Changing diet for a junk food cat

[Musiaka]

Ah, sorry, I didn't realize you're in Lithuania so have a whole different set of foods to choose from. I also didn't realize he has triaditis. I'm sorry you're having to deal with all this.

Have you been able to figure out any of the ingredients that trigger Musiaka's flareups? What C Catmom1234567890 says about fruit, vegetables, and thickeners is very true for a lot of the foods sold in the US. There are lots of very common ingredients I just have to avoid: potato, peas, agar-agar... I could go on and on.

I'm just curious: Are these the Melting Hearts foods he likes so much? Here? They don't look bad in some senses (no wheat gluten is always a big plus!) but of course it's impossible to know what's in some of those broad categories, at least as they're listed here. Maybe there's more information on the can.

I've sometimes been able to convince our cats to eat something they don't like by layering something they do like on top of it. And adding water, like Maurey said, makes a lot of food more appealing to our picky cat. For some reason, she loves to lick up juice, gravy, and watered-down food. I hope you don't have to experiment with these things for 18 months.

Yes, exactly - that's the one! I think that's how it's marketed here in Europe. It's a juicy patè with gravy in the middle that spreads out once you poke it. By the way on Purina's site it says that it's suitable for 1-7 years old cats only, which is also worrisome.

I haven't figured out Musiaka's triggers, except for grass and maybe fish, but not quite sure about that one either

I haven't heard the word triiditis in a long time. My old cat had that among other things. Since she was a kitten,only canned. She ate koha limited ingredient duck. I couldn't stand the smell so I switched to lid instinct duck. 11 to 5 pds
My cat now,Maggie, sometimes needs extra flavoring so I mix in some fancy feast with her healthy food or by crushable treats at a small pet store. I even bought freeze dried minnows to mix in!View attachment 396855View attachment 396856

She's so freaking adorable! and thats encouraging to hear, that she lived so long despite triaditis. Musiaka is also a chronic vomiter

 

[maggie101]

Yes, exactly - that's the one! I think that's how it's marketed here in Europe. It's a juicy patè with gravy in the middle that spreads out once you poke it. By the way on Purina's site it says that it's suitable for 1-7 years old cats only, which is also worrisome.

I haven't figured out Musiaka's triggers, except for grass and maybe fish, but not quite sure about that one either

She's so freaking adorable! and thats encouraging to hear, that she lived so long despite triaditis. Musiaka is also a chronic vomiter

It is hard not knowing what's really wrong. Especially if you can't help her. So she immediately saw a specialist and had an ultrasound. He suggested duck or rabbit. I think her triiditis started when she was 13

 

[maggie101]

Yes, I have and I even slightly warmed it up to make it smell more. But Musiaka just ignores it

Is she on prednisone? My cat was twice a day the liquid was flavored at a compound pharmecy. It really helped putting it in her food. Prednisone is also an appetite stimulant. She was a pig!

 

[Catmom1234567890]

She’s on budesonide. Dr wants to keep her on hydrolyzed diet for life since she doesn’t exhibit physical symptoms of IBD. I’m not too crazy about hydrolyzed diet because of added junk fillers.
How do I conduct food elimination trial on her if she doesn’t get diarrhea or chronic vomiting?

 

[Musiaka]

I got some new food from Specific for Musiaka to try out, it's made from hydrolized lamb protein and rice. Musiaka ate it from the ground. Even looked like he's enjoying it. Placed it in his bowl - nope, ignored it straight away. Mixed it with Melting Hearts - ate a bit and then started ignoring it again. Didn't come near his bowl for the rest of the day even when I placed his beloved Melting Hearts only, not mixed with anything.
God he's so fussy. Also, he doesn't trust me anymore. Can't blame him as I always shove nasty tasting things down his throat. Sometimes I put food into his bowl and he's just looking at me suspiciously, having this "ok, what are you up to now, what's the trick?" expression on his face

 

[Musiaka]

She’s on budesonide. Dr wants to keep her on hydrolyzed diet for life since she doesn’t exhibit physical symptoms of IBD. I’m not too crazy about hydrolyzed diet because of added junk fillers.
How do I conduct food elimination trial on her if she doesn’t get diarrhea or chronic vomiting?

Hill's hydrolized protein canned food really did look like it has tons of fillers in it... actually it didn't even look like food! Or more like astronaut food but for cats

 

[Musiaka]

Is she on prednisone? My cat was twice a day the liquid was flavored at a compound pharmecy. It really helped putting it in her food. Prednisone is also an appetite stimulant. She was a pig!

