View Single Post
  #2  
Old July 2nd, 2013, 01:54 PM
sugarcatmom's Avatar
sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 5,357
Quote:
Originally Posted by yorgo67 View Post
Greetings all!
Hi to you and Samson! Welcome to the board.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yorgo67 View Post
He was on a special diet for years, Hill's C/D and it did wonders for him.
Unfortunately Hill's C/D is not that great in terms of ingredients, and can cause weight gain in many cats because of the high carb content. Plus, the logic behind feeing a DRY food to a cat with urinary tract issues, which is largely caused by a lack of moisture in the diet, is way off base. So many vets don't seem to understand that, sad to say. Here's some info for you on the topic of diet and how it relates to urinary tract health in cats: http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth


Quote:
Originally Posted by yorgo67 View Post
Until he was fed human food by my parents. Yes, I know its a no-no and I fought with my parents for years about it and only since November 2012, has he been human food free.
Depending on what that "human food" was, it may actually not have been so bad for Samson. Nothing better for an obligate carnivore than fresh meat. Of course it also needs to be nutritionally balanced if it makes up more than 15% of a cat's food intake, but otherwise the fear-mongering by vets and pet food companies about feeding table-scraps to pets is way overblown. (Unless those table-scraps happen to be French fries and chocolate cake.... ).


Quote:
Originally Posted by yorgo67 View Post
He is still overweight and as such, he's on Hill's metabolic dry food.
Another lousy Hill's product that really isn't going to improve Samson's health in any way. Here are the ingredients:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Powdered Cellulose, Dried Tomato Pomace, Flaxseed, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver Flavor, Coconut Oil, Pork Fat ....
Very little actual meat, and tons of cheap filler. Again, a wet food diet consisting of high quality meat-based protein and minimal starch is going to go a lot further towards helping Samson lose weight. More info on that: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Quote:
Originally Posted by yorgo67 View Post
As such, he is on metacam for cats (I know, I know) and he also takes lactulose for his stool issues.
Depending on the amount of pain he is in, you might want to consider a safer med like Buprenex instead of Metacam, or more holistic options such as acupuncture or osteopathy. Perhaps Adequan injections and a heated pet bed would also help.

For constipation, I personally prefer Restoralax over lactulose for cats. Much easier to administer (comes in a tasteless powder that can be mixed with food) and easier on their digestive system. Slippery elm bark powder is also a good choice and can help with hairballs: http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/


Hope that helps a bit. Good luck to you and Samson, and if you have a pic of the big guy, we'd love to see him!
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb

“We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler
Reply With Quote