Recommend a high quality diet dry cat food?

Pumpkinseeds

I had Felix at the vet today for more problems with his ear. Since he was in less than 3 weeks ago he's put on almost half a kilo bringing him up to just shy of 9 kilos:eek: It's totally unacceptable for him to be so big and he isn't getting it at home. We don't over feed, we free feed Applaws and 4 of them share the bowl of Kibble, plus he only gets 1 pouch of wet food split in to 2 meals each day. Treats are limited and are roast chicken, salmon or raw chicken breast.

I don't want to use Hills as Felix piled on weight on it and Jazzy lost weight throwing up on it years ago when we used the ordinary Hills stuff. I've to give Felix oral antibiotics and Metacam so I'll be feeding him tuna or salmon once a day to hide it in for the next 7 days and he'll probably gain a bit of weight with that.

I'd appreciate any recommendations for good quality dry diet food anyones used. We seem to be at the vet every other week so I can't afford to end up with a cupboard of stuff they won't eat, we'll put them all on what ever 1 we get as it's just easier.

morgana

Try Husse, a high quality Swedish pet food. Ours have been on it for years and they are thriving. They send out samples too.
http://www.husse.ie/home/
Also, delivery is free if you buy the big bag - which last for ages.

Rommie

Ingredients list for Husse

Ingredients:
Meat and animal derivatives, cereals, derivatives of vegetable origin, oils and fats, vegetables, minerals, fish and fish derivatives, yeast.

Tbh I wouldn't touch any food without knowing exactly what kind of meat is in it, also 'cereals' is what exactly? For animals that are obligate carnivores, this doesn't look particularly good. Expensive too for the quality €31 for 7kg


I'm going back to Arden Grange soon, they all liked it and seemed to do okay on it. It's grain-free as well,

Ingredients:
Fresh chicken (26%), potato (26%), chicken meat meal (25%), pea starch, chicken oil, egg powder, chicken digest, salmon oil, yeast extract, malt extract, pea fibre, minerals, prebiotic FOS, prebiotic MOS, cranberry extract, glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, nucleotides.

honerbright

You could give Real Nature a try:

(33%) - chicken
(33%) - beef
(30.5%) - broth
(2%) - whole grain pasta
(1%) - Minerals
(0.5%) - Wheat

Nody

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

It's totally unacceptable for him to be so big and he isn't getting it at home. We don't over feed, we free feed Applaws and 4 of them share the bowl of Kibble, plus he only gets 1 pouch of wet food split in to 2 meals each day. Treats are limited and are roast chicken, salmon or raw chicken breast.

Problem is if he's not getting fed at home it does not matter what feed you put him on as he'll still pile on from the other source. Have you considered trying to play more with him to try to ge thim to move around as an alternative?

I'd appreciate any recommendations for good quality dry diet food anyones used. We seem to be at the vet every other week so I can't afford to end up with a cupboard of stuff they won't eat, we'll put them all on what ever 1 we get as it's just easier.

My feelings about RC are probably well known but a friend of mine put their cat on RC Steralized Apetite control which has helped keeping his weight in check as he was getting tubby. It's not exactly the best of stuff in it but I've seen worse. Problem is you'd need to really look at limiting his dry eating as well and if he's getting treats somewhere else it's unlikely to improve.

Pumpkinseeds

The ingredients in the Applaws seem really good, but I'm just wondering if I should stop feeding dry food or just mix a small amount once a day, into their wet food and just feed mainly wet food instead of dry. I have to do something to get the weight off him. I don't understand how feeding him dry food thats full of carbs is going to slim him down better than a low carb high protein diet that we're feeding him

Ingredients:
Dry Chicken Meat (min. 59%), Dry Potato (min 4%), Chicken Mince (min. 9%), Poultry Oil (min. 9%, source of Omega 6), Poultry Gravy (min. 3%), Beet Pulp (min. 3%), Dry Whole Eggs (min. 3%), Brewers Dried Yeast, Salmon Oil (source of Omega 3), Minerals, Cellulose Plant Fibre (min. 0.4%), Sodium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Seaweed/Kelp, Cranberry, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Yucca Extract, Citrus Extract, Rosemary Extract. Additives:
Nutritional additives:
Vitamin A (12,000 IU/kg), vitamin D3 (1200 IU/kg), vitamin E [alpha-tocopherol] (600 mg/kg), vitamin C (25 mg/kg).
Trace elements:
Selenium in sodium selenite (0.13 mg/kg), iodine in calcium iodate water-free (1.75 mg/kg), iron in iron sulphate monohydrate (61 mg/kg), copper in copper sulphate pentahydrate (12 mg/kg), manganese in manganese sulphate monohydrate (26 mg/kg), zinc in zinc sulphate monohydrate (140 mg/kg).
Technological Additives:
Naturally sourced tocopherol extracts.
Omega 6 fatty acids: 4.2%
Omega 3 fatty acids: 0.68%
Metabolizable energy: 378 kcal/kg.
With natural, high amounts of taurine (2000 mg/kg).

