mixing different brands of food together

[myfamilia]

I read somewhere on the forum that it was a good idea to change around with different foods from time to time for nutritional benifits. But, also, I read that you should gradually switch a little at a time over the course of a week or so. It was here that I learned about "quality foods" so I now have Wellness, Natural Balance and felidea. Would it be ok to just pick and poor randomly each time I feed my cat?

[spittles]

No, because that will upset her system if it is dry food(canned is fine to switch). What you can do is pick one "staple" food, then mix Wellness or Felidae with the staple food. Never change the "staple" food, but you can change the others. I do this with my foster cats and their system is fine with it.

Take Care
Abhay

[OsnobunnieO]

I would say try it first, because I change my cat's dry food every day and he doesn't have problems. Some cats can eat anything, but a lot will have problems with switching too often.

You can try and watch your cat to see how he/she reacts and take it from there, or you can play it safe and do gradual switches every now and then.

[spittles]

Really!!! Because whenever I change any of my cats(and I have a lot) food, they all get very watery you-know-what

Abhay

[kitty_kisses]

I have no problem changing food with my two. I don't change all the time, but when its time I just switch over... I don't worry aobut doing it gradually anymore because it doesn't affect either at all... I have heard that some kitties won't tolerate it as well however, so I would always start with a gradual changeover...

[Superkitties]

Originally Posted by OsnobunnieO

I would say try it first, because I change my cat's dry food every day and he doesn't have problems. Some cats can eat anything, but a lot will have problems with switching too often.

You can try and watch your cat to see how he/she reacts and take it from there, or you can play it safe and do gradual switches every now and then.

Ditto to this suggestion. I feed a different brand canned food and a mixed dry food every mealtime, and it works well for my four cats. But some cats have sensitive digestive systems, which is why some people stick to one food/gradual change.

I premix a batch of 2 or 3 different dry foods in one container.

[coaster]

I think the idea behind changing for nutritional benefits is that not any one manufacturer has the perfect food. So why don't you just mix 1/3, 1/3, 1/3? They're all excellent foods, and then you won't have to worry about adjusting from one to another.

[AddFran]

I don't have any trouble mixing the dry foods together or changing brands. I do it with dry and canned and haven't had any problems.

[myfamilia]

Well, Bugs likes all 3 brands and doesn't seem to have a favorite, so I think I will mix them all together. I'll just make a small batch and see how it goes. He is 14 and has constipation most all the time. I've only been able to get him to eat one kind of wet food, and only a little tiny bit at a time. He'll eat less than a 3oz can of merricks southern delight and I have to put it in bit size pieces on a sheet on my bed I know thats crazy but I'd put it on a silver platter and serve it bite by bite while he lay in a silk wove hammick in front of the window so all the neighborhood cats could watch, wish and whine.
Plus, he's just so messed up and different now after that 'one bad vet' visit. It's kind of hard to tell what's upsetting to his system and what isn't. Some days he seems to have a belly ach and the next day he wants to play but shys away from being touched. I haven't seen runny stools for years. I don't know, everything is just so different now. I cry alot.
Sorry, kinda strayed off a bit there Thanks for the input, I'll see what happens.

[icklemiss21]

Mine have problems with certain foods, but once they are 'changed over to it', I have three different foods that I feed them. In fact, I let my cats choose what they want to eat

I put down one piece of each food and whichever the cat eats first, they get that night.