Did my cat's tail break or anything else related to it happen?

Mr_Kitty

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I held my cat and dropped him on the couch when I was playing with him and he fell on his lower back/tail (closer to the bum) and I also dropped him accidentally when I was holding him and trying to multitask (was filling up his food bowl) and I believe he fell similarly. I don't remember which one happened first and if his tail looked like this after the first or second incident but I attached a few videos at the end of this thread.

Also, my friends who own cats said if he broke his tail in the slightest, he would be in excruciating pain and I would know it for sure. I wonder if another organ was hurt or if there was nerve damage to the point he didn't feel the injury because of how CLEAN the cut of the nerve or whatever it was happened....

Another important piece of information, I learned that when you pet your cat on the lower back, they raise their bum high up, mine almost never does it and if he does it is very brief. After he fell he was glued to the floor and his bum was raised high, he also walked like that and I freaked out so I picked him up and pet him on the balcony and I am fairly certain he walks and plays normally now or close to 100%.

Did he just temporarily get hurt? Just like we ight stub our toe and walk as if it's broken but it just hurts for a few hours or a couple of days? I really want his tail to function as it did before and I feel so responsible. I promised myself not to play rough with him anymore and be super cautious going forward.

Do I ice the area for him or bandage it? I wonder if I shouldn't have touched it at all, I want it to heal completely and hope I don't have to take him to the vet as the examination and x-rays will cost money I don't have and I hope he heals naturally and regains full control of his body parts and tail. I really don't know what happened, can you help me out by watching a few videos I posted?

Please if you don't mind watch each video and don't skip any since they all have something which will help you figure out what might have happened. I am letting him rest now. Thank you everyone.

First Video
Second Video
Third Video
Fourth Video
Fifth Video

Leo ALWAYS walks with his tail raised high, whether with a little hook at the end or full on straight tail high or at least body height level. It is evident this is not normal for him at all, and the bum raising earlier was very awkward and I am not sure why he did that. I hope he will fully recover and regain full functionality of his tail and whatever got hurt within a few days from now by resting.
 
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KarenKat

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So sorry your kitty hurt his tail! I’m not a vet so I can’t really diagnose anything but I can share something similar that happened to our kitty Gohan.

He’s always been a big jumper, and we came home one night when he was about 8 years old and he was in incredible pain, walking slunk low to the ground and had a limp tail. He was also a kitty that always had his tail up and would shake it when he was really happy.

We rushed him to the emergency vet and they took X-rays. He didn’t have any visible breaks, but they did see he had some arthritis at the base of the tail. They said it was from instability in his spine and the bone tried to compensate. We assume he fell tom a height and someone aggravated it. They gave him pain meds and told use to put in on crate rest for a month to allow his tail to heal. Now this was because he was in obvious pain, your kitty is active and playful and looks like he’s doing great.

So the good news is Gohan is just as active and happy as before. But his tail never fully recovered and is still a bit stiff and limp. Occasionally he can raise it all the way up but it’s rare. Doesn’t seem to have any major effects though and he doesn’t need amputation at all.

I think your kitty will be completely fine, although maybe a vet Visit could help if he is in any pain and maybe could use mild painkillers. It’s obvious you care about him a whole lot and he seems like a very happy and playful kitty.
 
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Mr_Kitty

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So sorry your kitty hurt his tail! I’m not a vet so I can’t really diagnose anything but I can share something similar that happened to our kitty Gohan.

He’s always been a big jumper, and we came home one night when he was about 8 years old and he was in incredible pain, walking slunk low to the ground and had a limp tail. He was also a kitty that always had his tail up and would shake it when he was really happy.

We rushed him to the emergency vet and they took X-rays. He didn’t have any visible breaks, but they did see he had some arthritis at the base of the tail. They said it was from instability in his spine and the bone tried to compensate. We assume he fell tom a height and someone aggravated it. They gave him pain meds and told use to put in on crate rest for a month to allow his tail to heal. Now this was because he was in obvious pain, your kitty is active and playful and looks like he’s doing great.

