Good quality dry food for both sensitive tummy and weight loss

I have been told to put Swanie on a diet. I've really wanted to anyway for a long time, but new vet has told me specifically how much he should be eating which I could never figure out before.  He has tummy issues, and former vet had me feeding him Royal Canin Gastrointestinal HE. I don't like the ingredients, that's for sure.  New vet recommended Purina OM for weight loss if his tummy could tolerate. I like those ingredients even less, so no way.

Here is my issue.  If I feed him only wet, he would need to eat almost four 3 ounce cans a day. I have a hard time thinking he would eat that much.  The bigger complicating factor is that Cricket won't eat wet food at all (except Fancy Feast Broths - which is just a treat). So I need to feed her dry food. Right now I'm giving her a combination of Blue Wilderness Chicken and the food she ate at the shelter, Science Diet Optimal. And she is a grazer. Swanie gets into her food occasionally and has litter box problems.

So, if I could find a food that is good quality but also easy on the tummy and not real high in calories, maybe I could see if I could get Cricket transitioned over to it as well.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

(PS - Former vet is only former because she closed her business and moved away. I didn't leave the practice, it left me.)

My cats needed to lose weight so I gave them 1 can each of Fancy Feast twice a day and they lost weight.  I can tell they were still hungry so first I tried Young Again Zero Mature Health but they got diarrhea from that.  Then I bought Orijen Dry and I give them a little bit which they love and no diarrhea.

I really like the high protein, low carb foods... 

They are a bit pricey, but worth it in the long run.

I use Nature's Variety  and their Pride line.. no fillers.. really good food. 

I know there are others, but my guy is on a limited novel protein diet. 

I would start there..

There are many brands which are good. The important thing is to research--read the labels to see what is in them. 

Fancy Feast is good as a treat, or to use as a topper in order to get them accustomed to a change in food. 

I think Merrick is good also, as is Soulistic.

There is a link here for low carb foods..

sorry, I forget how to use the link here, but just look for low carb foods, and it will tell you a lot...

The dry food contains more calories, but can be given as treats! 

Good Luck!

DeeVermont said:

 
My cats needed to lose weight so I gave them 1 can each of Fancy Feast twice a day and they lost weight.  I can tell they were still hungry so first I tried Young Again Zero Mature Health but they got diarrhea from that.  Then I bought Orijen Dry and I give them a little bit which they love and no diarrhea.

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The vet calculated based on how much Swanie weighs now (25 pounds) how much he should be eating so he doesn't lose it too fast, which could be bad. If I give him only Fancy Feast, I'd have to get him to eat almost 4 cans a day, and I'd still have to figure out how to have dry around for Cricket because she won't eat wet.  And she could stand to lose a teeny bit herself.  I think Orijen is very rich and maybe high calorie? I did feed that years ago, but stopped because of Swanie's tummy issues.  I want to feed Swanie mostly wet, but have a little bit of dry to put down for him to much on. Vet said 1/3 of a cup if I continue with the HE.

Artiemom said:

 
I really like the high protein, low carb foods... 

They are a bit pricey, but worth it in the long run.

I use Nature's Variety  and their Pride line.. no fillers.. really good food. 

I know there are others, but my guy is on a limited novel protein diet. 

I would start there..

There are many brands which are good. The important thing is to research--read the labels to see what is in them. 

Fancy Feast is good as a treat, or to use as a topper in order to get them accustomed to a change in food. 

I think Merrick is good also, as is Soulistic.

There is a link here for low carb foods..

sorry, I forget how to use the link here, but just look for low carb foods, and it will tell you a lot...

The dry food contains more calories, but can be given as treats! 

Good Luck!

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Yes, I know high protein low carb, but some of those don't work too well on his tummy. And some seem to be higher in calorie. I need to find a balance of easy to digest, tasty for him, and lower in calories.  Swanie is 25 pounds and needs to have 340 calories a day to lose it at a slow enough rate he doesn't get that lipid acidosis or whatever it is bad thing cats can get losing too fast.  I appreciate the suggestions, I will take a look at them this weekend.

Here s a dry food calorie chart: http://www.petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cat_Dry_Food.pdf

And a canned food one: http://www.petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cat_Canned_Pouch_Foods.pdf

Limited ingredient foods will probably work for your cat's sensitive tummy. Nature's Variety has one that is available in both dry and canned: http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-limited-ingredient-diets-for-cats The dry is 432 calories per cup, too much for most cats.

