On 6/7/11 3:06 PM, Suzie-Q wrote:
In article
,
wrote:

Hello all, I'm new to the group and somewhat new to raising cats (I
had cats as a kid 10 years ago).

At the end of April I decided my house was too empty, so I went to the
local animal shelter and adopted two cats - a 6 month old female
shorthair (Xerxes) and a 2 year old male Persian ragdoll with super
fluffy long hair (Caesar). Spayed and neutered and they get along
great together.

Well after the first bag of food which the vet gave me, we switched to
Whiskas Meaty Selections. Both of them LOVE this stuff and everything
was normal.
They loved it so much and ate so often that I thought maybe the
Whiskas was like kitty junk-food. Feeling guilty, when the Whiskas ran
out I switched to IAMS ProActive Health with Chicken (IAMS is
"premium", correct?). I think they only eat this stuff because they're
hungry, it's only been a week. Caesar will sniff the bowl of food and
then proceed to "bury" it by going through the scratching motions on
the floor and walls. They have rubber claw covers so I'm not too
concerned with the scratching.

Within a day after switching to the IAMS food Caesar had diarrhea (BTW
not cool for a cat with his coat) but it only lasted 3 days. He still
tries to bury that food every time he walks by, but will eat it
reluctantly.
Xerxes on the other hand has started showing signs of a urinary
infection - I'm finding puddles. (Caesar likes to go outside, puddles
have shown up while he's out). Her litter box quickly took on an
incredibly powerful odor of ammonia, the kind of smell that can cut
glass and curls your teeth.

So last night I bought the Whiskas again and switched litter (it was
corn based, now it's recycled paper pellets). They both seemed VERY
happy about the change, ate ALL the food and promptly took turns using
the litter box. I'll find out later today if Xerxes left another
surprise, I'm really hoping she just didn't want to melt her skin
using the smelly litter.

What do you guys think? Did the switch to IAMS annoy my cats or did it
actually cause problems?


I don't know a lot about cat food. I do know that you
shouldn't switch foods suddenly like you did. You should
mix the foods for several days until the cats are eating
just the new food.

Iams is supposed to be one of the best foods, ingredient
wise. Whiskas is more like junk food, but still nutritious.
Not as good as Iams. I feed my cats Purina ONE. It's a good
quality food and they seem to like the taste. It's less
expensive than Iams.

8^)~~~~~~ Sue (remove x to email)
~~~~~~~~~

http://suzie-q-wacvet.com/
http://intergnat.com/malebashing/


Just to balance this with the "other side":

When I first got Meep as a kitten, 15 years ago, the general
recommendation was to feed cats dry food. So for her first 6 years,
Meep ate only Iams dry. They she developed cystitis, which is a very
painful urinary infection. We battled frequent attacks over the next
couple of years, until I was finally able to get her on a completely wet
diet. Three different vets in three different countries told me that a
wet diet is better, for all cats but especially for my cystitis-prone kitty.

A couple of things happened as I converted her over to wet: Her skin
and fur improved, got glossy and soft. She dropped to a proper weight -
she was overweight before, even after I stopped feeding her dry as free
choice. She does NOT have diarrhea - quite the opposite, she gets
Miralax to keep her poops adequately soft. AND - the cystitis has gone
away almost completely.

AND: Every Single Time I've caved and given her dry food, even high
quality stuff like Wellness and similar. Every Time! She develops
cystitis.

Keep in mind, what your cat likes does not mean it is good for them!
The vet I had when we were first fighting the cystitis called Meep a
"junk food junkie". I call her a carboholic - she prefers stuff with
grains, even though it is bad for her. I know the feeling: I have the
same problem.

She's on 100% wet food now. I use Fancy Feast mostly, anything but the
"grilled" varieties aren't too bad quality. She also eats Max Cat, and
Natural Choice at the moment. I can't always afford the pet store
brands. Since she has been on 100% wet, her cystitis attacks have gone
from 4+ times yearly to maybe once every two years, and that requires
some sort of stress trigger.

I am not militantly against dry food, but I do think you are taking a
chance using it. Cystitis is no fun, and is dangerous, especially for
male cats (thankfully Meep is not male).

FWIW, I sort of fiddled with the idea of a raw diet for Meep to control
her health issues. She utterly refused to even try...

If you are still on the fence as to whether you should feed your kitties
wet or dry, talk to your vet. Sure, research on the 'net as you are
doing, but then take what you've learned here and talk to your vet.

jmc