So the good news is Gohan is just as active and happy as before. But his tail never fully recovered and is still a bit stiff and limp. Occasionally he can raise it all the way up but it’s rare. Doesn’t seem to have any major effects though and he doesn’t need amputation at all.

I think your kitty will be completely fine, although maybe a vet Visit could help if he is in any pain and maybe could use mild painkillers. It’s obvious you care about him a whole lot and he seems like a very happy and playful kitty.

Thank you so much for your comment. I am happy to hear Gohan is doing great again and I am sorry he didn't re-gain full tail functionality. Yes Leo is pretty active and only bothered if I press on the area and really feel it around. I hope that it is nothing more than a slight injury and that he will fully heal without any operations and by simply resting and re-gain full tail functionality very soon.

I already spoke with my vet and sent the same post to him and he will go over the videos and I hope he will have very good news for me. I really cannot afford the vet bills but I will do it if I have to as I am responsible for Leo and also for what happened. I hope that it won't be necessary though and that when the vet calls me back he will tell me to just let him rest and that his tail will be back to normal soon.
 

KarenKat

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Yeah, I just suggested the vet in case you were worried and wanted to double-check. We asked our vet if Gohan’s arthritis was causing him pain and he said if Gohan is jumping and playing fine then likely not. And your vet should give you good advice.
 

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Please do let us know what his vet says. I have a feeling, and I am NOT a vet, so this is PURE GUESS, that there is a fracture to the tail. However, he does move it somewhat, so I would imagine that there is no major nerve damage. Have you noticed any external injury at all? If there is one, then he MUST be seen by the vet, as this would possibly indicate a compound fracture with the danger of infection, but I do not think this is the case. It just doesn't look right for a compound at all.
 

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If his tail isn’t lifting up as high as it used to it’s likely he either sprained or fractured something in his tail, yes. You’ll need an X-ray to know for sure unfortunately, but the good news is that if it’s a tail sprain/fracture and he’s still able to go to the bathroom normally, that’s a good sign and the treatment mostly consists of waiting for it to heal and maybe pain meds at the beginning. If he’s not able to pee normally (retaining urine) or can’t control his bowels it’s more serious since the break could’ve caused nerve damage to the nerves that control bladder functions.

My cat fell jumping onto the side of a staircase a few years ago and got a similar injury, he could only lift his tail up an inch or two after and it looked slightly swollen. It turned out he had a tiny hairline fracture in one bone and had sprained some of the muscles in his tail - the vet gave him an anti inflammatory med for the first few days and told us to just keep an eye on him and that it would heal slowly.

He’s fine now and didn’t seem to be in pain or bothered by it at all after the first few days, but it did take a long time for his full tail range of motion to come back. It took like 5-6 months for him to be able to fully hold his tail straight up in the air again
 
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Mr_Kitty

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Hi everyone. Thank you so much for your loving and caring messages. Leo seemed to stretch his tail horizontally when I intrigued him with an empty bottle but I still noticed a visible kink but it is hard to tell if it can be felt. He JUST peed as I was transferring files from my phone (I waited the whole night and NOW he decides to go) and he stretched/lifted his tail back seemingly without issues but there was a curve at the end like a hook (away from the area I believe he injured) but I was thinking maybe nerve damage is causing the tail not to react 100% the way he wants it to.

I am not sure what injury he sustained but I am going to the vet in about 9-10 hours and hopefully I will get good news and Leo will heal naturally and get full function of his tail and live happy and playfully going forward. He still plays and chases his own tail. He was pretty lethargic for a few hours but now seems back to normal. Tail looks like it improved by 10-15% but I am not sure.

Maybe he able to move it but prefers not to until he heals. Animals are smart. I hope things will turn out well. I was careless and I played rough and that was EXTREMELY stupid of me and I will never do this again. I will exercise proper common sense going forward and stop the "funny" games and pretty much anything which people find amusing but is definitely not fun for your pet.

I have a bit more experience with dogs and I treated him like one and that was wrong too. I am so sorry and I can say I definitely learned from everything which happened and I want a chance to do things right and have him fully heal and have full functionality of all of his body parts.

I always say, the only thing that is important in life is good health for my family and myself. He is now a part of my family, I am starting to feel that way just now and it's incredible.
 

