Help with Cat Food choice....

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Hope this is the correct board for this… I hate starting threads because I never know where to put them… Sorry if it’s the wrong one…

Hello All. I’ve noticed a lot of fellow “cat people” here on the board and thought I’d ask for some advice.
In December we adopted two kittens from our local shelter. I’ve always had cats growing up, so I had some idea of what types of food DID NOT work. My mom always fed ours the ‘cheap’ food and of course we had cat hair all over the house. My brother did not have this problem and his cats all had soft coats. His secret? IAMS. So…I started my wonderful babies out on IAMS Kitten food. We haven’t had any problems with hair all over the place and they do have awesome coats. Great, right?
Well…the problem is they eat too much! I’ve tried only giving them the recommended amount, but they are still hungry after that. I’m a sucker and give them more of course…
Another problem we’ve had (and this might be TMI) is the litter box. The boxes are in the downstairs bathroom next to the living room. After they have been in there, we almost have to evacuate downstairs. Its a frenzy to light candles and spray something to cover up the smell. Not only that, but I had always heard that better quality foods DECREASED the amount of waste…I’m not seeing that with our cats…
Anyone have any advice of how to fix these problems? Is there a better brand of food I should try? I’m going to the pet store today to look over the other brands, so I’d appreciate any insight from you guys!

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Give your vet a call. My kitties had stinky litter problems, and he had us switch to Science Diet Sensitive Stomach Adult Formula. I think they make one for kittens as well. They’re much better - have stopped throwing up and having loose stools.

It doesn’t help with the shedding, though. I do give them a coat supplement, because a couple of my cats were strays and went through a period of malnutrition. They both have coat and dental problems as a result.

My one cat that I got as a kitten has a beautiful coat, minimal shedding, very soft, and no dental problems at all.

I think it has more to do with their nutrition from kittenhood (and with heredity) than the specific food. YMMV.

Also, you may want to look into getting a Litter Maid. I had one for three years, and really liked it. It has its drawbacks (litter getting stuck in the teeth, can be noisy), but it really cut down on the smell. It died after three years, and I never replaced it. Mostly because I got pregnant, so my husband took over litter duties (permanently - heh).

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We recently switched to the scoopable type litter and don’t notice any odor at all anymore. But our little GoodyTwoShoes is a big puker. I’m going to look into that Science Diet stuff.

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I LOVE Feline Pine litter. It’s made from recycled wood chips - looks like little pellets. You put an inch of pellets in the tray and as they cats use it, it turns from pellets into sawdust. Depending on how many cats you have using the box, you only have to completely change it every 2-3 weeks. (Of course you have to scoop regularly.) If you want to wean your cats from regular little to FP, follow the directions on the bag - don’t just switch suddenly - they won’t like it and you’ll make all kinds of problems for yourself.

Re food, if your kittens are creating stink bombs in your house, that could be a sign of something - possibly worms. You don’t give them milk, do you? Very bad for kittens - causes stinky poops and diarrhea. Also, is it possible one of your kits - the dominant one - is not covering up? This is to show all the other cats, and you, who is boss. I’m not sure you can ever correct that - my bossy cat still does it after 7 years. As far as eating more than the recommended amounts, hmmm, you don’t want to give kittens “light” food . . . I’d check with your vet on that one.

I usually give mine Nutro Max Cat or one of the other Nutro products - have to switch now and then when they get bored. Sometimes I’ll try Science Diet but the food is so small they eat too fast and then barf it up, naturally on the bed or rug, never on the tiled floor. In a pinch I’ll give them Iams, although since they went “supermarket” I have cut down. But of the supermarket brands, I’d say it’s definitely the best.

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I’ve heard anecdotaly that IAMS really isn’t all that great, but if it works for you and it gets the thumbs-up from your vet, hey, I’m all for it. I feed my guys Max Cat (and they even have a “Lite” version - which probably isn’t something you want to feed kittens). I’ve heard recently in another thread however that Max Cat is the low-end offering from it’s parent company, Nutro. But almost all the vets I’ve been to have recommended Max Cat. My guys seem to like it. Shedding is sort of a problem with one cat, but I think it’s mainly seasonal. I usually don’t have the “hair all over the house” problem.

