Canned food for sensitive stomach?

[mochapenguin]

My 3 year old tabby frequently vomits after eating her canned food. Sometimes it will just be once, but often she will continue to vomit until her stomach has emptied. She only throws up after eating canned food, never after dry or any other time throughout the day. We've talked to the vet about it and he suggested switching food brands. They push Science Diet there, but I'm not impressed by the ingredient list. He also recommended a food specifically for sensitive stomach, but I've only been able to find dry food with that label, no canned.

Current food brand: Nutro Max Cat adult canned and indoor adult dry.
Current feeding routine: We have an automatic feeder for the dry food that disperses 1/4th cup three times daily (this is for two cats btw), then we also feed each cat 1/3rd of a 3 oz. can of wet food three times daily.

She does tend to eat very quickly, so we've always suspected that to be part of the problem. When we put out the canned food, we mix in a small handful of the dry food from their bowl to try and force her to slow down, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Our other kitty almost never vomits.

We've been putting up with it for as long as we've had her, but it's getting intolerable and we're ready to switch food brands -- would love any recommendations!!

 

[otto]

Stop mixing canned and dry. The dry swells when it gets into her tummy, and makes her feel too full so she vomits.

Nutro is not a food I would recommend. Their products are inconsistent, in my opinion, and if you have a problem you will get no joy from their customer service.

Hills Prescription is not the same as Hill's Science Diet. Prescription foods are made the way they are for a reason. The Hills prescription I/D is made for cats with sensitive systems. If you don't like hills there are other Prescription food choices available.

However your kitty may have a food allergy to something in the food you are feeding.

Read the labels, and try switching her a food with no grains, and/or a different protein source. Chicken and fish are common allergens to cats. Try an alternate protein like veal or rabbit.

 

[sharky]

Read the labels ... I suspect a soy allergy.. OR the NEW addition of WHEAT to the natural choice/max line...

you can get a BACTERIAL bloom by mixing wet and dry together.. this can make kitty VERY sick...

when she throws up is it mainly her dry food in nearly to whole pieces>?

 

[mochapenguin]

Thanks for the replies! She throws up within 5 minutes of eating, so everything comes back up exactly as it went down; so much so that our other kitty will eat it all if we don't stop her.

We don't really "mix" the wet and dry per se, usually only sprinkle maybe 5-10 pieces of dry on the top of the wet (chunks) to slow her down. When she's eating her canned food, she doesn't want any of the dry, so she'll try to eat around it. Often she'll manage to avoid eating any pieces of the dry and leave them on the plate, but she still throws up, so I'm not sure the dry is part of the problem.

We've been feeding her the same food for a couple years now, and she's been doing this pretty much the whole time I think. Sometimes she'll go 3 weeks without throwing up, other times she'll puke 3 times in one week. Almost never more than once in a day.

It always really seemed to us like she just eats too fast, but the vet seemed to think that was unusual, especially since once she starts she'll usually throw up 3-5 times in a row.

 

[sharky]

can u elevate her dish with a phone book?

 

[mochapenguin]

Yep, we already do (well not a phone book but a box that's about that height).

 

[sharky]

put a ping pong ball in the bowl...

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by sharky

put a ping pong ball in the bowl...

Might that not cause the kitty to swallow too much air though?

I recommend most definitely changing the food, if your cat has been vomiting on this food for years. In addition feed more meals in smaller portions.

My cats only get 1/4 of a 3 oz can at a time, every 15 minutes or so, and I feed this way to prevent scarf and barf.

Please keep us posted!

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by otto

Might that not cause the kitty to swallow too much air though?

I recommend most definitely changing the food, if your cat has been vomiting on this food for years. In addition feed more meals in smaller portions.

My cats only get 1/4 of a 3 oz can at a time, every 15 minutes or so, and I feed this way to prevent scarf and barf.

Please keep us posted!

Supposedly no...

I agree try a food with less grain( hint read the labels ...

California natural is a good one

 

[mochapenguin]

Well we went to PetSmart tonight to read some labels and came home with a couple cans of By Nature 95% Meat. It has no corn, wheat, or soy, so I'm hoping this will help if she does have some kind of an intolerance.