KarenKat

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I’m not surprised you’ve had more experience with dogs because they definitely love a good roughhouse. Some cats like it too although it can cause some undesirable behaviors later on. If you play too much with your hands that cute little kitten grows up to think that hands are amazing toys to scratch and bite. With cats they have that same prey drive as a dog where they are “hunting” the toys, but they have none of the social skills to understand they are hurting you. Dogs usually understand that and don’t actually bite to hurt.

One of the most fun toys we have for our cats is Da Bird. It’s a wand toy with feathers on the end and they go nuts for it, jumping around and leaping and pouncing. You can have all that fun play with the cat while keeping your hands safely away. If you don’t already have something like that I really recommend it.
 
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Mr_Kitty

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KarenKat

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I think most cats groom after the bathroom or after eating. Unless he’s excessively vocalizing or overgrooming to the point of hair loss I think it should be fine.
 
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Mr_Kitty

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Thank you for being patient with me. It's been a tough couple of weeks with Leo and work and some other stuff but doing better now. I am trying to remember everything the way it occurred chronologically and I think most importantly I should tell you the vet said there were no fractures.

First visit which was the following day after my post, vet said that from the neurological assessment (he pressed on his spine from head to tail) he could tell he has nerve damage or some sort of spinal injury but it does not seem severe or even moderate and with some rest and the pain medication he prescribed Leo, he will be fine within a week. The vet recommended Leo needs to be confined to a crate so he does not move too much and gets to rest as much as possible while healing. The medication he prescribed him (which ran out 3 days or 6 doses early) was Buprenorphine and was prescribed at 0.06ML every 12 hours but for the first dose to be given right away and second dose 8 hours later. The 12 hour intervals were after those two. I didn't really notice it did anything but then again Leo was very active and even before I went to the vet, every couple of hours or especially overnight, I saw some tail movement and especially the day we returned and the following 24 hours he seemed to pretty much recover almost completely based on how he used his tail and the fact he did not whine when I touched his tail/back.

It did not make him drowsy like I was hoping it would and like the vet suggested it would, considering that would be a good way to get him to rest. I really feel like the medication did not do anything but maybe it took away his pain which made him act normal which in theory is a bad thing cause it is like a person on PCP who does not feel the injuries he inflicts on himself until the drug wears off. I am not a med student or anything but this is common sense.

The medication ran out Tuesday night (last does was less than the amount I was suppose to give him) and it needed to last until Friday night. The Vet said there was enough for 2 weeks in there as he himself took care of the medication and made sure there were 2ML in there and at a 0.06ML x 2 a day, it would have lasted over a week for sure and the only explanation was a term he used when some of the medication gets "lost" in certain crevices of the oral syringe. I could barely believe I was supposed to only give him 0.06 of the medication when normally on the medication it states a lot more than than and 0.06 was less than a size of a pea... maybe half the size of a pea but he said that was the amount he needed based on his weight.

I had to bring him the second time since the vet did not notice anything abnormal with Leo's tail and even when I brought him the second time he said it feels fine until I insisted and described the area I felt the bump to which he responded "Oh yeahhh there it is" (I was not impressed with that, as it was super easy to spot especially after all the chances he had to do so) at which point he suggested we go with an X-Ray.

I realized based on previous discussions it will be only 1 viewing based on the price he mentioned and said I would pay the extra 40 bucks for a second viewing. The bad news is that I spent $214.xx dollars for nothing (other than peace of mind because x-ray did not help with anything other than ruling some stuff out), the good news is that Leo had no fractures/dislocations.

According to the vet, the bump on the tail you will see from the X-Rays close to Leo's bum is a result of a pulled tendon or some sort of hyperextension of the tail/ligaments

Fast forwarding to today, it is TOUGH to tell what Leo was like 100% before in different situations but he seems just as active if not more only I am not sure if he uses his tail the same way. I think he either does and I am being paranoid or it is like 80-90 percent normal as I don't remember it being down as much as it is now but he almost always lifts it up especially when he is happy and engaged with something.

