Sadly there is no comparable site like this for cat food so I’m asking a favour of anyone who has any advice about cat food…
My cat is 12 years old and about 18 months ago he lost a lot of weight very fast (2.5kg in 2 months - from 6.5kg to 4kg), he then continued to lose weight but a lot more gradually and levelled off at 3.5kg (he is a big cat so 4-4.5kg is really the weight he should be). He was vomiting every other day and his stools were very loose.
Obviously I took him to the vet and after extensive testing including x-rays and multiple blood tests which caused my cat (and my bank account) great distress the vet told us that he could find nothing systemic to indicate the problem.
Anyway the vomiting slowed and eventually stopped - his stools were still loose but he was holding his weight. After his annual trip to the vet a couple of months later where he had his boosters as usual - the problem started again. We have tentatively concluded that he had a reaction to the boosters as when we enquired about this, though the vet was sceptical, he informed us that 2 years ago the booster formulation they use had been changed.
So currently we have a cat who weighs 3.2kg, has intermittent vomiting (a bout of 2 or 3 times every couple of weeks) and frequent loose stools (I know this because Coco my dog thinks it’s a delicacy).
We have tried to only feed him wet food so as not to put any extra strain on his kidneys but as I have several cats he does eat the biscuits I put out which I’ve changed to meowing heads because they were previously on science diet (which is as crap as the dog food as I understand it). He has also had a variety of cooked chicken, tuna, and the new attempt to get him to put on weight is to have some raw chicken mince from natures menu which he loves.
Anyway I was looking for something which is gentle on the digestive system and I came across Burns adult/senior cat biscuits (chicken and brown rice), the ingredients are:
As I understand it cats are obligate carnivores so need meat in their diet so I was a bit worried about the rice but then apparently it’s good for the digestive system even for cats. Does anyone know anything about this because I’m totally lost.
Even more than dogs, cats don’t need the high level of carbs, and I also see maize onntge ingredients list, that is also a frequent irritant.
Its always difficult to know what to advise when even the vet doesn’t know what the cause is.
Personally I would be suggesting a high meat content food like Eden 85%, grain free cat food, (get a sample bag orva small bag first as a trial) with some tinned oily fish (not in brine) a couple of times a week. Alternatively try a switch to full raw, but you will need to keep him away from the other cats food, or put them all on the same food
Please feel free to phone the Eden office and talk to the nutritionist, see if he has any other thoughts.
I have always fed my cats on Burns chicken & brown rice formula. I tried several other brands with higher meat contents but always ended up with soft poo, so went back to Burns, both my cats are happy, healthy have beautiful soft coats and are a good weight. So I would recommend it personally.
I hope you find a food that is right for you x
Thanks for the advice, I’m definitely considering a full switch to raw but it’s going to be really difficult with the other cats so I think I still need to have a good dry food incorporated. Other people have also said their cats have done well on Burns and it definitely has the advantage of knowing exactly what’s in it.
I apologise for not being of any use in this discussion. I have only ever had one cat and that was very many years ago when I was at school. In those days it was Whiskas, Kit e Kat and that was more or less it for our feline friends. I hope that the advice helps and look forward to hearing how you get on.
I hope that in time we will have more cat owners on the forum.
I’ve always been under the impression that dry food is a no-no for cats because it causes kidney issues, especially because cats don’t have the best drinking habits.
Saying that I’d imagine Pure could do a great cat range in the future.
Mine’s just on wainwrights wet foods at the moment and he seems happy enough, a lot of wet foods by the high protein companies aren’t suitable as a complete diet.
I did have him on Forthglade but his stools were horrendous.
If you have a weak cat, I would definitely make sure he is fed majority -if not entirely- wet food. Many of the 4 and 5 star brands do cat equivalents. In my opinion, cat’s shouldn’t be fed dry food, regardless of quality. Raw and home-cooked are great options too although I understand not always convenient.
Alternatively, you could try soaking the kibble in warm water (if he will eat it!), to make it easier on the kidneys and digestion.
