Need advice on cat food issue

[kirikara]

Hi,
We are having some issue with our kitties and I wanted to see if anyone had some advice. I am planning to see the vet soon but I am also worried he might want to sell me their prescription cat food, and want to hear other's opinion too.

We have 2 kitties, same litter, one male, one female (neutered/spayed), 2 years old. We have tried dry and wet food from Wellness over the last 2 years and now are doing Buffalo blue indoor dry food. Usually one of the cat does well and the other does not (vomitting right after eating). For a while they might be doing good and then one of them get sick again. We raised their bowls, put a ball in there so they don't eat too fast. I feed them 1/4 cup each twice a day (1/2 cup total each)
They had been good on the dry buffalo food for the last 4 months.
Even though wet food is supposed to be better, we are having less issues with dry food overall but they still get sick once in a while (sometimes when we go away for the weekend, sometimes when we get a fresh bag of food, sometimes when they have hairball)

The female is putting on weight month after months, she is now 14-15lbs (was 13 last year at the same time). She does not seem to be eating much at all, and he is the one recently having the most issue getting sick.
I tried to put her back on wet food in a separate room, but she got sick.
She feels really heavy and overweight. We are trying to get to play more, but it is tough. Today i tried to feed them a little less (2/3 of usual serving) and she ate everything at once at night, and obviously threw up everything...

What else do I need to do? Any advice? Am I doing something completely wrong?

 

[initforlove]

I have already mentioned in another thread that I am totally opposed to commercially produced food but I will not go into that here

the issue of being sick and I assume you mean throwing up is - change brands or flavours till you find one that none of your cats throw up

the bloating you describe - once again by trial and error find out what works best for your cats

the problem with switching your cat to another food is that they will go on a hunger strike because the food is highly flavoured with stuff that more or less addicts them so you need to be prepared for that

unless your cat is sickly and over thin you can let it go on a bit of a hunger strike while you tempt your cat to change to another food, be it another brand of dry food , or tinned food, or if you wanted to try feeding fresh food

the huge issue is - the companies who sell cat food do put flavorings into their cat food to make cats loyal to their brand etc and when switching, this is what you have to help your cat overcome

good luck

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by initforlove

I have already mentioned in another thread that I am totally opposed to commercially produced food but I will not go into that here

the issue of being sick and I assume you mean throwing up is - change brands or flavours till you find one that none of your cats throw up

the bloating you describe - once again by trial and error find out what works best for your cats

the problem with switching your cat to another food is that they will go on a hunger strike because the food is highly flavoured with stuff that more or less addicts them so you need to be prepared for that

unless your cat is sickly and over thin you can let it go on a bit of a hunger strike while you tempt your cat to change to another food, be it another brand of dry food , or tinned food, or if you wanted to try feeding fresh food

the huge issue is - the companies who sell cat food do put flavorings into their cat food to make cats loyal to their brand etc and when switching, this is what you have to help your cat overcome

good luck

This (bolded) is incorrect and very dangerous advice to be giving.

Cats cannot go more than a couple of days without food before their organs begin to shut down. And it is even more dangerous for an overweight cat.

Do not allow your cats to starve in an effort to get them to eat something they do not want to eat.

It's not uncommon for cats to vomit occasionally. Hair balls that are slow in passing is usually the culprit.

Feed smaller meals more often, rather than all the food all at once, make sure the cats are getting enough exercise, brush them every day, encourage more drinking, use hairball remedy (sparingly).

Having said all that, the first thing you should do is take them to the vet.

 

[ducman69]

Hard to say, but from what I understand these are intermittent issues, and may have multiple triggers.

If a cat has a hairball, he will try to throw it up, and this is normal. Using a furminator every few days pulls out the undercoat which causes the intestinal clog and also minimizes shedding. When noticing signs of a hairball, you can also administer a 1/2-1" ribbon of hairball remedy gel which is basically just flavored vaseline (which you can use in its place as well).

If a cat eats too fast, it is also normal that they throw up as you seem to be aware of with the ball in the bowl trick. Another neat product I like to use when going out for long periods like my 13hr work shift (15hrs away) MultiVet SlimCat food distributer ball: http://www.amazon.com/MultiVet-SlimC...5325052&sr=1-1 Feeding less dry or replacing it with more wet that they like (don't leave it out for more than an hour or two) isn't a bad idea. Mine both like wellness chicken pate.

Other triggers not mentioned can be ingesting other things in the house like plants and throwing up, or getting an upset tummy from stress (any strays often hanging outside by the windows harassing kitties?), and I've even heard of kitties getting nauseous from plug-in airfresheners.

The vet can rule out infection, parasites, and perhaps suggest if food allergies may be to blame and try to narrow down which ingredient is causing upset.

 

[initforlove]

the first post says that this cat has been cleared by a vet already

to the suggestion that a cat may be allowed to go on a little hunger strike - I dont mean days. I expect the cat will start to eat the food you give to it as soon as the craving for the other food subsides and in my humble opinion that is usually by next meal

sorry if you misunderstood me - I dotn think it is a big deal for a healthy cat to miss one meal

though I agree that several days missing meals would be an issue of grave concern

 

[ducman69]

OP says "planning to see vet soon" in first post.

 

[silva_unt]

Maybe you could portion the dry even further. Neko gets 1/4c dry which I give her 2 servings of 1/8c (she also gets 3oz wet). I hope this helps- if the reason being that she eats her food too fast... Good luck

 

[sharky]

Please talk to the vet...

Throwing up in some cats is semi normal( ie they can have a "twitchy "tummy like a human... BUT Only a vet and some testing to eliminate many other issues can that thought be considered

As mentioned ELIMINATION diet is the most helpful if things like hairball( which often have a dietary begining or part), infection( blood and urinalysis )..

Most cats if PROPERLY switched have few to no issues with new foods( the flavorings are nearly all the same base with one or two special differences) ... and a "fast " of more than 12 hours is another to be done under Vet guidence item

I have used the feeding ball in dogs and it has worked... I use it for my cats but to ensure extra food gets into one of them

While at the vet ask if they are at proper wts and if Not what are the proper/ ideal weights

A VERY silly sounding ? for you ... What are the guidelines on the bag for their wt s and activity level ( most house cats are classified as less active)?

 

[strange_wings]

I don't consider vomiting normal at all… regurgitation is a different thing altogether and shouldn't be confused with vomiting. That can happen from something as simple as a cat running around too soon after eating or from eating too fast.

Don't dismiss the vet and script diets, yet. For some cats sensitive stomach or even an allergy formula makes a huge difference. They'll be able to help guide you through trying foods safety.

One thing to consider is that the trend in a lot of the pricey foods now is to add fruit and veggies to the mix. Lots have peas now, for example. Some cats have problems with these foods.

 

[heathen]

Some advice: even if your cats are indoor-only, I would NEVER feed an "indoor specific" variety. I love Blue Buffalo as a brand but their indoor variety sucks.

Try a "normal" variety, or try Blue Buffalo's Basics variety. Have you tried their Longevity or Wilderness diets?