Are they putting hairball remedies in cat food now?

[Imzadi]

The biggest problem with that is that she does not want to eat dry food once the bowl reaches a certain level, so when you fill it back up, she will scarf down what's on top. Ugh.

Can you just fill up the bowl a little bit over the amount of that certain level, like one kibble layer over, let her eat that and then refill again, as you would when you were trying to give smaller amounts at regular intervals?

 

[mom2rtk]

For the longest time I tried feeding her small amounts at regular intervals, that really did not work. It seems the best way is to just keep her bowl full all the time and let her decide when it is time to eat. It is not a complete fix, but it has improved the issue some. The biggest problem with that is that she does not want to eat dry food once the bowl reaches a certain level, so when you fill it back up, she will scarf down what's on top. Ugh.

It might be that she likes fresh food. I think food that has sat out for a while loses some of its taste. I keep my older cat's food in a sealed plastic container. I put fresh down, but then dump it back in the container when she's done. Then it mixes with the other food and gets sealed up to retain more taste and smell.

 

[Imzadi]

For the longest time I tried feeding her small amounts at regular intervals, that really did not work. It seems the best way is to just keep her bowl full all the time and let her decide when it is time to eat.

We are also taught this when we get kittens. On the back of the bags of dry food, it says leave food out all the time and allow kittens to eat whenever they want. Yet, when a cat is 1 year old or older, the directions recommend feeding adult cats once a day and to not leave food out all the time.

When I had a cat and she became an adult, taking the food away made her anxious and caused her to have eating issues. She became worried that there wasn't enough food when there wasn't any in the bowl all day. Yet, after, when I put the food back in the bowl, she would end up eating way more than she had before.

Once, before I bought an automated pet food dispenser, I had to leave town for a family emergency. I figured I'd be away for 3-4 days at the most. (I had gone out of town before for 2-3 days and left food in the bowl for her without any problems. All that changed after she developed the eating issue.)

I left out enough food for a week and a half. I come back at the end of Day 4 and found that she ate ALL the food I left out. She must have just sat there and gorged on all the food. And yes, she was pounds heavier, in just the four days.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Mom and I tried changing my cat's food but the main flavor of Whiskas Temptations treats used to be the Turkey flavored treats and those were his favorite until he started the gagging/choking behavior and we found out my cat couldn't eat them much anymore but the other flavors of Whiskas Temptations cat treats he will eat with no problem whatsoever. But we also discovered that my cat has a habit of eating things off the floor including dust and my cat does get a bad reaction when he eats dust but I think Fancy Feast and Whiskas should tell cat owners that the treats and food might have hairball remedies in them. But my cat is currently fine and doing very well now

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

It might be that she likes fresh food. I think food that has sat out for a while loses some of its taste. I keep my older cat's food in a sealed plastic container. I put fresh down, but then dump it back in the container when she's done. Then it mixes with the other food and gets sealed up to retain more taste and smell.

Yes she likes fresh food, I have a plastic container for her food and yes as soon as I take the lid off, she will be trying to stick her head in there trying to eat directly from the container while you're trying to pour it.

 

[mom2rtk]

Mom and I tried changing my cat's food but the main flavor of Whiskas Temptations treats used to be the Turkey flavored treats and those were his favorite until he started the gagging/choking behavior and we found out my cat couldn't eat them much anymore but the other flavors of Whiskas Temptations cat treats he will eat with no problem whatsoever. But we also discovered that my cat has a habit of eating things off the floor including dust and my cat does get a bad reaction when he eats dust but I think Fancy Feast and Whiskas should tell cat owners that the treats and food might have hairball remedies in them. But my cat is currently fine and doing very well now

You seem convinced the cat food companies are sneaking things into their cat food. They aren’t. Those formulations are labeled so on the bag. And the ones that treat hairballs aren’t doing it by inducing vomiting.

 

[PollyannaMom]

my cat is currently fine and doing very well now

Good to hear!

 

[QueenIsabella]

You seem convinced the cat food companies are sneaking things into their cat food. They aren’t. Those formulations are labeled so on the bag. And the ones that treat hairballs aren’t doing it by inducing vomiting.

This. I have a cat with a seafood allergy (she's very extra!). I have to read every label carefully--you'd be amazed how many flavors of cat food have fish in them! Same cat also gets hairball treatments--they're separate little treats/chews. This is NOT our vomiting cat. She gets the hairball treatment to keep her from hacking up hairballs, not the reverse. She's a ragdoll, so she has long fur.

 

[Imzadi]

This. I have a cat with a seafood allergy (she's very extra!). I have to read every label carefully--you'd be amazed how many flavors of cat food have fish in them!

My cat had an allergy to fish. It affected her ears and she'd get mucus in her eyes. Fish are not indigenous for cats to eat as they usually don't go in the water to fish. I also had to read every label. A lot of "healthier" cat foods I couldn't get as they'd add fish in to up the protein on the nutrition label. It's a cheaper source of protein than meats.