- Joined
- Aug 18, 2015
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 1
Greetings everyone!
I normally would do my own research, but our shelter is currently slammed too many tasks, too few volunteers! I'm hoping someone here as had to do this for themselves and while I did search for fish free in the archives, I admit I got distracted by so many referencing things like DIY cat food and cooking for their pets. It sounds romantic, but more for retirees with 1 or 2 pets, not an active shelter with a rolling population hovering around 400. It would be a full-time job! So if this info already exists and is up-to-date, please link me and accept my hurried apology.
Anyway, one of our recent litters arrived, and after a few meals one of the kittens started having huge puffy lips and swollen eyes. It looked exactly what anaphylaxis looks like in a human, only cuter. We rushed her to our staff vet who knew immediately what it was. She's fine now, but obviously her diet cannot contain fish, shellfish, fish oil, salmon meal, anything. Since they are from the same queen and litter, we are putting all of them on fish-free diet as a precaution.
In the short-term, we took up a collection from fellow volunteers who paid, out-of-pocket mind you, for a couple cases of Halo Spot's Stew Lamb. But kittens are voracious and this will only last a few days. As most of you know, this stuff is expensive for anyone, much less a shelter that depends on donations. $1.89/can?! Are you on something?! How about $0.29/can? (much of our food comes from stores with expired sell-by dates, factory seconds from food suppliers, donations from the public, etc. so believe me when I say retail-purchased Friskies is considered gourmet!) Obviously quality stuff like Halo is wonderful for mass-production food but completely unsustainable for us... we cannot afford such luxuries.
We found a semi-affordable fish free dry kibble, a Diamond Pet Foods marketed by Kirkland @ Costco, called "Kirkland Signature Super Premium Maintenance Cat Chicken & Rice Formula" (making sure the dates/production codes were outside of the salmonella recall notice!) and they will definitely be eating that as adults unless we can find cheaper/better. Our owner insists that kittens be given both wet and dry food during the formative first year.
If you guys have any shelter affordable wet/dry solutions, commercially available in metro NYC area, this is greatly appreciated information!
I normally would do my own research, but our shelter is currently slammed too many tasks, too few volunteers! I'm hoping someone here as had to do this for themselves and while I did search for fish free in the archives, I admit I got distracted by so many referencing things like DIY cat food and cooking for their pets. It sounds romantic, but more for retirees with 1 or 2 pets, not an active shelter with a rolling population hovering around 400. It would be a full-time job! So if this info already exists and is up-to-date, please link me and accept my hurried apology.
Anyway, one of our recent litters arrived, and after a few meals one of the kittens started having huge puffy lips and swollen eyes. It looked exactly what anaphylaxis looks like in a human, only cuter. We rushed her to our staff vet who knew immediately what it was. She's fine now, but obviously her diet cannot contain fish, shellfish, fish oil, salmon meal, anything. Since they are from the same queen and litter, we are putting all of them on fish-free diet as a precaution.
In the short-term, we took up a collection from fellow volunteers who paid, out-of-pocket mind you, for a couple cases of Halo Spot's Stew Lamb. But kittens are voracious and this will only last a few days. As most of you know, this stuff is expensive for anyone, much less a shelter that depends on donations. $1.89/can?! Are you on something?! How about $0.29/can? (much of our food comes from stores with expired sell-by dates, factory seconds from food suppliers, donations from the public, etc. so believe me when I say retail-purchased Friskies is considered gourmet!) Obviously quality stuff like Halo is wonderful for mass-production food but completely unsustainable for us... we cannot afford such luxuries.
We found a semi-affordable fish free dry kibble, a Diamond Pet Foods marketed by Kirkland @ Costco, called "Kirkland Signature Super Premium Maintenance Cat Chicken & Rice Formula" (making sure the dates/production codes were outside of the salmonella recall notice!) and they will definitely be eating that as adults unless we can find cheaper/better. Our owner insists that kittens be given both wet and dry food during the formative first year.
If you guys have any shelter affordable wet/dry solutions, commercially available in metro NYC area, this is greatly appreciated information!
