Going Crazy-foods, Dandruff And More Questions.

[sunflower7]

Hi. I'm new. I have 3 cats that are 12, 8 and 4 and recently I am a little less broke so I can feed my cats better. I had been giving friskies cans( cringe, I know) with purina beyond cans and purina beyond dry. Over the years they had tried some other things so this was not their lifelong diet.
Recently I have spent seriously 40+ hours researching cat foods. Talking to pet store owners, reading late at night, driving myself batty!
Having said that, they tried at least 6 or 7 new foods in the last 6 weeks. No throw up, no diarreaha, all seem good and best yet, my 12 year old is now more playful!! We all noticed it.

I narrowed it down and chose a few foods to feed daily. I like to always have 2-3 brands of cans and 2 dry, since I believe rotating foods is better for cats.

NOW, my issue is it seems all 3 cats now have dandruff! CRAZY. I went from purina to Fromm, Earthborn, health extension and Nulo for cans. mostly chicken/turkey, a drop duck and the nulo does have some tuna in it.

For dry I still have the purina beyond to use up and I have mixed in Fussie cat.

They have tried dry earthborn, tender and true , fromm and farmina and I think i am going to go with farmina and a little fussie cat.

They get wet food AM and late afternoon and a little bit of dry at night.

SO! how could it be possible all 3 got dandruff from getting better foods?
or maybe they had it over the years and I never was as tuned into it? haha
or can it be from all the switching and I need to settle on maybe 2 solid lines now....

Also, my older cat now meows , more like yowls when she walks around the house for a brief time each evening . she does not appear in pain, comes when I call and jumps on my bed to cuddle, is playful and friendly as ever. but definitely WAY more vocal. I have read it can be anything from heartburn type pain to happiness. but oddly, she doesn't do it after morning meal so I am not thinking it's the food, it seems to happen more later afternoon and night.

She has been drinking a lot too, so that is concerning. I think? maybe 3-5 times a day, probably more... however she was ALWAYS a big drinker. We used to laugh watching her lap up her water.

My 8 year old fat male, I have never seen him drink...trying to get him to lose weight and not working yet. lol
my 4 year old male drinks once or twice a day that I see, could be more.


I know I've changed subjects. and I rambled.

sorry!
So do you all think these foods are good I may give up fromm as they don't love it and stay with nulo, earthborn and/or health extension for cans. they like all 3.

also, what about the dandruff? and yowling? isn't that odd?
Thanks!

 

[abyeb]

Hi there! Have you made any other changes to their environment? A new cleaning product perhaps (that could explain the dandruff- caused by some skin irritation)? Are there any outdoor cats that they can see through the window (which could cause agitation and howling)? Typically with a food transition, all we see is maybe some diarrhea, but usually only if the food is changed too quickly. I’d also recommend checking in with a vet, since dandruff, and sudden behavioral changes can be a sign of medical issues.

 

[duckpond]

I have had a dandruff issue with one of mine this winter. I think with him it is the dry air in the house, we have had to run the heat a lot this winter. The others might have a little bit of dandruff this winter too, but not noticeable like him. He eats mostly all wet food, just a nibble on dry now and again. Isn't dehydrated or sick at all. i did start offering him an extra can of Tiki after dark a day, hoping the extra moisture would help. He loves the broth in tiki after dark. I think it has helped, but we also are not using the heat as much in the last few weeks either. I dont know, maybe a combination of both.

I dont know about the Health Extensions, i have read quite a bit lately about coconut oil being bad for a cats liver. so i dont feed anything with coconut oil

Mine has had a recent vet wellness check, so i know he is fine. If you are concerned you may want a check up. But an extra Slurpy wet food, and less heat running has helped my guy.