Conference misery::feline_v1

    Does the vet think it may be food allergies?  A recent article in
    Cats magazine (Ask the vet column) delt with this question.  The
    vets reply was to put the cat on a lamb only diet and see if the
    problem clears up.  If it does, then start adding regular food in
    one at a time and watch for reactions.  This is a tough thing to
    go through.  A girlfriend had to do this with her Aby and it was
    a nightmare (not to mention expensive).  Kathie had to buy ground
    lamb and cook it in the microwave twice a day for the cat.  They
    eventually discovered that the cat couldn't eat poultry products
    and she is now happy and well.
    
    Jo
    

    Jezebel will eat anything including the dog's food if Toto leaves
    it there too long but everytime we forget and give her sole and
    cod and it doesn't matter what brand she upchucks it. People have
    allergies so why can't kitties?
    Jan
    

    Many cats just have sensitive tummies.  My cats heave-ho every time
    I change their diet even slightly.  When they drink their milk too
    fast we get the same effect too.
    
    I've read in here that Siamese, and other popular breeds have acquired
    this endearing trait...

    When I was feeding Trouble Fancy Feast I also had this problem.
    It took me several weeks (and several blanket washings :-( cause
    she *always* did it on my side of the bed), to figure out it might
    be the food dyes manufacturers put in.  They don't put the dye in
    for the cat, but so it looks good to the owner.  Does the food you
    are feeding them have food dyes (particularly red) in it?  If so,
    you might want to try one that does not...I use Amore and don't
    have any more problems.  
    
    Bernice

    I went thru this with Honey, only I bought Gerber's strained lamb
    instead of cooking it myself.  Now I've got this baby food junkie on my
    hands.....
    
    Try some Gerber's like veal or lamb and mix a little Gerber's rice
    cereal in with some warm water.  Sure calmed Honey down real quick.
    
    Mary

    Interestingly enough, the most recent issue of Cat Fancy (Feb 89) said
    that one of the biggest complaints in their reader survey was about the
    pet food manufacturers putting dye in the food.
    
    Deb

    I just recently had a similar problem with both Bailey and Amelia.
    They've had soft, but not to the point of disgusting, stools since
    they've been on Science Diet Light.  Just changed them back over
    to Science Diet Reduction Diet (R/D) and everything is back to normal.
    I was surprised because they've never had a problem with any other
    Science Diet product.
    
    This is really depressing cause I was hoping to keep them on the
    Light since it costs quite a bit less than R/D.  Bailey doesn't
    really need R/D that badly but Amelia definitely does.
    
    Jan
    
      

    Shelby and Kelsey have also had on and off bouts with loose stools
    (mostly on).  I was feeding them primarily Sheba moist (very rich)
    and Iams kitten/Friskies kitten dry.  In all other aspects they
    were fine except for the loose, smelly stools.  I took 2 samples
    to the vet and no parasites or protozoans were detected; we had
    them on Tribrissan for awhile, but Kelsey had a reaction when they
    upped the dosage due to weight gain so the vet took them off and
    prescribed Albon.  After taking them off Tribrissan and before I
    picked up the Albon prescription, I went to the grocery store and
    bought some Tender Vittles (at the vet and breeder's suggestion).
    Well, lo and behold, after just one night of mixing it in with their
    food (by the way, I had taken them off the Sheba and put them on
    Feline C/D mixed in with some Friskies or Whiskars), their stools
    were 95% better!  Tender Vittles is a stool-hardener which I never
    knew.
    
    Some kittens have sensitive digestive tracts and you just have to
    keep experimenting until you find a food that agrees with them.
    A lot of people feed their cats strictly Iams, nothing else, so
    if your cats enjoy it, why not stick to an Iams diet and give the
    canned food as a once-in-awhile treat.  My TK eats nothing but Iams
    (his choice) and you can SMELL the difference in the stools!  Iams
    generates practically no stink at all.
    
    
    /Roberta
    
    

    Well, I called my Vet today and he suggested I just experiment with
    a variety of can foods.  What I told him was I plan on just giving
    the little guy just his dry food (Iams) for a week, then introduce
    him to new can food a little at a time.
    
    Jonathan vomited last night around midnight (I was sound asleep)
    some dark brown liquid with a few chunks of stuff in it (Sorry
    to be so explicit,but...).  Now, he had his Mealtime flavor KalKan
    around 6 pm.  I told the Vet all of this and he didn't seem to0
    concerned.
    
    This just makes me very nervous.  His brother seems to do just fine
    and doesn't bolt his food down as fast as my vomit face kitty.
    
    Will let you know what happens next.  Oh, The vet said not to worry
    if he just eats (and maintains) the Iams dry food.  He said only
    certain cats get the urinary track problems from dry and or can
    food.  To wait and see....
    
     Nervous Mom
    

    rep: .9
    
    Your last paragraph seems to imply that you're worried about all
    dry food causing FUS (urinary tract infections).  Actually, the
    IAMs that you're feeding is better for that than most canned
    foods.  The key is the amount of ash, magnesium, and I forget
    what else.  But it's NOT dry food that's the culprit, though
    many dry foods, particularly store brand ones, are high in ash,
    so if you're only comparing store brand foods, the canned is 
    generally better than the dry.  IAMs, however, is a premium
    cat food and like Science Diet is good for prevention of FUS.
    
    To summarize:  Cat food should be low in ash, low in magnesium,
    and contribute to an acidic urine in order to be helpful in
    prevention of FUS.  IAMs is all of these things.
    
    Karen, Tristan and Tenzing.

    You might consider trying to feed him very small amounts at
    various times during the time that you are home.  It could
    be that he is eating too fast and then upchucking.  Put a
    small amount of food down (whatever type) - let him feed
    for a minute or two, pick him up and distract him, take
    him away from the feeding area, then 2 or 3 hours later
    let him feed again for a minute or two minutes.  He will
    get the idea that that's what he should be doing - eating
    small amounts at various times a day.  It will take some
    time to retrain him - with my two or three upchuckers,
    it took about 2 or 3 weeks - you will save a lot of
    food - you will not be chucking the piles of upchucked
    food into the trash!  He may have had to fight for food
    as a kitten - he needs to believe that the food is going
    to be there when he needs to eat.  Do you leave food down
    all the time?  
    
    E.T.

    To .10
    I guess I was concerned about FUS, but the Vet didn't.  I just thought
    it was better to have a little wet (canned) food each day since
    it is moist and adds variety...
    
    
    To .11  Both Jonathan and Joshua eat together.  Jon (vomit kitty)
    always wolfs down his food and part of his brothers.  He's 1/2 lb.
    larger than Joshua (who eats like a gentleman).  So, I'll try your
    idea on picking him up for breaks in eating.  They both eat twice
    a day - Iams for breakfast and the can food when I come home.  My
    older Queen - Nicki (10yrs old) eats Science Diet Light for breakfast
    (in a different room, since Jonathan likes to steal all food in
    sight) and can food in the evening.  Think I'll cut back on her
    canned food also, since she's not really losing any weight.
    
    Jonathan used to upchuck right away, but this problem was very
    different.  
    
      Carol, Joshua, Jonathan & Nicki