both neutered males, and we're on a tight budget. We can't afford sudden large vet bills (UTI's can run $1,000 to treat and blockages can run several thousand), but I also have to be careful about day to day food costs.

To cut day to day costs, I try to shop wisely. I've noticed that Friskies pates periodically go on sale for $0.70 for a 13 oz can. (They are regularly $0.99) so when they happens, I buy 36 at a time. I also buy a lot of food at Tractor Supply. Their store brand (4Health) has an awesome grain free canned food line that is very high quality and very low cost.

Another option for canned food is the Fancy Feast classic line.

There are several PetSmart locations in Ontario. I've heard great things about their store brand grain free canned food options.

If doing canned food only doesn't work, doing part dry and part canned, while emphasizing water intake through water fountains, homemade chicken broth, etc. usually works as well.

I wish you luck on finding something that works out for you.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

awsomepatates

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 12, 2015
Messages
11
Purraise
3
Location
Ontario
Hi all,

Wasn't expecting this much great advice! 
Follow your vet's advice and go back to kibble for now. Once his tummy is stable again, start a really gradual switch over to the wet. It may be that you made the change a little too quickly and his stomach didn't have chance to adjust.

Also, remember it's perfectly fine to feed a combination of wet and dry food. Ideally you want to aim for at least 50% as wet, but more is better (if doable).

You can overcome the dehydration issues from feeding dry by making sure your cat drinks around 1 cup/250mls liquid a day. A really easy way to do this is to boil some plain chicken in water (no salt/seasonings). Keep the chicken for yourself, and serve the liquid as a yummy broth for your cat. It's a surefire winner in this house
There are more tips and tricks here[article="30756"]Tips To Increase Your Cat S Water Intake  [/article]
I think this is what I'm going to do. I'll start with switching to dry + probiotics (vet provided some) and once his poop stabilizes I'll try various affordable brands and see which ones his gut agrees with! Also I love the idea of boiling chicken in water to get him to drink water! I'll try it out and see how it works, though I might be tempted to steal some homemade broth for myself haha!
 
What kind of dry do you feed?? All of mine were on dry when they came from the shelter (the girls ate Science Diet and Henry ate various forms of Purina- whatever was donated) and the smell of their poop could knock a buzzard out of the sky. 


Most dry foods are loaded with all kinds of fillers that cats' bodies do not need. The more efficiently their bodies utilize the food they eat, the less waste there is and the less smell there is, too.  Cats are obligate carnivores. They require a diet that is high in protein and low in carbs and a lot of dry foods simply don't fit that description

Do you have something similar to Chewy in Canada? I personally use Amazon's subscribe and save for a lot of canned foods, but that wouldn't help you much either. Amazon Canada doesn't offer S&S for cat food. 

If the vet hasn't done any tests on her stool to rule out any invaders such as worms or parasites, I'd do that before simply changing her to an all dry diet. 
I'm planning to switch to FROMM grain-free dry food. It's what my family feeds their dog (well the dog-version atleast) and they have great ingredients in their kibble - so I'll start there. As for worms/parasites this kitty was picked up as a stray at the shelter and they've dewormed him several times. He was declared worm free before I adopted him and he's been an indoor cat ever since. I won't discard this suggestion (my vet didn't bother checking the poop sample I brought... might need to switch vets too :( ), will keep this in mind for the next visit if switching to dry doesn't work!
@awsomepatates Have you come across Petfood Direct? I've just done a quick bit of googling, and their prices look pretty good...provided you have the storage space to buy by the case. I get my cat food by the case as it works out cheaper
I have actually! Unfortunately its an american site (ships from the states), so that means US --> CAD conversion will be waaay too expensive for me :( 
 
While it may be true that wet food doesn't cause diarrhea, its entirely possible that the specific wet food you are feeding is the cause in your cat. Non-pate friskies flavors are loaded with weird stuff like wheate gluten which can irritate cats tummies.

You've already got a lot of good advice from others. If you go back to friskies stay with the pate fish free ones only, Turkey and Giblet is good. look into Fancy Feast Classic's or Sheba. 
I've heard a lot of wheat gluten hype around both human health and animal health. However (i don't mean to be rude if I come off that way at all, I'm a skeptical scientist) I don't quite buy it - there isn't any good scientific studies demonstrating that wheat gluten affects cats the same way it affects humans with celiac disease, they simply don't have the same types of interactions. If there are studies out there from reputable scientific journals saying the opposite then I'll give it a read with a fully open mind - but so far from the studies I've read wheat gluten isn't a major allergen and is quite rare to affect cat tummies. Here's one study: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/12/2790S.full if you're interested! Also I agree, tons of great advice! He loves turkey and giblet (has diarrhea on this though :(  ) but as suggested from others I might have to transition to dry and then back to wet veeerrry slowly for the diarrhea issue. Thanks!
 
You could go back to the kibble that you were feeding the kitty. Then try a different canned food for the cat and see how he tolerates it.

I've known multiple people who lost neutered male cats to urinary problems on an all or mainly dry diet. Studies show that cats on dry food consume roughly half the water that cats on wet food only consume, even when the cats on dry food consume more water from a bowl.

I have two kitties, both neutered males, and we're on a tight budget. We can't afford sudden large vet bills (UTI's can run $1,000 to treat and blockages can run several thousand), but I also have to be careful about day to day food costs.

To cut day to day costs, I try to shop wisely. I've noticed that Friskies pates periodically go on sale for $0.70 for a 13 oz can. (They are regularly $0.99) so when they happens, I buy 36 at a time. I also buy a lot of food at Tractor Supply. Their store brand (4Health) has an awesome grain free canned food line that is very high quality and very low cost.

