# Cat food for tricky kitties...help?



## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

Okay, so I was having an argument with my mother tonight about her cats. I told her that I think Roxie's problems are due to her diet, but my mother refuses to believe so, tells me that Roxie has been on ten different diets her whole life, and that one was a specialty diet that she could only get at certain places around town. I still have reason to believe that none of them were a decent diet, so I'm fighting with her, trying to get her to try something else. So I'm looking for suggestions of what I could possibly try to get her to switch to, because it wouldn't hurt to at least try. So, here's a bit of background info about both cats. (By the way, I won't even bother trying to suggest raw, they think I'm crazy for even feeding my dogs raw and won't have it in any way).

Roxie is about 11 years old, inbred, and has a multitude of health problems her whole life. She's allergic to beef in cooked form, and I'm not sure about other red meats. She has had problems with ear mites and massive waxy buildups in her ears. She supposedly has allergies to something other than her diet and has thus been put on prednisone (steroids - half a pill every other day) and gets a shot every three weeks. I can give more details on that when I take her in for her shot on Saturday afternoon if need be. Lately it's been getting worse and worse. Her coat is in absolute shambles, she wheezes when she breathes, coughs all the time, and doesn't hardly move around anymore. Even the shots aren't really doing it anymore.

Rowdy is...um...8 or 9? She's never really had any allergies, really, but gets urinary tract infections like nobody's business.

Currently they're on Prescription Diet CD for Rowdy's urinary tract infections, and I almost cried when I looked up the ingredients for it. So anyways, I'm looking for something that would be good for Rowdy's urinary tract infections (something with cranberries), minus red meats, and grain free. Any ideas?


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Have you looked at the Go natural line, you'd probably have to order it online, my cats were on this for a couple years and did great, they were eating the fresh trout one, it has a great smell. I can't remember but I think it might have cranberries in it. Good Luck!


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## werecatrising (Oct 15, 2010)

Are you looking for dry? I have seven cats- one with severe IBD, two with bad urinary tract disease, one who can't tolerate and grains, the rest are just picky. I have tried several foods. They all seem to do great with solid gold indigo moon. Solid Gold Health Products for Pets - Products
I feed mostly wet, but I can leave this out without worrying one of the GI issue cats will get into it and have major troubles.

I had my male with urinary troubles on the purina version of CD. He was fat and had a horrible coat. One day my IBD cat ate some. The next day I found him lethargic, lying in bloody diarrhea. My vet pointed out the ridiculous amount of carbs in the prescription food. I quit buying it after that and have seen improvement in everyone.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Majority of the health problems in cats stem from poor quality dry food, they need moisture in their diet above all, so grain free canned or raw diet is the best option. 
You may want to read this:
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basis of Feline Nutrition

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods#HIGH_QUALITY,_GRAIN-FREE_CANNED_FOODS


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## chocolatelabguy (Nov 17, 2009)

I'm with whiteleo - GoNatural's wet food fresh trout looks like a great option, based on what you are looking for. It does indeed have cranberries and is grain and red meat free. I truly think that switching to wet food will make a huge difference in both your cats.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

Okay, I forgot to mention a few things, and remembered something about Roxie's "condition" after I'd already posted this. My mother has tried wet food for them, and they won't have anything to do with it. She's tried mixing it in with their dry food, and they won't TOUCH it. So it's beyond pointless trying to talk her into going wet, as well as hard to tell whether the cats would eat it or not.

As for Roxie's "condition," supposedly her allergies are due to the fact that she had pneumonia a while back. The vet said that since, she's gotten rid of it, but has some allergies due to it. Her lungs fill with liquid, and that's why she coughs, wheezes, and is overall in bad health. I STILL think that a GOOD diet would help her condition, because it would definitely boost her immune system and help her fight off these problems. And who knows, perhaps it's still something caused by her diet?

Thanks for all of your suggestions, guys! I'm definitely going to look into every single one of them and see what we have around here. I know my mum won't go for something she has to buy online. She's TERRIBLY stubborn to a fault. Even convincing her to change the cats' diets is going to be a TERRIBLY trying ordeal. -.-


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

Okay, so looked into Go! Naturals, and it definitely looks like a GREAT alternative to that RX crap she's eating, AND they sell it in stores around here! WOOT!!!

Looked up the Solid Gold Indigo Moon. It'd definitely be more accessible to mum, because they sell it at Petco, and it also looks like an awesome alternative, made better by the price and availability, it'd be a lot easier to convince mum to change to this, because, again, she's stubborn as a mule!

Okay, so I'm in for a battle once mum gets home from her trip to Michigan, which I can guarantee will have some screaming and yelling back and forth, many curse words, accusations of not caring, arguments about the cat's age and health, and probably some tears.

I mean...this is the woman who had me crying over an argument to allow my dogs inside her house for MY birthday party. hahaha.


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## chocolatelabguy (Nov 17, 2009)

Sounds like you have a tough battle on your hands, with your mum and the cats! Just some FYI - dry cat food is in and of itself a direct contributer to urinary tract infections in cats. You can learn more about that here: Pet Health & What We Eat And Feed Them

Additionally, cats can be conditioned to eat whatever you put in front of them - just as dogs can. If your cats won't eat the soft food after 10 to 15 minutes, take it away until next feeding time and place it in front of them again. Repeat until they eat what you give them. Don't let them tell you what they will and won't eat - particularly when you know what is best for them right now. They will eat when they get hungry enough, and when they realize that they can't manipulate you any more, they will begin to appreciate the wet food, which is far better for them in every way.

Good Luck!


