Bland Diet

[misty8723]

Swanie is having some tummy issues and vet suggested a bland diet for a while (boiled chicken and rice). I mixed some up and gave it to him. He initially dove in, but only ate about 3 bites. Any ideas other than chicken and rice? Any commercial wet food that would be bland enough?

 

[LTS3]

Maybe a limited ingredient cat food? Rawz is pretty bland with no fillers but can be pricey.

 

[daftcat75]

Forget the rice. Cats cannot derive adequate nutrition from rice. Just give him boiled chicken. Or boiled beef. Or baby food that’s just meat: no seasonings, and especially no onion. Bland diet means get back to the basics. Your carnivore should be eating meat. Set aside commercial food for a while to give his tummy a rest from all the strange species-inappropriate formulations out there. An adult cat can be on the bland diet for a few weeks before deficiencies of the diet can become problematic. There are supplement kits you can buy to make a homemade diet nutritionally complete if you’re concerned about that.
(Raw Feeding)

 

[Wile]

Science diet does make a wet food called sensitive stomach & skin that isn't bad ingredients-wise. A friend of mine has had a lot of luck with it: Hill's® Science Diet® Sensitive Stomach & Skin Chicken & Vegetable Entrée Cat Food - canned

My opinion differs somewhat from others. I would stick with your vet's suggested boiled chicken and rice recipe for a bit. The fact that your cat did eat some of it to me suggests that while it may not be the tastiest meal, once he gets used to it he likely will eat it.

 

[sabrinah]

My dog loves it when he gets boiled chicken and rice for tummy troubles, but I can't imagine my cat eating it willingly. It is a miracle worker though to reset the stomach. Maybe put some pumpkin on top? And/or you could use the water from boiling the chicken to make the rice. I've never met a critter that didn't love that water. Many cats love the taste of FortiFlora. It's a probiotic so it may help the tummy troubles in addition to getting her to eat. Does your cat prefer pate over chunky stuff? You could toss the chicken and rice in a blender.

 

[misty8723]

Thank for all the suggestions. I am thinking about trying the blender suggestion. I was a little concerned about not having the proper nutrients needed for cats in just chicken & rice, but I guess if it's short term may be okay?

 

[sabrinah]

It wouldn't work as a long term diet without supplements, but it's pretty standard as a short term diet for dogs and cats when there's an upset stomach.

 

[misty8723]

I tried blending it. He ate a few bites and that was it (even with fortiflora).