Nody

Applaws is very good but if he's getting food somewhere else it does not matter if you limited how much you feed him dry or wet and you'd need to look at more excercise instead or try to reduce what he eat (not only at your place but in general).

Pumpkinseeds

Nody wrote: »

Problem is if he's not getting fed at home it does not matter what feed you put him on as he'll still pile on from the other source. Have you considered trying to play more with him to try to ge thim to move around as an alternative?

My feelings about RC are probably well known but a friend of mine put their cat on RC Steralized Apetite control which has helped keeping his weight in check as he was getting tubby. It's not exactly the best of stuff in it but I've seen worse. Problem is you'd need to really look at limiting his dry eating as well and if he's getting treats somewhere else it's unlikely to improve.

We do play with him, of course the problem is the heavier he's gotten the less interest he has in running around. I suppose what I'm really trying to do is lower the amount he gets at home to try to counteract the damage being done by whoever else is feeding him.

It really pi**es me off that someone is feeding him so much. It wouldn't be so bad if he was just getting the odd little treat somewhere but to put on that much weight in such a short space of time is mad. You only have to look at him and the condition of his coat to know that he has a home and is well fed. I don't want him ending up with diabetes or not being able to get in the catflap:mad:

Pumpkinseeds

I hate the idea of putting a collar on him again as he got his paw stuck in it last time he wore one, but I think I'm going to have to put one on him with a disc saying 'do not feed me'

Nody

Or put on a cat camera/gps to see where he goes and have a talk with them; it's likely a family that's not well informed about cats (as you are) and think they are doing you/the cat a favour.

boomerang

I think a kindly-worded leaflet through the neighbours' doors on your street is a good idea. Because he is probably giving someone the sad eyes! I'd say something along the lines that the vet has advised that he is seriously overweight (he is) and that his health is now at risk because of the obesity (it is.) Explain that if they want to be kind to him, do it with a pat or a rub, and not with food!

Oh and he may not be fed intentionally - some people leave their cats' food outside. So they might appreciate knowing that they are feeding someone else's cat and might take the suggestion to feed their cat(s) indoors?

Pumpkinseeds

Thanks for all the suggestions, I've just ordered a tag 'special diet do not feed me'. We'll see how that goes. We do have quite a few neighbourhood cats but they're all very territorial. I have asked people in the past not to feed him, I know people are just being kind, but it's very frustrating when you're trying to control his weight.

As it is we know it's him coming through the flap by the noise he makes heaving himself through:( Now I'm trying to find a decent break away safety collar, Amazon is up the creek today, quoted me over 400 euro delivery for 2 cat collars:eek:

looking_around

One of the best things ever to help my cat get back to a healthy weight and keep her there, was a "food ball". Small size, fill it with dry food and they have to move it to drop kibble.

It took her 2 days to start using it. And she's gotten quite adapt at it.

I switch between this and another food "dish" (It's a tower, that again makes cats work for the food. Got in online petshop.) Very good, and she actually purred! the first time she used this. This cost about 20 euro, the ball cast about €4.

Just another idea.

Also, I had a talk with a couple of neighbours, to find out if the cat was bothering them any, and/or if they were feeding it.
Only one was...giving the cat milk >.<.

mymo

My cats have slimmed down on the applaws, but I did try rc appetite control with some success when Jake was a bit tubby.
Honestly I had this issue some Years ago, and put up some posters with a pic of my cat with a heading saying stop feeding me you are killing me.
Underneath I put, I am sick and need special food, if I visit please dont feed me! Feel free to pet or play with me.

It worked, I had tried asking neighbours not to feed him before this, didn't work.

muddypaws

looking_around wrote: »

One of the best things ever to help my cat get back to a healthy weight and keep her there, was a "food ball". Small size, fill it with dry food and they have to move it to drop kibble.

It took her 2 days to start using it. And she's gotten quite adapt at it.

I switch between this and another food "dish" (It's a tower, that again makes cats work for the food. Got in online petshop.) Very good, and she actually purred! the first time she used this. This cost about 20 euro, the ball cast about €4.

I think this is great, so many dog owners use kongs, treat balls etc, but cats seem to be overlooked, yet they really are hunters, so making them work for their food has a lot of benefits.

looking_around

muddypaws wrote: »

I think this is great, so many dog owners use kongs, treat balls etc, but cats seem to be overlooked, yet they really are hunters, so making them work for their food has a lot of benefits.

yep, the ball, is just a standard treat ball, for small dogs. Cat uses it but isn't a real fan of it. (She gets angry at it, jumps on it so hard that it wacks off the walls, spilling alot of kibble XD ..)

This
http://www.dieren-benodigdheden.nl/dierenwinkel/product_images/o/234/kattenspeelgoed_catit_senses_food_maze___17298_zoom.jpg

is the food tower that she actually has fun using and is the best thing I ever bought for her.

