Is this TOO much to combine in cat's food?

[KelseyKatz]

My cat's are 5, 1, and 6 weeks. I have been learning so much about cat health and nutrition. I've only fed my 5 year old cat kibble and my 1 year old gets a mix of kibble and wet because he demands it and my 6 week old is wet only for now.

I want to give them the best I can afford so I bought them Taste of the Wild Duck kibble as well as duck wet food. They're all going to be permanently on wet food with kibble but I want to also give them preventative care so I bought a number of things I was intending to add to their food each day. Is this too much? Or will all the added things keep them healthy?

 

[silent meowlook]

If you feed them a high quality canned food, you don't need to be supplementing. Just buy high quality canned, cut out the dry all together, it isn't good for them. And don't worry about supplements. There are some things you can over supplement, so just don't

 

[di and bob]

I agree with the above. The only thing I might suggest is DMG, an immune-building supplement that I give my own cats to help with their leukemia. It helps with all illnesses and would do more for Feline Herpes Virus, or URI's in cats, than the L-lysine I have heard. I wouldn't supplement unless a problem comes up, like frequent UTIs, problems with jumping, etc. (joint) then you can begin something. Most problems may never come up, so really until they get any signs, it is just spending extra money.

 

[LTS3]

For the most part, cats don't need any supplements unless a vet recommends one for an issue like arthritis.

Joint support care is useless for a 6 week old kitten and the older two aren't at an age where their joints are bothering them and a supplement is needed.

Goat milk and bone broths are those "once in awhle treat" things. Bone broth you can make yourself and freeze into ice cubes for use as needed.

i Need instructions on how to make broth for cats...very simple instructions

I am a male, i can make toast real good. There are plenty of cat broth recipes on the internet but each recipe seems to have variations on 'how to' make it. Plus i dont trust the recipes i find on blogs all that much What is a simple,basic, method to make cat broth? This is what i comprehend...

thecatsite.com

Question Re: Making Bone Broth In Crock Pot For Sick Kitties

Do you use the low or high setting when making bone broth in a crock pot, and how many hours should the process to take? We had a bit of an emergency today, and had to make do with a quickie version we made from beef neck bones in a Dutch oven. But we'd like to make a real, honest-to-goodness...

thecatsite.com

Digestive supplements aren't needed at all unless a cat has known digestive issues. Using a probiotic may be better for general digestive health. If hairballs are an issue, you're better off with a hairball gel or giving a raw egg yolk (never any raw egg white) or egg yolk lecithin.

Urinary issues can be mostly avoided by feeding only canned food. Some cats develop urinary issues as a result of stress Kidney issues may be genetic in some cats so no supplement is going to prevent that.

 

[KelseyKatz]

For the most part, cats don't need any supplements unless a vet recommends one for an issue like arthritis.

Joint support care is useless for a 6 week old kitten and the older two aren't at an age where their joints are bothering them and a supplement is needed.

Goat milk and bone broths are those "once in awhle treat" things. Bone broth you can make yourself and freeze into ice cubes for use as needed.

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/...oth-for-cats-very-simple-instructions.301643/

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http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/...e-broth-in-crock-pot-for-sick-kitties.364281/

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Digestive supplements aren't needed at all unless a cat has known digestive issues. Using a probiotic may be better for general digestive health. If hairballs are an issue, you're better off with a hairball gel or giving a raw egg yolk (never any raw egg white) or egg yolk lecithin.

Urinary issues can be mostly avoided by feeding only canned food. Some cats develop urinary issues as a result of stress Kidney issues may be genetic in some cats so no supplement is going to prevent that.

Thanks so much for all the info! My two older cats, they both have digestive issues. When we adopted the now 1 year old cat at 8 weeks of age he had a very bad case of coccidia and giardia. He gave it to the oldest cat and he almost died. It took 4 months of antibiotics to help them but they never fully recovered from it. They still have stinky stool and their stool has never gone back to completely hard. Do you think I should give them the digestive supplement and give the kitten fortiflora?

 

[LTS3]

Dry food can cause stinky poop. If you can limit the amount of dry food or completely eliminate it, that should help some. A daily probiotic may be helpful, too. You don't need a pet specific probiotic. A Human probiotic works well. Here's info:

Probiotics Search - Human Grade and CFUs

I've been trying to find a good probiotic. All my research has results in some questions: Human probiotics - Have heard different stories on whether or not to give to a cat. Have heard that you shouldn't give them to a cat because some human strains could irritate them. Have also heard that you...

thecatsite.com

Prebiotics & Probiotics for Cats: Healing Inflammation and gut dysbiosis

How to restore gut health, not just manage symptoms, in feline IBD

www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org

FortiFlora isn't a great probiotic to use. The animal digest in FortiFlora is awfully irresistible to cats to the point where some cats will flat out refuse to eat unless the food has FortiFlora sprinkled on top. I'd stop giving FortiFlora and only use it to get a really sick inappetant cat to eat.

What digestive issue do the adult cats have? Has the vet diagnosed anything or made any recommendations to help the issue? Some issues can be caused by diet.

