How on earth do you seperate food?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
How on earth do you seperate food?
23
Tue, 05-24-2005 - 2:07pm

We've come to the realization that Tasha is getting F-A-T! We weighed her on Sunday and she is 15 lbs!! She was 12.5 lbs when we got her a year and a half ago, and though she is big for a female, there is no denying that she was a little overweight THEN, never mind now.

The company that manufactures her special FLUTD diet (Medi-Cal), also makes it in a weight management formula. That's all fine and good, but Bailey can't eat that! He's a growing kitten and the last thing he needs is diet food.

We have always left dry food out for Tasha. She gets two thirds of a cup per day - one third in the am and one third in the pm. She nibbles on it throughout the day and night. Obviously, Bailey has found the dish and helps himself periodically. When this happens, we take him away and put him in our 2nd bedroom and give him his kitten food.

After we move on July 1st, Bailey won't have his own room anymore. He will be free to roam the apartment during the day while we are at work, and night, when we can't watch him and keep him from Tasha's food.

Can we allow Bailey to nibble on diet food, as long as he still gets his kitten food later in the day?




Image hosted by Photobucket.com





Powered by CGISpy.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-26-2000
Tue, 05-24-2005 - 8:00pm

Hi again,

Please ready my other post to you and additionally I want to point you to several websites and books(not in any particular order).

www.catinfo.com
www.catnutrition.org
www.felinefuture.com

The top two websites listed have links to the article titled "The Carnivore Connection to Nutrition in Cats" by Debra L. Zoran DVM, PHD, DACVIM published in the December 1, 2002 issue of JAVMA(Journal of the American Veterinary Association). This is a must read!

Books

The New Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier
Dr Pitcairns Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn

Happy reading, Lynn

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 05-24-2005 - 8:59pm

Hi Unicorn,


Yes, I did mean dry food.

Cat =^..^=
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-26-2000
Tue, 05-24-2005 - 10:12pm

Hi Noelle,

First I want to start off by saying that of course you want to do what's best for your kitties as we all do otherwise most likely we wouldn't be on these boards, right? :)

I know my posts are lengthy on this subject but I am passionate about pet nutrition and the crap that goes into the majority of commercial pet food(but that's a whole different story and way too long just do the research on that one).

I too used to believe that dry food was okay, but even then I always fed a premium dry food such as Naturapet Innova or California Natural, Wellness, and years before some Nutro or Iams. In recent years my kitties developed Inflammatory Bowel Disease and in trying to find a holistic natural means of treating them I found ton's of research relating to feline nutrition and how many vet's just aren't changing to keep up with the lastest data on this subject.

I'm quoting the last paragraph from the article The Carnivore Connection to Nutrition in Cats by Debra L Zoran DVM, PH., DACVIM from the 12/01/02 JAVMA (Journal of the American Veterinary Association):

"Conclusion
Although a simple change in diet will not solve all of the ills of affected cats,it is reasonable to believe that their lives are influenced by the foods they consume. There is no question that nutrition plays a key role in obesity, diabetes mellitus, IHL, and , probably IBD in cats. However, these problems are clearly complex and involve multiple factors, including genetic and environmental influences as well as the nutritional facors described previously. Nevertheless, veterinarians can not ignore the unique nutritional needs of cat, because unlike omnivorous dogs, cats are cats and true carnivores."

I can only tell you what I have found in my research and what has worked miraculously in my kitties and their IBD. You have to decide what's best for your kitties. However, I can tell you that when feeding a high quality premium canned food you should be able to feed all lifestages of a cat the same food, meaning that from kitten through senior. For the kitten you would just have to feed it more often until it's around 9 mos or so. I don't know what kind of canned food you fed Annie that she threw up but I would stay away from anything sold in a mainstream grocery store, unless you're shopping in Wild Oats or Whole Foods.

As fars as the kitties appearing to be happy, as I noted earlier I refer to dry cat food as "kitty crack" as they do become little junkies. My analogy is this, you wouldn't feed a child nothing but boxed macaroni and cheese followed by ice cream day after day, year after year would you? Why not? You could sustain life on it. Hey a lot of kids may even like it, but as a parent you know that it's loaded with refined carbs, lots of fat, processed sodium laden cheese stuff and a host of other chemicals that are questionable as well. Unfortunately my analogy in some ways is true judging by the record levels of juvenile obesity and diabetes, but that aside I think you get my point. Another reason dry food is so popular is the convenience, but trust me it doesn't take long to serve two healthy servings daily of quality canned food to two little boys who depend on me for their care and nurturing.

See Cat's post on this subject and another of my post's where I have referred to some excellent websites and books for further reading up on this subject. If you do decide to make the switch just do it gradually and your kitties will thank you for it I'm sure.