Pumpkinseeds

mymo wrote: »

My cats have slimmed down on the applaws, but I did try rc appetite control with some success when Jake was a bit tubby.
Honestly I had this issue some Years ago, and put up some posters with a pic of my cat with a heading saying stop feeding me you are killing me.
Underneath I put, I am sick and need special food, if I visit please dont feed me! Feel free to pet or play with me.

It worked, I had tried asking neighbours not to feed him before this, didn't work.

It's one of the reasons I switched to the Applaws really. When I read the ingredients on the RC diet food there's more carbs in it then the Applaws. It can be difficult to know if a cat is a stray, I know, I'm feeding a cat twice a day that I had been chasing off but he'll sit on the shed for 3 hours waiting for food in the rain, so I'm assuming that he's hungry if he'll fight with mine when they catch him and wait that long for food.

But seriously, they are killing him with the amount they're feeding him. I can't even imagine what it is or how much they're giving him to gain almost half a kilo in less than 3 weeks. A human would have to give it some welly to gain that kind of weight. I'm going to try the disc and if that fails the posters will go up, he's not going far and my husband mentioned Felix came in the flap licking his lips at 7am yesterday, then wouldn't eat his own breakfast:rolleyes:

Pumpkinseeds

looking_around wrote: »

yep, the ball, is just a standard treat ball, for small dogs. Cat uses it but isn't a real fan of it. (She gets angry at it, jumps on it so hard that it wacks off the walls, spilling alot of kibble XD ..)

This
http://www.dieren-benodigdheden.nl/dierenwinkel/product_images/o/234/kattenspeelgoed_catit_senses_food_maze___17298_zoom.jpg

is the food tower that she actually has fun using and is the best thing I ever bought for her.

That looks good, but I'm not sure how effective it would be with 4 cats. My main problem is what he's getting elsewhere. He's got a cat flap and goes out when he wants to, I can control what I feed him but not what other people are feeding him. It's really worrying that he gained that type of weight that fast.

looking_around

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

That looks good, but I'm not sure how effective it would be with 4 cats. My main problem is what he's getting elsewhere. He's got a cat flap and goes out when he wants to, I can control what I feed him but not what other people are feeding him. It's really worrying that he gained that type of weight that fast.

yeah.. might be a bit awkward with four cats, unless they eat at different times/don't mind sharing. a couple of balls might be a better option.

And I understand about the neighbours. The posters sound like a good idea, telling people how harmful it is. Most don't understand.
The one that was giving my cat milk, I had to explain that the cat would come home and throw it up, and be generally unwell for the day.

Although, how they can't understand that giving extra to an overweight cat is bad, I don't know. S:

Pumpkinseeds

I know what you mean, I look at Felix and I worry about his weight, it's a source of bickering in our house tbh, and I wonder how on earth they can think it's ok to be feeding him whatever they're giving him. They won't be the ones having to treat him for diabetes or any of the other weight related problems that he could get from it.

He's such a sociable friendly cat and I can understand giving him a little treat, but not feeding him as much as they must be. If it doesn't stop I'm just going to have to try and follow him and see who it is that's feeding him.

muddypaws

I didn't think that Applaws was a complete food?

mymo

muddypaws wrote: »

I didn't think that Applaws was a complete food?

The dry food is, haven't tried the wet food.

Nody

looking_around wrote: »

yep, the ball, is just a standard treat ball, for small dogs. Cat uses it but isn't a real fan of it. (She gets angry at it, jumps on it so hard that it wacks off the walls, spilling alot of kibble XD ..)

This
http://www.dieren-benodigdheden.nl/dierenwinkel/product_images/o/234/kattenspeelgoed_catit_senses_food_maze___17298_zoom.jpg

is the food tower that she actually has fun using and is the best thing I ever bought for her.

Got the tower; utterly useless for us. The kittens figured they could get their head in from the top (cheeky gits!); the bigger cats simply pulled the kibble to the open space intended to let them push food towards the bottom and pulled it out through the hole instead by pressing it to the wall until it came out. The whole tower was empty in 10 minutes and with out any real effort by any of our cats and it's now collecting dust in a corner.

looking_around

Nody wrote: »

Got the tower; utterly useless for us. The kittens figured they could get their head in from the top (cheeky gits!); the bigger cats simply pulled the kibble to the open space intended to let them push food towards the bottom and pulled it out through the hole instead by pressing it to the wall until it came out. The whole tower was empty in 10 minutes and with out any real effort by any of our cats and it's now collecting dust in a corner.

Did you try covering the hole on the top?

My cat also sometimes pulls food out of the open spaces, rather than dropping the food. But that's fine, it still slows her down from eating too fast.
___
There's another food tray, A flat one with ridges and dips. (Which can be homemade, with cardboard and toilet paper rolls cut to different heights, glued into place.) I've been meaning to make this for my cat, as she does like variation.