Specific Food Suggestion Needed

[sonnyvincent]

I saw my vet today and since I've read so many times always consult with the vet before any diet plan, I talked to her a little about what my overweight cats should eat. I thought I'd been doing better stopping the free feeding but I guess I still over feed them

She suggested for the 2 bigger cats, a diet food. OK so... one of the two cats has always needed a cat food for "sensitive stomachs". He has been on Purina One for Sensitive Stomachs for many years. I'm guessing he must've had problems as a kitten and they found that food that he could tolerate.

So, what could I feed them that is not ONLY a good "diet" food but ALSO ok on "sensitive stomachs"? They're 6 and 14 years old. I'll have to feed them separately from the younger cat because he's tiny as it is (or maybe seems so next to them).

She said 1/2 cup a day each and even a little less if I split a can of wet food between them. Sonny will hate me for this but I want to help him at least lose his belly weight. He's always been a bigger boy but now with the asthma, the extra weight can't be good for him. He's gained his belly since he stopped being active, but he was always a stockier cat and I think meant to be.

Any suggestions? She said grain free or not doesn't matter, and that she thinks a mix of dry and wet is the best way to go. I'd prefer something that is found at Petco or Petsmart, if it's not available at a regular grocery store. Again, can't pay extravagant prices but mid-range I'd say.

 

[catpack]

I personally don't believe in marketed "diet" foods as they typically contain more carbs and less protein to get the caloric value down.

How much each cat needs will depend upon which food you select, the ideal weight of the cat and thatcat's activity level. In general, when trying to get a cat to loose weight, you feed 15 calories per pound of weight.

My kitties with sensitive stomachs do best on grain-free, high protein, low-carb foods. I use Nature's Variety Instinct turkey formula and Pride by Instinct's duck formula for dry.

You could try Petsmart's brand Simply Nourish "Source" line of dry food. The ingredients aren't bad at all, especially for the price.

I honestly do believe that feeding a canned only diet is the easiest way to get cats to lose weight (and has been the easiest way for me to control portions.)

 

[sonnyvincent]

Yeah I was kind of surprised she'd say to use a "diet" food. And when I said "grain free" she said it didn't matter. And also that dry food doesn't cause urinary problems in cats. Which is all different from what I've read. it certainly won't HURT to go with a high quality grain free food I just want to be sure that it's something  OK for  Max's sensitive stomach. I'll take a look around PetSmart today and see what I find. I want  my babies healthy.

BTW, Sonny is 17 pounds 2 ounces. Stopping the free feeding has resulted in the grand loss of 2 ounces since November lol.

 

[LTS3]

Try Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredients.You can this at Petco and PetSmart and independent pet stores. The Limited Ingredients line is available in both dry and canned.

This is not a "diet" food but you really don't need one. Controlling how many calories your cat gets daily is more important. You generally feed about 20 to 25 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily (not per meal). Here is a good web site that explains more: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

An all canned food diet can help with weight loss as canned foods are much lower in calories than dry food. A cup of dry food can have anywhere from 200 calories to over 600 calories. Most 5.5 oz cans of food have under 200 calories. You can feed some dry food but limit it to no more than 50% of the diet and add extra water to the canned food to keep your cats well hydrated. Try to feed several small meals instead of one or two mealtimes. Most cats do well on several mini meals. It seems to keep those hunger pangs away.

I think a grain-free diet would help your sensitive tummy cats. Some cats are super sensitive to grains.

 

[sonnyvincent]

Well once I got to Petsmart I forgot all the recommendations so I picked a big bag of Blue Wilderness Indoor Recipe Cat Food, Grain Free. I hope this is a decent kind. It took me forever to decide and I hope they like it because it's a huge bag.

 

[lokhismom]

^Ideally to help lose weight you want to feed them wet food.

 

[the3rdname]

Think "Catkins diet".  High protein, low carb.  Weruva is fabulous for overweight kitties.  It isn't marketed as "weight management", however, they use lean cuts of meat and fit the Catkins criteria.  Most of their selections are fish-centric, and too much fish isn't good for kitties, so it would be extremely difficult to feed Weruva exclusively.  Other Catkins foods I haven't seen mentioned: Hound & Gatos, Addiction, Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore.  

Everyone is right on about the wet food.  I feed everyone a low glycemic dry (Orijen) in addition to their wet food and one of my brood still has weight issues.  She's a tough nut to crack, though (wet food hater).  If yours will eat canned, I would feed it exclusively.  Raw is even better.  Put them on raw and watch the LBs fall right off!

 

[bonepicker]

i had a cat that was fussy and vomited. I switched her to grain free canned. She lost weight and stopped vomiting.

 

[sonnyvincent]

I know what everyone is saying about wet food but the site also says to work with vet on a weight loss plan and she says a combination is what's best for cats. So... I'm just doing my best

 

[tabbysia]

You could try the Blue Buffalo Basics dry. It is supposed to be designed for sensitive cats and is a limited ingredient, grain-free food. It is also fairly low in calories. I use the duck one. I also feed a combination of wet and dry.

