Food or Behavior? Turkey?

[dianamc]

I honestly didn't know where to ask this, but this cat's (kitten's) behavior is really driving me up the wall.  We thought we'd decided that the Weruva Chicken and the H&G Lamb, Chicken & Salmon didn't agree with her and I thought that was that.

I should have kept a better record, but I thought I could mix the Weruva half with another food.  I believe I fed it with two flavors of Fancy Feast in the evening.  She acted kind of dopey.  The next day she finished the can of FF Turkey & Giblets.  She seemed kind of dopey and when she breathed on me her breath was fishy smelling even though she'd had no fish.  I think it was the next day that we tried the Turkey & Giblets again.  She ate about 1/3 of a can in the morning and then she seemed dopey and eventually went out to her bed and lay there until 5:30. Then she ate again and acted a little better.  This is a cat who's been eating 3 or 4 times a day.

We tried FF Ocean Whitefish & Tuna Feast yesterday and had an entirely different cat. She was very active and playful, also ready for all her meals. Then I switched to FF Liver and Chicken and she's more lethargic again, although not so bad as on the Turkey day.  Tonight we went back to her Wellness Kitten and she's usually okay with it but she can't eat it forever.  She's looking a little porky as it is.

Could FF Turkey & Giblets really be causing this reaction? I never really fed her much fish.  We used to use it to try to get her to eat the H&G and then my husband got quite a few cans when he bought FF on sale.  I don't want to feed much of it.  As much as she likes Weruva, I don't think it agrees with her.  I think Tiki Cat chicken is okay but will try it soon to double-check.  She's actually a nicer cat when we don't feed her sometimes!  DH gave her a whole 1/2 can of kitten food and I think she's sacked out on the cat tree now.

I'm sorry this is confusing but I'm confused.  I'm trying not to overfeed her and to find the cause of this lethargic behavior.  Yet there are days when I have a normal, lively kitten.  I'm going to look for some "adult" foods to try and I don't know if I should avoid turkey or what.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

How old is she?  Growing kittens needs lots of food, and lots of sleep

.  One thing about Weruva (AND Tiki) is that they don't have much fat or many calories, so I, personally, don't think they are very good for kittens, simply for that reason. 

Now, as far as foods not agreeing with her, I would think if she had allergies or that sort of thing,she would have a different reaction...either throwing up, diarrhea, or itching.  Lethargy is not the normal reaction, although we humans usually get pretty lethargic after eating lots of turkey

.  Honestly, I think if you are seeing a completely different kitty depending on what she eats, then you should probably keep a log of exactly what you are feeding her for every single meal and notate what happens after each one,   Keep it up for a few weeks and see if it's consistent.  Then you'll know if it's truly a reaction to certain foods, or just a fluke. 

 

[dianamc]

She's 6-mos. old.  I agree about the Weruva and I stopped feeding it and never did feed it as an only food. I had trouble believing she was having issues with the l-tryptophan in turkey too

Maybe the food diary is the only way.  I hate to make her almost sick to do it though.  She really doesn't even seem to be asleep that much on some of those days when she's "taken to her bed" like a character in a romance novel.

She may yowl a little if we pet her but I don't think she's in pain (she is 1/2 siamese).  The last day when she finally arose, she made a stinky litter box and wanted to eat but it had been about 7-8 hrs. between meals and that was a fairly small FF breakfast.

The worse days seemed to be Weruva and Turkey & Giblets but unless I experiment on her more, I can't be sure.  I wondered if anyone could think of any Turkey & Giblet issues because it looks just about like the other FF Classic poultry flavors to me.

Thanks for the response. My husband got 5 cans of a FF Grilled Chicken in Gravy (not on the list) but I'm not going to eat it. It looks a little like Weruva and we tried 1/2 a can today.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Here's my take on it.  Any FF OTHER than the CLASSICs could possibly give her gas and I would say will definitely give her stinkier poops.  That's because only the CLASSICS line is low carb.  (which I think you already know)  Weruva and Tiki are low carb.  Low carb usually means less gas and definitely much less stinky poops.  (and I just checked on the Turkey and  Giblets CLASSICs, and they don't have any more carbs than any of the other CLASSICS, less than some, even.)

In your experiment, since you think it's the Turkey and Giblets, just try leaving that one out of the mix and see what happens?  Naturally you don't want to cause her any pain if you don't have to, so if you honestly think that's the culprit, then don't feed it and see it she seems fine.  Mine picky girl won't eat that particular one, and I wish she would, since there aren't that many CLASSICs to chose from that don't have fish in them

 

[dianamc]

Maybe there is something stashed in that flavor that's "different." I guess I'll see what this non-classic food does. I was frustrated with the others not seeming to work so well. I won't buy any more no matter. So far she is acting a little dopey.  I tried to give her a little yogurt which my old cat adored, but no-go. (Dannon plain low-fat)

She did go to her bed but got up again and is on my lap.  No gas yet

. I thought turkey and chicken would be more or less interchangeable and it matters because I need to find an adult food.