how long do I keep trying the new food?

marie-p · May 27, 2005

my cat was having diarhea when fed Eukanuba. I switched him to Hill's Prescription diet and he's been doing ok.
I wasn't crazy about the prescription diet because it is quite expensive and made mostly of fillers.
So I have been progressively introducing Nutro's Natural adult cat food for a few days now. He has started to have loose stool again.

Should I keep trying to introduce Nutro's to him?

Should I keep trying new types of food? Or will that just put too much stress on his digestive system?

Also, he seems to suffer from some anxiety. He does not like to be left alone and always wants attention. He used to live with many other cats and I know he would prefer not to be an only cat.
Could that stress agravate his digestive problems?

sharky · May 27, 2005

Humm... did you talk to the vet before switching off a rx???

Depending on the cat and age I switch foods over a week to three weeks...

Please talk to the vet...

marie-p · May 27, 2005

I did switch to the prescription diet after my vet recommended it.

Unfortunately I live in a small town and it's hard to find a good vet here. I'm not 100% comfortable with any of the vets I've been to so far.

aussie_dog · May 27, 2005

Full results of a new food usually start showing up in 2-3 months, for dogs anyway, so I would guess it would take at least a month for results to show up. Full results should be there by 6 months. I've only heard this from others, my own pets seem to improve right off the bat.

elizwithcat · May 27, 2005

Originally Posted by sharky

Humm... did you talk to the vet before switching off a rx???

Depending on the cat and age I switch foods over a week to three weeks...

Please talk to the vet...

I think vets are pretty much worthless if you talk to them about food. The only thing they would recommend to me is Science Diet as well. I don't know how long it takes, but the new food should be introduced very slowly and mixed in with the old food, gradually increasing the new food-especially for cats with digestive problems. But I don't know how long you should keep trying if the cat keeps having digestive problems on Nutro.

sharky · May 27, 2005

What I am worried about is that you little one may need to stay on the rx ... Nutro is made for sensitive tummys if your using the natural choice regular not the indoor... The only other one to try would be Natural balence venison and green pea... I recommend a switch over of 2-3 weeks for sensitive kids

ilovemy2cats · May 28, 2005

Originally Posted by sharky

What I am worried about is that you little one may need to stay on the rx ... Nutro is made for sensitive tummys if your using the natural choice regular not the indoor... The only other one to try would be Natural balence venison and green pea... I recommend a switch over of 2-3 weeks for sensitive kids

The whole Natural Choice line, including the Indoor formula, is for sensitive stomachs.

catpurr · May 28, 2005

I absolutely agree that most vets are very uninformed about cat foods. Most only know one brand, Science Diet, which is terrible. Why Nurto, don't believe that is a good food at all. Go to a higher quality food have you tried wellness. I use canned food because of the high carbo in dry and all the grains. Caned wellnes has no grains. Have you tried supplements to try and cure the sensative stomach. Feed some acidophilis something like Jarrow brand's supplements. You have to get the gut bacteria back to right and perhaps solve the sensative stomach problem. Or go with a limited food such as the IVD brand foods till kitty feels better.

elizwithcat · May 28, 2005

Originally Posted by catpurr

I absolutely agree that most vets are very uninformed about cat foods. Most only know one brand, Science Diet, which is terrible. Why Nurto, don't believe that is a good food at all. Go to a higher quality food have you tried wellness. I use canned food because of the high carbo in dry and all the grains. Caned wellnes has no grains. Have you tried supplements to try and cure the sensative stomach. Feed some acidophilis something like Jarrow brand's supplements. You have to get the gut bacteria back to right and perhaps solve the sensative stomach problem. Or go with a limited food such as the IVD brand foods till kitty feels better.

Nutro is a good food-here it is on the list of top 10 premium cat foods. But since it's #9 then there are better foods but they are more expensive as well.
http://cats.about.com/cs/nutrition/t...drycatfood.htm

marie-p · May 28, 2005

thanks for the advice.

Wellness does seem like very high quality food. Unfortunately, it is quite expensive... especially since my cat eats like a little piggy, and I am planning on getting a second cat.

I keep giving him more and more of the Nutro food and I cleaned the litter box this morning... and no diarrhea.
I'll keep a close eye on him.

I just found out too that Eukanuba makes a "sensitive stomach" dry food. I might give that a try if Nutro doesn't do the job. There seems to be lots of real meat in the eukanuba food.

sharky · May 28, 2005

Originally Posted by ilovemy2cats

The whole Natural Choice line, including the Indoor formula, is for sensitive stomachs.

