Dry cat food

Terryriban

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My litter mate boys are 7 years old.i feed them Nutro or Sheba wet food portions twice a day and Purina One for at least three years. I used sensitive skin and stomach for 2 years because one of my guys throws up a lot. Well the throwing up is more of a behavior issue rather than the food. Last year I changed the food variety and blended two flavors of Purina One and have had no problems. They have always eaten dry food and the bowl is empty in the morning. About a month ago I bought a new bag of Purina one hair ball formula. My one cat began throwing up more often so I bought the Urinary tract health variety. They wouldn’t eat it. I bought the tender selects variety , nope. I bought the sensitive skin and stomach which they used to love. Nope. I have purchased 4 varieties from different stores now and they won’t touch any of them! It’s so odd! They would typically eat a bowl a day in addition to their wet food. I called Purina and they say there have been no changes in the formula in three years. I have tried other brands with no success.
Has anything like this ever happened to anyone else? It’s healthy to give them wet and dry food together. This has become a huge hassle.
 

MissClouseau

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Maybe the first dry food chance went bad enough for them that they associate it with dry food in general. Like how some cats stop eating a certain food after getting sick even if the sickness didn't cause by the food, they still associate it with the food and get nauseous. Shedding season might play a role too I think - how are their bowel movements? If increased hair amount swallowed caused some tummy ache or constipation, they might prefer wet food. Maybe.

If I were you I would try the food they used to love and eat a bit longer. If that doesn't work and you need to add dry food into their diet, maybe a food with more meat amount like Acana or Orijen, something on that line.

It's OK to give wet and dry food mixed together if they eat it that way. Mine would not. She eats only like 40 grams of wet food at once anyway (half a can) so adding dry food into that would mean splitting wet food even more. (Adding this because small portions throughout the day is also better for their digestion. They are more likely to throw up after bigger meals.)
 

lisahe

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I haven't experienced anything exactly like this, though cats can be very picky. Our cats change their minds about their canned foods constantly.

Honestly, though, lots of people trying to switch their cats over to just wet food would likely be envious of your situation! Particularly given that you mention that your cat throws up a lot. Has the barfing decreased since the cats have been refusing to eat the dry food? In general, eliminating dry food and feeding the simplest possible wet food recipes (without grains, potato, peas, etc.) is often most helpful approach to reducing vomiting. That's worked really well for our cats and others have found similar success.

You also mentioned behavior, though: is your barfer eating too fast and then immediately regurgitating? If so, spreading the food out and feeding meals on a slightly raised platform or box can help a lot. And, as MissClouseau MissClouseau mentions, it's also really helpful to feed small meals. We do all these things for our cat who tends to eat too fast and regurgitate her food.

Good luck!
 

buffy2011

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I haven't experienced anything exactly like this, though cats can be very picky. Our cats change their minds about their canned foods constantly.

Honestly, though, lots of people trying to switch their cats over to just wet food would likely be envious of your situation! Particularly given that you mention that your cat throws up a lot. Has the barfing decreased since the cats have been refusing to eat the dry food? In general, eliminating dry food and feeding the simplest possible wet food recipes (without grains, potato, peas, etc.) is often most helpful approach to reducing vomiting. That's worked really well for our cats and others have found similar success.

You also mentioned behavior, though: is your barfer eating too fast and then immediately regurgitating? If so, spreading the food out and feeding meals on a slightly raised platform or box can help a lot. And, as MissClouseau MissClouseau mentions, it's also really helpful to feed small meals. We do all these things for our cat who tends to eat too fast and regurgitate her food.

Good luck!
My cat does vomit when she eats to fast. But she eats to fast all the time, because she thinks dry food is a treat, and she gobbles it down. I haven't been giving her any but i have other cats and now I am trying to introduce some dry back into her diet. She use to vomit and have diarrhea all the time, but just recently we found out she was hyperthyroidism. So we had the I-131 done and now things are going good. But here is my problem. I have been giving her some dry like a treat a few times a day, and i never fails. As soon as she starts eating dry she gets diarrhea. so what is causing this? I have been looking around for a sensitive stomach food, but is it the flavor that is the problem. I noticed I always buy chicken, so I am going to try something else. I was looking into Blue brand and then I read there ingredients aren't from the US. So now I am back to square one. Does anyone know of a good food that ALL the ingredients are from the US? then I was thinking is there any kind of dry food that is a little softer, maybe just being so hard is the problem. I just don't know where to begin. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I just wish most of the pet stores would sell samples of stuff so you could try it first.
 

