Really, I just want opinions and experiences and maybe even suggestions.
I made a couple posts recently about one of my cats having severe diarrhea suddenly and another about multiple of my cats also having soft stools bordering diarrhea.
The one I noticed first is a year and half old. We took him to the vet, had him tested, stool sample, urine, blood, all normal, no parasites, no fever. He was put on GI anti-inflammatory and antibiotics. His course of the anti-inflammatories is done as of a day or so ago. He didn't have an accident the whole course of being on those, but this morning he pooped on the floor (which he was doing before he was on medication for about a day) which looked like soft served ice cream or pudding. He never had a problem going in the litter box before so that concerns me. He's also still on antibiotics so perhaps that's the cause of the soft stools at the moment. He still has quite a few doses left (they gave us two week's worth) so I guess I should wait until then to really tell. He also was not the only one with diarrhea, but he was the first I noticed and the only one I thought who had it, but even now some of the other cats are having it (I have 13), so probably at least four that I've noticed, but it's hard to keep track of all their individual poops.
Anyway so here is my dilemma.
I have been switching between dry foods for awhile now because the price either jumps or I notice puking or whatever. Well it got me thinking today when my sister sent me a post from someone whose cats all recently passed away because of Rachael Ray's Nutrish cat food poisoning her cats.
I have been most recently feeding all my cats 4Health which is a Tractor Company brand. I mix two different kinds, both grain free, All Life Stages and the Indoor Cat Formula. They all seemed okay with the first couple shipments; no puking, normal poops, etc., but with this last shipment (I get 8 bags every two months, 4 of each kind) they've been either puking, and not just like from eating too fast, but like multiple puking attacks in a row, which is abnormal for most of my cats, and for all of them after the switch to 4Health. We feed them 1/3 a cup twice a day. Only a select few finish all of it, the rest just goes back in the bin. My mom has stated that the five cats she has have also been puking a lot recently. The puking here has mostly stopped since probably four bags ago, but now the diarrhea is a thing and I can't help but wonder why.
I recently made a post about this, so it might be redundant, but I am freaking out a little.
I recently bought American Journey, two bags, chicken & turkey and the duck flavours. I've been mixing the duck with my mixture of the two 4Health types, 1/4 cup of the 4Health mix + 1/4 cup of the duck American Journey in hopes to fully transition to American Journey once we get through all.. eight new bags of the 4Health we just got.
The old shipment of the 4H was still in the bin, probably two bag's worth, so we decided to mix in a couple more bags of the new shipment we got in, in hopes it would not hurt their tummies. But now I'm wondering if I should have just thrown it away or stopped with the 4Health in general? I'm at such a loss. I read an article about how supplements in cat food is from a premix usually, which is often made in other countries, but they aren't required to tell you that. It seems all cat food has these supplements so now I'm worried about what I'm ACTUALLY feeding my cats, why they have diarrhea, what I should be feeding them, why this is happening, what exactly is the culprit, etc.
I can't stand not knowing and I wish I had the capabilities to make my own cat food because that seems to be the only way I'd know for sure what I was feeding them.
I just need some insight because I can't seem to calm down about this. I don't want to make them sick because of what I'M feeding them. I don't know if they're having diarrhea because of the 4H now or because I'm mixing AJ in with it now and they're actually over the initial diarrhea, I don't know if the one on antibiotics is having little accidents and not making it to the litterbox because of his antibiotics or because of the food he's eating. I don't know what exactly I'm even feeding my cats at this point or if I'm harming them in any way because of it.
I hate the internet for showing me recalls on food and times where many pets have died because of the food they were fed. I don't want that to be my cats or anyone else's cats. I just am at such a loss at what to feed them.
Anything is helpful, any insight, any opinion. I just would like someone to at least try to help me calm down. I don't expect answers, just ideas.
I made a couple posts recently about one of my cats having severe diarrhea suddenly and another about multiple of my cats also having soft stools bordering diarrhea.
The one I noticed first is a year and half old. We took him to the vet, had him tested, stool sample, urine, blood, all normal, no parasites, no fever. He was put on GI anti-inflammatory and antibiotics. His course of the anti-inflammatories is done as of a day or so ago. He didn't have an accident the whole course of being on those, but this morning he pooped on the floor (which he was doing before he was on medication for about a day) which looked like soft served ice cream or pudding. He never had a problem going in the litter box before so that concerns me. He's also still on antibiotics so perhaps that's the cause of the soft stools at the moment. He still has quite a few doses left (they gave us two week's worth) so I guess I should wait until then to really tell. He also was not the only one with diarrhea, but he was the first I noticed and the only one I thought who had it, but even now some of the other cats are having it (I have 13), so probably at least four that I've noticed, but it's hard to keep track of all their individual poops.
Anyway so here is my dilemma.
I have been switching between dry foods for awhile now because the price either jumps or I notice puking or whatever. Well it got me thinking today when my sister sent me a post from someone whose cats all recently passed away because of Rachael Ray's Nutrish cat food poisoning her cats.
I have been most recently feeding all my cats 4Health which is a Tractor Company brand. I mix two different kinds, both grain free, All Life Stages and the Indoor Cat Formula. They all seemed okay with the first couple shipments; no puking, normal poops, etc., but with this last shipment (I get 8 bags every two months, 4 of each kind) they've been either puking, and not just like from eating too fast, but like multiple puking attacks in a row, which is abnormal for most of my cats, and for all of them after the switch to 4Health. We feed them 1/3 a cup twice a day. Only a select few finish all of it, the rest just goes back in the bin. My mom has stated that the five cats she has have also been puking a lot recently. The puking here has mostly stopped since probably four bags ago, but now the diarrhea is a thing and I can't help but wonder why.
I recently made a post about this, so it might be redundant, but I am freaking out a little.
I recently bought American Journey, two bags, chicken & turkey and the duck flavours. I've been mixing the duck with my mixture of the two 4Health types, 1/4 cup of the 4Health mix + 1/4 cup of the duck American Journey in hopes to fully transition to American Journey once we get through all.. eight new bags of the 4Health we just got.
The old shipment of the 4H was still in the bin, probably two bag's worth, so we decided to mix in a couple more bags of the new shipment we got in, in hopes it would not hurt their tummies. But now I'm wondering if I should have just thrown it away or stopped with the 4Health in general? I'm at such a loss. I read an article about how supplements in cat food is from a premix usually, which is often made in other countries, but they aren't required to tell you that. It seems all cat food has these supplements so now I'm worried about what I'm ACTUALLY feeding my cats, why they have diarrhea, what I should be feeding them, why this is happening, what exactly is the culprit, etc.
I can't stand not knowing and I wish I had the capabilities to make my own cat food because that seems to be the only way I'd know for sure what I was feeding them.
I just need some insight because I can't seem to calm down about this. I don't want to make them sick because of what I'M feeding them. I don't know if they're having diarrhea because of the 4H now or because I'm mixing AJ in with it now and they're actually over the initial diarrhea, I don't know if the one on antibiotics is having little accidents and not making it to the litterbox because of his antibiotics or because of the food he's eating. I don't know what exactly I'm even feeding my cats at this point or if I'm harming them in any way because of it.
I hate the internet for showing me recalls on food and times where many pets have died because of the food they were fed. I don't want that to be my cats or anyone else's cats. I just am at such a loss at what to feed them.
Anything is helpful, any insight, any opinion. I just would like someone to at least try to help me calm down. I don't expect answers, just ideas.
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