Vet did say it would take 1-2 months before the injury fully heals and there is a good chance that kink/bump in his tail will flatten out as Leo is a kitten and still growing and stretching in size. I want to say it is a smaller bump now but I am not sure. He says he cannot promise it will full go away and if it does not then it is only cosmetic but according to what he sees it definitely should.

Leo was confined to his cage for most of the past 2 weeks or since whenever this happened as I purchased a HUGE dog cage for him which fits his litter box, food, water and a pillow/blanket with some toys. I felt okay leaving him there and for the first few days I think he did not care to be there at all until he started complaining.

I am pretty sure he developed a poor water drinking habit which is pawing at the water and not drinking it. It seemed like he tried picking it up with his paw but there is no way he would be able to, especially seeing how he was doing it. He flipped the water dish many times moments after I left it in the crate and even got it mixed with litter which in the past he would not be so messy with and it is Yesterday's News so it puffed up and made everything dirty so I had to replace the food and water often. I even caught him possibly eating the litter, which he never did before. I am pretty sure it only happened a few times if that is in-fact what he was doing as I did not notice it anymore later (maybe he was uncomfortable eliminating and connected the dots and stopped that habit or maybe it was cause I tried to get him to stop and it worked). He stopped eating his wet food with the great apatite I am used to (maybe cause I switched from Royal Canine Mother and Baby to Royal Canine Kitten formula) or maybe it is due the recent trauma... I don't know. I had issues with getting him to eat his wet food and stopped feeding him dry food as I didn't think he was drinking enough or at all (yet when I checked the litter box it had quite a bit of pee evidence in it) and I also saw him pee several times, at least it looked like he was peeing, since I can tell how he goes number 1 and number 2 but I can't tell if anything was coming out but he was covering it and then I saw the wet pellets.

He is probably getting the water from the wet food and I also started watering it down a little, I even kind of forced him to drink with a bigger oral syringe I bought. I then stopped using the oral syringe as it was traumatizing him and vet suggested that too. The only way to really tell if he is drinking is to feed him only dry food for a week and leave a water dish as well and if he does not die or become ill then we know he is drinking. RIGHT, not going to do that.

I am now slowly transitioning him out of the cage by giving him longer yard time (lol like in prison) I used to let him out for a bit and when he got too active I would put him back inside. Now he spends a few hours out of the cage and then I put him back there. Vet said that he could leave the cage even earlier than he previously suggested as it sounded that Leo was recovering or already fully recovered. I did not trust that because on May 3rd I took him for his last set of vaccines and deworming and requested the same vet to check his back again. Leo started hissing and being upset with him being touched and that was shocking as he was such a sweet kitten and he even hissed at my friend's daughter but maybe that was cause I introduced them in my car (I took him for a ride so he does not stay home alone) and maybe he was anxious in the ride. I remember he also hissed at my sister or maybe he didn't hiss but he was not very comfortable being held by her until he got used to her a little more. He was perfectly fine with my girlfriend as if he knew her for years. I think it was because I pissed him off prior to introducing him to my sister lol. I am still learning.

Anyway he does not eat or drink like the PERFECT kitten I used to know. He hisses and runs away cause he is easily startled and I think that is due to the recent stress he induced and also my mistakes like raising my voice when he is about to touch something he really should not touch or ripping my balcony's screen door. I realized my mistakes (especially playing rough with him and trying to discipline him the way you would a dog) and I paid every penny (even more than what the vet recommended) to show I would not neglect his well-being especially when I was responsible for what happened. I learned a lot from everything thus far and I was happy when Leo showed his affection to me in many ways, especially today. I feel like we will both be 100% fine and I just need to condition him and myself back to normality.

I honestly avoided leaving this response for the longest time as I HIGHLY doubt anyone would have the energy/time to read it all because it is all so important and trust me I left some stuff out to keep it as short as possible. I hope you can read it and help me keep Leo and myself healthy.