It is but I have found that some kids dont do as well on the indoor due to the added ingrediants

ilovemy2cats · May 28, 2005

Originally Posted by elizwithcat

Nutro is a good food-here it is on the list of top 10 premium cat foods. But since it's #9 then there are better foods but they are more expensive as well.
http://cats.about.com/cs/nutrition/t...drycatfood.htm

I belong to the cats.com forum and the foods are NOT listed in any particular order. It's just a list of some of the better foods.

luvmy4cats · May 28, 2005

I know first hand that most vets know nothing about pet food. I work at a Veterinary clinic that sells Science Diet (regular food and prescription food). The vet and everyone that works at the clinic (except me) feed Science Diet to their pets. The reason the vet uses it is because he's clueless about what constitutes a good food. He's never even heard of Wellness, Eagle Pack, Canidae, etc. When clients come in (that actually know something about pet nutrition) and say they're feeding one of these brands, he always thinks it's some cheap generic grocery store food! Everyone else that works at the clinic where I work uses Science Diet because the vet tells them it's a premium food and with their employee discount it's dirt cheap. I tell them that I wouldn't feed it to my pets even if it were free. I will say, however that I would use the Science Diet prescription foods for my pets if it were necessary. I have seen first hand that it does work when regular foods don't (in male cats with blockages, cats/dogs with food allergies, etc). I only feed my pets foods that are listed in The Whole Dog Journal & Cat Journal: Wellness, Natural Balance, Canidae, Eagle Pack, California Natural. I rotate the foods, switching about every 3-4 months. My pets tend to get bored with foods and seem to like the change (and I do it gradually over 1-2 weeks). That's another thing I don't agree with my boss (the Vet) on. He insists that a dog/cat should eat the same food their entire life (Science Diet) and the only time you should ever switch is when moving them from puppy/kitten food to adult and then to senior. The Whole Dog Journal says that it's actually better to switch between 3-4 premium brands every 3-4 months. The reason is because there isn't any one "best" food & if one food is lacking something the next food might not be (so it all balances out). My theory behind switching every 3-4 months is I wouldn't want to eat pizza (even though I love it) twice a day, every day, for the rest of my life. I would get tired of it pretty quick.

sharky · May 28, 2005

Originally Posted by luvmy4cats

I know first hand that most vets know nothing about pet food. I work at a Veterinary clinic that sells Science Diet (regular food and prescription food). The vet and everyone that works at the clinic (except me) feed Science Diet to their pets. The reason the vet uses it is because he's clueless about what constitutes a good food. He's never even heard of Wellness, Eagle Pack, Canidae, etc. When clients come in (that actually know something about pet nutrition) and say they're feeding one of these brands, he always thinks it's some cheap generic grocery store food! Everyone else that works at the clinic where I work uses Science Diet because the vet tells them it's a premium food and with their employee discount it's dirt cheap. I tell them that I wouldn't feed it to my pets even if it were free. I will say, however that I would use the Science Diet prescription foods for my pets if it were necessary. I have seen first hand that it does work when regular foods don't (in male cats with blockages, cats/dogs with food allergies, etc). I only feed my pets foods that are listed in The Whole Dog Journal & Cat Journal: Wellness, Natural Balance, Canidae, Eagle Pack, California Natural. I rotate the foods, switching about every 3-4 months. My pets tend to get bored with foods and seem to like the change (and I do it gradually over 1-2 weeks). That's another thing I don't agree with my boss (the Vet) on. He insists that a dog/cat should eat the same food their entire life (Science Diet) and the only time you should ever switch is when moving them from puppy/kitten food to adult and then to senior. The Whole Dog Journal says that it's actually better to switch between 3-4 premium brands every 3-4 months. The reason is because there isn't any one "best" food & if one food is lacking something the next food might not be (so it all balances out). My theory behind switching every 3-4 months is I wouldn't want to eat pizza (even though I love it) twice a day, every day, for the rest of my life. I would get tired of it pretty quick.

My dog tells me when it is time for mom to find a new food ...lol.. working on it now..I dont work for a vet but i work for a dog /cat food company and learned what to and what not to feed...

elizwithcat · May 28, 2005

Originally Posted by ilovemy2cats

I belong to the cats.com forum and the foods are NOT listed in any particular order. It's just a list of some of the better foods.

Well, just from the list of ingredients, there are better foods than Nutro. But it's reasonably priced and is sold in all the pet stores around here, and a lot of other foods aren't. As for Science Diet, it has rice as a first ingredient, and chicken by-product meal as second-well, I am not going to pay all that money for rice and by-products, even if my vet tells me it's manna from heaven.

marie-p · May 29, 2005

Thank you.

Joshua is still doing ok on the Nutro. Maybe that little bit of diarrhea was caused by the switch.

