Hi everyone-
I am - once again - trying to select a new food for one of my kitties, Noah. To make a long, long story somewhat short, Noah is 2 1/2 years old and is basically in perfect health except for a few minor issues that I'll briefly explain. This time last year he was eating Wellness Super 5 kibble. When we took him for his annual check up this past January, the vet ran a urinalysis as a routine test since Noah was at the age where urinary problems can start showing up. Noah never had any symptoms, but his pH did test at the high end of the range and he had just a few small crystals in his urine. So, the vet and I agreed to get him (and our 5 other cats) on an all canned food diet because I didn't want to feed Hills C/D. Got all the other cats onto canned food, but Noah has been holding out - he will not let his kibbles go. So, we had him on Flint River Ranch for a while (it was supposed to be a "transition" food while convincing him to eat canned), but while he was on this it made him itchy and his fur looked quite scruffy - I suspected either the corn or wheat in this food. Now he's eating California Natural, which I picked because of the simple ingredient list and higher protein level (36%); however this food has given him loose stools. He's been on it for 3 months now and things haven't solidfied so I think it's time to transition him over to something else. We did run a couple fecals and they came back negative, and at our vet's suggestion we tried some digestive aids with no success. Oh, and he's indoor-only, too, and his weight is perfect.
So now my general question, what are the "ideal" nutritional numbers for cat food (knowing, of course, that each cat is different). What should the protein percentage be? (I've heard that the protein level for an adult cat should be at least 34%, but most adult cat foods except Innova and CA Natural have lower protein levels. From what I read, the higher protein keeps the crystals away, but then I've also heard higher protein can cause loose stools). What should the fiber content be? Fat?
All the foods out there have such a wide range of these values. I definitely want to feed one of the high-quality foods - no Iams, Science Diet, Purina, etc. Ideally I want to (and WILL) get him on an all-canned food diet, but at the moment I just want to solve his loose stool problem without adding anything new to further mess him up.
Thanks for any info....there are so many recommendations of which brands to feed, but I'm more interested in what the actual numbers should be.
~Amy
I am - once again - trying to select a new food for one of my kitties, Noah. To make a long, long story somewhat short, Noah is 2 1/2 years old and is basically in perfect health except for a few minor issues that I'll briefly explain. This time last year he was eating Wellness Super 5 kibble. When we took him for his annual check up this past January, the vet ran a urinalysis as a routine test since Noah was at the age where urinary problems can start showing up. Noah never had any symptoms, but his pH did test at the high end of the range and he had just a few small crystals in his urine. So, the vet and I agreed to get him (and our 5 other cats) on an all canned food diet because I didn't want to feed Hills C/D. Got all the other cats onto canned food, but Noah has been holding out - he will not let his kibbles go. So, we had him on Flint River Ranch for a while (it was supposed to be a "transition" food while convincing him to eat canned), but while he was on this it made him itchy and his fur looked quite scruffy - I suspected either the corn or wheat in this food. Now he's eating California Natural, which I picked because of the simple ingredient list and higher protein level (36%); however this food has given him loose stools. He's been on it for 3 months now and things haven't solidfied so I think it's time to transition him over to something else. We did run a couple fecals and they came back negative, and at our vet's suggestion we tried some digestive aids with no success. Oh, and he's indoor-only, too, and his weight is perfect.
So now my general question, what are the "ideal" nutritional numbers for cat food (knowing, of course, that each cat is different). What should the protein percentage be? (I've heard that the protein level for an adult cat should be at least 34%, but most adult cat foods except Innova and CA Natural have lower protein levels. From what I read, the higher protein keeps the crystals away, but then I've also heard higher protein can cause loose stools). What should the fiber content be? Fat?
All the foods out there have such a wide range of these values. I definitely want to feed one of the high-quality foods - no Iams, Science Diet, Purina, etc. Ideally I want to (and WILL) get him on an all-canned food diet, but at the moment I just want to solve his loose stool problem without adding anything new to further mess him up.
Thanks for any info....there are so many recommendations of which brands to feed, but I'm more interested in what the actual numbers should be.
~Amy
