[johnnyrelentless]

One of my cats, Jeffrey, vomits once in a while, but it is usually a clear liquid. The day before yesterday we started him on a new dry food - same brand, different flavor - which I noticed had a redder color. Today he vomited, but this time the vomit had a red color. It also had a lot of hair in it and was very liquidy - which, other than the color, is normal for him.

The cat food is The Goodlife Recipe Indoor Chicken, and we switched to The Goodlife Recipe All Ages Salmon to see if they liked it better. They seem to love both, although they don't overeat or eat too fast.

I don't think it seemed like there was blood in the vomit. Could it be red dye?

 

[minikin44]

You could call your vet office and ask. Maybe they'd give an opinion over the phone.

 

[OSCARSMOM]

Yikes! The first ingredients shown for the chicken formula are GROUND CORN, CHICKEN-BY-PRODUCT MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, ANIMAL FAT, CHICKEN," and the salmon formula is about the same, with salmon showing way down the list. The salmon formula contains iron oxide which probably gives it the reddish color. We use iron oxide as a pigment in clay and glazes at the pottery studio where I work. It is "approved" as a colorant for dog and cat food but I sure wouldn't want it in any food that I fed my cat. By the way, regular old rust is a type of iron oxide.

Jeffrey might have a grain sensitivity and might be reacting to the high grain content in both of these dry foods. Both foods get most of their protein from grains and not from real meat/fish. If you are thinking about getting your cats on a healthier diet you might want to read a great cat nutrition site: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

Hope this helps

 

[johnnyrelentless]

Ok, thanks. I will read up on it. But is there a brand you would recommend? Because to be honest, I spent an hour several times a a pet store reading ingredients, and couldn't find anything that really matched what I've read online. They all seem to have fillers.

 

[OSCARSMOM]

There are many posts on here about good dry foods. I think Wellness Core, Evo, and Origen are usually mentioned. I don't feed dry food to Oscar anymore so I'm not sure. Someone else may have suggestions for you.

Wet food would be much much better for your little ones. There are many high quality grain-free canned foods out there. I feed Wellness, TikiCat (chicken), Merrick and Weruva. Others suggest Wellness Core and Merrick BG (Before Grain), which didn't agree with Oscar. You will get tons of suggestions for wet food if you ask!

 

[minikin44]

I don't know about dry foods either, really, but for wet food, Evo 95% is a good bang for your buck, as well as Wellness, because you can get big cans. I'm feeding Merrick to my two kittens but it's more expensive (I just figure they could use the added nutrition whereas the adult female could stand to lose a few pounds if anything lol) Anyway, bigger can = less money per oz.

 

[johnnyrelentless]

They get wet food once a day, but also some dry food. Sometimes I give them canned tuna as a treat or cat treats.

 

[minikin44]

Watch out on treats from China... there's been a lot of press on the treats being tainted and killing animals... unacceptable and just plain heartbreaking!

 

[scottd]

Ok, thanks. I will read up on it. But is there a brand you would recommend? Because to be honest, I spent an hour several times a a pet store reading ingredients, and couldn't find anything that really matched what I've read online. They all seem to have fillers.

I feed my cat Petcurean Go! Fit + Free dry. It's made in Canada and has fairly limited distribution in the US. I order it online from PetFlow.com. The 16lb bag is $50.99. It may seem expensive but that bag lasts 111 days (she eats 1/2 cup per day) for my 14lb cat. I usually get a discount code and am able to get treats or a bag of litter for practically free and get free shipping.

Another food that I would suggest is Orijen Cat & Kitten which is also made in Canada but I can actually buy it locally if I wanted. It's about the same price. You can get it from PetFlow.com too. I chose Go! Fit + Free because it has more protein.

Wellness CORE and EVO dry aren't bad either. I saw Wellness CORE at Petco today. The Merrick Before Grain dry foods are also pretty good but you'll want to avoid the fish flavors as it's not acceptable for a daily diet.

Personally, I would opt for a Canadian made food that is imported to Europe. Canada and Europe have tighter regulations on pet food than the US.

 

[scottd]

They get wet food once a day, but also some dry food. Sometimes I give them canned tuna as a treat or cat treats.

I'm feeding the kitten I have Wellness CORE and Merrick Before Grain canned foods right now. She really likes both. She went nuts for the BG Quail & Chicken though. I never seen her eat so fast.

There are really a lot of good canned foods.

 

[LakotaWolf]

Do you free-feed/"graze" Mr. McS or do you feed him in meals?

Usually when a kitty is barfing clear liquid, it means their stomachs are empty and producing too much stomach acid.

If you free-feed your cats (i.e., that is, leave a bowl of kibble out for them 24/7), you might want to try switching to offering your cats regularly scheduled meals every 6-8 hours or so, or as is feasible to your schedule. This approaches a "wild" cat's feeding behavior (many small meals multiple times a day as they hunt and catch small critters) and may help cut down on Jeffrey's stomach acid production, leading to fewer liquid-barfs.

You could also try talking to your vet about the vomiting - some cats do well on Pepcid.

My elderly cat has IBS, and she too will vomit clear liquid if I let her go too long between meals. She never vomits AFTER eating.

I don't want to get on too much of a soapbox here, but you really ought to try to get your kitties entirely on grain-free canned/wet food, or at least a grain-free kibble. As others have mentioned, many cats have grain sensitivities or allergies, and the truth is, cats can't digest grain at all and it's a worthless food for them. Dry food itself is also completely worthless for cats, and in fact can be harmful, as it dehydrates them.

Was the red vomit BRIGHT red? I didn't notice any dyes in the ingredients list for the Goodlife Salmon, but as Oscar's Mom mentioned, the iron oxide is probably what's causing the redness.

Since the red color occurred after a switch in foods to a redder food, it's most likely the iron oxide and not blood (which is usually darker red in color).

 

[snowy]

Beside Evo and Origen that some of them mentioned, you can also try Addiction and Acana (same manufactuerer as Origen), if you are still looking at kibbles.
Amazon.com: addiction cat food - Food / Cats: Pet Supplies
Amazon.com: acana cat food - Food / Cats: Pet Supplies

 

[3furbabies]

I recently switched my one who is on dry to natures variety instincts duck and turkey. She loves it and the ingredients are fantastic.