I might still try Eukanuba because the ingredients seem a little better. Then maybe switch between the two foods once in a while. (gradually of course)

I am kind of surprised at how little vets seem to know about cat food. And how close minded they are. I was used to that kind of things when taking my rats to the vets but I assumed that most vets would at least know a fair bit about dogs and cats.

Good thing there are forums like this one.

sharky · May 29, 2005

Originally Posted by marie-p

Thank you.

Joshua is still doing ok on the Nutro. Maybe that little bit of diarrhea was caused by the switch.

I might still try Eukanuba because the ingredients seem a little better. Then maybe switch between the two foods once in a while. (gradually of course)

I am kind of surprised at how little vets seem to know about cat food. And how close minded they are. I was used to that kind of things when taking my rats to the vets but I assumed that most vets would at least know a fair bit about dogs and cats.

Good thing there are forums like this one.

The ingrediants are better in Eukanuba???

here is the list
Lamb, Chicken Liver, Catfish, Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Corn Grits, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Calcium Carbonate, Rosemary Extract
The second , third , fourth , fifth and seventh ingrediants are nothing I would feed mine.. For the record catfish may not be bad I dont eat river fish , plus it contains chemical preserve....

If he needs easier on system: try Natural balence venison and pea(mine eat this as a treat), I am sure some of the others have good sensitive tummy foods..

Vets get the same nutrition education as your dr about 1 class in all the yrs of schooling..lmao as to why that is.. I came out of my first semester of college with three times this..

marie-p · May 29, 2005

chicken liver isn't good for cats??

sharky · May 29, 2005

I would think it shouldn't be in the first five ingrediants... in a dry food...wet food is a different matter I still dont like it being ingrediants between 1 and 3... Mostly because of liver being a cleansing organ I only buy grain feed or free range livers.. organic is unfortunatly is out of my budget.. I also prefer beef liver since cattle are vegatrains ...

mtalio · Jun 10, 2005

Originally Posted by luvmy4cats

I know first hand that most vets know nothing about pet food. I work at a Veterinary clinic that sells Science Diet (regular food and prescription food). The vet and everyone that works at the clinic (except me) feed Science Diet to their pets. The reason the vet uses it is because he's clueless about what constitutes a good food. He's never even heard of Wellness, Eagle Pack, Canidae, etc. When clients come in (that actually know something about pet nutrition) and say they're feeding one of these brands, he always thinks it's some cheap generic grocery store food! Everyone else that works at the clinic where I work uses Science Diet because the vet tells them it's a premium food and with their employee discount it's dirt cheap. I tell them that I wouldn't feed it to my pets even if it were free. I will say, however that I would use the Science Diet prescription foods for my pets if it were necessary. I have seen first hand that it does work when regular foods don't (in male cats with blockages, cats/dogs with food allergies, etc). I only feed my pets foods that are listed in The Whole Dog Journal & Cat Journal: Wellness, Natural Balance, Canidae, Eagle Pack, California Natural. I rotate the foods, switching about every 3-4 months. My pets tend to get bored with foods and seem to like the change (and I do it gradually over 1-2 weeks). That's another thing I don't agree with my boss (the Vet) on. He insists that a dog/cat should eat the same food their entire life (Science Diet) and the only time you should ever switch is when moving them from puppy/kitten food to adult and then to senior. The Whole Dog Journal says that it's actually better to switch between 3-4 premium brands every 3-4 months. The reason is because there isn't any one "best" food & if one food is lacking something the next food might not be (so it all balances out). My theory behind switching every 3-4 months is I wouldn't want to eat pizza (even though I love it) twice a day, every day, for the rest of my life. I would get tired of it pretty quick.

I have asked as many people as I can and the consensus has been that Nutro Natural Choice is the food I should feed my cats. My 2 15-week old kittens love both the wet and dry kitten foods (but they eat everything).

My problem is with Marshmellow, my 9 year cat. I switched her from Purina One which she loves to Nutro MaxCat Lite formula over a 2 week period. She still eats very little. She acts as happy as she always has but the food in her bowl lasts longer. I'd like her to eat wet food too but she doesn't devour it like the kittens. How important is it for me to get some wet food in her diet? Last night, I left it out and she took a few bites before leaving the bowl. How bad is Purina One? Is it okay to leave her on it or should I keep looking for a food she'll eat?

Would you say that Eagle Pack is that much better? I gravitated to Nutro Natural Choice b/c of word of mouth and variety of flavors. I like luvmy4cats suggestion of switching foods periodically. To me, a novice cat owner, it makes sense that some foods would emphasize certain ingredients over other brands. Switching would supplement the kittens' diet.

Mtalio

how long do I keep trying the new food?

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