Good luck, Lynn, Gabe and Zach

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-07-2005
Tue, 05-24-2005 - 11:58pm

Ok, so then, what is high quality canned cat food? I had tried feeding Annie Fancy Feast. She liked it, her tummy didn't. But in general, I don't buy their food at the grocery store, as it's too expensive there. Target carries it for $2 cheaper. So where can one buy this kind of food? And how expensive is it? I don't live in a rural area, but my town isn't huge, and my shopping options are limited. I have a Pet Supplies Plus in town, but they also seem to overcharge on food. There's a PetsMart about 30min away, 10min from where I work, that I possibly could go to if I had to. Those are my options. I love my cats, but I'm not driving an hour to buy them food. I won't drive an hour to buy ME food.

Does that seem heartless? It's not meant to be. I'll be honest, cat food was not something I've thought alot about, other than finding what doesn't make Annie sick, and figuring out how to pay for it. How can you buy good food for them, when you're on a budget? I just bought a condo, have a car loan, college loans, etc. You know what I mean? $5 for a bag of cat food every 3 weeks, fits in a budget.

** Noelle

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 6:51am

Honestly, any canned cat food you try is better than any dry food - I would stay away from the "no name" brand but all in all, I feed my boys Friskies canned food and they LOVE it, it agrees with them.

Cat =^..^=
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-26-2000
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 7:01am

Ok, I understand your issue with the budget as I have a budget too. Since I don't know where you live or what market you're in I'm not sure how to direct you, but you must have some independent pet stores in your area or a Wild Oats or Whole Foods Market I would think. How about a Trader Joes's. God I miss them, as I used to live in California. I hear that they have a pretty good canned cat food there. Here's a link that shows a list of quality canned foods and provides their websites. Most of the websites have store locators where you can search for a store in your area that carries them. I have also purchased food before from www.petfooddirect.com.

http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm

I really am not all that familiar with what food lines Petsmart or the other store you mention which I've never heard so don't really know how to advise of the foods that they do carry. I only go to Petsmart for my cat litter. But you have to learn to read the labels and do your research. I have given several sites on other posts and one here. Actually but for some of the by products and gluten in Fancy Feast it would certainly be better than dry. Maybe it was the flavor you chose to give. Experiment with different brands and if your going to continue to feed dry at least find a higher quality dry than Cat Chow. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it costs less to feed premium canned cat food than it does to feed inexpensive dry food. I spend what I have to spend to feed what I believe to be best for my kitties short of me making raw food for them, which would be my only other option at this point.

Take care, Lynn

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-26-2000
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 8:53am

I totally agree with Cat in this statement. I have chosen to feed the premium no grain food, but that is not necessarily for everyone. It's what works for most kitties with IBD, but if your kitties can handle more carbs in the form of some rice and gluten in food then just about any canned food is a better choice than dry.

I feed it as I absolutely refuse to treat my kitty with the standard conventional methods for IBD which is low quality prescription food and prednisone. Not an option for me as it doesn't get to the root of the problem and the pred can create a whole array of other issues.

Just go to Petsmart and look around at the various brands. Try to pick one that has healthy ingredients with minimal by products and grains. As I mentioned earlier Fancy Feast isn't terrible and I know they have a ton of different flavors, Cat mentions Friskies, I'm sure they carry the standard of Nutro, Pro Plan, Whiskas etc. Experiment with some of them and see which your girls like. I have only found one brand that mine don't like and that is Merrick, but other's love it so it's all experimentation to see what works.

Good luck, Lynn

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 12:33pm

Alright.... so obviously the general concensus is that wet food is better.

Wet food will actually be easier to control than dry food, because they will eat it right away. It won't be left on the floor for them to munch on. I can give Tasha her special FLUTD food, and Bailey can get his kitten food.

Some websites say a combination of wet AND dry is best? Is this true? Should I still give them some dry here and there? I am actually going to the vet's tonight to buy Tasha's food, since she is almost out, and I don't want to bother with the dry if I don't need it.

I'm lucky that Tasha LOVES her wet food. She goes bananas when she hears that can pop open. I just feel very bad that it only comes in the one flavour. :( The stuff also costs over $1 PER 170g can. Ugh.




Image hosted by Photobucket.com





Powered by CGISpy.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 1:23pm

Well, no - it's not true that a mixture is better for them.

Cat =^..^=
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 1:41pm

Okay - thanks. I will just buy a case of the wet food then. I'm excited - I'm really hoping to see some weight change in Tasha after I start this! She is getting so chubby - I don't want her dying of a heart attack in the next couple of years. She'll be 8 years old in two more weeks. Though she is big for a female cat, 15 lbs is still too heavy. She spreads out like a chocolate chip cookie baking in the oven when she lies down!

I will keep giving her treats every morning though - she gets a few little Medi-Cal treats I buy at my vet that helps prevent hairballs, and it works wonders. She was getting hairballs every 2 or 3 days when we first got her, and once we started giving her those treats, she has cut the hairballs back to once every month or two!




Image hosted by Photobucket.com





Powered by CGISpy.com