One thing I wanted to add was that I already scheduled Leo to be neutered (I hate that I have to be okay with it and I almost don't want to do it. My friend di not neuter his cat and he is calm and happy and still has his manhood. To me this seems like Declawing cats. "Oh he is scratching everything let's declaw him". Sure if he sprays everywhere and is unreasonably aggressive and there are health issue then let's do it. Otherwise to do it just like that... Scheduling it as if this is normal... Seems so cruel to me. If someone told me I will be neutered cause I will be "more bearable" to be around I would have lost my mind.

Either or... Prior to neutering him I was suggested to have my cat go through a blood test and pre-neutering procedure to make sure he is healthy and all of his organs are functioning correctly. I guess if anything is wrong, I should most likely know at that point but I think he is fine and just needs some love and care and less crazy on my part.

Here are the X-Rays:

Spine - Thoracic Right Lat - (retake)1.jpg


Spine - Thoracic VD.jpg


Misc 1.jpg


Spine - Thoracic Right Lat - (retake) (1).jpg


Spine - Thoracic Right Lat - (retake).jpg
 
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Mr_Kitty

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Hello good people,

As some of you may know from my last post, Leo had a back injury resulting in a droopy tail. He seemed to have fully recover from it and if he did not yet then he will soon according to the vet but Leo seems extremely happy and really he was like that on day 2 already but I still took the situation very seriously just in case he is hiding his symptoms or maybe the pain med worked (even though I doubt it cause it did not seem to affect him) and that made him act normal WHO KNOWS at this point, if you want to know more about that, check out my previous post please.

I am pretty sure his eating and drinking weird habits started RIGHT when he got injured and in SOME ways it just seems circumstantial as I DID change his wet food so he most likely would have been this way injury or not. Thing is I am aware how you transition a kitten/cat to new food/litter but I need you to trust me when I tell you (even with my little to no experience... Leo is the easiest cat when it comes to eating/drinking and his litter box) He used to drink SO MUCH and like such a good boy and so clean as well as eat when he was hungry and not overeat (I would leave dry food in a dish and he would finish it over 24-30 hours eating only when he needs to. Water was always available and sometimes he would go without it for a few hours as I was shocked to see it was already empty and quickly rushed to fill it up with fresh clean cold water but not before I cleaned the dish from all the gunk so he enjoys it more. He would then rush to the bowl and drink for a good minute.

I checked all the symptoms of over drinking or not drinking etc. There is no way to really tell what is going on. Could be due to the injury, could be due to being depressed being in the cage, could be due to inactivity, could be due to several factors. Vet says he is okay and the fact he hissed at him and does not let me touch his stomach anymore almost ever and changing his eating/drinking habits is only because he is transitioning into an older kitten and learning what he likes and dislikes but forgive me for doubting this because I know Leo and this does not seem like him.

I am slowly transitioning him back out of the cage and soon I will have his area set up EXACTLY how it used to be set up before. Hoping this will get him to DEVOUR his wet food like he always did and not wait until there is no choice but to eat it (I stopped giving him dry food cause I am worried he does not drink enough) the few times I gave him dry food again he LOVED it and seemed to have missed it but I only did that as an experiment and on days I noticed he drank more (since I water down his wet food). One day I remember he drank normally but only for like 15 seconds and then back to his old (new) ways. He flips the water dish, he paws at it and just makes a huge mess and pretty much everything other than drinking it.

I still found quite a bit of pee in the litter box since I use Yesterday's News and the pee seeps to the bottom making the bottom pellets expand to the point of clumping. I guess it is from the wet food and watering it down as well as forcing him to drink with an oral syringe (which I stopped doing after 3-4 days). Only way to test if he is drinking for real is to replace his litter box to fresh litter again and only feed him dry food and have a water dish available and seeing if he dies a week later from dehydration (literally the only way to know) which I obviously am not going to try.

I thought to myself I will transition him back into normality and get him the Royal Canin Mother and Baby formula he loved SO SO SO much. The newer one is Royal Canin Kitten formula and I went for the Loaf and not the Gravy option as it was heathier this way. Maybe he liked the mousse texture better and the ingredients in the Mother & Baby one. Maybe it was due to recent storm of events or maybe god knows why. Could be a coincidence and could be for specific reasons.