lisahe

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My cat does vomit when she eats to fast. But she eats to fast all the time, because she thinks dry food is a treat, and she gobbles it down. I haven't been giving her any but i have other cats and now I am trying to introduce some dry back into her diet. She use to vomit and have diarrhea all the time, but just recently we found out she was hyperthyroidism. So we had the I-131 done and now things are going good. But here is my problem. I have been giving her some dry like a treat a few times a day, and i never fails. As soon as she starts eating dry she gets diarrhea. so what is causing this? I have been looking around for a sensitive stomach food, but is it the flavor that is the problem. I noticed I always buy chicken, so I am going to try something else. I was looking into Blue brand and then I read there ingredients aren't from the US. So now I am back to square one. Does anyone know of a good food that ALL the ingredients are from the US? then I was thinking is there any kind of dry food that is a little softer, maybe just being so hard is the problem. I just don't know where to begin. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I just wish most of the pet stores would sell samples of stuff so you could try it first.
If the foods have ingredients like grains, potatoes, or peas, that might be your answer. One of our cats barfs if she eats potato. But each cat is different so you'd need to track ingredients carefully to figure things out.

We feed very small amounts of Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein chicken food: it has no fillers at all. It's great as treats and for a very small pre-breakfast snack. Dr. Elsey's will send out samples if you ask.
 

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Have you checked to see if she has IBD? It is possible, and dry food can cause massive problems for cats with IBD or GI lymphoma. Feeding a carragean free wet food would be best if she does have IBD or just a super sensitive stomach. Dry food is horrible on a sensitive cat's stomach, just too much carbs for them to digest. But feeding a good quality wet food quality helps. Then you can give something like freeze dried treats as a treat instead which should be easier on your cat's tummy.
 

buffy2011

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Have you checked to see if she has IBD? It is possible, and dry food can cause massive problems for cats with IBD or GI lymphoma. Feeding a carragean free wet food would be best if she does have IBD or just a super sensitive stomach. Dry food is horrible on a sensitive cat's stomach, just too much carbs for them to digest. But feeding a good quality wet food quality helps. Then you can give something like freeze dried treats as a treat instead which should be easier on your cat's tummy.

When you say super sensitive stomach do you mean sensitive stomach dry food to feed her? I had just found Farmia I & D and all the cats liked, but Bella I have to worry about. She had a bad issue quit a ways back and had diarrhea, vomiting and lost weight. They did a blood fast and said she had a pancreas problem. This was at an emergency vet. She was given medicine and was on that for a while. But then after a while it seemed like we might be going back to the vomiting and diarrhea and she started losing weight again. So then I took her to another vet and they said take her off all the medicine. So I did that and every once in a while she would have an issue. So they did some blood work and found out she had hyperthyroidism. So I'm not sure and don't know how the organs work, but could the hyperthyroidism have been causing this problem all along? I don't know. So she had the I-131 therapy done. This is going on 3 months and once in a while she will vomit or diarrhea until this thyroid regulates itself. By 6 months hopefully we will know for sure how the thyroid is doing. But I am trying to get her back on some dry food and this is why I am looking for a good food. But I am going to go with a sensitive stomach anyhow. But is the dryness, and being hard the part that she can't digest or is it what is in the dry food? What are your thoughts on that issue. This is what I am tying to figure out. No matter what I will go with a sensitive stomach but my other two cats have to suffer if I can't leave food out.
 

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When you say super sensitive stomach do you mean sensitive stomach dry food to feed her? I had just found Farmia I & D and all the cats liked, but Bella I have to worry about. She had a bad issue quit a ways back and had diarrhea, vomiting and lost weight. They did a blood fast and said she had a pancreas problem. This was at an emergency vet. She was given medicine and was on that for a while. But then after a while it seemed like we might be going back to the vomiting and diarrhea and she started losing weight again. So then I took her to another vet and they said take her off all the medicine. So I did that and every once in a while she would have an issue. So they did some blood work and found out she had hyperthyroidism. So I'm not sure and don't know how the organs work, but could the hyperthyroidism have been causing this problem all along? I don't know. So she had the I-131 therapy done. This is going on 3 months and once in a while she will vomit or diarrhea until this thyroid regulates itself. By 6 months hopefully we will know for sure how the thyroid is doing. But I am trying to get her back on some dry food and this is why I am looking for a good food. But I am going to go with a sensitive stomach anyhow. But is the dryness, and being hard the part that she can't digest or is it what is in the dry food? What are your thoughts on that issue. This is what I am tying to figure out. No matter what I will go with a sensitive stomach but my other two cats have to suffer if I can't leave food out.
My cat Peaches feels too sick in the morning or acts fine then throws up. She is now on pepcid ac. The throwing up has stopped. I have to watch my cats eat or Peaches will eat too much. Very small portions many times a day. My cats only eat canned. Peaches eats rawz brand,no fillers. Another good brand is dr elseys canned or dry. For my cat that throws up before eating, I am getting a food serving timer so i dont have to get up at 4am to feed her.
 

