Cat food questions - merged

Squiggly_Diddly

I've just rehomed yesterday 2 rescue cats, aged 4. They are both on Hills Prescription Diet c/d as the boy had stress-related cystitis (3 years ago apparently & not since). They have been vet-checked by the rescue centre, vaccinated, microchipped, de-flea'd, wormed, etc, etc.

However I am going to register at my local vets & speak to them about possibly changing them onto more "normal" food once they are a bit more settled, and see how things go. Especially as I'm sure they'd rather have something other than just dry biscuits. But my concern is whether it would be in the vet's best interest to persuade me to keep them on this food.... so I wonder if anyone else has got recommendations for what they feed their cats on, esp if the cats are prone to cystitis. Someone has already recommended Phytopet aqua to add to the food as a preventative measure.

If I change them & the cystitis starts again, then obviously I'll have to change them back.
Thanks!!

Dobiesmon

Hi
Have you looked at Burns cat food , [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Holistic Approach to Health and Nutrition[/FONT]
https://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/Cat_issues.htm

LittleMissAspie

Orijen
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/pet_food/orijen?gclid=CPqGjMT61ZQCFQyD1QodoSgDkQ

Plus some wet food like Nature's Menu (from Pets At Home) or Tesco's Finest or Applaws (though Applaws is not a complete food, meaning it doesn't have the right nutrient profile to be the main source of food).

And experiment with how they like water best - a lot of cats like the running fountains.

Squiggly_Diddly

Running fountains??? sounds interesting...

Thanks both for your replies, much appreciated

stephvetnurse

hi
I would recommend drinking fountains as it does encourage cats to drink more, also feliway diffusers are great at relieving stress from cats, (make sure they are plugged in 24/7)
By saying you are sure they would like something more than just dry food you are actually putting human emotions/feelings onto them, cats are fine on just dry food, my guys have been on dry food all their lives (apart from the old girl who i only took on last yr and now she is on a complete dry food) they have to have one particular flavour as well as one of mine is allergice to a lot of stuff.
I would just recommend a premium complete food, James wellbeloved is a good one, as is pro plan.
The main thing to remember is
plenty of water around the place (not in plastic bowls,except for the water fountains, as it affects the taste and cats may not drink out of it) fill the bowls to the brim as cats dont like having to put their faces into things,
water and food bowls seperate from each other
dont force your cats to eat out of the same bowl
keep litter trays pristine (preferably 2 trays in different areas)

Keep an eye on the one with the cystitis and if he shows any signs of it (in and out of the tray, ineffectual straining) get him straight to the vets

medini

Me and my Boyfriend recently got a kitten. It was 8 weeks when we got it, and its now about 12-13 weeks .

At the moment it has been eating food marked as 'cat' rather than 'kitten' food . Should we really be feeding it kitten food rather than cat food?It hasn't had any tummy problems, so am not sure .

Also kitten won't eat dry food. When we give it go-cat it prefres to starve rather than eat it. Is there any advantages in having him eat dry food rather than wet,

just_thrifty

Hi, it would be better to feed your kitten with kitten food because they are growing so quickly and need a lot more nutrients than an adult cat. Just giving it small, regular meals is good too, 3-4 times a day. We feed our cats dried food- they like Hills Science Diet, which you can get for kittens too. Our vet recommended it because he said that lots of cats who eat canned food get kidney problems later in life because there's so much salt in the canned stuff.
Hope this helps. It's trial and error sometimes till you find what they like!!

Pop into your vet's, they always have leaflets with the sort of info your looking for.

MrsTinks

Personally I feed mine dry food but they get one sachet of wet between the 2 of them in the evening. Just Tesco's own brand.
Yes you really need to feed kitten food up to about 9-12 months. It contains a different level of nutrients that kittens need compared to an adult cat.
Yes it can survive on adult food, but it would definitely be better of on kitten grub. Try mixing it's dry food in with the wet food - or just get stubborn and leave the dry food down until it eats

Mine are one Costco's own at the moment but I think we'll be moving to James Wellbeloved soon... you can usualy get samples of this from your vet to see if the kitten will eat it

rita-rabbit

Dry food is best for them in the long run. The first one I got wouldn't touch it so I bought some treats & hand fed him. Then I hand fed him dry food & he always then associated anything hand fed as `special' & will always at least try it.

Years ago there was no kitten food & cats grew up fine. Personally if you feed good quality food for it's whole life: not felix or shops own brands I don't think it matters one jot. The trick is to feed good quality food for it's life & perhaps that is where things have changed: ie as alot of `wet' cat food has additives/pie reject type slurry & fillers & I thus the quality has detiorated over the years, & food manufacturers can `push' the kitten food as the suitable choice for kittens.

Tip: buy online in bulk & you can afford the best food for your pet. Supermarkets sell a large variety of food but at a large profit margin. Vets sell better quality food but obviously have their overheads to cover. I am at a stage where I buy litter & food online & often meds too - only topping up when there are special store offers or I need a prescription following a vets consultation. I have noted however that alot of my local supermarkets are decreasing their supplies which is unfortunate for those not online so will have to consider collars & toy shopping online too.

medini

Thanks for advice, will be having a look for some kitten food today, also will try a differnt brand of dry, maybe he just didn't like GO-CAT LOL,