I was going to go back in time and get him back on the same tiny kitten diet he was on just for a couple of days to see how he is when he is fully out of the cage for a couple of days and had a normal life for at least 48 hours, being active and free etc.

I then proceeded to read the ingredients in that first Wet Food I got him which I raved so much about and I guess I learned more since then because I am quite shocked I fed him that. I don't understand how they could have such crap in a kitten's or any cat's wet food, especially such a reputable brand.

Take a look and tell me I am exaggerating:
Royal Canin® Feline Health Nutrition™ Mother and Babycat - Ultra Soft Mousse Cat Food
Ingredients:
Water sufficient for Processing, Chicken, Chicken Liver, PorkByproducts, Powdered Cellulose, Wheat Gluten, Rice Flour, Corn Starch, Natural Flavours, Fish Oil, Calcium Caseinate, Brewers Yeast Extracts (Mannan-Oligosaccharides), Tetrapotassium Pyrophosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Carrageenan, Fructooligosaccharides, Guar Gum, Taurine, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Vitamins [DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source Of Vitamin E), L-Ascorbyl 2-Polyphosphate (Source Of Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Niacin Supplement, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Trace Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Iron Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Marigold Extract (Tagetes Erecta L.), L-Carnitine
I highlighted what bothered me the most and I think whether you are a cat or a human being, as long as you have a pulse you should not be consuming this garbage. I know this food and brand is still better than a lot on the market and I did not poison him or give him a bad diet but I could have done better if I wanted to go for a very Healthy food.

I was told by a PetSmart employee to NOT avoid grains even though Jason Galaxy says and everywhere on the internet it says TO AVOID GRAINS BECAUSE CATS ARE CARNIVOROUS. Let alone grins are not healthy for anyone other than select few and anything you can find in grains you can find in better sources of food.

She said avoiding grains altogether will possibly make him allergic to them in the future and while I agree with that statement and maybe from time to time it is okay to give him a treat with grains, it should not be in his normal diet. She also said that wet food can and sometimes should be just a treat. What the actual F**K? I am pretty sure that is incorrect. MAYBEEEE if the cat drinks well and in my case he was and hopefully will continue with his good habits once I take care of what I am planning on doing but wet food is important for many reasons. Maybe don't give it as much as I am (1 can per day or two) if you cannot afford it but definitely at least every 3 days. As if I can actually afford this... I got a cat and I am not going to let him live less than a standard life because I did not calculate exactly how much this will cost me. So I will buy 2 bottles of wine instead of 4 and I will order out less. Cat s need both wet and dry food in my honest opinion, but I am a noob so feel free to correct me. Something tells me I am right about it though.


This is the wet food I got him recently to transition him to a Kitten diet from the Baby diet (I did it when he was about 3 or 3.5 months and different areas of the website [manufacturer and PetSmart] are confusing saying 3-4 months start time for that Kitten formula even though the Baby formula says up to 4 months on the can:

Royal Canin® Feline Health Nutrition™ Loaf In Sauce Kitten Food
Ingredients:
Water Sufficient for Processing, Chicken By-Products, Pork By-Products, Chicken, Chicken Liver, Pork Liver, Brewers Rice Flour, Gelatin, Pork Plasma, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken Liver Hydrolysate, Wheat Gluten, Carrageenan, Calcium Caseinate, Fish Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Carob Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Taurine, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Vitamins [DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source Of Vitamin E), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source Of Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Niacin Supplement, Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement], Citric Acid, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Phosphate, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Natural Flavors, DL-Methionine, Cysteine, Glycine, Choline Chloride, Trace Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate), Magnesium Oxide, Marigold Extract (Tagetes Erecta L.)
I liked this one because I chose it over the gravy version which seemed less healthy to me but now that I reading it... It is just as bad if not worse.. WHAT'S WITH THE BY-PRODUCTS??? He does not seem to be too impressed with it and I am curious how he would feel about the Mousse one again (the baby formula) but I don't think I want to tempt him with it and should find a better brand/formula altogether rather than experimenting on him.