 

[raintyger]

Did your vet say no wet food? Unless there's a specific reason why you shouldn't use wet food, I would go ahead and feed wet food. Your comments earlier seem to indicate your vet isn't that knowledgeable about nutrition, which is very common among traditional vets. Ask her why she has recommended diet food--is it because of calories? If calories are the issue, then go for wet food with slightly less total calories than you were previously feeding. If she can't explain why she has recommended diet food and why grain free doesn't matter, then seek another vet's opinion.

 

[sonnyvincent]

She said a combo of both is what she thinks is the best way to go. I dont know why with all their education we shouldn't trust that vets know much about animals nutrition  needs but I happen to agree with her that both are needed. I had a friend whose family fed canned only and all their cats lost their teeth early because of horrible tooth problems. I don't think limiting to one OR the other is the best for pets. So I tend to agree with her and I'm hoping to find a good combo of both as my vet suggested.

 

[LTS3]

Because vet schools don't have many classes on nutrition and those classes may be sponsored by big name pet food companies. Unless a vet decides to go into animal nutrition and become board certified in that, most vets only have a basic knowledge of nutrition. Some vets may be influenced by commissions to promote those products.

If you trust your vet, then go with her suggestion of a combo diet

I suggest that you add extra water to the canned food to make sure that your cat stays well hydrated. If you find that your cat won't really eat the dry food, then you could just eliminate it from the diet.

There are people who feed only dry food for one reason or another. Having to feed dry food, even just a little bit, isn't the most horrible thing in the world that makes you a bad pet ower

 
 I had a friend whose family fed canned only and all their cats lost their teeth early because of horrible tooth problems.

Poor dental health is common in many cats regardless of the type of diet fed. Cat's teeth are no different from Human teeth - if the teeth aren't properly taken care of with tootbrushing and regular professional cleanings, yo're going to have dental problems like cavities and plaque and peridontal disease and other issues. Genetics may play a role, too. Some breeds of cats are more prone to develop dental issues than others, even if a dental care regimine is in place. I have an Aby and the breed is prone to dental problems. So far my Aby has nothng more than minor gingivitis and that's with daily toothbrushing.

 

[the3rdname]

 
Did your vet say no wet food? Unless there's a specific reason why you shouldn't use wet food, I would go ahead and feed wet food. Your comments earlier seem to indicate your vet isn't that knowledgeable about nutrition, which is very common among traditional vets. Ask her why she has recommended diet food--is it because of calories? If calories are the issue, then go for wet food with slightly less total calories than you were previously feeding. If she can't explain why she has recommended diet food and why grain free doesn't matter, then seek another vet's opinion.

So, so very true.  The only vets that really understand cats' nutritional needs are holistic vets because they actually study that stuff.  The only education traditional vets receive on nutrition is propaganda disseminated by companies like Purina, Iams, Hills.   What we know for a fact is that the feline digestive system has not evolved, the best diet for them most closely resembles what their ancestors eat, and that's meat, meat, and more meat.  In as pure a form as possible.  The big cats at the zoo aren't getting dry kibble for dinner and there's a reason for that. 

 I had a friend whose family fed canned only and all their cats lost their teeth early because of horrible tooth problems.

Dry is actually worse for their teeth because of the starches they usually contain.  Grain-free is not starch-free.  It's not really sugar that rots humans' teeth, either (though it isn't entirely innocent), it's starches.  Worst thing in the world for your teeth: eat a bunch of crackers before bed and don't brush.  That starchy powder clinging to teeth is a banquet for bad bacteria.

Cats that lose teeth early in life generally aren't well cats with a healthy immune system.  I have an IBD girl who lost all her teeth at 4 years of age.  She was the runt of her litter and has always had a weakened immune system.

 

[bonepicker]

I agree, my vets know nothing about cat and dog nutrition. I study up on it and go with the experts. It is kind of like the podiatrist telling me a spot on my nose was a harmless keratosis. I went to dermatologist anyway, and yes it was skin cancer. Leave specialities to the experts in any field, including nutrition.

 

[AbbysMom]

My mother adopted an overweight cat a little over a year ago. The cat was only being fed Purina Kitten Chow at the time of the adoption. She was also told the cat had a sensitive stomach. My mother is 82, on a limited budget and is also limited as to what stores she will shop at. There is a small pet food store near where she lives, so that is helpful.

What we did is first start switching her cat to a different dry food. I had gone into the pet food store near her house to see what was available and then did some research before we decided to go with Merrick Healthy Weight-

404 | Merrick Pet Care

Because she was told the cat had a sensitive stomach, we did a very slow transition from the Kitten Chow to the Merrick. Once the cat was 100% on the Merrick and had been on it for a few weeks we started to add wet to her diet and cut back on the dry. My mother feeds her Friskies cans. She gets a small portion a few times a day and one meal of dry food. This cat is a kibble addict. She did have to put a few kibbles on top of the wet to get her to eat it at first.