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Overall, the calico has a worldy flavor probably not expected of one not so purebred. The siamese, on the other hand, is a bit too salty for my tastes, even if you slather on some butter–

Wait. You want to know what to feed the cats? Dude, my thread title-reading skills have suffered so much lately…

:wink:

That said… I have two cats that are about two years old. (Of course, as luck would have it, I have to give them up this year because my fiancée is allergic. Silly girl.) Both of them, until recently, were being fed IAMS through an automatic feeder. That worked very well for the three of us. (They eat whenever they like and, thus far, have not shown any pudginess because of the easy food accessibility.)

Unfortunately, my male cat, Petruchio, developed a urinary tract infection due to him being neutured. My vet said that netured male cats with UTIs are not rare, but that regular food just won’t cut it for him anymore. So, we had to go on a special diet; which I now feed to both my cats (doesn’t harm a non UTI-prone cat) because I didn’t want to give up my automatic feeder (otherwise, I would have to feed them separately).

So, IAMS? It worked for lessening the stinky poo. And we use Tidy Cats long-lasting odor control litter.

That’s what my cats eat/use. Still, like Morgainelf mentioned, the best thing to do would be to call your vet and find out what he/she thinks.

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I have a beautiful semi-longhaired red tabby, I’ve had her since she was a kitten and we’ve been through all sorts of cat food! I started her on Whiskas kitten food which she seemed to like, then she went completely off moist food and would only eat dry food.

Because I’m such a softie, I bought various sorts of dry food so that she could have some variety in her diet. IAMS was the worst purchase of the lot! I only put the food in her bowl on the floor - as soon as she saw it, she hissed at the bowl and ran away!!

Soon afterwards I changed to Hills Science because they do a formula to cut down on furball problems - always troublesome with a very furry cat. She now alternates between Hills and normal dry food (Whiskas or Go Cat/Friskies) but she’s now taken a liking to the small pouches of moist food in jelly (no gravy, definitely not).

She’s never been one for using a litter tray, she does all that kind of stuff outside although I do have a litter tray in the house for her to use if she wants to. I use CatSan litter which doesn’t seem to smell and is fine for her if she ever decides to use the litter tray.

As everyone else has said, if you’re concerned about your kitty, go and speak to the vet in case there’s something more serious going on.

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Disclaimer: I am not a vet; my comments are only based on my experience as a cat owner. For the best advice, I agree that a vet should be consulted.

I have to agree with Morgainelf about shedding being possibly more of a heredity thing. All the cats I’ve ever owned have shed like crazy every spring, with somewhat less shedding occurring at other times of the year. And they’ve eaten just about everything: food from small smelly cans, moist food (for example, Tender Vittles), and various kibbles from Cat Chow to Iams and Science Diet. In my experience, shedding is not a function of food. But as has been mentioned also, YMMV.

You might try brushing them in order to control some of the hair. Not all cats like it–of our four, only two like to be brushed–but even brushing half our feline population seems to help with the hair problem in the house.

As for what they currently eat, our cats seem quite happy with their daily Science Diet Light (“Light” because they’re indoor cats and don’t get that much exercise, and because they were getting overweight on “Regular Maintenance”). They might also have one Pounce treat a day.

When they were kittens, they each ate a “Kitten” kibble (again, Iams or Science Diet), but I noticed that they tended to eat a lot more then than they do now–this may be what you are noticing too, Kyann22. But our vet mentioned that there are two reasons for this: first, they are growing and need the extra nutrition; and second, that they are kittens–small animals with correspondingly small stomachs. They fill up faster than an adult would, in other words, but they can “empty” quickly too, necessitating filling up again before an adult would need to. Not sure what you might make of this information, but I present it for what it’s worth.

