Help replacing canola oil in prescribed recipe

[Alldara]

Do you use any special solutions with it, or just water?

I'll do that on his head while petting him, thanks for the idea! He lets me brush him and all, so working up to it would likely be ideal. I do however have a product I'll be using to clean him with starting today, though, so he'll have to put up with me to some extent

Just water is all that's needed.

 

[sophie1]

Oops, I responded to this thread and realized the initial post was from 2 years ago! deleted.

 

[gabicards]

Oops, I responded to this thread and realized the initial post was from 2 years ago! deleted.

Hi! No no, it's from last month! I just saw your reply via email and was gonna reply lol

 

[gabicards]

sophie1

Let me clarify some points about the recipe, based on your deleted post:

My cat's diet wasn't formulated by his vet, it was formulated by cuisine-a-crocs.com, which is a French reference for natural feeding for cats and dogs. Anyone can order a (paid) recipe on their website, as it uses a calculator to formulate it based on the information that you input about your pet, but when the animal has some type of condition, the recipe needs to be ordered by a vet. This is what we did - my cat has presumptive IBD, and he poops every 3 days - no signs of actual constipation, though. The consistency is normal (if a little on the dry side), it's log shapped, he doesn't strain, there's no meowing, he just hops in, sits, poops and gets out. But it's still unusual and it makes me anxious, so I try to stay on the safe side by treating him as if he has a tendency for being constipated. It's very rare for me to see vets online stating that this frequency is normal (I came across one yesterday), because most cats poop everyday.

I don't know this for certain because I was not involved in the ordering of the recipe, but I think this frequency has an impact in the amount of fiber added to the recipe.

I do think the recipe the vet got from cuisine-a-crocs.com was also generated by a calculator, and I have no idea how it differs from one I could have gotten myself through their platform (though it was obviously more expensive, since I had to pay an actual consultation fee to get it), but, in any case, I just got a new recipe from thelittlecarnivore.com that doesn't seem to have been generated the same way, and it contains a similar amount of veggies. No canola oil, though - because she used veal breast in the recipe and it has more fat than the previous one, she opted for an oil supplement by NOW Foods that I think is fish sourced (I ordered it, it hasn't arrived).

I don't know whether the meal completer is ideal... we have two known options here: Felini Complete and Vit'i5 (which is the one we've been using). Doing the mix myself with organs and bone is not an option for me based on where I live - sourcing everything would be a nightmare, and I would always face the risk of not being able to acquire something.

To be honest, I can't vouch for the quality of any of the recipes I'm getting, because my cat hasn't been on them long enough for me to know for certain that he has no deficiencies. I'd be scared of changing the amount of fiber on my own because I don't know what else would help bulk up my cat's stool, and I'd hate to see him go longer than 3 days without pooping, even if there was nothing out of the ordinary in his xray and there's nothing about him that indicates that he is sick.

I do add water! He eats 170g of food per day + at least 50ml of water, though it varies a little bit because I don't weight the water, I add it with a tiny measuring cup to every meal. I've never worried about the exact amount because he's very well hydrated. I was told by two of his vets that, as long as his water intake doesn't affect the amount of food he eats (as in, so long as it doesn't fill him to the point he won't finish a meal) then I don't need to worry about it, he'll just pee more.

Also, adding to this already suuuper long post... I suspect the reaction around his mouth was caused by a change in his malt paste. I posted about it here: Fur under mouth looks slightly off

(I will still change the recipe to the new one, which I can share later if anyone's curious, but I will change the malt paste first and observe to see if the skin situation improves. It hasn't gotten any worse, I think it's slightly better on the sides, but it's still there)

 

[sophie1]

Thanks gabicards. I deleted my post because I replied before realizing the thread was years old.

I'd be highly suspicious of random websites with a single vet charging to make up recipes without clearly explaining the rationale of the ingredients.

