Im nervous about Purina cat food

[bebemau]

Hey forum,

So my picky cat is suspected to have IBD and vet has on multiple occasions wanted me to change his diet. I have tried Royal Canin dry food (he wont eat wet food without dried food) and he doesnt like it much. So I am left with Purina. I have never bought Purina I feel like it has all kinds of ingredients I dont want to feed my cats. But since now I am not given another choice, any of you have experience with their prescription brand and is it really much better than their grocery store cat food?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[gitabooks]

I've worked with IBD kitties and each cat is different, but the fewer the ingredients the easier it is to weed out ones that may cause inflammation.

I tend to avoid prescription diets because of the low protein and high carbohydrate levels (I've seen lots of cats on prescription diets that had poor coats and thin skin).

Cats do best with at least 40% protein in their dry food. Some foods that are high in protein include Go!, Timberwolf, Farmina N&D, and Dr. Elsey's.

 

[Mac and Cats]

There are a lot of opinions out there on the main brands. Purina does a lot of testing/studies on their foods and despite what I think of their ethics in other areas of their brands (Nestle), I do trust their cat food. One of my cats will eat the Purina EN (the gravy kind with chunks, not the pate) and he has suspected IBD (we did not do a biopsy). It was the only thing I could get him to eat after his "diagnosis". I also have fed non-prescription Purina to our cats and they all do well on it and like it. My guy is extremely picky (I'm sure he has his reasons), so he isn't exclusively on the EN, but it is in his rotation. I can't speak to how well it works for IBD because my cat's symptoms mostly involved not eating.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. There is Hill's (I/D) tood as I recall. Tbh, I don't think Purina is any worse than Royal Canin or Hill's. Have you actually looked at the ingredients in it and compared it to Purina (or Hill's for that matter)?

Have you considered limited ingredient foods or novel proteins instead? It seems a lot of cats with possible IBD are fed these optons as opposed the 'standard' prescription ones.

What is the vet telling you about Royal Canin that makes it the top of the list in their mind?

 

[bebemau]

Nevermind, I picked up the Purina HA, only has chicken flavor, and my cat is not having it so I will return it.

Vet recommended Royal Canin and Purina, they only have those two anyways. I have not ever bought Purina so I opted for RC.

Hi FeebysOwner ..... What are these limited ingredient novel proteins food you are referring to? I have been feeding him Farmina after his major intestine surgery last year. Vet thinks whatever food I am giving him is causing his lethargy that's why I gave in and started trying the prescription food.

Thank you all for your responses, really appreciate it!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Limited ingredient foods are ones with the least amount of fillers and 'extras' that can cause gut irritation in some cats. Just do a search on 'limited ingredient cat food'. Novel proteins are meats like rabbit, venison, lamb, duck...

 

[stephanietx]

Look at Instinct rabbit, venison, or duck and see if he'll eat any of those. Another option is RAWZ that has single proteins in dry and wet food.

 

[silent meowlook]

Try your best to get him switched over to canned food. Of course don’t let him stop eating, but switching to canned would be best.
My cats do well on the Royal Canin PR canned, which is a rabbit diet.

 

[bebemau]

Thank you all for the responses.

I have always fed him wet food and he used to like it. But after his intestine surgery his eating pattern completely changed. He doesnt love his wet food nor dry food although he seems to eat more of the dry food and if I mix dry food with wet he will eat more wet. He is being so difficult now it is frustrating.

I have tried Rawz he seems to like it better than the Royal Canin. I normally feed him stew like wet food with gravy. Any recommendations?

Thanks again!

 

[stephanietx]

Add a couple of teaspoons of warm water to his food and make a thick oatmeal consistency.

 

[gitabooks]

A kitty that is hesitant to eat foods they used to like may have nausea (if they feel sick when they eat something they blame the food). Nausea and stomach pain can also cause lethargy.
Cerenia every other day makes a world of difference to my IBD kitty. It has mild pain relieving affects but its main job is anti-nausea.

 

[maggie101]

Thank you all for the responses.

I have always fed him wet food and he used to like it. But after his intestine surgery his eating pattern completely changed. He doesnt love his wet food nor dry food although he seems to eat more of the dry food and if I mix dry food with wet he will eat more wet. He is being so difficult now it is frustrating.

I have tried Rawz he seems to like it better than the Royal Canin. I normally feed him stew like wet food with gravy. Any recommendations?

Thanks again!

My ibd cat eats weruva. It's not limited ingredient but it's all she'll eat! It's shredded beefg and chicken, not pate. High protein,low carb,low phosphorus.

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Lots of gums but they're not the first ingredient!