No, Musiaka's not on prednisone currently. Actually he was on predinosolone before, but not on prednisone. Prednisone is not suitable for cats with liver damage as I understand

 

[maggie101]

I got some new food from Specific for Musiaka to try out, it's made from hydrolized lamb protein and rice. Musiaka ate it from the ground. Even looked like he's enjoying it. Placed it in his bowl - nope, ignored it straight away. Mixed it with Melting Hearts - ate a bit and then started ignoring it again. Didn't come near his bowl for the rest of the day even when I placed his beloved Melting Hearts only, not mixed with anything.
God he's so fussy. Also, he doesn't trust me anymore. Can't blame him as I always shove nasty tasting things down his throat. Sometimes I put food into his bowl and he's just looking at me suspiciously, having this "ok, what are you up to now, what's the trick?" expression on his face

So a flat bowl? Something happened to my cat Maggie. Instead of eating from her usual elevated bowl she would only eat from the can.

 

[maggie101]

No, Musiaka's not on prednisone currently. Actually he was on predinosolone before, but not on prednisone. Prednisone is not suitable for cats with liver damage as I understand

Oops prednisolone I ment to type. It took me a sec to remember exactly.

 

[lisahe]

So a flat bowl? Something happened to my cat Maggie. Instead of eating from her usual elevated bowl she would only eat from the can.

Yes, we have to feed Ireland on flat dishes. They're small plates, sold as appetizer dishes. I bought those after, yes, she ate food off the floor. Or a placemat on the floor. Cats can get whisker stress if their dishes/bowls are too narrow. "Too narrow" can be pretty wide. Here's an article about it.

One other thought, Musiaka ... if there's any indication that he might be constipated, that's moderately easy to treat. (And cats' motility decreases with age; our vet warns us about this at each annual exam!) Ireland gets very picky if she's a little constipated and behavior when that happens sounds a fair bit like Musiaka's.

 

[maggie101]

Yes, we have to feed Ireland on flat dishes. They're small plates, sold as appetizer dishes. I bought those after, yes, she ate food off the floor. Or a placemat on the floor. Cats can get whisker stress if their dishes/bowls are too narrow. "Too narrow" can be pretty wide. Here's an article about it.

One other thought, Musiaka ... if there's any indication that he might be constipated, that's moderately easy to treat. (And cats' motility decreases with age; our vet warns us about this at each annual exam!) Ireland gets very picky if she's a little constipated and behavior when that happens sounds a fair bit like Musiaka's.

Her bowls are whisker free.go figure. I will check out the article.

 

[maggie101]

Yes, we have to feed Ireland on flat dishes. They're small plates, sold as appetizer dishes. I bought those after, yes, she ate food off the floor. Or a placemat on the floor. Cats can get whisker stress if their dishes/bowls are too narrow. "Too narrow" can be pretty wide. Here's an article about it.

One other thought, Musiaka ... if there's any indication that he might be constipated, that's moderately easy to treat. (And cats' motility decreases with age; our vet warns us about this at each annual exam!) Ireland gets very picky if she's a little constipated and behavior when that happens sounds a fair bit like Musiaka's.

Past time for bed but a quick thank you. I forgot I have whisker free bowls like the ones in the article so I used that instead of her elevated bowl and she gobbled it up. I switched because of acid reflux so if her throw up gets worst from that I will switch back

 

[lisahe]

Past time for bed but a quick thank you. I forgot I have whisker free bowls like the ones in the article so I used that instead of her elevated bowl and she gobbled it up. I switched because of acid reflux so if her throw up gets worst from that I will switch back

I'm glad she ate with the special bowls! As for elevated feeding, we built little wooden platforms for Edwina's dishes and they really seem to help. Good luck!

 

[maggie101]

I'm glad she ate with the special bowls! As for elevated feeding, we built little wooden platforms for Edwina's dishes and they really seem to help. Good luck!

I was thinking of doing the ame thing

 

[Musiaka]

I have also tried elevating Musiaka's bowl, but then he just takes the food out and eats it from the ground which makes a lot of mess lol. Also at some point he started refusing to eat from his good quality ceramic bowls and now prefers a cheap plastic one. Go figure

 

[Musiaka]

Eh, I went back to giving him his Purina again and now he's happy and has his appetite back. But he's on antibiotics and I can't have him with an empty stomach. It would upset it even more

 

[Java Lady]

Need to read the ingredients. Even the most expensive, “healthy” canned food contain junk fillers like fruits and vegetables and most contain some sort of thickener.

Acana is not the most expensive

 

[Maurey]

Acana is not the most expensive

Not particularly good, either. Even the less bad Canadian version has only 41% protein and a whopping 23%-25% carbs. The US version has up to 37% carbs. It’s full of cheap vegetable fillers.

 

[maggie101]

I have also tried elevating Musiaka's bowl, but then he just takes the food out and eats it from the ground which makes a lot of mess lol. Also at some point he started refusing to eat from his good quality ceramic bowls and now prefers a cheap plastic one. Go figure

Paper plates? Or the bowl shown in the article

 

[lisahe]

Paper plates? Or the bowl shown in the article

Placemats on the floor worked well for Ireland.

Eh, I went back to giving him his Purina again and now he's happy and has his appetite back. But he's on antibiotics and I can't have him with an empty stomach. It would upset it even more

Yes, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.