[Ta3339]

Ok.. I switched Tierney to Nutro Pouches and Nutro Dry. 1/4 cup of dry in the morning and 3oz of wet at night.

When i first started him on it about a month ago, he just ate EVERYTHING up in 2 seconds. Now he will eat the dry in the morning, then just lick the gravy off at night. If I take the wet food away and give him dry(only done this 2 times, and not 2 days in a row, and he didn't "ask" or "beg" for it.) he will eat all the dry.

Also I have noticed his coat is not as soft or shinny since I started with nutro. Which doesn't make any sense to me, cause as a kitten I had him on IAMS, dry only (I know it's horrible, but I didn't then ) Any suggestions, or a better wet food to try?

I did try the MaxCat tonight, he did the same thing, just ate the gravy and left the pieces.

Any advise is helpfull.
Thanks!!!

 

[kitkat]

Why don't you try a pate style canned food like Innova or Wellness? I also feed my cats Solid Gold tuna once in a while and they love those tuna chunks in them. My cats love the gravy in Nutro pouches but they actually eat the chunks too so I would try the canned foods. Good luck :wink:

 

[firelightsj]

Maya did the same thing when I fed her Nutro pouches.... licked off all the gravy and left the pieces. I switched to 1.5 oz Wellness (which is pate style, as kitkat suggested) in the morning and another 1.5 at night, and about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of Chicken Soup dry throughout the day to nibble on.... and although I think she prefers the dry, we're slowly adapting to eating the wet first (and within an hour after its set down, preferably... although often she leaves some and I have to throw it away). And Maya's coat seems better to me since we've been on this diet, as opposed to when she was getting just dry. Just my personal experience, in case it helps at all!

 

[wookie130]

Personally, I was NOT happy with how either of my cats did on Nutro, although it's no doubt a lot better than most foods you find in grocery stores, such as Friskies or Purina Cat Chow, etc. Nutro dry/wet made both of my kitties pukey (and yes, it was a gradual switch from their other food to Nutro), and Ripley now has kitty dandruff...both of their coats are looking dull to me, and they're shedding more.

So...this week, I'm working on switching them back to the Innova dry, and feeding cans of Wellness 3-4 times a week. I was very happy with this routine, except that neither food is easy to find in my area, and it's pricey.

Oh well...my cats are definitely worth it.

 

[Ta3339]

thanks for the reply, i can't seem to find wellness or Chicken soup anywhere nearby, quess i am going to have to search harder! I just don't like the nutro! He isn't pukey, but his coat is deffently not as soft or shinney as it was before... I quess i am back to searching!! Thanks for the responses!!

 

[drjean]

I'd be concerned about the fact that he's not eating well. 1/4 cup of dry food a day may not be enough for an adult cat. Is he losing weight? If his body "thinks" he is starving, a whole bunch of unpleasant things can happen, like liver failure, which can start out looking like you describe. Please consider taking him into the vet for a checkup.

Meantime try to find a wet food he *does* like, and give him lots of it! All dry is not good for him. It sounds like he may be a dry food addict, it's worth the effort to break him of that habit!

Feeding the same food all the time is never a good practice. They get tired of it, or they get addicted to it, but neither is a good thing. For more please see http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... chingfoods

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[Ta3339]

thanks Dr. Jean, he does not seem to be loosing any weight nor does he seem at all lethargic. I was looking for those things too, hoping that I wasn't underfeeding him. He still runs around like crazy, and is always ready to play. I kinda think it's just the "dry food addict", like you said, I do have to make an apointment for his yearly shots within the next month anyway, so maybe I will just make it sooner than later!

I don't nessiarly want to give him dry just cause he turns up the wet every night though either. I don't want him to think he can have dry whenever he wants it. Maybe I should try the wet in the morning.. then at night give him the dry.. that way I know he will be getting another meal, and I can adjust that serving based on what he ate in the morning?

I quess it's off to the pet stores monday to see what else is around try a few different brands..

Is there anywhere I can get samples of dry, so i don't have to buy a 5lb bag, and then waste it if he doesn't do well on it?

Thanks!!

 

[drjean]

Most pet stores have samples; just ask.

Good idea to switch wet/dry meals; hopefully that will be more in sync with his internal clock!

Re: "yearly shots", most are not necessary, especially for an adult indoor cat. Over-vaccinating can be harmful. The distemper vaccine is associated with crhonic renal failure, and leukemia and rabies shots can cause cancer. Do a little research first!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[Ta3339]

thanks again... and ok.. i will have to start looking into that one too.. AHH so much to think about with these little buggers!!

I gotta wonder how much time my parents took to look at all these things.. i know we only feed out cats "grocery store" brands, like nine lives and stuff..... You never notice the tiny details when you are little and just scooping the food.... Although I wouldn't give up a minute of my research to make sure he is a healthy happy little guy! I swear, he is like my child!

 

[Ta3339]

YAY.. i got those samples and he seems to like the Wellness!!!! Which is what i was hoping for!


No more nutro!!! and i found a place that sells it close buy! off to the store for me, and the human society, to donate the old food!

 

[Payge]

Dr. Jean what yearly vaccinations ARE needed then? I had no idea you could overvaccinate a cat, now im worried since Envy and Chaos are registered with the county and have to provide proof of current rabies shot every year(in Chaos' case ill have to provide it in August when hes old enough to actually get a rabies shot)