Overwhelmed and need advice

[cupley]

I have 2 cats - my 11-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy. They are currently free fed and I'd like to get them on a schedule and better food. So here goes...

1. I want to get them on a schedule. How many times a day do you feed your cats? What's the best way to transition them from free feeding to a schedule?

2. I'm trying to get my senior girl to eat canned food. She just tries to bury it. In the meantime, what's a good kibble choice? Generally, are grain-free foods with peas and potatoes better OR are foods with grains better?

3. My 7-year-old boy is on Hill's Prescription Diet c/d food (dry and canned) after becoming blocked. It doesn't seem to be high quality. There are a ton of carbs in both. Is there a better option? What exactly is in the food to prevent/break up crystals?

4. Are there any supplements you recommend for either as they are getting older? Anything to help with joints, urinary health, probiotics, etc?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

I think these two articles will help to answer some of your questions and the website and thread should help provide other information;

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food – TheCatSite Articles

Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals – TheCatSite Articles

CatfoodDB's Unbiased List Of The Best Dry Cat Foods

Are these probiotic chews good?

 

[sweet jane flash]

I feed my cat 4 or 5 times a day. I do this because in the morning she tends to overeat and will vomit if I I give her very much. She is about 10 years old. I simply will not give her the food until the appointed time in the morning. I would transition by just transitioning. Your cats will get used to it soon. She also has never eaten canned food. She will not touch it. One time I got her to eat a little pate, but that was only because she saw me give it to the dog and decided it would be good. Never touched it again. Do not worry if your cat does not want canned food. I have had a few cats in my lifetime and they all lived to be at least 20 years old.
As far as grain-free and non grain there is quite a bit of debate about it. Just feed your cats what they like; that is my opinion and others on this site may tell you theirs. Currently my girl is on grain free. She is also on probiotics only because she went through a period of high stress when my parents died and I ended up in the hospital and so when I got out of the hospital she had bad diarrhea. I took her to the vet 3 different times in which the vet prescribed 3 antibiotics~not all at the same time, but still it was enough to mess her up. I actually joined this site after searching for months for a fix. Someone had written about giving probiotics for diarrhea and after months of in and out the vet I tried saccromycees boullardi 2 times a day~it worked so very well and so now I just keep giving it to her.
I do not think Hill's Prescription is a very good cat food, but again others on this site may have another opinion. Good luck to you, cupley, we'll keep our paws crossed for an easy transition!

 

[moxiewild]

1. I personally transition cold turkey, to be honest. Others may have better ideas, though.

Most people who do scheduled feeding do 2x a day, with maybe a small snack/treat in between and/or right before bed (or super early so they can sleep in longer ).

Others feed smaller meals more frequently.

It just depends on what you want to do, your schedule, what your cat prefers, and what their gut prefers.

Come to think of it, feeding smaller meals more frequently may be one good way to transition from free fed (even if the end goal is 2 meals/day).

2. I’ll let others give you the whole “obligate carnivore” speech, but for now, to put it simply, the fewer ingredients that are not from another animal, the better.

For dry food in particular, you’re going to pay a hefty price to find that.

The only dry foods on the market nearing biologically appropriate for cats are:

Tiki Cat Born Carnivore
Dr. Elsey’s CleanProtein
Epigen 90
Young Again
And while not a typical dry food, Ziwi Peak airs dried

All are expensive. Most or all are very calorie and protein dense though, so you don’t have to feed as much as other dry foods.

But there are many more affordable options that aren’t as good, but aren’t terrible either. You can get a lot of suggestions for those if that’s more suitable for your budget!

3. Wet food and only wet food, first and foremost.

4. Best thing to do for older cats (well, in addition to wet food) is to stay on top of their wellness checks (including CBC and urinalysis) 2x a year (this can wait until 8-10 for the 7 year old).

So save your money. Instead of buying supplements (unless medically necessary), put it aside for wellness checks.

***Never starve your cat to force them to transition to wet food. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that kitty eats, so don’t get overly obsessed about doing things “just so” (it’s easier said than done).

If you can’t transition a dry food addict, then consider buying some water fountains to help encourage more water consumption.

 

[cupley]

1. I personally transition cold turkey, to be honest. Others may have better ideas, though.

Most people who do scheduled feeding do 2x a day, with maybe a small snack/treat in between and/or right before bed (or super early so they can sleep in longer ).

