Best food for my FIV+ cat with dental problems, hair loss

[berniecat]

Hey everyone,

So my 5 year old, 12 pound bundle of joy, Bernie was just adopted last Friday. He has had some dental work done - 8 extractions - on his left side with only 3 fangs left. His coat on his body is nice/full, while his coat in between his eyes and ears have had some hair loss, which is normal of cats with FIV, I was told. 

I have been feeding him what they were feeding him at the ASPCA, twice a day: 1/4 cup of Halo Spot's Stew Wholesome Chicken Indoor Cat Formula dry food and 2 tablespoons of Triumph canned salmon pate side by side. He leaves most of the dry food behind when he eats. He doesn't go crazy over his dry food. For his treats (I give him 1-3 a day) I use Temptations turkey flavor treats. He LOVES these treats even though they're sub-par and have corn in them.

Does anyone have any experience with Blue Buffalo dry cat food? Is it REALLY as good as these reviews say they are? I did an ingredients comparison and I do love that they include L-Lysine in their formulas! It's just as a first time cat owner with a cat with special needs I'd like to give him the best so he can live his best life.

Or, if anyone has any other suggestions on feeding my FIV+ cat, it'd be really helpful!

Side note - my cat tends to fart a bit when he is deeply relaxed and asleep. Is that normal?

 

[Norachan]

Hi @berniecat

Welcome to TCS and thank you for giving this boy a new home.

I have one FIV cat and she's had to have nearly all of her teeth removed. She can't eat dry food at all, she gets canned food only and I usually have to mash it up with a bit of warm water for her. Did the ASPCA tell you to keep him on dry food? If he's not that crazy about it I think it would be better to feed him canned. 

I'm not in the US so I'm not familiar with the food you can get over there, but this thread might have some useful information for you.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262782/fiv-cats-and-diet-any-other-fiv-cat-parents-have-input

Farting can be a sign that your cat is having digestive problems. It might be because he is having trouble swallowing after his dental and is swallowing a lot of air with his food. It could also mean that he has worms or that he can't digest the fillers/carbohydrates in his food.

I guess the ASCPA treated him for possible parasites? I suggest you try him on a canned food to see if that helps. Changes in diet can upset his stomach at first, so give him time to adjust to the new food and if he is still passing a lot of gas ask your vet for advice.

 

[molly92]

Every resource and vet out there emphasizes good nutrition for FIV positive cats, so these are some good questions!

My FIV positive girl has pretty good teeth, but she still gets a diet of all wet food. Unlike dry food, wet food does not need carbohydrate fillers to bind it together into pieces, so it can be much healthier and more nutritious. Also the water content is great for keeping cats hydrated, which is important because so many cats develop urinary health issues.

I'm not super familiar with Triumph. From the ingredient list it seems fairly good, although the rice flour is unnecessary and not ideal. Feeding primarily fish is not the best thing for cats for many reasons though, which you can read more about here: http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-fish-is-dangerous-for-cats/

Canned foods that I have experience with and really like are Wellness CORE, Holistic Select, Nature's Logic, Whole Earth Farms, Nature's Variety Instinct, EVO, Hounds and Gatos, and Tiki Cat. There are other good ones but I know those best.

Once upon a time I think Blue Buffalo was a good company with good food, but I do not trust their food at all now. They have a history of recalls for all sorts of problems, they were caught lying about ingredients in their food, and if I'm remembering correctly, they didn't used to have as many filler ingredients but have been sneaking more in over time. They also do a weird thing with their kibble where there are 2 different types of kibble in each bag, one made of most of the main ingredients and one with the necessary added vitamins and minerals. So if an animal picks out one type of kibble over the other, or the kibble settles unevenly in the bag, the dog or cat may not be getting the right balance of nutrients with every meal.

For treats I either feed something freeze-dried like Purebites, or Orijen kibble. My cat is nuts about Temptations and Greenies too, but with her history of digestion issues and the unhealthy ingredients in those treats, I don't feed them any more. She really loves her healthy treats though too! I sometimes get these freeze-dried minnows from Vital Essentials that are her extra special treat, although they might be difficult for a cat with few teeth. Purebites are good because you can break them easily into very small pieces.

Initially I added lysine to my cat's food when I got her, but it became clear she doesn't have any upper respiratory viruses and she doesn't come into contact with other cats so she's not likely to catch anything, so I don't currently use it. It's easy to find online or in human health supplement stores in a powder form you can easily sprinkle in food if you'd like to, though.

I don't have much experience with excessive gas, but my cat has her share of constipation and digestive issues. I've found probiotics (specifically acidophilus) to be enormously helpful for her, so maybe that's something to try. I also think they are very good for her immune system!

 

[berniecat]

 
Hi @berniecat

Welcome to TCS and thank you for giving this boy a new home.

