Poor coat, weight loss and bad guts

Nice Loki

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Please be aware that this is a long post.

I have 2 cats, brother and sister. Loki is our ginger boy and Moxxi is a tortie.

Moxxi is allergic to fleas, so when Loki came home with fleas one day (around about 6 months ago) and Moxxi's fur dropped out I applied the flea treatment as normal and waited for her fur to grow back. It started to grow back, but to this day has still never fully returned to normal. At about the same time, she also started dropping 'nuggets' around the house. When I researched the potential causes, one thing I read was that too much dry food could be the problem. Up to this point in time we would have a big bowl of fresh water and a bowl of anti-hairball Iams permanently available for them to eat (I know, please don't judge), then they would be fed pouches of cat meat at meal times. I know that Moxxi would eat huge amounts of these Iams, so I considered that this could be the cause of her 'nugget' dropping. I removed the bowl of Iams and cut out the dry food from their diet (Moxxi was not impressed with that, I can tell you) with the exception of a small handful of treats once a day.
It took a long time, but eventually the nuggets stopped happening, but her fur still wasn't good.
Then a couple of weeks ago I noticed that she was licking her anus a lot. It was clearly irritating her, and because her stools were loose I checked her anal sacs and found that the left one was full, I expressed it then waited and watched. That worked and she appears to be no longer bothered in that area. Her stools were starting to firm up, but today my hubby has reported to me that she has diarrhoea.

Moxxi is happy in herself, her appetite is normal and she is full of energy and still very playful.
But her coat is really thin and lackluster, her stools are far too loose and she has lost a lot of weight, to the point now that when I stroke her I can feel her ribs and spine more than I should. I am worried that my messing about with her diet has put her guts out of balance and as a consequence she is malnourished.

Over the last 6 months or so I have been trying to find a better quality of meat that they will consistently eat in place of the junk that they are currently on. It has been a long process of trial and error, so their diet has not been consistent.
I thought that I would be able to just swap one brand of meat for another without any transition period. So they have been getting 100% of one brand in one meal, then 100% of another brand in another meal, with zero mixing. It seemed to be working because they both have been eating whatever I put down for them. Now however I am questioning that assumption, and am now thinking that I need to stop being so abrupt with the food changes and instead do a gentle transition to ease them into a better diet.

I have had cats for many years, but I am ashamed to admit that I never really looked at the ingredients and nutrients in their food until Moxxi started having problems in the last 6 months. Since this all started I have done more research in the last 6 months than I ever did over all the years of having cats.
I foolishly believed that when a cat food is advertised as "complete" that it would be just that - complete.
So when I read the list of ingredients I was horrified to find that I have been feeding my cats essentially junk food all this time. The ingredients in the brand that I have been buying are listed as follows:

Meat and animal derivatives* (14%, of which chicken 2% and kidney 2%)
Vegetable protein extract
Fish and fish derivatives
Derivatives of vegetable origin
Minerals
Various sugars

*chunks 44% meat and animal derivatives


Just 14% meat is appalling enough alone, but to then add sugars to the mix is (IMO) downright disgusting.

Considering the poor quality of food that they are used to and that the new food has approximately 70% meat, is it possible that this massive change could be causing Moxxi's problems? Loki on the other hand is completely fine, no obvious ill effects at all from the food changes.
One more thing - I have just bought a box of FortiFlora in the hopes of restoring equilibrium to her guts. I haven't used any yet (it literally arrived as I have been writing this post), but hope it will help.

My instinct says that this is all symptoms of me messing about with their diet, but I wanted to get opinions and advice from other more informed people.

If you made it this far then thank you for reading!
 

Flybynight

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Nice Loki Nice Loki
Hi,
I have read if used to mainly plant protein such as Whiskas, it can take a little while to adjust to normal animal protein.
I feed my cats brands like Meowing Heads, Animonda Vom Feinsten etc and they do fine with a rotation of different brands.
Losing weight and poor quality fur can be another issue. It may be worth getting a vets opinion.
Have you condition scored her? If on dry food before she may have been a little heavier due to higher carbs.
Body Condition Assessment | Pet Better with Pet Circle
She may have lost weight but still be in good condition if she was a bit oversized before. The chart is a good guide.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Just an off-brand thought...have they been treated for parasites recently? That can cause all sorts of issues. I have my own girl on drops that kill fleas, tick, four kinds of intestinal worms, and heart worms.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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FortiFlora is not really that good of a probiotic. You can actually give her human probiotics, and look for something that doesn't have milk in it, unless it's goat's milk. Look for something that has 30 billion CFU, multi strains in it. S. Boulardi is a form is a probiotic that can be used in conjunction with a larger strain probiotic that is super in helping with diarrhea. For both of these, you can give 1/2 capsule mixes into wet food, twice per day (per cat).