Many dry foods are just too high in calories per cup for most cats to lose weight on. Reducing the amount of food by half and only feeding that amount for an entire day leaves many cats too hungry. You may hae to feed at least some canned food to help with the weight loss.

Many brands of foods are available in can sizes larger than 3 oz so buy those 3 oz of food isn't a lot and adds up in cost over time since you need to feed a lot of cans to keep a cat's tummy happy. You an split a larger sized can over a few meals daily to keep your cat happy. Many cats do well with having a fwe small meals throughout the day insead of twi strict meal times. I know that Friskies has a variety that is available in a 13 oz (I think) size. Friskies is a decent brand and affordable. Wellness is a higher quality food and has a few varieties available in a 12.5 oz size.

I know you said your cat doesn't like canned food but keep trying. There has to be a brand out there that your cat likes and is a complete diet. Have you tried Weruva? It's like a fancier version of thsoe Fancy Feast Broths.

LTS3 said:

 
Here s a dry food calorie chart: http://www.petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cat_Dry_Food.pdf

And a canned food one: http://www.petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Cat_Canned_Pouch_Foods.pdf

Limited ingredient foods will probably work for your cat's sensitive tummy. Nature's Variety has one that is available in both dry and canned: http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-limited-ingredient-diets-for-cats The dry is 432 calories per cup, too much for most cats.

Many dry foods are just too high in calories per cup for most cats to lose weight on. Reducing the amount of food by half and only feeding that amount for an entire day leaves many cats too hungry. You may hae to feed at least some canned food to help with the weight loss.

Many brands of foods are available in can sizes larger than 3 oz so buy those

3 oz of food isn't a lot and adds up in cost over time since you need to feed a lot of cans to keep a cat's tummy happy. You an split a larger sized can over a few meals daily to keep your cat happy. Many cats do well with having a fwe small meals throughout the day insead of twi strict meal times. I know that Friskies has a variety that is available in a 13 oz (I think) size. Friskies is a decent brand and affordable. Wellness is a higher quality food and has a few varieties available in a 12.5 oz size.

I know you said your cat doesn't like canned food but keep trying. There has to be a brand out there that your cat likes and is a complete diet. Have you tried Weruva? It's like a fancier version of thsoe Fancy Feast Broths.

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Thank you for the links, I will check them later this weekend when I have a chance to sit down and do some calculations.

I may not have been completely clear, but the cat who needs to lose weight, Swanie, is going to be on a primarily canned food diet with maybe 1/3 cup dry as supplement (which I intend to try giving him as random treats instead of the Temptations I was giving him).  The only real difference in his diet is cutting back on the amount of dry he gets (no more free feeding) and cutting out the treats.  I was just thinking that maybe I could use this as an opportunity to find a better quality food than the vet diet he has been on that would be better ingredients, but not high in calories and not hard on his tummy. Maybe it's better for now just to keep him on the vet diet and think about the healthier options after he loses the weight.

Cricket is my other cat, who won't eat wet except the FF Broths. I think Weruva was one of the ones I tried. She won't even sniff anything that isn't her FF Broths, she just walks away from it.  I was transitioning her from the Science Diet she had at the shelter to the Blue Wilderness.  They had a hard time at the shelter getting her to eat anything, and so did I when she first came to live with us.  It was the FF Broths she first started eating and gained an addiction to them I think.  Other than that, she won't even look at any of the wet food I've tried, won't sniff it, won't taste it, nothing.  I was hoping to transition both cats to wet only, but obviously it was not a "deal breaker" as they asked me at the shelter when they told me she would never eat wet food.

My cat Charlie has slimmed down since I put him on Ziwipeak dry (with some canned as well). He has a sensitive tummy, which was the main reason for the switch. It is not low calorie but it is high protein, very low carb, and is a very simple limited ingredient food that doesn't upset his tummy, while still letting him have his beloved dry food. Just another option for you to consider.

momto3cats said:

 
My cat Charlie has slimmed down since I put him on Ziwipeak dry (with some canned as well). He has a sensitive tummy, which was the main reason for the switch. It is not low calorie but it is high protein, very low carb, and is a very simple limited ingredient food that doesn't upset his tummy, while still letting him have his beloved dry food. Just another option for you to consider.

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I will look into that, thanks!