Another option for canned food is the Fancy Feast classic line.

There are several PetSmart locations in Ontario. I've heard great things about their store brand grain free canned food options.
The last thing I want to losing my kitty to diet issues that I've put upon him! I'll take this advice to heart and will look into pet smart's brand and see if that works with him! Thanks for the suggestion! I'd love to try fancy feast as that seems to be a favourite here but they only have small cans that aren't that economically feasible for me compared to 5.5Oz cans. Will definitely look into friskies!
 
You can buy cat food from Amazon's Canadian web site
I know @pinkdagger lives in Canada. Perhaps she can suggest other Candian pet supply web sites from which to order food from. Or Canadian pet stores like Global Pet Foods.

I found a thread about where to buy food in Canada:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/294664/buying-single-cans-online-to-canada
I tried amazon.ca but their prices are really, really, high compared to the US version which has a better selection (and more established) pet food section. I'll check that thread out in a moment!

Once again, thanks for the all the great advice! Really appreciate the amount of passion for helping other cat owners on this site!
 

missmimz

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
2,301
Purraise
365
I've heard a lot of wheat gluten hype around both human health and animal health. However (i don't mean to be rude if I come off that way at all, I'm a skeptical scientist) I don't quite buy it - there isn't any good scientific studies demonstrating that wheat gluten affects cats the same way it affects humans with celiac disease, they simply don't have the same types of interactions. If there are studies out there from reputable scientific journals saying the opposite then I'll give it a read with a fully open mind - but so far from the studies I've read wheat gluten isn't a major allergen and is quite rare to affect cat tummies. Here's one study: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/128/12/2790S.full if you're interested! Also I agree, tons of great advice! He loves turkey and giblet (has diarrhea on this though :(  ) but as suggested from others I might have to transition to dry and then back to wet veeerrry slowly for the diarrhea issue. Thanks!
To me, it's really simple. Cats are obligate carnivores, therefore things like corn, wheat, and veggies are cheap fillers added to foods that don't belong in a cats diet. I follow that approach with cat food which is why all mine eat mostly raw and/or high quality food with little to no fillers. I spend a significant amount of money in their food per month, but I believe it's the key to giving them the longest life possible. 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16

awsomepatates

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 12, 2015
Messages
11
Purraise
3
Location
Ontario
It's great that you can feed your cats a raw diet, I won't dare doubt that it's keeping them as healthy as possible, I only wish I could do the same! However, sometimes for people who can't afford such meals for the cats or myself even I think it might be best (for me atleast) to stick to evidence-based work rather than intuition alone - in biology, very rarely are there absolutes. 

Again, this probably isn't the thread for such discussions as getting my kitty to solidify his poop while being able to pay rent is my current priority... I do, however, appreciate your response and admire your passion for taking care of your cats!
 

fyllis

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 20, 2015
Messages
2,205
Purraise
740
Sheba is grain free wet and it's 50 cents a can at WalMart. Both my Boys love it... albeit, they will only eat pate`. 
 

ghiblithecat

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
233
Purraise
81
Location
Oregon
 
It's great that you can feed your cats a raw diet, I won't dare doubt that it's keeping them as healthy as possible, I only wish I could do the same! However, sometimes for people who can't afford such meals for the cats or myself even I think it might be best (for me atleast) to stick to evidence-based work rather than intuition alone - in biology, very rarely are there absolutes. 

Again, this probably isn't the thread for such discussions as getting my kitty to solidify his poop while being able to pay rent is my current priority... I do, however, appreciate your response and admire your passion for taking care of your cats!
As a scientist myself, I appreciate your need for evidence. The whole idea of feeding raw is actually quite-ish new and there are definitely studies being done. However, when you look at what desert cats eat in the wild, you see that it is strictly raw fresh meat. You don't need to look at science to know that whole raw foods that are the closest to nature are much better for living organisms compared to processed foods with synthetic chemicals. Eating processed foods is not the best for both people or animals. @missmimz  is definitely educated about the topic of feeding raw, and many vets that specialize in nutrition are raw advocates. 

I also know how you feel about the money thing. I'm still in school and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wet food and also feeding quality dry like FROMM if you are making sure your kitt is getting enough water! I personally feed Fancy Feast Classics and SHEBA when I am low on money :) 
 

missmimz

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
2,301
Purraise
365
 
It's great that you can feed your cats a raw diet, I won't dare doubt that it's keeping them as healthy as possible, I only wish I could do the same! However, sometimes for people who can't afford such meals for the cats or myself even I think it might be best (for me atleast) to stick to evidence-based work rather than intuition alone - in biology, very rarely are there absolutes. 

Again, this probably isn't the thread for such discussions as getting my kitty to solidify his poop while being able to pay rent is my current priority... I do, however, appreciate your response and admire your passion for taking care of your cats!
No worries, I'm not trying to be elitist about raw or wet foods. I understand that if you can't pay your rent or feed yourself the kitties wont be able to eat either. Just something to think about in terms of additives in your pets food. As others have mentioned there are great low cost alternatives that don't have fillers like wheat gluten. Good luck!
 

pompy

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jan 5, 2016
Messages
112
Purraise
35
Location
Ontario
I feel your pain with Canadian Amazon...it doesn't hold a candle to the Anerican one. :/

Pet valu has Preformatrin Ultra, which from what I remember was relatively cheap for a grain free food and came in the big cans you usually find for dogs. Didn't really agree with my cat (gave him gas), but maybe it will work for yours?
 
Top