New Here... Recently Switched My Cat & Kitten To Friskies..

[Oneluckypanda]

Ive had cleo since early March & little Dude since Aug. 1st. I was feeding Cleo wellness & Weruva. She had no issues. Fed little dude the food the rescue said he was eating. He has had extremely mushy poo or diarhea from day one. I took him to the vet 2 days after getting him & he was diagnosed with an eye infection & upper respiratory infection. Let rescue know & they said he had an upper respiratory infection while there & was treated with antibiotics. They thought he was fine. Vet did another round of antibiotics, probiotics and stuff to boost immune system. Eye infection cleared up but hes still sneezes & wheezing. Any how i fed him dry & canned i was told to feed and horrible poo..i slowly began switching him to wellness and he still had issues on top of bad gas. I tried pumpkin, i tried a bland diet...nothing was working. I was at costco & they had a good deal on friskies pate' i bought it and started introducing it slowly to him with pumpkin. He LOVES it. And has had firm poo. My other cat started eating it too and likes it more than her wellness or weruva. I have shopped at mudbay mostly but if need to i go to petsmart or Petco. Well im sure the staff had mudbay would be horrified im feeding fruskies but im having way better results with it with both cats and the price is so much more affordable. My vet is thinking my new kitten has feline aids because he is still having symptoms of upper respiratory infection after 2 rounds of antibiotics. She advised i test. He has swollen gums, inflamed gums too. So she advised only feeding canned. No mouth ulcers at this time. So my question is... is friskies that bad? I was told by products are really bad..that by products are low quality and harmful. But no hot poops and more money to buy more canned has been awesome.

 

[Uncled]

My two eat Friskies pate style as do a lot of cats on this site, I'm sure other people will respond too. Don't equate expensive food with quality,feed what your budget allows and more importantly what your cat will enjoy and eat .

 

[Oneluckypanda]

Ok, than you

 

[jen]

Did you have the vet test him then? I would absolutely do that. Did the rescue not do it at all?

 

[Oneluckypanda]

I have not been back to the vet. I have been in contact with them over email. Not in a hurry to test because it doesnt change much. Its not curable. Its chronic. Im already giving him probiotics and immune boosters prescribed by vet. I also am tapped out on cash for vet fees at the moment. His only symptoms as of now are chronic runny nose and wheezing sometimes, which his vet is aware of. I use a quality cat litter worlds best litter that has very little dust. The vet said that is acceptable litter. The rescues in my state do not test for fiv or felv. The rescue that sent him out to my local petsmart new he was ill. petsmart had to send back 2 seperate litters from that same rescue previously because they were ill.

 

[Oneluckypanda]

I read that is uncommon for kittens to acquire infection from their mothers, most kittens will get a false positive if tested under 6months. I also read that the best course of action is:

• Keep your cat indoors. This will protect him from contact with disease-causing agents to which he may be susceptible. By bringing your cat indoors, you’re also protecting the uninfected cats in your community. (He is strictly indoors)

• Watch for changes-even seemingly minor-in your cat’s health and behavior. Immediately report any health concerns to your vet.(i keep in contact with his vet)

• Bring your cat to your vet at least twice per year for a wellness checkup, blood count and urine analysis.

• Feed your cat a nutritionally balanced food-no raw food diets, please, as bacteria and parasites in uncooked meat and eggs can be dangerous to immunocompromised pets.

• Be sure your cat is spayed or neutered. (Both he & my other cat are neutered & spayed)

 

[Sonatine]

Luckily, many cats with FIV can lead fairly normal lives. You just have to keep an eye on them and be more proactive with vet visits than you might for a non-FIV cat.

As for the question about by-products above, I don't think they're as bad as some say they are. When cats eat things that they catch, they eat most, if not all, of their prey. That includes the by-products: skin, organs, etc. I'd rather it not be the first ingredient on a cat food ingredient list, but it's hardly the end of the world if it is, and I don't mind seeing it further down, either.

 

[lisahe]

As for the question about by-products above, I don't think they're as bad as some say they are. When cats eat things that they catch, they eat most, if not all, of their prey. That includes the by-products: skin, organs, etc. I'd rather it not be the first ingredient on a cat food ingredient list, but it's hardly the end of the world if it is, and I don't mind seeing it further down, either.

That pretty much sums up my opinion on byproducts, too. I'd much rather feed a food with byproducts as the first ingredient than foods with any quantity of wheat, corn, peas, or potato! Lots of byproducts provide important nutrients for cats.

For more on byproducts (and positive mentions of Friskies, Oneluckypanda !), check out Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats. from Dr. Lisa Pierson, a vet and author. (That page is very long so you can just search Friskies or by-products, with the hyphen, on the page.)

 

[mizzely]

Friskies is a great option for many people and cats for many reasons.

 

[Erin80]

Both of ours eat Friskies pate. I was feeding them all the high end brands before and Kaia just had non stop loose poop or full out diarrhea. I tried them on Friskies, and no more loose poop or diarrhea at all. That says something!!

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I tried every "boutique" brand with my three. Either one would eat it and not the other two, or they all ate a few bites and walked away. I put some Friskies down in front of them out of frustration and all bowls were licked clean...go figure...

Fancy Feast classic pates are also decent and budget-friendly, if you're looking for a bit of variety for them.