I suggest not overthinking this. If you have a "complete" supplement mix designed to be used with boneless meats, then by all means, use it! Some cats do have trouble pooping after a lifetime of being fed a species-inappropriate diet, or just because. If so, there are things you can do to help them poop. Check out Dr. Lisa Pierson's website which goes into some detail about this. Me, I add water to my cats' food at mealtimes, and keep a couple of flower pots planted with cat grass, which they like to eat before each meal. I also limit the amount of bone in the mixes I make, as 10% is too much for most cats - though that doesn't seem to be your issue. Other additives that people recommend for constipation are canned pumpkin, guar or xanthan gum, and ground psyllium husk. These may only be needed temporarily while they adjust to a raw food diet.

Other than the constipation issue, cats have no biological need for veggies, grains or other non-animal-sourced additives in their food. These ingredients are added to commercial wet foods as a filler to lower the cost of the ingredients, and to artificially meet nutrient requirements with cheap, low quality ingredients that cats, incidentally, can't digest or use. Example: beta carotene used as a stand-in for real vitamin A - which it isn't even for humans, as we can only convert about 10% of beta carotene to vitamin A, but for cats it's worse as they can't convert any of it.

 

[gabicards]

Thanks gabicards. I deleted my post because I replied before realizing the thread was years old.

I'd be highly suspicious of random websites with a single vet charging to make up recipes without clearly explaining the rationale of the ingredients.

I suggest not overthinking this. If you have a "complete" supplement mix designed to be used with boneless meats, then by all means, use it! Some cats do have trouble pooping after a lifetime of being fed a species-inappropriate diet, or just because. If so, there are things you can do to help them poop. Check out Dr. Lisa Pierson's website which goes into some detail about this. Me, I add water to my cats' food at mealtimes, and keep a couple of flower pots planted with cat grass, which they like to eat before each meal. I also limit the amount of bone in the mixes I make, as 10% is too much for most cats - though that doesn't seem to be your issue. Other additives that people recommend for constipation are canned pumpkin, guar or xanthan gum, and ground psyllium husk. These may only be needed temporarily while they adjust to a raw food diet.

Other than the constipation issue, cats have no biological need for veggies, grains or other non-animal-sourced additives in their food. These ingredients are added to commercial wet foods as a filler to lower the cost of the ingredients, and to artificially meet nutrient requirements with cheap, low quality ingredients that cats, incidentally, can't digest or use. Example: beta carotene used as a stand-in for real vitamin A - which it isn't even for humans, as we can only convert about 10% of beta carotene to vitamin A, but for cats it's worse as they can't convert any of it.

Hi Sophie - the thread is 2 months old

I think the suspicion is warranted... but the site is widely recognized by vets in France, so it's the best some of us can do in order not to have a vet blame every possible issue on food. I am now working with a nutritionist, not a website, but I won't be able to tell my vet that, because the nutritionist has a degree in animal nutrition, but is not a vet. If I tell them, I'd be willing to bet with you that each time I take my cat in because of anything, the food will be the culprit regardless of what it is.

Their reasoning is straight up annoying. I've had a vet look me in the eye and tell me, in all earnestness, that she couldn't avise on food because nutrition is a whole specialization of veterinary medicine, and she was a generalist. But then this very same vet saw the website of the nutritionist I am now working with and said she'd prefer I didn't work with her since she isn't a vet. Like... GIRL!! YOU are a vet and you told me you don't know anything about this subject!! Also, my human nutritionist did not study medicine. She studied nutrition, which is a whole field of its own!

Topaz does better with egg yolk powder added to his food, when it comes to constipation. It makes him poop every 2 days, occasionally 3... but it's odd to see that it's less in quantity when it's only 2 days. I mean, it stands to reason, since I got used to him going every 3 or 4 days, but still.

As for the skin around his mouth, it's the same. The nutritionist did formulate a new recipe without canola oil this time, but I will only start transitioning him at the end of this month.