I have one FIV cat and she's had to have nearly all of her teeth removed. She can't eat dry food at all, she gets canned food only and I usually have to mash it up with a bit of warm water for her. Did the ASPCA tell you to keep him on dry food? If he's not that crazy about it I think it would be better to feed him canned. 

I'm not in the US so I'm not familiar with the food you can get over there, but this thread might have some useful information for you.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262782/fiv-cats-and-diet-any-other-fiv-cat-parents-have-input

Farting can be a sign that your cat is having digestive problems. It might be because he is having trouble swallowing after his dental and is swallowing a lot of air with his food. It could also mean that he has worms or that he can't digest the fillers/carbohydrates in his food.

I guess the ASCPA treated him for possible parasites? I suggest you try him on a canned food to see if that helps. Changes in diet can upset his stomach at first, so give him time to adjust to the new food and if he is still passing a lot of gas ask your vet for advice.

The ASPCA gave me the mix for the food he eats now which is what I've been giving him. I really think he's having a bit of trouble swallowing because right after he eats he licks his lips a bit which I know is a sign of nausea. 

The ASPCA treated him for all parasites/worms and vaccinated him so he is fine. I am going to lessen how much dry stuff I am giving him since about half of it he doesn't eat unless he's really hungry. 

Thank you so much for this advice it's greatly appreciated!

 

[berniecat]

Every resource and vet out there emphasizes good nutrition for FIV positive cats, so these are some good questions!

My FIV positive girl has pretty good teeth, but she still gets a diet of all wet food. Unlike dry food, wet food does not need carbohydrate fillers to bind it together into pieces, so it can be much healthier and more nutritious. Also the water content is great for keeping cats hydrated, which is important because so many cats develop urinary health issues.

I'm not super familiar with Triumph. From the ingredient list it seems fairly good, although the rice flour is unnecessary and not ideal. Feeding primarily fish is not the best thing for cats for many reasons though, which you can read more about here: http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-fish-is-dangerous-for-cats/

Canned foods that I have experience with and really like are Wellness CORE, Holistic Select, Nature's Logic, Whole Earth Farms, Nature's Variety Instinct, EVO, Hounds and Gatos, and Tiki Cat. There are other good ones but I know those best.

Once upon a time I think Blue Buffalo was a good company with good food, but I do not trust their food at all now. They have a history of recalls for all sorts of problems, they were caught lying about ingredients in their food, and if I'm remembering correctly, they didn't used to have as many filler ingredients but have been sneaking more in over time. They also do a weird thing with their kibble where there are 2 different types of kibble in each bag, one made of most of the main ingredients and one with the necessary added vitamins and minerals. So if an animal picks out one type of kibble over the other, or the kibble settles unevenly in the bag, the dog or cat may not be getting the right balance of nutrients with every meal.

For treats I either feed something freeze-dried like Purebites, or Orijen kibble. My cat is nuts about Temptations and Greenies too, but with her history of digestion issues and the unhealthy ingredients in those treats, I don't feed them any more. She really loves her healthy treats though too! I sometimes get these freeze-dried minnows from Vital Essentials that are her extra special treat, although they might be difficult for a cat with few teeth. Purebites are good because you can break them easily into very small pieces.

Initially I added lysine to my cat's food when I got her, but it became clear she doesn't have any upper respiratory viruses and she doesn't come into contact with other cats so she's not likely to catch anything, so I don't currently use it. It's easy to find online or in human health supplement stores in a powder form you can easily sprinkle in food if you'd like to, though.

I don't have much experience with excessive gas, but my cat has her share of constipation and digestive issues. I've found probiotics (specifically acidophilus) to be enormously helpful for her, so maybe that's something to try. I also think they are very good for her immune system!

Thank you so much. I was definitely thinking of putting him on probiotics and it's good you mentioned I can use the l-lysine from health food stores. I just wanna keep on the safe side and do everything I possibly can for my little guy.

I'll def look into these brands you mentioned. Thanks again

 

[berniecat]

UPDATE:

So today I visited a holistic food place in my neighborhood: http://www.1800whiskers.com/

They were so helpful in trying to find the best food for my Bernie and I'm seeing some improvement: more energy and he's not farting anymore <3

Will update again after he poops.

We have him now on a diet with the Halo's Spot's Stew Wholesome Chicken and Dave's Naturally Healthy Food in Turkey and Salmon (we are weaning him off the seafood now). He LOVES this flavor so much more than Triumph salmon. When I would mix his food previously he'd never lick the spoon for me, now with this new stuff, he licked it all off and kept trilling at me for more! To add, I mixed in a 500 mg tablet of L-Lysine!! He ate it all up

He also has some new treats which contributed to less gas. I'm now giving him Whole Life Originals Cat Treats in turkey. I soak em up in warm water and he goes absolutely wild for them!

 

[Norachan]

That's great.

Finding a good food that your cat actually loves is the hardest part of the battle. I'm sure you're going to see huge improvements in his health from now on.