As for the litter box, I haven’t noticed that the better-quality food has decreased the amount of waste, but it has decreased the smell. Tender Vittles and Nine Lives were the worst; Science Diet seems to be much better, although I don’t think anything would be perfect. Stay on top of things though: clean the box daily, refill as necessary with clumping litter, and consider moving the box to a better-ventilated and/or less-lived-in area. The latter point may not always be possible, given your home layout and your kittens’ preferences, but I’m thinking that if they do leave “kitty stink bombs,” then next to your living room may not be a good place if your kittens are liable to be using it while you have guests over.

Hope this helps somehow. Good luck with the kittens, Kyann22!

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As missbunny pointed out: kitten + stink bomb + insatiable apetite may mean worms. Very common with kittens. There are various easy to dose de-worming drugs. Often you have to dose them twice, two weeks apart (sometimes three times if it didn’t quite work.)

Things to look for in cat food (aim for a lower ash content, especially if you have a neutered boy). pH level is also important for a neutered boy. Discontinue kitten food after 12-18 months or they’ll get really pudgy. It’s made for growing fuzzies and has too-much-of-a-good thing for adults.

I also use the ultra-clean silicon litter. It MUCH more expensive, but lasts much, MUCH longer (so the cost evens out). It absorbs all moisture cutting down on urine-stink incredibly. The liquid absorption quite freaky: they have a squeeze bottle of water at the pet store, spray heaps of water on the litter then run your hand through it – bone dry! The pros of the litter is that there is very minimal dust, and what little dust there is is white (so it’s generally a lot less “dirty” in our household than in the home of regular, clay-using kitties). It also lasts a helluva lot longer than regular litter. (If you scoop regularly, it can last a month, though I change it more frequently than that.) The con: it’s so clean that sometimes kitties think “bah! I don’t need to bury my poop…” so they leave the poop on top which is über-stinky.

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Talk to your vet about what the best brand is to feed your kittens.

My suggestion for feeding cats, 2 smallish bowls one for each cat. Fill the up in the morning and when you get home. Just let the cats graze. Play with them a lot, and you shouldn’t have overweight cats… if you do switch them to the weight loss cat food.

How to stop shedding:

Brush your cats regularly, like once every few days.

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My cats are presently being fed Nutro Natural Choice (male and oldest female) and Prescription Science Diet for fat cats for my other female who’s Nutro went to her hips.

I’m planning on changing the food though. I fed Precise for years and was very happy with it until I had problems trying to find stores that carry it. I’ve also fed Royal Canin, but found it too expensive at the time. Both great foods.

Supposedly the ingredient “yucca shidigera” (spelt wrong I imagine) helps keep down the litter stink.

I plan on researching some more cat foods. In a perfect world I’d feed BARF (biologically appropriate raw foods), but at the moment I’m sticking to kibble and trying to figure out how to get three cats to eat three different diets w/o the fat cat eating it all.

Smaller pet stores usually carry better quality cat foods. Poke around in there and look at some ingredients. Make sure that protein is the first item listed. Products like California Natural and Innova contain human-grade ingredients.

And yes, a vet check for worms is always a good thing. Milk also creates REALLY stinky cat tootsie-rolls too.

http://www.precisepet.com/
http://www.royalcanin.us/
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=home-tab

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I had my kitty on IAMS from the time he was little until about a month ago. He was generally healthy, if a little chubby, but he always had a high ‘liver enzyme’ count. The original vet never could figure out what was causing it and just kept testing it every 6 months. Also checked the liver function itself which turn out fine.

A new vet recently took over the clinic and recommended switching food. I now feed the chubbsy wubbsy kitty WALTHAM food. I have to get it at the vet but one month after switching to it his ‘liver enzyme’ test is now normal.

I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference at all in the litter box although I scoop it every day, sometimes twice since my place is so small.

Another thing the vet did for me was sell me a comb rather than a brush for the little furry poop factory. The comb works much better than a brush ever did and I use it every other day. Keeps the shedding down a little but helps tremendously on fur balls.

Sorry I don’t exactly have any scientific data, just anecdotal evidence.

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I’ve never been fond of Iams because the pieces are so small. My cats just swallow them and get no tooth-cleaning benefit from crunch-crunch-crunching. I feed Pro Plan Hairball Control Formula, free feeding, which means I always pour some in there whenever they are low.