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

Yeah, I read an article once about wet food being 100 times better for kitties. I'm going to quest to get them off of RX first, then I'll start the battle with wet vs. dry with mum. :biggrin:

And I did some more research as well, and I found that Felidae seems to be a really good option as well. It's about as cheap as the Solid Gold, and the cranberry is a lot higher in the ingredients than anything else.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

You might try a small bag of the felidae, my two cats wouldn't touch it, but they pretty much won't eat anything unless it is fish kibble. I rotate between the Go Natural fresh trout, Evo Herring and salmon and Orijen 6 fish plus a can of wet grainfree something a day.

I just wish they too would eat raw like the dogs.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> I just wish they too would eat raw like the dogs.


I have one cat that'll eat raw, but not bones, which is why I don't feed him raw, but MAN do I wish the other three would, because then I'd totally find a way of getting them all to eat the bones! haha.

And yeah, I'm definitely going to have her try a small bag, but they've had their diet switched about ten times in their lives, so I'm guessing they're not as picky of eaters as two of mine are, so we'll see. And if they don't, there are tricks to play on them to get them to eat it. I'm more worried about switching mum. I planted the seed last night, but...she was pretty opposed to the idea. haha.


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## werecatrising (Oct 15, 2010)

chocolatelabguy said:


> Sounds like you have a tough battle on your hands, with your mum and the cats! Just some FYI - dry cat food is in and of itself a direct contributer to urinary tract infections in cats. You can learn more about that here: Pet Health & What We Eat And Feed Them
> 
> Additionally, cats can be conditioned to eat whatever you put in front of them - just as dogs can. If your cats won't eat the soft food after 10 to 15 minutes, take it away until next feeding time and place it in front of them again. Repeat until they eat what you give them. Don't let them tell you what they will and won't eat - particularly when you know what is best for them right now. They will eat when they get hungry enough, and when they realize that they can't manipulate you any more, they will begin to appreciate the wet food, which is far better for them in every way.
> 
> Good Luck!


Unfortunately, this doesn't always work like it does with dogs. I have seen many cats with hepatic lipidosis brought on by hunger strikes.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

xxshaelxx said:


> Okay, so looked into Go! Naturals, and it definitely looks like a GREAT alternative to that RX crap she's eating, AND they sell it in stores around here! WOOT!!!
> 
> Looked up the Solid Gold Indigo Moon. It'd definitely be more accessible to mum, because they sell it at Petco, and it also looks like an awesome alternative, made better by the price and availability, it'd be a lot easier to convince mum to change to this, because, again, she's stubborn as a mule!
> 
> ...


Ugh, that does not sound like fun but I applaud you for going through it for the benefit of the cats.

Best of luck!!


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

chocolatelabguy said:


> Sounds like you have a tough battle on your hands, with your mum and the cats! Just some FYI - dry cat food is in and of itself a direct contributer to urinary tract infections in cats. You can learn more about that here: Pet Health & What We Eat And Feed Them
> 
> Additionally, cats can be conditioned to eat whatever you put in front of them - just as dogs can. If your cats won't eat the soft food after 10 to 15 minutes, take it away until next feeding time and place it in front of them again. Repeat until they eat what you give them. Don't let them tell you what they will and won't eat - particularly when you know what is best for them right now. They will eat when they get hungry enough, and when they realize that they can't manipulate you any more, they will begin to appreciate the wet food, which is far better for them in every way.
> 
> Good Luck!


I'm genuinely serious in asking this question: Is that true? I thought that cats would starve themselves before eating something they do not want to eat. Also, isn't the rule not to let them go more than 24 hours without food because it can cause massive issues with their kidneys...or liver...

I do know a roommate of mine, many years ago, had a cat missing for three to four days. The cat came back, dehydrated, starved and it was taken to the vet. It didn't make it. It had gone too long without food and things started shutting down.

I just want to know if it really is ok to hold out on a cat like one would do a dog or if we need to be careful with cats because they will simply not eat, at all, if they don't like it.

Thanks.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I've only had my cat about 5 months, but because of advice from the cat experts here, I've learnt to be really careful about trying to transition my cat over to raw. That you can not let a cat go for too long without eating, I think it is indeed 24 hours. They will virtually starve themselves to death rather than eat something they don't like. Like you said, something goes wrong with their liver if they don't eat.
Honestly, it really makes me wonder how on earth my fussy little shxt ever survived in the shelter.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

Actually, my cat, Tricksie, went without eating for about three days or four days a while back, and she's doing fine and dandy now. It's with fatter cats that you have to worry about, or cats that are used to eating a lot. I can't remember the reason the vet gave me, but it did make sense.

Either way, I plan on telling mum to incorporate the food in slowly if the kitties won't eat it, because it is a LOT less carbs than they're used to, so it'll be a huge change. That means she'll have to put up with Roxie yelling at her because there's not enough food in the bowl. haha. Roxie's a weirdo.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I would recommend mixing dry grain free food with some canned and they slowly try to wean them completely on canned. 
One of my cats (technically my parents cats, but I'm in charge of their care for the most part), will literally eat anything, including people food, she's a major kibble junkie and does not discriminate whether its cat chow or orijen. The only food she's ever snubbed was Felidae, just woudnt touch it, same with the other cat. But this was the regular formula, not grain free. Either way, if you're going to try it, get a small bag first. 
They seem to really like totw and its most cost efficient ( I get it at tractor supply). For canned food, I buy trader joes brand canned, its not grain free, but its definitely the best bang for your buck type food based on the ingredients. They also sell cat tuna which is like kitty crack and no cat can resist it.


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