Best Wet Food For A Sensitive Stomach?

[littlecatt]

It's been a while since I posted about my adopted cat Finn, who's now a year and a half! When I adopted him from the shelter he had chronic diarrhea which the shelter just waved off as not a big deal. Obviously that's not the case! The vet had me switch him to Natural Balance Limited Ingredients dry food and he was treated for bacteria in his intestine, and now he's happy and healthy for months. I'm not sure if it's related or not but he also has a sensitive stomach. Treats that aren't grain-free either cause him to throw up or have diarrhea again. I've been nervous about switching his food since finding something that works (Natural Balance + grain-free treats + Lysine treats) but I really want to introduce some wet food into his diet. Can anyone recommend a wet food that's good for a sensitive stomach? I was feeding him Blue Buffalo Wilderness when I took him to the vet originally and she had me switch him to dry.

For fun, here's a picture of my handsome guy from last night on his favorite windowsill!

 

[lisahe]

Since you're not sure what's causing the problem and sensitivities can be hard to figure out, I'd start by sticking with the simplest possible recipes: it's often the carby fillers that cause problems for sensitive cats. Grain-free isn't enough for many cats so you'll need to read a lot of labels.One of our cats, for example, vomits if she eats foods with potato. A few other Cat Site members have said their cats have similar problems. I avoid all grains, peas, legumes, and other carby vegetables in cat foods. It can be difficult to figure out what ingredient is causing a problem but in your case, it would be worth comparing the ingredients in the offending treats with the ingredients in the food you're feeding. If there's something in the treats that's not in the food, that might be something to try cutting.

Canned foods like Tiki Cat, Hound & Gatos, Rawz (which our cats especially love), Wild Calling, and even Fancy Feast Classics are all pretty basic in terms of ingredients because they don't have fillers. I might start by looking for foods that have the same meat/protein source as whatever you've been successfully feeding. I would also introduce the new food(s) very slowly! Also, for treats, Pure Bites, which are just freeze-dried meat, are great. Our cats love them!

Good luck. You're so right that chronic diarrhea is not something to wave off!

 

[LTS3]

Natural Balance makes a LID canned food, in several varieties I think.

There are other brands of LID foods that have a canned option:

Blue Buffalo Basics
Merrick Limited Ingredients
Koha Limited Ingredient
Nature's Variety Instinct

 

[wasabii]

Since he does well on the natural balance, maybe try their limited ingredient wet food to start.
My cats do mostly well on any cat food that doesn't have gravy in it, if I give them some for a treat, sometimes they don't respond well. Also you could start by giving him just a teeny bit one day to make sure his tummy doesn't get upset, and then give him more and more each day maybe?

 

[missmimz]

"sensitive stomach" is really code for either food allergy or sensitivity. I would put your cat on the most bio approprate food you can. Ideally that would be raw, something like Rad Cat or EZcomplete, of if you can't go that route homecooked, with EZcomplete or alnutrin, or last option would be a high quality low filler wet food like Ziwipeak, Feline Naturals, or freeze dried raw. Here's some more info about the diarrhea/food relationship. I'd also get a new vet ASAP. Any vet that recommends dry food over wet food has no idea what they're doing when it comes to cats.

My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

 

[ashekitty]

I would second trying the Natural Balance LID canned food. There are three different flavors: Chicken, Duck, and Venison.

 

[littlecatt]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! As an update I tried out Natural Balance LID canned food -- no diarrhea or other problems so far! I've also got Pure Bites coming in the mail -- excited to give those a try!

 

[MeganLLB]

If you stick with tje purebites as a treat buy the dog ones. Its cheaper and its the same thing. It comes out to more like $1 per ounce instead of $3 per ounce for the bag with a cat picture on it.