I started looking into other brands of wet food and decided to see what Nulo has to offer as it is a brand recommended to me by a PetSmart employee and I looked into it and it is very natural and grain free and can be fed to kittens as well as cats so as long as he likes it, he cant stay with the same dry food for the rest of his life (I feed him Nulo Grain Free Dry Food):


Nulo MedalSeries Cat & Kitten Food - Grain Free, Turkey & Cod

Ingredients: Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Deboned Cod, Whole Peas, Lentils, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid), Pea Fiber, Natural Turkey Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Chicory Root, Dried Kelp, Dried Sweet Potato, Dried Cranberries, Calcium Carbonate, DL Methionine, Taurine, Zinc Proteinate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Iron Proteinate, Niacin Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Rosemary Extract
Seems to me that it is a very good dry food and he ALWAYS loved it. Even now when he is acting strange, he is the least problematic with this one especially being deprived of it recently. I am not too sure why it contains Whole Peas and LENTILS if it is supposed to be Grain Free (can someone shed a light on that?) but even then this seems to be an ingredient list without a BUNCH OF CRAP and gimmicks (all the additives for their brain and development which actually come from bad sources) so I decided to find a wet food FROM THE SAME BRAND.

I almost went for this one:
Nulo MedalSeries Cat & Kitten Food

It seemed standard but I did not like that it came only in a small can and that it did not have many reviews and had 1 bad review.

I then almost went for this one:
Nulo MedalSeries Cat & Kitten Food - Grain Free, Duck & Tuna

I liked that it resembled his dry food diet (Turkey and Cod) so this one has Duck which I think he will love and Tuna which I tried (in water and JUST A TINYYYYY BIT) and he loved as well. Side note he also loves spaghetti but I only gave him like 4 or 5 over a couple of weeks in like 2 feedings as a treat lmao. He loved playing with it as he ate it. Kind of had a Lady and the Tramp vibe to it HAHAHA. Anyway this one was grain free and seemed very natural and that he would love it.

I DID NOTICE SOMETHING CONCERNING THOUGH. The ingredients include something called Guar Gum. From a quick Google search I found out how toxic that is and I am SHOCKED it is in their food. Is it okay for cats?

Guar Gum
Description
Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan polysaccharide extracted from guar beans that has thickening and stabilizing properties useful in food, feed, and industrial applications. The guar seeds are mechanically dehusked, hydrated, milled and screened according to application. Wikipedia
Why is guar gum bad for you?
High amounts of guar gum can cause problems like intestinal obstruction and death. The amounts in processed foods do not usually cause side effects but can sometimes lead to mild digestive symptoms. Sep. 22, 2017
[This one is from Healthline]
Is Guar Gum Healthy or Unhealthy? The Surprising Truth:

Guar gum is a food additive that’s found throughout the food supply.
Though it has been linked to multiple health benefits, it has also been associated with negative side effects and even banned for use in some products.

This article looks at the pros and cons of guar gum to determine whether it’s bad for you.

What is guar gum?
Also known as guaran, guar gum is made from legumes called guar beans (1Trusted Source).

It’s a type of polysaccharide, or long chain of bonded carbohydrate molecules, and composed of two sugars called mannose and galactose (1Trusted Source).

Guar gum is frequently used as a food additive in many processed foods (1Trusted Source).

It’s especially useful in food manufacturing because it’s soluble and able to absorb water, forming a gel that can thicken and bind products (1Trusted Source).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers it to be generally recognized as safe for consumption in specified amounts in various food products (2).

The exact nutrient composition of guar gum differs between producers. Guar gum is generally low in calories and mainly composed of soluble fiber. Its protein content may range from 5–6% (3Trusted Source).

SUMMARY
Guar gum is a food additive that is used to thicken and bind food products. It’s high in soluble fiber and low in calories.
So I am not sure but it seems pretty contradicting to me from what I am reading... Also, that is ONE thing I checked... Who knows what the other crap in it is and how bad that stuff might be or from what sources they're getting it from. So YES I think I like this one but it is still concerning for the reasons I listed.