It's fine to switch up wet foods (of decent quality - meaning without sugar and that other questionable stuff) without issues unless she has a food sensitivity, and for that you won't really know unless she has issues after you feed a certain protein, like fish or chicken or beef, etc.
 
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Nice Loki

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Nice Loki Nice Loki
Hi,
I have read if used to mainly plant protein such as Whiskas, it can take a little while to adjust to normal animal protein.
I feed my cats brands like Meowing Heads, Animonda Vom Feinsten etc and they do fine with a rotation of different brands.
Losing weight and poor quality fur can be another issue. It may be worth getting a vets opinion.
Have you condition scored her? If on dry food before she may have been a little heavier due to higher carbs.
Body Condition Assessment | Pet Better with Pet Circle
She may have lost weight but still be in good condition if she was a bit oversized before. The chart is a good guide.
Thank you for your very informative reply.

That body condition chart is fabulous. You were absolutely correct - Moxxi was a bit on the chunky side while on a carb heavy diet. I hadn't put 2 + 2 together linking removing carbs and her weight loss as a positive result. Assessing by that body condition chart I judge her to be down from a mid 6 to be near the lower end of a 4 now. Which is quite a dramatic change for a cat in a 6 month timeframe. I will continue to monitor her.

They are both on Felix at the moment which as the ingredients state has vegetable protein in it. Honestly it's disgusting that that can be labelled as a complete pet food when there is so much wrong with it.

Since my original post on Thursday I have been very consistent with mixing the Felix and the better foods that I am transitioning them to (Wild Freedom & Animonda Carny).
Loki is taking to it much better than Moxxi, but with the added FortiFlora in Moxxi's food she is eating enough. Hopefully she will embrace it more as time passes.
 
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Nice Loki

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Just an off-brand thought...have they been treated for parasites recently? That can cause all sorts of issues. I have my own girl on drops that kill fleas, tick, four kinds of intestinal worms, and heart worms.
Actually no, I haven't treated her recently and she is a prolific hunter and I know that she eats her prey.
What are the drops that you use? I have only ever known about pills which are awful to give to her.
 
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Nice Loki

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FortiFlora is not really that good of a probiotic. You can actually give her human probiotics, and look for something that doesn't have milk in it, unless it's goat's milk. Look for something that has 30 billion CFU, multi strains in it. S. Boulardi is a form is a probiotic that can be used in conjunction with a larger strain probiotic that is super in helping with diarrhea. For both of these, you can give 1/2 capsule mixes into wet food, twice per day (per cat).

It's fine to switch up wet foods (of decent quality - meaning without sugar and that other questionable stuff) without issues unless she has a food sensitivity, and for that you won't really know unless she has issues after you feed a certain protein, like fish or chicken or beef, etc.
Thanks for that info.

The FortiFlora has something in it that entices her to eat, so I will keep putting that into her food for now. I'll revisit this again when this box of 30 sachets is nearly finished.
 

LTS3

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Thanks for that info.

The FortiFlora has something in it that entices her to eat, so I will keep putting that into her food for now. I'll revisit this again when this box of 30 sachets is nearly finished.

FortiFlora contains animal digest which cats finds irresistible. A little sprinkle is all you need so the box should last a good awhile. Advita is another similar product but instead of animal digest it has dried poultry liver instead. I'm not sure if you can get this in the UK.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Actually no, I haven't treated her recently and she is a prolific hunter and I know that she eats her prey.
What are the drops that you use? I have only ever known about pills which are awful to give to her.
I use Revolution Plus for Hek, which is what my vet prefers. There are others.
 

LTS3

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Actually no, I haven't treated her recently and she is a prolific hunter and I know that she eats her prey.
What are the drops that you use? I have only ever known about pills which are awful to give to her.

By "drops" people mean topical, usually a liquid or gel that is applied to the back of a cat's neck once a month. V verna davies would know of topical parasites preventatives that are common in the UK. Ask your vet which product is best for your cat. Cats who hunt and eat their catch may need a different product than indoor only cats.

If pills have to be given, there are things like Pill Pockets and other things that you can use to get the pill in with little stress.

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