 

[KelseyKatz]

Dry food can cause stinky poop. If you can limit the amount of dry food or completely eliminate it, that should help some. A daily probiotic may be helpful, too. You don't need a pet specific probiotic. A Human probiotic works well. Here's info:

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/threads/probiotics-search-human-grade-and-cfus.262587/

[/URL]

http://[URL]https://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/probiotics-for-cats---why-and-which-ones.html

[/URL]

FortiFlora isn't a great probiotic to use. The animal digest in FortiFlora is awfully irresistible to cats to the point where some cats will flat out refuse to eat unless the food has FortiFlora sprinkled on top. I'd stop giving FortiFlora and only use it to get a really sick inappetant cat to eat.

What digestive issue do the adult cats have? Has the vet diagnosed anything or made any recommendations to help the issue? Some issues can be caused by diet.

So Frank, my eldest cat has always been sturdy as an ox. Never a health problem. It wasn't until the kitten Fred (now 1 years old) came into the home. The little guy was found on the streets and we did not know he had coccidia and giardia. Severe liquid diarrhea that he would step in and get all over his butt and fur so I would have to bathe him or wipe him down frequently. Frank would groom and lick him back there and a week after we got the kitten Frank became extremely sick. He lost all his personality, incredibly lethargic, would never leave the closet, no longer groomed himself. Took him to a different vet than my regular and did a bunch of blood tests and x-ray, ultrasound. Said everything is great, no masses in the intestines. Then the next veterinarian from that same vet said he has huge masses in his intestines and needs surgery and needs to switch to Hills Science Prescription diet. None of this made sense because he didn't get sick until we got this kitten! So, took him to his regular vet when they finally had an opening and that's when they, unlike that one vet, took a stool sample and found the coccidia and giardia. So, long story long. To this day, neither of them have fully recovered. They were on two different antibiotics 3 times a day for 4 months. I would dump their litter all hours of the day and night everytime they pooped and either bleach it or use a hospital grade disinfectant. Would wipe down all my floors, wash fabrics every other day. Even the vet was shocked how much time, money, and effort I took into making my babies healthy. But sadly, although better, they still have massive semi-soft foul smelling poop. Sometimes it is hard and brown, other times it's got a little bit of a mucous coating, but usually not.

 

[KelseyKatz]

Dry food can cause stinky poop. If you can limit the amount of dry food or completely eliminate it, that should help some. A daily probiotic may be helpful, too. You don't need a pet specific probiotic. A Human probiotic works well. Here's info:

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/threads/probiotics-search-human-grade-and-cfus.262587/

[/URL]

http://[URL]https://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/probiotics-for-cats---why-and-which-ones.html

[/URL]

FortiFlora isn't a great probiotic to use. The animal digest in FortiFlora is awfully irresistible to cats to the point where some cats will flat out refuse to eat unless the food has FortiFlora sprinkled on top. I'd stop giving FortiFlora and only use it to get a really sick inappetant cat to eat.

What digestive issue do the adult cats have? Has the vet diagnosed anything or made any recommendations to help the issue? Some issues can be caused by diet.

Oh and, this quack vet I took him to said he has cancer and doesn't have long to live and he needs injections the rest of his life. I challenged him saying then why did your other veterinarian say his x-rays and ultrasound is excellent and clean as a whistle with no masses? He's like well uh.. uh..

Even our regular vet was like

 

[LTS3]

If you search the Health forum for threads on coccdidia and giardia you might find info on the soft poop issue and how others have resolved it.

Search Results for Query: coccidia giardia soft poop

Some vets are better than others If there's another vet clinic in your area, you may want to get a second opinion from a vet there. Or ask your current vet to consult with a veterinary school for help on the soft poop issue post-coccidia / giardia treatment.

 

[KelseyKatz]

Dry food can cause stinky poop. If you can limit the amount of dry food or completely eliminate it, that should help some. A daily probiotic may be helpful, too. You don't need a pet specific probiotic. A Human probiotic works well. Here's info:

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/threads/probiotics-search-human-grade-and-cfus.262587/

[/URL]

http://[URL]https://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/probiotics-for-cats---why-and-which-ones.html

[/URL]

FortiFlora isn't a great probiotic to use. The animal digest in FortiFlora is awfully irresistible to cats to the point where some cats will flat out refuse to eat unless the food has FortiFlora sprinkled on top. I'd stop giving FortiFlora and only use it to get a really sick inappetant cat to eat.

What digestive issue do the adult cats have? Has the vet diagnosed anything or made any recommendations to help the issue? Some issues can be caused by diet.

For years the eldest cat was on garbage dry food because my husband refused to get him any quality food. So he ate cheap cheap food the poor thing. Once he got sick though he eased up and let me get him kibble only which I got Wholehearted chicken kibble from Petco so he's been on that for a year now. Now though, I am switching them to:

Taste of The Wild Duck kibble
Purina Beyond Duck wet food (I know Purina, ew. But I actually was impressed with the ingredients! And also, we can't afford more than this)
I bought goat milk powder because a pet nutritionist said it was a must to add once a day in the wet food
Digestive supplement
L-Lysine for immune support

 

[KelseyKatz]

If you search the Health forum for threads on coccdidia and giardia you might find info on the soft poop issue and how others have resolved it.

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/...ia+soft+poop&t=post&c[nodes][0]=4&o=relevance

[/URL]

Some vets are better than others If there's another vet clinic in your area, you may want to get a second opinion from a vet there. Or ask your current vet to consult with a veterinary school for help on the soft poop issue post-coccidia / giardia treatment.

Oh great!! Thanks for the link I will absolutely check that out.