Tonight we mixed a little bit of it in with their evening meal and so far, so good (our cats are not picky, they'll eat anything). I haven't been able to find many reviews of this food though, any thoughts or experiences?

Ingredient List:

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Guar Gum, Cassia Gum, Carrageenan, Minerals (Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Inulin, Vitamins (Vitamin E, A, D3, B12 Supplements, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin), Choline Chloride, Flaxseed Oil, Salt, Taurine.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by mochapenguin

Well we went to PetSmart tonight to read some labels and came home with a couple cans of By Nature 95% Meat. It has no corn, wheat, or soy, so I'm hoping this will help if she does have some kind of an intolerance.

Tonight we mixed a little bit of it in with their evening meal and so far, so good (our cats are not picky, they'll eat anything). I haven't been able to find many reviews of this food though, any thoughts or experiences?

Ingredient List:

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Guar Gum, Cassia Gum, Carrageenan all gum binding agents , Minerals (Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Inulin, Vitamins (Vitamin E, A, D3, B12 Supplements, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin), Choline Chloride, Flaxseed Oil, Salt, Taurine.

Good solid food ... IMHO too many gums too high on list and alot of $$ for what you get

 

[nosykitty]

By Nature, and By Nature Organics are very good foods. This is what I feed. These are some other higher quality wet foods: Evo/Innova, Wellness, Felidae, Wysong, California Natural and Solid Gold as the above poster stated.

I agree with the posts on trying not to feed allergens (corn,wheat,soy,fish etc). There are also special bowls designed to slow down those who tend to gorge, though a ping pong ball would probably have the same effect as a cheaper solution.

And if you want to do even better, try including some raw in her diet. Here are a few sites on that:
http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/bybrawdiets.htm
http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicalguide.htm
http://www.barfworld.com/

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by NosyKitty

By Nature, and By Nature Organics are very good foods. This is what I feed. These are some other higher quality wet foods: Evo/Innova, Wellness, Felidae, Wysong, California Natural and Solid Gold as the above poster stated.

I agree with the posts on trying not to feed allergens (corn,wheat,soy,fish etc). There are also special bowls designed to slow down those who tend to gorge, though a ping pong ball would probably have the same effect as a cheaper solution.

And if you want to do even better, try including some raw in her diet. Here are a few sites on that:
http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/bybrawdiets.htm
http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicalguide.htm
http://www.barfworld.com/

Here is a gentle reminder ... WE HAVE a raw forum.. for those who seek info or are feeding said diet

 

[addiebee]

It does sound like a food allergy or sensitivity. The trick is figuring out what is causing the problem.

I have a little scarf n barf cat... went through several foods both wet and dry with him and various techniques to get him to slow down and KEEP his nourishment IN his belly.

Not sure WHICH of these things did the trick, but I feed:

• Taste of the Wild dry
• Mostly Authority and Nutro Wet (Tex is not fussy and will eat most anything)
• I put his WET food in a "speed bump" bowl. Dogit "Slow it down" I think it's called.

NO puking for over two months.

I also suspect a bit of a fish sensitivity so I watch how much fishy wet I give. TOTW is a mixed protein dry - has fish it it. Sometimes I mix in a little BG Chicken dry. The boys seem to like that, too. It also goes in their treat ball.

I have used the By Nature. I think it is pricey. Brandon Farms at Kroger is the same for about 20cents a can less. It is kind of dry and gummy... so if I use it I mix it with something more juicy and/or I add a little water.

Also note that switching over completely to grain free wet might be too rich for your cats. Might have to mix in something else. Authority wet is not bad - decent food.

My boys unformly HATED the NB duck and green pea wet... so to each cat its preference.

Sigghhh.... I also tried Cal Naturals, too. Nope. Nuh-uh. Zip.

Not that this is right for your cats, but the fave of the moment around here is half Nutro chicken or turkey and half Authority ocean fish formula. Very nearly the clean plate club combination.