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I’ve fed my cats Purina dry cat foods and they’ve been healthy and durable. I use a reservoir type feeder, and the kitty eats all he cares to. I tried Iams for a while, but my little pal got fat. My vet says cats normally won’t overeat, but when the food is too yummy, they will. If you really want a chubby cat, go for the canned stuff.

Cats shed a bit all year long, but in the spring they shed the winter coat to grow the summer coat. Extra hair. In the fall, the summer coat falls out as the winter coat grows in. Brush the little fuzzballs. They’ll love it.

Can a cowboy’s dog get a driver’s license? No, but the cat’ll drive.

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IANAV, so all this is based only on my experience with my cats.

Growing up, we always had cats, and my mom always fed them the cheap food. They were perfectly healthy indoor/outdoor cats, lived to be 15+, etc.

When I got my two cats (2 male litter-mates) I jokingly complained to my vet about the smell and quantity of their poop. I was joking, because I assumed it was normal, but since the cats we had when I was growing up were allowed out to do their business, and my two current cats are indoor-only, I thought I was just being overly-sensitive.

The vet recommended trying one of the expensive cat foods. Their office carried both Iams and Science Diet. We decided to try Iams and noticed an IMMEDIATE decrease in odor and quantity of poop. That’s not to say that Science Diet or Nutro might be even better, but Iams was very noticably better than Kitten Chow in this respect.

Not long after we also switched to scoopable litter, which helped even more. We prefer Arm&Hammer Unscented, but it’s hard to find around here.

As far as the amount they eat, I tried them on Science Diet light hairball once and they ate that stuff like there was no tomorrow, so I switche dthem back to Iams light - they’re both 5yo now, and one is prone to plumpness.

As for shedding, one of my cats sheds like crazy and the other doesn’t. They are littermates, but one has fluffy hair and the other silky hair. Both shorthaired. It’s the fluffy hair that is everywhere. Brushing does help, and he loves it.

HTH!

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That should have been “That’s not to say that Science Diet or Nutro might notbe even better…”

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we have been using science diet for almost 14 years (with two of the same crew!!! go gimpy and two tone!!!). we used regular SD until year seven, then switched to SD senior. we never used canned until gimpy got very sick (with kidney failure) and then i enticed her with whatever. (note-my kitty was at deaths door and i think it was mainly the juice off of bush’s baked beans that kept her eating until replacements fluids got her better).
now as a treat i divide one small can of fancy feast between the three of them in the morning…the ruckus that THAT causes…a whole other thread.

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Thanks so much for the help everyone! It’s amazing (and wonderful) that there are so many helpful cat people on the board.

After reading everyone’s advice and looking at the labels at the store yesterday, my babies now have a new food…and they LOVE it. I went with Nutro Natural Choice for kittens. Their foster mom gave us a bag of Science Diet when we adopted them, but they didn’t seem to care for it very much. When we started mixing it with the IAMS in the switch-over process, they would pick around the SD and leave it until they had no other choice but to eat it.
missbunny pointed out something interesting that I hadn’t thought of… My little girl never covers up! I do believe that is one problem of the stink bombs. She doesn’t appear to be the dominant of the pair though. Maybe she’s trying to make a stand against big brother?

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Are you sure she’s not the dominant one??? Those kitties are sneaky . . . making you think they are all sweet and lovey-dovey when they are actually terrorizing their siblings. My alpha cat has been that way since day 1, even though she was one-third the size of her sister. Now I’ve got five and three of them could easily pummel her, and she’s still the boss. One glance at them from Her Evil Eye can send any of them cowering into the corner. What a big meany she is. :wink:

Or maybe your girl’s not covering up because she just didnt’ “learn” right from her momma-cat? I think covering up is supposed to be somewhat instinctive, but I have raised week-old kittens without a momma and I noticed that they had to be “shown” what to do a bit. I usually watched them in the box and when they went, I would take their little paws and make the covering-up motions until they got the hang of things.

I just love kittens! Kittens kittens kittens. Just saying that word makes me happy. :slight_smile:

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Please be informed that all cat foods taste best to the cat when freshly served at 2am.