Need help in finding the right dry food for Smokey

freshmtt

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Hello Everyone,
I am brand new and really need some help in finding the right kind of dry food for my 3yr old DSH Tuxedo cat Smokey..

I have had him since he was a kitten and for the first 2yrs he was eating Purina Cat chow, kitten formula first, then the adult indoor formula.

He did well on that food and his stools were always very solid with no problems.

However, since I bought my 2 mini Dachshunds last year I have become very aware of the commercial brands of pet foods and frankly how crappy they are and dangerous to the pets..

So, I switched my dogs to higher end premium kibble and a raw diet.

I am now desperately trying to find the right kind of dry food for Smokey so he too can get the benefit of eating a better kibble.

So far, I have tried him on Innova Evo and Solid Gold Katzen Flocken, which he does like, but those both give him very bad gas and loose stools.

I recently tried Royal Canin Special 33 and that too seems to give him loose stools and bad gas.

It seems as if the better higher end premium foods are just not agreeing with his tummy.

I want him to be on a better diet and eat healthier food, but I just don't know what to try anymore for him.

Does anyone have any suggestions..

I don't want to put him back on the Purina stuff,
 

sharky

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my two readily avail favorites are Natural choice by Nutro and California Natural .... both are relatively simple recipes and usually react well in kitty...If those dont work try natural balences venison and pea
 

gingersmom

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I like Nutro the best - well, my Ginger likes it the best for dry, is what I mean!
 

chichismom

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Maybe Smokey is allergic to something in the food? Some cats can be allergic to certain ingrediants like barley, rice etc... A vet could do an allergy test to be sure.
 

consumerkitty

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You'll want to introduce the new food gradually so your kitty's stomach can adjust. 25% of the new with 75% of the Purina for 4 days, then 50/50 for four days, then 75/25 for four days, then 100% of the new food. I agree with everyone that Nutro Natural Choice is a good kitty food.
 
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freshmtt

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Originally Posted by consumercity

You'll want to introduce the new food gradually so your kitty's stomach can adjust. 25% of the new with 75% of the Purina for 4 days, then 50/50 for four days, then 75/25 for four days, then 100% of the new food. I agree with everyone that Nutro Natural Choice is a good kitty food.
I will have to try all of this again, when I first switched him to the Innova/Solid Gold mix. I did the mixes slowly very slowly, and he did fine, he also did fine when the mix was 50% Purina, 25% Solid Gold and 25% Innova Evo. When I got over and above the 50% mix his poop started to get soft again. Someone told me the Innova is just too rich for them, I know that I have this problem with the Innova dog food, so there is just a tiny bit of it mixed with my dogs Solid Gold and Natural Balance Kibble.

So, I cut out the Innova Evo completely, even though he just loved the food.. I stayed with the Katzen Flocken by Solid gold and kept it at 50% Purina and 50% Solid Gold, and he was fine, I kept it like this for about 3 weeks, but as soon as I would start to make it a 25% Purina and 75% Solid Gold mix, his poop would get soft once again


I got so frustrated,, right now, his food is mixed Solid Gold and Royal Canin Special 33.

I think I am going to get some Nutro Natural Choice and Natural Balance and start mixing that ever so slowly, just a handful of each into the feeding container with the Solid Gold and Royal Canin.

He is very weird because sometimes when I am cleaning out the litter box, I see some solid poops and I also see some soft mushy poops..

I am a big advocate of keeping a good mix of kibble in their diet, my Aunt told me this secret, she has 5 cats and did this for a number of years, always had about 3 brands mixed in at one time. She had her very first cat, a Siamese die at 16 years old of Kidney Failure, she always fed him just one food, and when he got sick with Kidney problems and needed to put him on a special diet, he refused to eat anything but his regular food. So from that point on, after Cricky died, she always mixed the foods so they could get a variety at all times.

So for Smokey, Ideally, I would like him to be on a mix of about 3 premium brands, right now, Natural Balance is something I would like to try with him, as well as getting some Nutro Natural Choice, I want to try and stick with the Solid Gold too.

I have not been able to get him to eat any raw. My dogs are on a 50% raw diet, for their evening meal, and they eat Nature's Variety raw frozen medallions, they say it is also good for cats, but I have not been able to get Smokey to eat any of it...

Has anyone had any luck with Raw ????
 

yosemite

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I've found that whenever I introduce a new food/change foods the cats have a looser stool and smell until their bodies adjust to it. I've also recently started feeding more wet food since it is better for them, especially neutered males.
 

lionessrampant

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You know, although it seems counterintuitive, an all wet food diet can help stool. Have you given this any thought?

Grain free raw, if you can do it right (and I think you can since your dogs get it, although cat diets are much more comples than dog diets), will also help with GI issues.
 
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freshmtt

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Originally Posted by lionessrampant

You know, although it seems counterintuitive, an all wet food diet can help stool. Have you given this any thought?

Grain free raw, if you can do it right (and I think you can since your dogs get it, although cat diets are much more comples than dog diets), will also help with GI issues.
I would love to do a raw diet with Smokey, I just can't get him to eat it,,, The dogs get Nature's Variety raw frozen medallions and raw from scratch, but I can't seem to get Smokey to go for it,,

He does like wet canned food though, and loves canned tuna in spring water, but I never thought about giving it to him all the time..

I might keep trying the raw frozen medallions and see if I can slowly convince him to eat it..
 

solaritybengals

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Check into raw diet lists on yahoo groups like felinefuturediet and rawpaws (that one is cats and dogs). There are articles and posts about how to get a cat to eat raw food.

My cats are on raw but my vet has highly recommended I do a raw/canned salmon diet. She says canned salmon is one of the best foods available for cats and gives it to her cats daily along with raw. I am just now making that transition.

Often with raw you want to mix food they like with the new. Maybe sprinkle some tuna flakes over the food to conjure the drive to eat.
 

jcat

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Other brands you could look into are Felidae and Serengeti Felid. I feed them as well as Natural Balance, Nutro, and Solid Gold.
 
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