[kikibananas]

Hi I need help. Me and my family were outside one day and a cat came to us and meowed for food. Me and my family fell in love with him the first time he meowed. We are going to name him Smokey and he is not nuetered. We are taking care of that next week he also looks like he got in a dog fight and he hates it when you pet him on his hind legs. We are thinking about bringing him inside but we have another cat and dog. the other cat is named Leo and he is nueterd and very well taken care of and he is so fat. He is sometimes mean sometimes nice. On the other hand Cosmo the dog is a stinky old fart and he has lots of allergies i mean a lot of them. He is 11 yrs old and Leo is 5 yrs old and Smokey is about 1 yr old. We need to know how to introduce them right. We have been feeding Smokey kitten food and kitten wet food from Science Diet. Sould we be feeding him that???? thanks so much for reading I thank you so much for time

 

[LakotaWolf]

I'll try to avoid getting on a soapbox too much - but I personally would not feed a cat Science Diet. It's not grain-free. It's full of undigestible crap like rice flour, wheat flour, corn starch, and cellulose. Cats do not need ANY grains in their diets. They are 100% carnivores. While dogs can benefit from SOME grain or grain by-products in their food, cats do not thrive on grain in any form.

I spent a long time looking around for different grain-free cat foods, and I'll be honest, they're usually more expensive than most cat foods you find in the pet section of the grocery store. But there are many good grain-free foods out there. I have fed my cat Weruva, Wellness, Merrick Before Grain, and Ziwipeak. She likes Weruva the best.

In short, a cat probably won't die from eating food with grains or flour in them, but it's just not really nutritionally appropriate. You aren't doing anything bad to your new kitty by feeding him Science Diet, but I think he would have a much longer, healthier, and happier life on a grain-free diet.

Also, wet/canned food is definitely the way to go. No dry kibble ;}

When you take Smokey to be neutered, see if you can get the vet to check out his hind legs. He's way too young for arthritis or joint issues, but he may have an old or new injury, or even a slight deformity, that gives him pain or discomfort in his hind legs. The vet will probably rotate the legs to check out Smokey's range of motion. It's also possible that he isn't injured, but just literally hates having his hind legs touched. My cat doesn't mind having her front paws or ears or even her tail touched, but if you so much as get within one inch of touching her hind paws, she'll move away. She doesn't have any pain in them, she just refuses to let me touch them, ever.

Here are some good, well-layed-out "plans" for introducing a new kitty to his animal family:

4PAWS - Introducing A New Cat
Introducing a New Cat to Other Pets : The Humane Society of the United States

Good luck! :}

 

[Kittylover230]

I'll try to avoid getting on a soapbox too much - but I personally would not feed a cat Science Diet. It's not grain-free. It's full of undigestible crap like rice flour, wheat flour, corn starch, and cellulose. Cats do not need ANY grains in their diets. They are 100% carnivores. While dogs can benefit from SOME grain or grain by-products in their food, cats do not thrive on grain in any form.

I spent a long time looking around for different grain-free cat foods, and I'll be honest, they're usually more expensive than most cat foods you find in the pet section of the grocery store. But there are many good grain-free foods out there. I have fed my cat Weruva, Wellness, Merrick Before Grain, and Ziwipeak. She likes Weruva the best.

In short, a cat probably won't die from eating food with grains or flour in them, but it's just not really nutritionally appropriate. You aren't doing anything bad to your new kitty by feeding him Science Diet, but I think he would have a much longer, healthier, and happier life on a grain-free diet.

Also, wet/canned food is definitely the way to go. No dry kibble ;}

When you take Smokey to be neutered, see if you can get the vet to check out his hind legs. He's way too young for arthritis or joint issues, but he may have an old or new injury, or even a slight deformity, that gives him pain or discomfort in his hind legs. The vet will probably rotate the legs to check out Smokey's range of motion. It's also possible that he isn't injured, but just literally hates having his hind legs touched. My cat doesn't mind having her front paws or ears or even her tail touched, but if you so much as get within one inch of touching her hind paws, she'll move away. She doesn't have any pain in them, she just refuses to let me touch them, ever.

Here are some good, well-layed-out "plans" for introducing a new kitty to his animal family:

4PAWS - Introducing A New Cat
Introducing a New Cat to Other Pets : The Humane Society of the United States

Good luck! :}

I agree, purrfect advice Lakota! Weruva is one of the best commercial kitty foods in my opinion. :cat

 

[Arianwen]

Nice links!

Just to add that in the majority of cases it is possible to integrate new pets - but it can be much easier in some cases than others.

 

[kikibananas]

Thank you

Dear Lakotawolf,
Thank you thank you my mom appreciates the recommendations. We are planing to change their diet we are going to take it gradually with Leo we do not want to upset his tummy with the sudden food change,we are not doing it slow with Smokey because he has only been eating it for a week or so Leo has been eating it for two years. I thank you also for the links i will go on the website ASAP! When we try to pet him in the hind quarters he meows out of pain he once hissed at my dad for petting his hind legs.Do you have any ideas to get trust from a cat??? He has been sleeping and spending his day in my backyard he used to come at five at night and leave at 12 at night.