Help Finding Cat Food Similar To Purina En

[EllieMe]

I have a 3 year old male tabby that we adopted in September 2017. We have no background information on him, he was literally picked up off a country road, fixed and 2 days later in our home. He started having diarrhea right away so we took him to the vet and they put him on a medication in case it was a parasite that also has the side effect of firming up stools (tests ended up negative for parasites). They also gave us a probiotic. Unfortunately the meds actually made his problem worse. The vet suggested we put him on Purina EN gastroenteric and this seemed to help after a week or so. He's now been on the Purina EN for 2 months and is having normal bowel movements. I'm reluctant to mess with his diet, but the cost for this food is $45+tax for a small bag that lasts less than a month. The only place I can buy it in town is the vet's and it's hard to get there some times before closing. I don't think he has IBD or anything of the sort, I think he was just a stray that isn't used to cat food. I know I'm inviting hate by feeding kibble, but the vet assures me the ingredients are exactly the same in the dry and wet versions, it's just water content. He drinks 2 bowls of water a day and I'm keeping an eye on his health. Wet is harder for us for a variety of reasons, so I'm going to stick to dry for now.


After all that background information, what I really want to ask is: Is there a food that is very similar to Purina EN that I can get from a pet store? I want to gradually switch him over in the new year, but want to make it as easy as possible for him. Thank you for any suggestions!

 

[Neo_23]

The vet is misinformed. The wet version will have fewer carbs and the fact that it has more water content is the most important point. Cats need high moisture food and do not need 30% plus carb amounts which is what the dry food has. I would try him on a wet food diet—any brand really. You don’t have to give all wet, but incorporating some would be good. He won’t get enough water on dry food even if he is drinking water at the same time. Cats poop less and have better poops on wet food than dry. Vets don’t know a lot about nutrition unfortunately.

He could have just had diarrhea because he was scared. It’s common when cats go to new homes.

I wouldn’t worry about picking a dry food closer to Purina either. Purina is a crappy brand and vets often recommend crap food. I would try a high quality dry that is low in carbs. Brands like Acana, Dr. Elsey’s, Ziwipeak, Rawz.

Also, whatever you do, transition very slowly between foods- over a 10 day period.

 

[Kieka]

I hate to do it, but your vet is wrong... Here is the Purina EN ingredient list from their website I copied just now. The dry and wet are not the same. It makes me doubt your vets reliability when it comes to diet if they are saying the only difference is water content.

Ingredients (Dry)
Soy protein isolate, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, soy flakes, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, corn starch, natural flavor, calcium carbonate, phosphoric acid, fish oil, potassium chloride, choline chloride, powdered cellulose, DL-Methionine, taurine, zinc proteinate, salt, dried colostrum, Vitamin E supplement, manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, niacin, copper proteinate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite. A-2562

Ingredients (Canned)
Poultry by-products, liver, water sufficient for processing, turkey, rice, oat fiber, calcium gluconate, fish oil, artificial and natural flavors, guar gum, potassium chloride, salt, carrageenan, mono and dicalcium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, taurine, zinc sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide. A-2532

That aspect aside, wet is better over all and in general. However, if there are reasons you can't do wet and you keep an eye on water intake I won't push it. In terms of diet, cats tend to do better on a biologically appropriate diet. Meaning one that is high in animal based protein (your current food is 50% protein but I am guessing a good chunk is plant based on ingredients) and low in starch. Grain free labeled foods are usually a good starting point simply because they have eliminated the common starch sources and those that tend to cause more weight retention/bloating in cats.

I think you are right that it was the changes that caused the digestive issues and doing a slow switch to a good non-prescription food is your next step. I fully support prescription foods in short term instances but most are designed for specific problems and once those problems have settled switching is usually beneficial. Which food depends on what is available in your area and your budget.

I personally have three cats so we do dry with a wet meal each day. Our dry is Natures Variety Limited Rabbit, because there are poultry issues with the cats (and humans ironically) in our home. Wet is usually some variety of Fancy Fest or Sheba because that is what they will eat. In dry I recommend starting with grain free but check the ingredients. By necessity dry food has to have a binder I prefer peas or tapioca over potatoes there is Born Again food that is the top of the line dry but it also is more expensive. One thing to keep in mind is that the higher the protein and lower the starches the less food your cat will need to eat. Calories will be higher and it will take less food to make your cat full; so there is a slight decrease in consumption that will offset the cost in the middle range foods. In wet food, I say no grains or fillers. Look for something with named meats and as little ingredients as possible.

 

[duckpond]

i must say i don't like the looks of those labels either, i think most other dry food would be better, honestly. If you want to only feed dry right now that's OK, just make sure he has fresh clean water. Wet food is good for cats, maybe start with fancy feast, classics line, as an addition the the dry when you are ready. I think most places you can find a dry food that would be better than the one he is on, any Merrick, tiki cat dry, Crave, Purina beyond, Dr. Elseys Orijen, or natures variety. you may want to buy the smallest bags first time, my cats don't like all brands of dry food. Crave and Dr. Elseys and tiki cat dry seem to be the fav in our house right now. Buy what is in your budget, the best you can comfortably afford, then when he is use to it and doing well maybe start with a little wet food once a day to see if he likes it. Just do change his dry food slowly as others have said to prevent upset.

 

[Tatatz]

I have a 3 year old male tabby that we adopted in September 2017. We have no background information on him, he was literally picked up off a country road, fixed and 2 days later in our home. He started having diarrhea right away so we took him to the vet and they put him on a medication in case it was a parasite that also has the side effect of firming up stools (tests ended up negative for parasites). They also gave us a probiotic. Unfortunately the meds actually made his problem worse. The vet suggested we put him on Purina EN gastroenteric and this seemed to help after a week or so. He's now been on the Purina EN for 2 months and is having normal bowel movements. I'm reluctant to mess with his diet, but the cost for this food is $45+tax for a small bag that lasts less than a month. The only place I can buy it in town is the vet's and it's hard to get there some times before closing. I don't think he has IBD or anything of the sort, I think he was just a stray that isn't used to cat food. I know I'm inviting hate by feeding kibble, but the vet assures me the ingredients are exactly the same in the dry and wet versions, it's just water content. He drinks 2 bowls of water a day and I'm keeping an eye on his health. Wet is harder for us for a variety of reasons, so I'm going to stick to dry for now.


After all that background information, what I really want to ask is: Is there a food that is very similar to Purina EN that I can get from a pet store? I want to gradually switch him over in the new year, but want to make it as easy as possible for him. Thank you for any suggestions!

I know this is a very old post but I am having exactly the same situation - did you ever find a suitable dry food replacement?

Thanks!

 

[neely]

I know this is a very old post but I am having exactly the same situation - did you ever find a suitable dry food replacement?

Yes, it is an old post so my guess is that the OP did not come back to give an update. I would check the advice given by the other members above.

BTW, welcome to TCS! I hope you take advantage of the many resources and Articles that are available on the site. Here are the ones on Cat Food & Feeding: Cat Food & Feeding – TheCatSite Articles Best of luck!