anyone who feeds lotus

[cinderflower]

i was impressed at the lack of additives in lotus so i ordered a case of it (definitely should not have done that but i've had such good luck for the past 8 months i guess i got carried away. )

i ordered the salmon flavor because i figured if they were going to go for any of it, it would be the fish flavor. when i opened the can, it looks really awful and doesn't smell nice either. there was something in each can that i thought at first glance was sliced potato--don't ask me what it is because i have no idea. anyway, i attributed the appearance to having no thickening agents and the smell to fish.

my cats liked it and ate 3 12.5 oz. cans (not all at once) but started getting diarrhea so i quit giving it to them 2-3 days ago and am just feeding them bland chicken flavors of weruva and tikicat, but the diarrhea is still ongoing. the only other food that gives them the runs is FF, but that's usually only for one day. i have to take into account though that FF is a 3 oz. can and this was almost 38 oz. of food. maybe it just takes awhile to get out of their system.

have any of you who use the canned lotus had this happen?

[violina]

Our kittens have been eating Lotus and we haven't had any issues with their stool. Since this has been going on for a while, perhaps you should take them to the vet or call them to see what they say?

[spirite]

Yikes. I'm sorry you've had this experience. I haven't gotten around to trying the Lotus because Margaux still isn't feeling well, and I don't want to upset her tummy by constantly giving them something new. Now I'm even more hesitant to try the Lotus, but I will, despite your experience, because I need to find a couple of more things to replace FF.

[cinderflower]

Originally Posted by violina

Our kittens have been eating Lotus and we haven't had any issues with their stool. Since this has been going on for a while, perhaps you should take them to the vet or call them to see what they say?

i did call my vet yesterday because i was a little concerned about possible salmonella. none of them are vomiting but that doesn't mean it's impossible. he said i should just keep giving them bland food for 3-5 more days and see how it goes. they're all eating and drinking normally, it's just smelly and icky. (if your cat takes a dump at 6 AM and it actually wakes you up, it's bad lol.) if it continues, they can test for salmonella and there's medication for it. i don't want to accuse lotus of anything because i can't find anyone else who has a similar problem. the most i've seen is that some cats just won't eat it.

[cinderflower]

Originally Posted by spirite

Yikes. I'm sorry you've had this experience. I haven't gotten around to trying the Lotus because Margaux still isn't feeling well, and I don't want to upset her tummy by constantly giving them something new. Now I'm even more hesitant to try the Lotus, but I will, despite your experience, because I need to find a couple of more things to replace FF.

if this is the worst that happens to me, it isn't the end of the world lol. it's just weird. i was wondering if you had tried it yet and what flavor you got.
yeah, even though mine love FF, if i let them have it they'll have stink bombs the next day so i gave everything i had left to a shelter, along with the merrick no one would eat. i don't know about shelter cats eating it so i told the woman she could dress it up with the FF and everyone would probably like it.

i've had good luck with wellness grain-free and hound & gatos. hound & gatos just has to be back ordered a lot because they have a rabbit flavor and my cats really like it. the salmon HG they really don't like much, and they'll eat the chicken some but they don't seem to love it. but i just checked yesterday with wholepets in boulder and they can't get the rabbit yet either. they have also introduced two new flavors: pork and trout. it does have some salt in it but it's pretty far down the ingredient list, and they claim 98% meat so it appears to be pretty good food. i think it has brewer's yeast (nutritional yeast?) but very few additives. they also have lamb and a lamb, salmon & something else mix. check out their website, i don't know if it's easy to get where you are but they have a store finder.

weruva doesn't make some of the lists because a few of the flavors have carrageenan but the paw lickin' chicken and mideast feast do not, and those are the ones i get. mine also like a spot's stew, chicken, shrimp and crab but it has garlic powder (the second to last ingredient). and of course tiki cat, but i think some of their flavors have carrageenan, just not the ones i use. it's more expensive but it's worth it if you want to splurge a little.

also, if/when you open a can, tell me what it looks like. i got the 12.5 oz. cans but when i watched the videos on floppy cats channel, the food didn't look the same. she showed all 5.5 oz. cans but i'd think it would be on them too. it's probably fat but it's at the top of the can and i though it looked repulsive. i stirred it up but maybe i should have scooped it out.

[anie]

I fed little of lotus today to my cats for a first time. however it was turkey kind and it was in the smallest can. they liked it, I was surprised b/c even my picky boy ate. it looked and smelled ok, like any other good quality cat canned food. it was quite dense. not more liquidy than other stuff (i.e. EVO or Wellness).

we will see how it goes, will let you know. i also have chicken and salmon flavor, but haven't tested yet.

[cinderflower]

okay if yours was dense, i may have gotten a bad batch. i could probably take a picture of it but i don't know if it would really show it dripping off the spoon. it has all been the consistency of pudding, and not well set pudding. i've never used EVO, but this is much soupier than wellness grain-free. unless this is particular to the salmon flavor so i guess whenever you use that flavor you could let me know. otherwise, the rep hasn't called me back, so if she doesn't today, i'll call them tomorrow. they said they'd send me another case, so at least i could compare the two. then i'd be more certain if this is just off somehow.

thanks!

[anie]

turkey lotus i have was the same density as wellness grain-free, maybe even more dense? i was splitting can in a half for my kits so i used knife and removed nicely formed moon-shape/half-can piece. it held its shape.

I will let you know when I open salmon. probably tomorrow.

[cinderflower]

thanks that it holds its shape really surprises me since it has no thickening agents, that's why i didn't question it. if wellness had looked this way, i definitely wouldn't have given it to my cats.

[anie]

Originally Posted by cinderflower

thanks that it holds its shape really surprises me since it has no thickening agents

it has agar-agar that is a thickening agent. i checked all three flavors (turkey, chicken, salmon) and all three contain agar-agar. i figured thats why it holds its shape. but as i said, will open salmon flavor soon and let you know how it looks like.