She lost a full pound in about 10 months.

 

[cprcheetah]

 
She said a combo of both is what she thinks is the best way to go. I dont know why with all their education we shouldn't trust that vets know much about animals nutrition  needs but I happen to agree with her that both are needed. I had a friend whose family fed canned only and all their cats lost their teeth early because of horrible tooth problems. I don't think limiting to one OR the other is the best for pets. So I tend to agree with her and I'm hoping to find a good combo of both as my vet suggested.

My dad has been a Veterinarian for over 40 years, he admits that I know more about pet nutrition that he does, there is very limited education in vet school about nutrition and usually the only nutrition that vets get after school is provided by Hill's, Purina and/or Royal Canin about their products, unless you are lucky enough to find one that does their own research and those are few and far between.  I have a 15 year old cat who still has all her teeth and she has been fed canned food for the majority of her life and raw for the last year.  She has only had 1 dental and that was needed when she was still eating dry food.  Dry food and dental health is a myth.  Dry food cleans their teeth no better than eating cereal cleans your teeth. My cat Munchie has eaten dry food for the majority of his life and his teeth need cleaned probably a level 3 out of 4 severity (he has a bad heart so we are trying to get that stabilized before sedating him).  Tartar buildup is caused by a variety of things, genetics, dietary components, environment etc.    Cats are desert animals and need moisture in their diet, dry food is about 10% moisture canned is about 80% moisture which is closer to cats natural diet (mice etc).  I encourage you to read this website, it is written by a veterinarian and explains why cats should not eat dry food: http://catinfo.org/   My cat Munchie weight 17# a little over a year ago, he was fat, miserable and could barely move due to the stress it put on his bad hips, bad knees and bad front leg.  I switched him to raw and he got down to 12# he is active, healthier and happier.  It also helped with his sensitive stomach.   Personally in all many hours of research I have come to the conclusion that canned or raw is best for cats who are carnivores and need meat in their diets.  Most vets think that cats need carbohydrates, and vegetables in their diets which cats simply do not have the enzymes to digest properly. 

 

[Anne]

IMHO, the thing is we - all of us, vets and non-vets, holistic or traditional vets - don't know much about feline nutrition. Some people may claim to know more, and many holistic vets online certainly do, but it doesn't mean they actually do know things. If you're looking for scientific evidence, it is sparse and limited at best (usually it just doesn't exist). 

Lifetime nutritional studies are almost impossible to conduct. With humans even more so (with animals they are usually too expensive to conduct, but not impossible). As it happens, there are no lifelong nutrition studies in cats. Simply are none. So, everything people say about feline nutrition is based on short-term studies. Some studies are better than others, and we do have some amount of information regarding some aspects, but I really do feel like some holistic vets online mix a lot of personal opinions (usually heavily based on "natural fallacies") with very limited evidence and present it in a way that's too definitive IMO. 

So, yes, vets only learn the basics of nutrition in vet school, but IMHO it's usually the stuff that is actually known (such as the effect of lack of taurine). There simply is not a whole lot more that we do know. The knowledge they may have today is different from what used to go around 40 years ago, I agree, but unfortunately it's limited even today.

If you're not happy with your vet's nutritional recommendations, I would definitely look for a certified pet nutritionist. Some of them also conduct phone consultations. I interviewed Dr. Martha Cline on this and she really made a lot of sense to me. You can read the interview here -

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-food-feline-nutrition-with-pet-nutritionist-dr-martha-cline

She also has a lot of good information in this lecture delivered to veterinarians. She really tries to see what is actually evidence-based and what isn't. The bottom line: not much is. I just wanted to offer a different perspective on the "vets don't know much about nutrition" claim.

 

[shandi]

We all need to realize that most vets know NOTHING about nutrition, and the bottom line is getting you to spend more money with them.  Vet's nutrition education is only about 2 weeks, and provided by

Hills and Royal Canin.  Guess which foods the vets push?  Sorry, but this is a "difficult truth" for many of us who really want to trust our vet.  Vets and MD's are both in collusion with those companies that benefit their "bottom line".  For MDs, it's BigPharma, for vets it's HIlls and Royal Canin.  Check the ingredients on these "prescription" diets. (ONLINE, so you can read them!)

Cats are carnivores!  If a vet says "it doesn't matter if they eat grains, they're showing you they don't know the basics about cat nutrition!

 

[denice]

I really don't want to turn this into an argument, I can only speak from experience with my own kitties.  I have a kitty, not my one with diagnosed IBD interestingly, that has diarrhea with food that is close to all meat with no grains or veggies.  I know that goes against the common knowledge of people in the holistic community but I know it is true for one of my kitties.  One of the people that works at the pet store I usually go to which is not one of the big box stores told me that my kitties issue isn't really all that rare.  Kitties are individuals and what works for one doesn't work for all.