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Been feeding my cats a new dry cat food, just small amounts, by hand. Just have noticed over the last few days, that it doesn't seem like anyone is pooping, very little. I checked again this morning and nothing but pee. They are picking at there wet food, not eating a lot. Maybe the heat is a problem, but just concerned. Would dry food cause you to not poop? I know they are not taking a lot in so nothing to come out, but it is just a coincidence that I started feeding this dry food and noticed this. Everyone seems fine, doesn't look like any of them are hurting. Any comments would be well appreciated.
 

maggie101

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Been feeding my cats a new dry cat food, just small amounts, by hand. Just have noticed over the last few days, that it doesn't seem like anyone is pooping, very little. I checked again this morning and nothing but pee. They are picking at there wet food, not eating a lot. Maybe the heat is a problem, but just concerned. Would dry food cause you to not poop? I know they are not taking a lot in so nothing to come out, but it is just a coincidence that I started feeding this dry food and noticed this. Everyone seems fine, doesn't look like any of them are hurting. Any comments would be well appreciated.
A couple years ago, I went on an 11 day trip and left out dry food. Soon after I got back I had to take Peaches to the vet. She had a stool stuck in her and was dehydrated and was on meds for 2 weeks. Because of that I will never use dry again. She also had a high temp and not using the litter box
 

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Glad to hear what you are saying. Because the other day she (Bella) crossed over me while I was sitting in a chair and she stunk. She made her way to some stools I had and I noticed her sitting like she was wiping her butt. She was outside that day for a minute and she ate some grass, there was grass in this bit of poop, but there really wasn't much there anyhow, so I started looking around to find out where she went to the bathroom. Could not find anything, but there were spots on the chair and a few spots on the floor. I don't leave this food out all day, they all just get about 10 kernels at a time maybe 3 times a day. But like I said none of them are use to dry food, because I couldn't leave it out because of Bella, and now I am trying to get some dry into her diet. So I gave her a little bit of warm milk thinking this would give her diarrhea and that would solve the problem. I was about to give her some butter, because she likes it and I figured that might make it easier for her to go. But today all is well, all cats went to the bathroom. I know the weather is hot so they really aren't eating a lot of there wet food, so if nothing is going in I guess nothing is coming out. So I hope this was the case. She does have a vet appointment for tomorrow, so maybe they can tell if she is constipated.
 

buffy2011

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Took a long time to get back to people on how my Bella was doing. To all that I have been in contact with about my Bella, vomiting, diaherra, losing weight. I did everything possible to help her. The vet kept saying keep her on a diet without switching foods, just consistant. I tried that and no help. Finally I asked the vet, can you give her something to help her stomach, or what ever is inflammed in her so she can start to feel good. I don't see any way to help her other wise, the vets ways seemed like it would take forever. We needed to help her stomach, pancreas, or whatever was inflammed now. All her blood work was fine, she seemed to be in good health for everything else, nothing bad showing, up but this problem. My Bella was down to around 6 pounds. Finally the vet gave her a low dosage of prednisoline. Started her off 2x a day then 1 time a day, then every other day, and so forth to get it in her and then to wean her off. She did well and gain some weight. After the medicine was done she started her issue again, but not as bad, so now she is on a low dosage just like before every other day. This is something that she might have to be on the rest of her life. she is doing well and her weight is up to 7.24. She is a much happier cat, she plays and runs around, what a difference, and she had to go threw so much to get to this point. She still goes for her B12 shots every other week. Thanks to all that helped out with comments. It was well appreciated.
 

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My cat Maggie takes a low dose of prednisolone
every night It has stopped her throwing up every morning and no more diarrhea She only likes chicken so I put down a small scope of 3 different brands because she doesn't like just one The Optagist she does not like My cat peaches used to throw up every morning right after eating her canned food but no longer since she has been eating nutro perfect portions in the morning and and fancy feast or farmina in the day and evening otherwise she is healthy. She has a 4 meal food timer. I sleep 9 hours. Way too long to be without food. She is a licker so gravy with pieces of meat not pate. My cats issues are not as severe so once you find out what she likes,stick with it!

Glad your cat is much better!
 
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