 

[maxsmom]

I have a cat with sensitive stomach who vomits after she eats, and her gassy poop would clear a football stadium but after financing my vet's kids college educations, I think I can offer some suggestions:

First, if you have not already done so, check kitty's poop at a vet for parasites. If that is negative, as was mine, try a sensitive stomach food. I am using two right now with great results. One is a Blue Buffalo food called "Basics". They come in four flavors, but it appears only the red colored bags and cans (turkey flavor I think) is completely grain free so we tried that one. The food comes in wet and dry and the cat likes it and it appears to be making a big difference.

The other food we are trying is a Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs. She seems to like this dry food better than the Blue Buffalo but it does not come in wet food.

I am also adding a probiotic to her food. I get it in a powder and I mix one pack a day (its a little more than a teaspoon per pouch) in with some of the wet Blue Buffalo wet food and she scarfs it down.

The other thing I did was to replace her Temptations brand treats with ones made by GNC for cats with sensitive tummies.

We have only been on the new regimen a few days but Max is back to walking around the house and seems to be feeling much better. No puking and no gassy diarrhea explosions in the cat box or on my bed so in the event that this helps you, I am passing it on to you. I get all my food at a local Petsmart and nothing I buy needs a prescription. Good luck.

 

[bschmaltzy]

I don't see it mentioned here, but my cat will throw up within a few minutes of eating any food with carageenan. I have spent many, many hours researching foods for her, and trying to get her to eat them --she is suspicious of anything strange, and wouldn't even go in the same room with raw food. My vet and many others I have found think any dry food is a poor choice, but to get Tess to eat a new food is a long slow process of introducing it gradually. I have ordered and given away cases of highly recommended foods. Don't currently have a suggestion--she was doing fine with Friskies Plus Turkey & Giblets  but then I got a case that caused diarrhea--I really think it was tainted. I returned it and asked Petco to contact the distributor. So I'm trying again. Don't want anything canned in China! I'll keep reading. Thanks!

 

[otto]

I don't see it mentioned here, but my cat will throw up within a few minutes of eating any food with carageenan. I have spent many, many hours researching foods for her, and trying to get her to eat them --she is suspicious of anything strange, and wouldn't even go in the same room with raw food. My vet and many others I have found think any dry food is a poor choice, but to get Tess to eat a new food is a long slow process of introducing it gradually. I have ordered and given away cases of highly recommended foods. Don't currently have a suggestion--she was doing fine with Friskies Plus Turkey & Giblets  but then I got a case that caused diarrhea--I really think it was tainted. I returned it and asked Petco to contact the distributor. So I'm trying again. Don't want anything canned in China! I'll keep reading. Thanks!

While it may not be mentioned in this thread we do have quite a few discussions on carrageenan in this forum. I too avoid it. It can be hard work to find not only carrageenan free foods, but carrageenan free foods the cat will actually eat

I feed canned and raw now, and absolutely no carrageenan.

 

[momof3b1g]

I was told to spread the canned food out. So to slow the cat from eating to fast. 

 

[bschmaltzy]

Thanks, Otto. I am new to the site. I checked out your other posts, and saw you like to use By Nature, so I've ordered 2 cases!  As long as there is no carrageenan, Tess digests most other canned food ok (except the batch from Friskies Plus, after she'd been eating it for months just fine), but I haven't found a healthy one she really likes. She is reluctantly eating Pure Vita now, but I'm having to mix it with high carb foods just to get her to eat it. Sheba Cuts look pretty good, and I got her to eat some in just one day, so I may try more of that. I'll need something she likes to mix in the new food. I'll keep reading to see if I can figure out how to get her to consider raw food.

 

[otto]

Thanks, Otto. I am new to the site. I checked out your other posts, and saw you like to use By Nature, so I've ordered 2 cases!  As long as there is no carrageenan, Tess digests most other canned food ok (except the batch from Friskies Plus, after she'd been eating it for months just fine), but I haven't found a healthy one she really likes. She is reluctantly eating Pure Vita now, but I'm having to mix it with high carb foods just to get her to eat it. Sheba Cuts look pretty good, and I got her to eat some in just one day, so I may try more of that. I'll need something she likes to mix in the new food. I'll keep reading to see if I can figure out how to get her to consider raw food.

You're welcome! Make sure you ordered the By Nature ORGANIC. The By Nature Organic does not contain carrageenan. the 95% does.

Variety is a good thing, anyway.