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Old October 7th, 2010, 10:40 AM
Myrrh Myrrh is offline
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Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
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Switching to canned food

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and have a question about feeding my cat canned food.

For a long time, we fed our senior cat (Zoey - 13 years old) Whiskas dry & canned food. When the melamine recalls started a few years ago, we switched her to Eagle Pack Indoor Adult Formula: http://www.eaglepack.com/product-ori...spx?product=95

She lost a bit of weight (she's a little chubby) and didn't have much trouble switching (which is great, considering what I've read about the carb content).

She also loves treats & canned food. We were feeding her the chicken or turkey Fancy Feast canned food (I usually only gave her a few teaspoons twice a day) and maybe 2 treats a day (Temptations or the soft Luv treats from Purina).

Last summer, she started having extremely loose stools so we cut back on the canned food, which we thought might have been the culprit, and have now stopped giving her the soft treats altogether (as the last episode of a loose stool was a day or 2 after eating a soft treat). She has not had a loose stool in a while now.

After reading about how dry food can affect their skin, I am considering reintroducing canned food gradually, but I want to make sure I buy her something that is going to agree with her stomach. She has always mowed the fur off the fronts of her front legs and has now started on her belly. After researching, I thought that it could be her food or possibly her litter (which is another topic entirely )

I'm considering Natural Balance or Wellness to start with. Has anyone else had this same problem - cats that do not do well with other canned foods but have found a more natural one that works well?

Zoey is getting older and had a mass removed in December of last year (Mammary Carcinoma) so we want to step up her nutrition so we will have her with us for as many years as possible.

Thanks for your help!
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Old October 7th, 2010, 11:33 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Yay for thoughts to changing your cat to canned food and quality at that . Your kitty will be much healthier and happier on canned (even though they may tell you that they really, really want the kibble, but so do kids who want candy over their veggies ).

Here is such a great website on feeding your cats: Please take some time to read it.

http://www.catinfo.org/
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Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
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Old October 7th, 2010, 11:39 AM
Myrrh Myrrh is offline
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Thanks! I've actually been reading that website all morning So much great info on there. We are also going to switch her litter to something more natural as I thought maybe the clumping clay litter could also be itching her skin (I mentioned she had surgery last year - it is the spot on her tummy that was shaved that she has started chewing at. So I thought maybe the litter is irritating her skin since there is no fur there).
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Old October 7th, 2010, 11:42 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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I wanted to get that post in while you were still online .

I switched my Puddles from kibble to canned (Wellness and NV Instinct), then on to a 50% raw/canned diet and she is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much healthier now than 3 years ago . DH and I thought she was on her last legs before we changed her diet but now we are pretty sure she will be around for another year or two (her kidneys may be giving out on her). She developed muscle mass at 12 years old, she became more active, and her fur is like a two year old now .

I gotta say it was hell switching her and I ended up having to actually throw out all her old kibble as she could smell it through the cupboards . Many tears and persistence later she now eats raw. Puddles didn't have any weight that she could afford to loose , so eating every day was so important.

Good luck
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Cat maid to:


Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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  #5  
Old October 7th, 2010, 11:43 AM
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marko marko is offline
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Switching cats to canned food is a great idea! AFAIK, especially later in life, if cats live long enough, they eventually develop kidney problems. Canned food is WAY better than kibble when this happens as canned food has much more water. They need more water when their kidneys start to fail.

Great choice and welcome to the board!
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  #6  
Old October 7th, 2010, 11:47 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Here is another good website. It is sort of technical, but really educational about cat nutrition. They also have a section on the importance of water in their diet, which they don't get with kibble.

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

Cat's tongues are not efficient for lapping up a whole lot of water. So imagine yourself eating crackers all day, then trying to get your water by licking it up with your tongue.
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Cat maid to:


Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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