Royal Canin and Crystals

[ziggyandshade]

A slow transition is expensive but seems like the way to go with your cat.


Fancy Feast isn't particularly unhealthy, but it is among the worst options to feed if a cat has urinary or kidney issues. Mineral content is always high. Most are 400%+ the target concentration. The "Senior" varieties have less but still 250%+. All

More often than not cats will refuse a totally new food. Transitioning from old food to Rx food is necessary (and you'll find a 1000's of posts about methods to transition) with most cats but it's better to move away from the Purina and other cheap foods as fast as possible.

It usually takes 5-10 days to transition. It's a slow process, Rx food is pricey so a lot of cat owners give up if the cat doesn't eat it immediately. If you're doing it right a lot of food gets wasted, but that's just how it works during transitioning.

My method (assume 3 meals a day):
throughout the process i smear the sides of bowl with a pinch of food the yummy cat food (ie fancy feast). So the smell of FF over powers the RX food smell
Meal 1&2: I put putting a mound of FF on ond side of thr bowl and dollop of Rx food in the other. (Like 10% Rx, 90% FF)
Meal 3-5: The 10% RX dollop is just barely touching thr FF. Even if he doesn't eat the Rx food he starts associating the RX food w
Meal 6-20: amount if Rx food goes up 5% FF goes down 5% each meal. And the 2 mounds of food touch/over lap more and more.
After that I start putting the little bit of FF over the Rx food.
towards the end of the transition I put a doughnut shaped mound of Rx food in the bowl. Put a tinier and amount of Rx food in the center (like lava in volcano). Thier will be set backs and you may have to stay at a certain ratio of RX:FF for a few meals til the cat is comfortable with it then start decreasing again.
IMO I will give up on that flavor RX food if a cat refuses to eat any FF that touches the RX food after 5 days.

BUT like I said in my last post, OP should try liquid treats, most cats love it a lot more than their favorite catfood and it's scent is a lot stronger. With the liquid treats you would just cover a thin layer of Rx food with the treat, then slowly make thebrx food layer thicker and cover it with less and less liquid treat.

A few questions whenever you have a moment:

- What kind of bowls do you use for transitioning or in general?

- Also, what do you use for water bowls and do you keep water near the food or away?

- What kind of liquid treat do you give your cats? I tried those Churra (spelling?) tubes and the liquid you squeeze out of a toothpaste looking tube, he didn’t want either.

Thanks again!

 

[syzygycat]

A few questions whenever you have a moment:

- What kind of bowls do you use for transitioning or in general?

- Also, what do you use for water bowls and do you keep water near the food or away?

- What kind of liquid treat do you give your cats? I tried those Churra (spelling?) tubes and the liquid you squeeze out of a toothpaste looking tube, he didn’t want either.

Thanks again!

-Short answer: use a normal 5-6" glass/ceramic plate placed on something so it 2"-4" off the ground (long explanation at bottom)


-water bowls shouldn't be close to the food, try using a few different sizes/colors/shapes. When cats associate a dish with stagnant water they tend not to reuse it. I have 8 water bowls keep 3 out (plus a fountain), switch them up every few weeks.

-what flavor churu did you get?
the 4 most common liquid treats brands are Hartz Squeeze Ups. Tiki Stix, Temptations Purrree, Churru. My cats don't like Churru beef chicken or "with cheese" flavors, they like the fish ones. Churru has the most minerals so it should be the last option. hartz' squeeze ups $13 box comes in chicken,tuna, and tuna-shrimp. (Some have garden-chicken instead of tuna+shrimp) aside from the garden-chickrn flavor Those are the most popular with my cats. Temptations Purrree comes in chicken and salmon (they larger sizes also have beef liver, and tuna). The temptations It's almost as popular with my cats as the hartz' but the added benefit of having much less minerals (closer to RX food levels).

PS & totally off topic. Since part of the goal of the Rx food is to get your cats urine to be more acidic, it maybe helpful to look up which ingredients are better/worse when choosing non-RX foods. 99% of the time corn is the worst catfood filler. But it's one of the best foods to make urine more acidic. Soy, potatoes, fruits should be avoided


Long answer why you should use a heavy, flat bottomed wide, low sided dish.. I use normal 5.5 or 6" ceramic plates (appetizer plates, not saucers) or if I use a cat bow it's gotta have a 5" flat inside bottom sides not steeply angles and no higher than 1.25".
Typical small, convex walled, plastic/metal food bowls make it easy to snag kibble and keep the kibble from rolling out but sucks for wet food. Metal feels cold on their lips so they avoid the bottom. Wet food sticks to the surface, lightweighg weight bowls get annoying because they move which each lick.
Cat's don't like the feeling of their sensitive whickers getting pushed on and the don't like getting food on their chin so a flat shallow bowl/plate with wet food in thinner layers (roughly 1/2" high) works best with fussy cats. Also, cats are way more likely to eat if they don't have to bend all the way to the floor. They sell elevated cat bowls or you can buy the bowl on any object 2"-4" high (like the boxes most cat foods come in).

 

[ziggyandshade]

-Short answer: use a normal 5-6" glass/ceramic plate placed on something so it 2"-4" off the ground (long explanation at bottom)


-water bowls shouldn't be close to the food, try using a few different sizes/colors/shapes. When cats associate a dish with stagnant water they tend not to reuse it. I have 8 water bowls keep 3 out (plus a fountain), switch them up every few weeks.

