two cat food questions

[mandyb771]

1st question: My 12-year-old cat has decided he's going to be very picky about his food lately. I've been feeding him Wellness canned chicken formula for a couple weeks, and he won't eat unless I'm sitting there petting him. Any ideas about how to get him to eat by himself, and about a good mature cat formula that he might be more willing to eat?

2nd question: I have two other cats who won't eat unless they eat together and eat the same thing. One, the 5-year-old female, has had issues with UTIs and struvite crystals, and the other has no known urinary issues, but we've been feeding both of them Royal Canin Urinary S/O canned. Is it OK to feed him this food without his ever having had urinary health problems?

thanks!

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by mandyb771

1st question: My 12-year-old cat has decided he's going to be very picky about his food lately. I've been feeding him Wellness canned chicken formula for a couple weeks, and he won't eat unless I'm sitting there petting him. Any ideas about how to get him to eat by himself, and about a good mature cat formula that he might be more willing to eat?

Have you tried any other Wellness flavours? In my experience, cats get bored of eating the same canned food every day. Some other good brands to try are Innova Evo 95% meat (stay away from the Cat & Kitten variety as it's too high in phosphorus), Nature's Variety Instinct, Precise. No need for something specifically for 'mature' cats, that's just a marketing gimic.

Originally Posted by mandyb771

2nd question: I have two other cats who won't eat unless they eat together and eat the same thing. One, the 5-year-old female, has had issues with UTIs and struvite crystals, and the other has no known urinary issues, but we've been feeding both of them Royal Canin Urinary S/O canned. Is it OK to feed him this food without his ever having had urinary health problems?

I actually wouldn't feed the S/O to either cat. Overpriced, poor quality ingredients. The best thing for struvite crystals is a high quality, meat based wet food. There are plenty of better brands that fit the bill (like the ones mentioned above). The only difference with the S/O is the addition of an acidifier, which I think can be dangerous when fed long-term if you aren't monitoring your cat's urinary ph. If it should become too acidic, she could be at risk for developing calcium oxalate crystals, which are much harder to get rid of. You could check her ph yourself at home by getting some test strips from a health food store. Should you find it to be consistently too alkaline, like above 7 all the time, then you can add your own acidifier (L-methionine) to any canned food.