Feeding advice please.......

Hey guys,

I've been reading a lot about different types of food and feeding ideas on here, so thought I'd ask the questions I have.

As you know, I have 3 cats now, all adults. Rascal is to be 6 in August and has been diagnosed with bladder crystals. He eats the Hills Prescription CD dry food (he didn't like the canned variety when I tried to give it to him). Corty is to be 7 in October and seems to have an allergy to colors or additives in food, whenever she eats the supermarket brands she vommits, gets itchy and scratches like mad till her fur starts to break off. I've been feeding her on Hills Science either the plain adult food, or the TD (was told by the vet a while ago her teeth were dirty, so she needed it). Tahlee is just 2, and so far the only thing I know is that she has a stomach bug. Haven't really had a chance to find out what she does or doesn't like or can and can't eat.

I have no problem paying what I need to, as to feed my cats the best I can. I guess its my little way of trying to make the kitty world a little better, I can't save all the poor little tykes out there, so I make my guys lives the best I can.

My first question. The vet I was seeing when Rascal was first diagnosed told me that dry food was the only way to go. That he shouldn't be eating anything other than the Hills CD. I found this a little odd, but not knowing much about food and stuff, I just went with it. Now, they seems to have put on a heap of weight in the last 2 yrs since I've been feeding them the Hills.

I've heard about this "raw" diet, can someone tell me exactly what it is? Is a wet food diet better for them than 100% dry? Corty seems to get bored with the food and walks away a lot of the time. I'm hoping I'll be able to feed Tahlee on the same food as Corty. I had never questioned the Hills food, it's sold in vets everywhere, so I assumed it was great stuff. I've just had a look at the ingredients list, after reading another thread, and am not so sure it's so great anymore.

Also, at what age do I need to start feeding a "Senior" diet?

Some advice would be muchly appreciated. I don't know that we have the same range here in Australia as you guys in the US, but would be open for suggestions I could check out.

Thanks heaps in advance.

Emma

Also, I've just been told to go look up something called a "Barf" diet.....sounds very appatising

barf is a raw diet - not sure what it actually stands for (think the rf is for raw food) but it's not the most appropriate acronym in the world, is it!

Raw diet is basically the closest you can get to a cats natural carnivorous diet. BARF stands for a few things, either Bones And Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. There are many ways to go about feeding a raw food diet. I buy a pre-made raw formulation myself, and my cats do very well. You can make a raw diet at home yourself, but you should study to be sure the food your making is balanced. I know some people who feed "prey-model" raw, basically feeding bits and peices of different animals, giving a balance of meat/organ/bone over time. I personally don't trust this approach as much, as you have to be more careful your cats are getting everything they need.

If you can't feed raw, then the more wet food in the diet the better. Learn to read ingredients lables and choose a high quality food for both dry and wet.

Personally I do not like Science Diet. My cat has kidney problems (he was born with small deformed kidneys) and the Vet said to use Science Diet because it would make a difference and that he needed a low protein diet. We used it for several months and it did not make a difference. I switched to Nutro pouches because they were all natural and low in protein (the weight control is only 6%). I also took him off dry food completely. The kidneys process wet food better. There was a change in his blood tests when we went back to the vet.

I was also looking at articles regarding the crystals in the urine and I found this:
Restrict the cat's intake of dry cat food. Though dry foods do not cause cystitis, several studies have shown that the cat's total fluid intake is decreased when dry diets are fed. When the fluid intake is decreased, the urine is more concentrated with minerals and other materials that can cause future episodes of cystitis. Canned foods can result in increased fluid intake and more dilute urine. However, we know that many cats do not like canned food and that there are several distinct advantages to feeding dry food. Therefore, if there have been only a few infrequent episodes of cystitis, these other factors may be more important.

Good luck - I know it is very frustrating!!

G'day Emma! I'm an ex-pat Aussie living in the States. Nice to hear another aussie accent

We've just adopted a kitty, and I was looking for the t/d Sciene Diet, and they have Oral Care Science Diet which I assume is the same thing.

How much do you feed them a day? Do you feed the recommended half a cup or whatever it is? I always it was a tiny amount, but I've since realised that they really don't need much food, and they really rely on us to regulate how much they get.

A friend is currently fostering 3 little kittens, and one of them has been sick, and is a bit dehydrated. The vet recommended the little bottles of baby food for him to have as well as his regular food as it contains a lot of fluids which will help him rehydrate. He loves the baby food as well! Maybe ask your vet if you can do this for your Tahlee when she comes home to help keep her fluids up - especially if she still hass diarrhea.

Hope Tahlee gets better soon!

Hi Sarah,

Great to see another Aussie around. If I remember rightly, the TD used to be called Oral Care and they've changed the packaging here. I do only give them the suggested amount, but it still seems that they are both putting on weight. Corty has always been a slender cat (she was desexed at only 9 weeks of age, weighing in at a tiny 500grams, as she came from Lort Smith Animal Hospital here in Melbourne) but since being on the Hills has bulked up considerably. I wouldn't call her fat so much, but is a lot heavier than I feel she should be for her size.

Tahlee, too is a little girl, and although I feel she could possibly put on a little weight, especially now after this run of being ill, I don't want her to put on too much and end up unwell.

Rascal on the other hand, I feel is plain out fat LOL. I love my bugga boo.....and don't want to lose him prematurely due to this, but all the vets I talk to just tell me he has to eat the CD dry food and thats it. Which for the crystals I understand, but they have to see he's getting fatter and fatter.

It's all very confusing. I wonder if there are cat natropaths out there LOL.

I Know you have Royal canin down under ( I meet a K9 cop from Tasmania a few weeks back) ... Unless Science diet changes formluas like in the EU I wouldnt recommend it ( Oral care in the states is not TD ) .... Look at the foods you have avail and find one s without by products or chemical preservatives..

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Bump........sorry guys, but I really need some help on this.

Here(in the USA) we have prescription foods in the higher quality foods- I took my cats off of Hill's Prescription diet last month and switched to Felidae Chicken and Rice, but in my cats with bladder crystal histories, at least one of them has an allergy to fish- no fish in food, no crystals or bladder infections (I had them on regular SD supplemented between bags with a bag of Prescription XD that my vet put them on-she said it was fine as long as they were fine-but they are now off of both). I would check out the Royal Canin, the Felidae, and there were several others, if I can find them in a search on here when I was looking to switch, I'll post it. My cats all are shinier, have less mats and are doing just fine on the Felidae C & R, I'm very happy with it, and it's not much more than regular SD.

Please note: I am NOT recommending that you take your cat off his prescription food, just stating that there are higher quality brands out there that also make prescription foods that taste better and have better ingredients

Found it!http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...scription+food

I also did a search in this forum for "prescription food" and got ALOT of good hits- good luck (and it can be a bit confusing, so persevere! )

You can then do an internet search and find one(s) that are available in your area, or that you can order on the internet (watch those shipping charges, though- sometimes they're outlandish, other times they can be a good deal apparently, judging from my Boxer dog forum's experiences (and we have almost half our members from around England and Australia) . I imagine that your vet will have to order for you, though, once you find it.