I then found out there are 12.5OZ cans FOR CRYING OUT LOUD WHHAAATTT? LET ME JUMP ON THAT:
Nulo MedalSeries Cat & Kitten Food - Grain Free, Turkey & Chicken

I did not like one of the reviews warning of possible bone-like substance in the food:

★★★3 out of 5 stars.
2bMary · 3 years ago
Great ingredients as listed but very gritty
My cat likes the Chicken and Turkey but I recently noticed that there is a lot of, what feels like bone in this food. I usually make an effort not to get it on my hands but today I noticed white specks in the food so pinched a bit out and it certainly felt like bone bits. I sampled several more places in the can and the hard bits are numerous and in every sample. I do not know if this is a good idea in cat food or not, I just know that some animals don't pass bone very well and it accumulates in the digestive tract. If Nulo or anyone else know if this is indeed bone and how much there is in one 5oz can I would love to know. I'm not going to buy any more for now because the company has not replied to my inquiry.

✘ No, I Do Not Recommend This Product.
I liked this one because it is FISH and cats LOVE Fish and also available in the 12.5Oz can:
Nulo MedalSeries Cat & Kitten Food - Grain Free, Salmon & Mackerel

Thing is... Fish contains mercury. We are all warned not to overfeed our cats with Tuna for the same reason. Also I don't know why but it has less reviews.

I checked Google for Best Wet/Dry cat food and found some contradicting results. Articles state it is the best yet considerably small number of reviews per product. If that was the best then I think more people would know about it and like it based on the cats' reaction to it.

Here is one example for Treats:
1620260871822.png


I checked what Bonito is and for those who do not know Bonito is then... Bonito flakes are dried, paper-thin shavings of Fish... That has been dried, fermented and smoked. Now how the flying f**k is this a healthy treat? Nothing smoked is healthy if you have a heartbeat.

I currently feed my kitten this Treat and he LOVESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS it:
PureBites® Freeze Dried Cat Treat - Natural, Chicken
Feeding Instructions: Feed as a Healthy Treat for your Cat.
Ingredients: 100% Pure Chicken Breast
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min) 74%
Crude Fat (min) 3%
Crude Fiber (max) 1%
Moisture (max) 5%
Caloric Content: 3709 kcal/kg, 2 kcal/treat
I gotta admit I gave him a lot of that stuff and pretty quickly and I hope it's okay but I also took a long break from it a couple times and one of those times is now. I am planning on getting it again, I felt like it may have affected his eating habits even though like I said, he seems different than most cats who you read about in articles.

He just has a plethora of good habits and no matter what you do, he knows what's good for him and he does not change those habits. I think lately it's been too much for him and even he can lash out I guess. I will never really know the reason I guess but all I care about right now is getting him back to normal and improve even more from there.

So to summarize:

I am desperate to find THE PERFECT wet/dried food combination for my kitten and while I am not rich. I can afford up to 3-4 bucks a can (CAD) as long as it is 5Oz or more. It looks like in order to go through EACH ingredient and to find out what sources they use for some of the additives and the supplements you would need an undercover TV crew and a lot of time. I am hoping you pros can shed some light on the matter and just recommend something to me and address my concerns.

Thank you so very much.
 
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suzeanna

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There are lots of people on this forum with better feedback on specific food and formulations, but I wanted to share that my cat's meals are pate wet food with a little more than an equal amount of water added (e.g., 20g pate with 30g water) and as a result, she literally never drinks from her water bowls anymore as far as I can tell. Obviously I still refill them out daily, but she consumes a lot of water through her food and has good pees. I use kibble sparingly as a treat and for an overnight snack via a timed feeder. Especially for a male cat, I think kibble consumption should be minimized (proneness to UTIs, urinary blockages, etc.).
 

Willowy

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Sadly, there's no perfect commercial cat food. There's always going to be something in there you don't want. Weruva and Tiki Cat seem to be the most widely recommended, but they're low in calories so a kitten has to eat a LOT to get enough nutrition.
 
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Mr_Kitty

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Well I highly doubt anyone would go through reading all of this. Especially since mods consolidated both posts into 1. I will try to figure out the best diet for Leo. Great news though, He is back to the good ol' boy drinking a bunch properly without pawing at the water or spilling it. I think he was legit crying for attention and being bored out of his mind. Cats are fascinating creatures.
 
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