Switching Food

[The lion cut]

My cat gets regular ear infections and during my last visit to the vet they suggested switching to natural instinct cat food as they may be due to a food allergy.
I switched my cat, but now he seems to be throwing up at least once a day.
I did not do the splitting food to switch him over thing which I have since read about, so my question is, is that something I should go back and do? He has been on the new food for a few weeks now and the vomiting just started last week.

 

[abyeb]

I’d recommend going back and transitioning him to the new food slowly, mixing more and more new food in with the old, over the course of about a week. Stomach upset in cats when they have a sudden food change happens a lot.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Have you tried a different variety of the Natural Instinct? It comes in different proteins, doesn't it? Say turkey vs chicken, or duck versus turkey? And are you taking kibble vs canned? It IS true that food can add to ear woes, so I wouldn't give up on it yet. But it's also possible that a food sensitivity to the new food is causing him to vomit, so he may need another change.

Can you give us more details about the vomiting? How often does it occur after eating, could it actually be from eating too much at once, or eating too fast? Is it sporatic, or pretty much every day now?

 

[duckpond]

There may be something else going on health wise, or it could be he has a problem with the food. A different protein might be a good idea, or a different brand. I would check with the vet again, ask if there are some other foods you can try instead?

 

[Furballsmom]

on the new food for a few weeks now and the vomiting just started last week.

I'm with what duckpond said, due to this much time that's passed on the new food with issues just starting now.

 

[cheeser]

Sometimes it's not as simple as just switching to a food that your vet recommends. Sometimes it can be a process of trial and error as you try to figure out if the problem is a particular meat protein, or other ingredient, such as peas, gums, etc.

In our case, our job was made a lot simpler because Buddy had only been eating chicken based flavors for the past two years before his food allergies showed up in the form of black yeasty gunk in his ears and on his toes. So over a period of time we gradually introduced some novel proteins that Buddy had never had before, such as lamb, pork, kangaroo, and venison. And we had to read the fine print on the labels to make sure there weren't any chicken products in any of the new foods we tried, e.g., chicken broth, chicken liver, and so on.

Can you give us more details about the vomiting? How often does it occur after eating, could it actually be from eating too much at once, or eating too fast? Is it sporatic, or pretty much every day now?

 

[The lion cut]

Thank you. The vet has suggested rabbit as this was not a protein he had before but he is probably not use to it. I think I am going to have to experiment a little with the type of food but also may try adjusting him better to it. His eating habits haven't really changed and when he vomits it a fairly small amout.
It is just shocking because he hasn't done it a lot in the past.

 

[duckpond]

My cats are really enjoying the Merrick Back country Rabbit right now, comes in those black pouches. has a little lamb, and some beef broth, but no poultry or fish.