Vet in SCD that actually has a clue about feline nutrition?

miezekatze

Hi there!

I adopted my cat almost a year ago, she's a rescue cat and about 3 years old now. The shelter and the vet there recommended that I feed her Royal Canin dry food only, so that's what I did at the start. However, after reading the list of ingredients I was having some doubts if RC was really that good for her, and after reading a good bit on feline nutrition, I switched her to grain-free canned food (mostly Grau, Bozita, Animonda Carny, GranataPet and some Cosma), with just a little bit of dry food (Applaws) before bedtime. I don't want to go back to all dry food again as I really don't think that it's good for cats.

Now, the other day I had to take her to the vet again for her annual vaccination. She asked me what I was feeding her and when I told her, she kept pushing Royal Canin dry food again, which they also sell there. The vet had never heard of the brands I feed even though they are all fairly well known, and I think she thought I was feeding her supermarket stuff. I explained to her why I don't think dry food is good for cats, and it became clear to me that she didn't really know anything about feline nutrition other than what Royal Canin advertise. This really annoyed me - surely a vet should have a bit of an interest in this and do some research on the topic that doesn't just involve reading RC marketing material?!

Does anyone know a vet in South County Dublin (I am in Sandyford) that doesn't keep pushing Royal Canin or other dry food, and actually knows what's good for cats? I have talked to people before about this, and it seems like all the vets just try to sell their Hill's or RC.

Nody

I simply tend to ignore the vets on their food recommendations with exception of post operation feeding routines and in case of special food required (rare but happens). The reason for it is relatively simple to be fair; if I go in to a human doctor I don't expect them to be able to tell me what I should eat except on a general level.

Now take a Vet who needs to not only deal with multiple types of animals (all with seperate feeding habits) but also their human owners I don't really think it's fair to expect them to be nutritional experts on top of everything else as well. For that you need to get specialists in the same way you'd do if you wanted nutrional help for yourself.

Whispered

Vets recommend the food they sell because they make money off selling it. I know one vet who recommends RC for dogs, but feeds her own dogs raw.

I think you're absolutely right about wet food being a lot better for cats than dry. Since I changed my cat over he is much more settled and has no accidents outside his litter tray.

mymo

My own vet actually told me he read most of what he knows about nutrition online, and to take a look myself.
He recommended a mixed diet, some good dry and some wet, whatever I could afford, no brands, but then he only sells food for dietary needs (kidney diet, diabetes, etc) and then only what customers need.

I also feed some raw when i have it, chunks of stewing beef, chicken wings, any scraps that they have to chew.

miezekatze

Thanks for your comments!

Mymo, yes, that sounds a lot better to me than just telling everyone to feed dry food. Could you maybe pm me the name of your vet if they're in Dublin?

mymo

Sorry, small town in rural south east.
Not much help to you.

miezekatze

Ah OK, thanks anyway.

FueledByAisling

Hi Op,
I live close to you but I go to the veterinary clinic on Charlemount street just off of Harcourt. I started going to this vet after being seriously disappointed with the lack of skill from others in our surrounding area which resulted in the death of my cat which never should of happened.

My poor dog passed away on Tuesday after being given a three week life expectancy in January. I can say hand on heart he lived this long due to the care from the vets there. The vets DO sell royal canine however, they only recommended us to use it on one occasion when my dog was recovering from surgery and never again after that.

diegroblers

Are we actually allowed to name vets?

The vet I use sells RC and another (can't remember now), but when I told her that I want to go to raw, she said that she has no issues with that, that I must just make sure that I hit all the nutrients (and because of that, she thinks it's a major pain in the wahoonie).

Edit: I'm close to Dundrum.

anniehoo

diegroblers wrote: »

Are we actually allowed to name vets?

Yes you're allowed recommend vets as long as it's from your own personal experience. Bad mouthing/slandering vets won't be tolerated though as you can imagine.

diegroblers

anniehoo wrote: »

Yes you're allowed recommend vets as long as it's from your own personal experience. Bad mouthing/slandering vets won't be tolerated though as you can imagine.

Thank you.

The vet I was referring to is The Village Vets, (Argyle & Bainbridge) Dundrum Road (next to the Topaz garage).

thegreatgonzo

Sorry I can't suggest anyone because I live in the west. Out of interest though, why do people feel wet food is preferable to dry food?

Whispered

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

why do people feel wet food is preferable to dry food?

Cats don't tend to drink as much as dogs and get most of their water from their food. Wet food has more moisture, so long term is likely to be better for their urinary system (this is a personal observation BTW, I've never confirmed it with a vet or anything). When miller was having trouble pee'ing I moved him from dry to wet and his problems stopped within days.

Then again dry is supposed to be better for dental health. Maybe a mix of both would be the best. Or raw food!

thegreatgonzo

That's interesting I'd say you could be right about cats drinking less water than dogs. I'm a vet nursing student and although I don't remember that being said in particular, one of the most obvious benefits of recovery food is that it's wet as well as concentrated. With my own cats because they were hunters as well as getting the dry food from me, they were providing their own wet food :-)

Nody

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

That's interesting I'd say you could be right about cats drinking less water than dogs. I'm a vet nursing student and although I don't remember that being said in particular, one of the most obvious benefits of recovery food is that it's wet as well as concentrated. With my own cats because they were hunters as well as getting the dry food from me, they were providing their own wet food :-)

You can notice if a cat was growing up wild or not simply by seeing how much they drink; we got a rescue who was growing up for over a year on it's own and she's never touched the water in the bowl (but she will happily eat wet food mixed with a bit of water (recommended by vet to increase their water intake)). Our rescues who grew up from kitten indoors though will lap water out of a bowl several times a day as comparison.

miezekatze

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

Sorry I can't suggest anyone because I live in the west. Out of interest though, why do people feel wet food is preferable to dry food?

I've found this website very helpful - http://catinfo.org/ It's run by an American vet and includes lots of information on this topic.