What High-quality Foods Would You Recommend For Fiv Adult Cats?

[I_Wuv_Kitties]

Right now I'm feeding Tuxie and Oscar 9lives cat food for wet and the Science Diet for dry. I want to get better food for them though.

I could go on Amazon and read reviews but I wanted to ask you all first. I'm sure some of you have experience in this. I would like to get them something that has immunoboosters since they have FIV. What would you all recommend?

 

[EmmiTemmi]

What's your budget? I can imagine that buying premium foods for two cats could get expensive. I don't have any experience with FIV cats, but what exactly do you mean by 'immunoboosters' in their food?

There's an article about different supplements that can be given along with a healthy quality diet to help immune support:
Boosting the immune system.. what to use?

 

[cheeser]

We feed our FIV+ kitty whatever kind of wet food he'll eat, and that he's not allergic to. That's still a work in progress.

These days he mostly eats Hound & Gatos, KOHA, Natural Balance LID, and Red Barn Naturals.

Buddy also gets L-lysine, lactoferrin, and melatonin supplements that our vet recommended to help strengthen his immune system, as well as a probiotic.

 

[duckpond]

there are so many foods it can get confusing as what to feed. Anytime i want a new food for my cats i look at a few different places online. one place i use a lot is CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat to compare different foods. i also look on amazon, and Chewy at reviews from others. once you find a few that would work in your budget you might post those, and we can give our opinions on the ones you are deciding between?

 

[maggiedemi]

I think the most important thing is some canned food every day, especially since they are males.

 

[molly92]

My FIV positive kitty is still pretty young and healthy, but I am especially careful to stick with foods that I think are healthier based on research I've done to give her body the best chance at continuing to work optimally! Most sources really emphasize just feeding good food for FIV positive cats, so I haven't delved much into supplements, although she does get probiotics with every meal. Lactoferrin is something I might consider when she gets older. I gave her lysine for a while when I first got her, but she has never shown any signs of herpes (common cat cold) and she has had no opportunity to catch it from another cat so I don't give that anymore.

My rules are: only wet food, as little plant material as possible, especially grains and potatoes, no fish, and, just to be safe, no carrageenan. My cat has her own set of rules, including that she only likes pate, and she prefers birds like turkey, chicken, quail, and duck to four-footed animals like beef, pork, or lamb.

So, I feed a lot of Holistic Select because it comes in nice cost effective 13 oz cans. Whole Earth Farms is also a good one at a mid-range cost. And then I throw some more expensive brands into her rotation, like Halo, Wellness CORE, and Canidae. But there are lots of options, and it depends a lot on what's convenient for you, what works for your budget, and what your cat prefers.

 

[I_Wuv_Kitties]

especially since they are males.

What do you mean?

 

[cheeser]

What do you mean?

Male cats are more prone to urinary tract problems, and dry food can be a contributing factor. Dr. Pierson explains how that all works on her website at catinfo.org.

 

[Lari]

I asked a vet tech about crystals, because I had tried to bribe Lelia into the carrier with tuna to redo her fiv/felv tests, and they told me that a male urethra was like my little coffee stirrer (because my vet totally has a keurig) and compared to that a girl's was like the size of a fire hose. So while they might both get crystals, it can be a way bigger deal with males.

And not to feed too much fish because of magnesium.

I love my vet's office. And they don't declaw.

 

[maggiedemi]

Yes, male cats are more prone to UTI's. I have to watch the dry food with my cats and make sure they get enough canned food every day. Oh yeah, I forgot about the fish thing, try not to feed fish flavors every day, maybe once or twice a week.

 

[I_Wuv_Kitties]

My rules are: only wet food

So no dry food? Wow Tux and Oscar mainly eat dry food. They barely touch their wet food & I've tried multiple.

 

[maggiedemi]

Mine eat both. They would go on strike if I completely got rid of it. I try to keep the dry food under half a cup each, and the rest is canned food. I use Friskies, Fancy Feast, and Sheba. They won't eat the expensive brands, plus I can't afford it.

 

[cheeser]

So no dry food? Wow Tux and Oscar mainly eat dry food. They barely touch their wet food & I've tried multiple.

One of our cats used to be a kibble addict, and I had given up all hope of ever getting him to eat wet food. I found this article to be extremely helpful re: transitioning cats from a dry to a wet food diet, and Oscar eventually warmed up to the idea. It took awhile, but now he stalks me to make sure I don't forget to give him his Fancy Feast Classics.

 

[molly92]

So no dry food? Wow Tux and Oscar mainly eat dry food. They barely touch their wet food & I've tried multiple.

Yep! I'm lucky my cat likes her wet food. Sometimes I use kibble as treats, but catinfo.org convinced me to do all wet. Plus my cat will rarely drink water on her own so it's especially important for her.

 

[EmmiTemmi]

They barely touch their wet food & I've tried multiple

One thing that really helped me when switching to a mostly wet diet for my two boys was sprinkling a bit of their kibble on the wet food. They also really appreciate when I take one Instict freeze-dried raw boost mixer pellet, crush it between my fingers and sprinkle it over their food. One of the sample size packets has lasted me several months now!

 

[maggiedemi]

Well Demi has decided that he wants his canned food on top of his dry food! Cats are so weird. So maybe you can try that. He didn't want it mixed together, he wanted the dry food on the plate, then drop the wet food on top of it. Weird. Cats are so picky!

 

[Georgia on my Mind]

Yep! I'm lucky my cat likes her wet food. Sometimes I use kibble as treats, but catinfo.org convinced me to do all wet. Plus my cat will rarely drink water on her own so it's especially important for her.

Same situation with my two girls. I’m still concerned they don’t get enough liquid just from the canned food so I add enough water to it that they basically have soup for dinner every night