-what flavor churu did you get?
the 4 most common liquid treats brands are Hartz Squeeze Ups. Tiki Stix, Temptations Purrree, Churru. My cats don't like Churru beef chicken or "with cheese" flavors, they like the fish ones. Churru has the most minerals so it should be the last option. hartz' squeeze ups $13 box comes in chicken,tuna, and tuna-shrimp. (Some have garden-chicken instead of tuna+shrimp) aside from the garden-chickrn flavor Those are the most popular with my cats. Temptations Purrree comes in chicken and salmon (they larger sizes also have beef liver, and tuna). The temptations It's almost as popular with my cats as the hartz' but the added benefit of having much less minerals (closer to RX food levels).

PS & totally off topic. Since part of the goal of the Rx food is to get your cats urine to be more acidic, it maybe helpful to look up which ingredients are better/worse when choosing non-RX foods. 99% of the time corn is the worst catfood filler. But it's one of the best foods to make urine more acidic. Soy, potatoes, fruits should be avoided


Long answer why you should use a heavy, flat bottomed wide, low sided dish.. I use normal 5.5 or 6" ceramic plates (appetizer plates, not saucers) or if I use a cat bow it's gotta have a 5" flat inside bottom sides not steeply angles and no higher than 1.25".
Typical small, convex walled, plastic/metal food bowls make it easy to snag kibble and keep the kibble from rolling out but sucks for wet food. Metal feels cold on their lips so they avoid the bottom. Wet food sticks to the surface, lightweighg weight bowls get annoying because they move which each lick.
Cat's don't like the feeling of their sensitive whickers getting pushed on and the don't like getting food on their chin so a flat shallow bowl/plate with wet food in thinner layers (roughly 1/2" high) works best with fussy cats. Also, cats are way more likely to eat if they don't have to bend all the way to the floor. They sell elevated cat bowls or you can buy the bowl on any object 2"-4" high (like the boxes most cat foods come in).

Looking at bowls on Amazon, how do you rate these?

View attachment 477300

-Short answer: use a normal 5-6" glass/ceramic plate placed on something so it 2"-4" off the ground (long explanation at bottom)


-water bowls shouldn't be close to the food, try using a few different sizes/colors/shapes. When cats associate a dish with stagnant water they tend not to reuse it. I have 8 water bowls keep 3 out (plus a fountain), switch them up every few weeks.

-what flavor churu did you get?
the 4 most common liquid treats brands are Hartz Squeeze Ups. Tiki Stix, Temptations Purrree, Churru. My cats don't like Churru beef chicken or "with cheese" flavors, they like the fish ones. Churru has the most minerals so it should be the last option. hartz' squeeze ups $13 box comes in chicken,tuna, and tuna-shrimp. (Some have garden-chicken instead of tuna+shrimp) aside from the garden-chickrn flavor Those are the most popular with my cats. Temptations Purrree comes in chicken and salmon (they larger sizes also have beef liver, and tuna). The temptations It's almost as popular with my cats as the hartz' but the added benefit of having much less minerals (closer to RX food levels).

PS & totally off topic. Since part of the goal of the Rx food is to get your cats urine to be more acidic, it maybe helpful to look up which ingredients are better/worse when choosing non-RX foods. 99% of the time corn is the worst catfood filler. But it's one of the best foods to make urine more acidic. Soy, potatoes, fruits should be avoided


Long answer why you should use a heavy, flat bottomed wide, low sided dish.. I use normal 5.5 or 6" ceramic plates (appetizer plates, not saucers) or if I use a cat bow it's gotta have a 5" flat inside bottom sides not steeply angles and no higher than 1.25".
Typical small, convex walled, plastic/metal food bowls make it easy to snag kibble and keep the kibble from rolling out but sucks for wet food. Metal feels cold on their lips so they avoid the bottom. Wet food sticks to the surface, lightweighg weight bowls get annoying because they move which each lick.
Cat's don't like the feeling of their sensitive whickers getting pushed on and the don't like getting food on their chin so a flat shallow bowl/plate with wet food in thinner layers (roughly 1/2" high) works best with fussy cats. Also, cats are way more likely to eat if they don't have to bend all the way to the floor. They sell elevated cat bowls or you can buy the bowl on any object 2"-4" high (like the boxes most cat foods come in).

Looking at, first food bowls, how do you rate these? He’s always eaten off either white or steel bowls so I don’t want to change the color. After that, I attached 2 possible water bowls. Bluish o es and colorful ones. Let me know what you think of the shape etc. Sorry for being so needy and thanks again.

 

[DeesCats]

I'm using the Corelle 6 3/4" salad/appetizer plates for wet food and they are working out great. They are lightweight and if your cat likes to push the food off the plate, they may not work well for you. I got These ones though the price has gone up a bit since I got them a couple months ago.

I recently bought the Corelle 10 oz dessert bowls for water and I think they are a bit small but the cats are using them without an issues.
These are the ones I bought.

I like that they are dishwasher and microwave safe, lightweight and fit well in the dishwasher and take up less room in the cupboard. Whichever brand you decide to buy, be sure they are actually food safe

 

[syzygycat]

Looking at bowls on Amazon, how do you rate these?

View attachment 477300



Looking at, first food bowls, how do you rate these? He’s always eaten off either white or steel bowls so I don’t want to change the color. After that, I attached 2 possible water bowls. Bluish o es and colorful ones. Let me know what you think of the shape etc. Sorry for being so needy and thanks again.

View attachment 477314View attachment 477314View attachment 477315View attachment 477316

Yourre over thinking it. First set you linked are fune.Go to a dollar store or Walmart and buy 5,6, or 7"" plates. The edge is just to keep falling off the floor. IMO larger than 6" the cat will stand in the plate to eat nothing with deepsides.

The water bowls are what I rotate, I use cat bowls human bowl, small clear glass salad bowls, even a butter dish, small tote, and an (clean) ashtry....those I rotate

 

[ziggyandshade]

Ok, thanks again for everyone’s time and help!!

 

[ziggyandshade]

Thanks for the links!!