Others feed smaller meals more frequently.

It just depends on what you want to do, your schedule, what your cat prefers, and what their gut prefers.

Come to think of it, feeding smaller meals more frequently may be one good way to transition from free fed (even if the end goal is 2 meals/day).

2. I’ll let others give you the whole “obligate carnivore” speech, but for now, to put it simply, the fewer ingredients that are not from another animal, the better.

For dry food in particular, you’re going to pay a hefty price to find that.

The only dry foods on the market nearing biologically appropriate for cats are:

Tiki Cat Born Carnivore
Dr. Elsey’s CleanProtein
Epigen 90
Young Again
And while not a typical dry food, Ziwi Peak airs dried

All are expensive. Most or all are very calorie and protein dense though, so you don’t have to feed as much as other dry foods.

But there are many more affordable options that aren’t as good, but aren’t terrible either. You can get a lot of suggestions for those if that’s more suitable for your budget!

3. Wet food and only wet food, first and foremost.

4. Best thing to do for older cats (well, in addition to wet food) is to stay on top of their wellness checks (including CBC and urinalysis) 2x a year (this can wait until 8-10 for the 7 year old).

So save your money. Instead of buying supplements (unless medically necessary), put it aside for wellness checks.

***Never starve your cat to force them to transition to wet food. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that kitty eats, so don’t get overly obsessed about doing things “just so” (it’s easier said than done).

If you can’t transition a dry food addict, then consider buying some water fountains to help encourage more water consumption.

Thank you so much! Offering smaller meals a few times a day sounds like a great idea. And I definitely won't starve her! She has never wanted the wet and will search the house for something to cover it with - a sock, shirt, etc. - or she will scratch around it like she's trying to cover it. I have bought many different brands and varieties and she has refused them all. I'll keep offering but still feed her the dry food she likes. Maybe once she's transitioned to a schedule, I can use her natural hunger to tempt her. If she doesn't eat it, oh well.

 

[cupley]

I feed my cat 4 or 5 times a day. I do this because in the morning she tends to overeat and will vomit if I I give her very much. She is about 10 years old. I simply will not give her the food until the appointed time in the morning. I would transition by just transitioning. Your cats will get used to it soon. She also has never eaten canned food. She will not touch it. One time I got her to eat a little pate, but that was only because she saw me give it to the dog and decided it would be good. Never touched it again. Do not worry if your cat does not want canned food. I have had a few cats in my lifetime and they all lived to be at least 20 years old.
As far as grain-free and non grain there is quite a bit of debate about it. Just feed your cats what they like; that is my opinion and others on this site may tell you theirs. Currently my girl is on grain free. She is also on probiotics only because she went through a period of high stress when my parents died and I ended up in the hospital and so when I got out of the hospital she had bad diarrhea. I took her to the vet 3 different times in which the vet prescribed 3 antibiotics~not all at the same time, but still it was enough to mess her up. I actually joined this site after searching for months for a fix. Someone had written about giving probiotics for diarrhea and after months of in and out the vet I tried saccromycees boullardi 2 times a day~it worked so very well and so now I just keep giving it to her.
I do not think Hill's Prescription is a very good cat food, but again others on this site may have another opinion. Good luck to you, cupley, we'll keep our paws crossed for an easy transition!

I'm so sorry for the loss of your parents. I've had a grieving cat and it's never easy. Hugs

Thank you so much for the info and support. I just want to do the best for them and with all the info out there it's hard to know what the best is sometimes.

 

[cupley]

Hi!

I think these two articles will help to answer some of your questions and the website and thread should help provide other information;

Transitioning Your Cat From Kibble To A New Type Of Food – TheCatSite Articles

Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals – TheCatSite Articles

CatfoodDB's Unbiased List Of The Best Dry Cat Foods

Are these probiotic chews good?

Thanks so much for the links! I will check them out now!

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things go, we're sending all sorts of good thoughts your way

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

C cupley , you said your boy blocked? I presume he had crystals, which does mean HE needs to be on wet food and take in plenty of extra water. As to food and supplements, many people think adding D-Mannose is helpful is preventing the build-up of crystals. Some foods contain it, most don't. But you can add it. You can research that for more info. I've not personally had a cat who'se blocked so can't really give you more information on it, but did see this thread, and saw post #8: FLUTD? 4 Yr old Male Cat