My cats need your help! (UPDATE #13)

[sleepyone]

Or more to the point, I do! They are the smelliest cats I've ever had and they throw up alot. There has to be some food (or food aditive/medicine) out there that can help. The vet has given them a tube for the hairball issues but, I'd like to know what kind of food you all recommend.

 

[SusanWasHere]

i used to have 2 cats that threw up all the time (RIP), but weren't smelly. i gave them iams hairball control and it really worked. i have 3 cats now (see below) and i also give them iams hairball and weight control and they only throw up once in a while - usually from eating too fast. also, once i stopped giving can food, the throwing up decreased immensely. hopefully that will help! as far as the smelly, do you mean the cats themselves or their litter boxes? breath? if you let me know, maybe i can help you with that. good luck and don't give up on them!

 

[disgram]

My 3 kittys were doing the same thing. I talked with the vet and she said to quit giving them canned food and no more milk!!! She suggested that I give them a urinary track prevention food. I found that Friskies has such a food. I have not had a problem with them except as the previous poster said, if they eat too fast. I also only give them food in the mornings and now that they have gotten used to it, that is all they eat. NO PEOPLE FOOD! Hope this helps!

 

[Mecha Figment]

You should only feed your cat a small portion at a time. having several cats makes that difficult. Cats tend to eat as much as in front of them, and theyh over eat. moderation is a good thing.

 

[Chloesmom]

I worked for Iams and Science Diet for years.. I am not sure what type you are feeding now but you should give a good premium food a try. I would recommend Science Diet ( best cat food made IMO), Nutro, Wellness, Old Mother Hubbard, or Sensible Choise. these are all premium foods and you should be able to find at least some of them at your local pet store. They are more expensive but they are really worth it. Your cats litter box will smell less also. Some " grocery store" brands have red dye in them that can cause the throwing up. Also, your cat may have a food allergy. Look in the food you feed now and see if it has wheat or corn in it. Those are usually the 2 big culprits. Most of the premium foods should have rice as their grain. No matter what food you choose you should keep them on it for at least a month before you expect any big changes.

 

[sleepyone]

As an example of their stink...if they happen to be sitting in our laps and poot, they'll take off running. Seriously, they have gas (sometimes) and their litter box odor is much worse than our previous cat.

I've tried Iams, Purina One and Science Diet but, they didn't help. They are currently eating Friskies hairball formula. I have gradually changed the foods out over time (as suggested by the vet) after letting them eat each food for several months.

I've been searching the web tonight and think I'll try this: http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=3652&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=Natural%20Choice&sku=909920&familyID=11504&

ETA: I only feed them a little at a time and even tried feeding them in separate rooms to see if that would help.

Also, the vet said, "Maybe that's just how they are", because she can't find anything "wrong" with them. They are sisters and have been stinky since we adopted them.

 

[momto2inKC]

I agree with everything Chloesmom said
You need to switch them to a premium food. Basically if you can buy it at a grocery store or Wal-mart, it's not premium and really not that good for them. You need to read the ingredients and make sure you know what they are. A lot of the foods sold in grocery stores contain a bunch of fillers, so your cat will end up eating more.

 

[Nancyg56]

We have a pet Dr on the radio, and she said that it is not normal for cats to vomit all of the time. She did say that if the vet cannot make a determination, it would be a good idea to get a second opinion. She did say that some cats have an acid stomach and she has given them 1/4 pill of pepcid AC.

My cats have food alergies so I cannot give them canned catfood, and avoid milk products. I give them a good quality cat food. Mine are all feral, so I noticed that if their dish empties they seem to eat as much as they can and then get ill. I usually keep dry available and tha has helped them.

 

[hogwartsdropout]

As an example of their stink...if they happen to be sitting in our laps and poot, they'll take off running.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We have 4 cats. The 4th was a stray that showed up on our doorstep in the middle of winter, pregnant. She had her kittens in Feb (we have since adopted them out), but noticed she was both throwing up and having diarrhea at least every other day or every 3rd day. I was feeding her Iams lamb and rice (the same I have fed my 3 cats for years), but she didn't seem to be doing well. After a couple switches, I have finally found luck with Purina One Special Care (Sensitive Systems). The bag states it is highly digestible. The top two ingredients are turkey and brewers rice (also contains yogurt). She has been on this for at least a month and is doing so much better.
Good luck !

 

[dixiedizfan]

My dear, departed Siamese used to throw up almost daily. But, she was in perfect health and lived to the ripe old age of 19!

 

[AprilLizbeth]

I feed my cats Purina One healthy weight and hairball formula. They almost never get sick and their cat box has been quite a bit less smelly and pretty much no diarrhea since we switched. Also, any changes in food should be done gradually. Mix a little bit of the new food into their old food, increasing the amount of new food over the course of about a month. If you switch completely, there is much more likelyhood that they will have an upset stomach.

 

[sleepyone]

I'm trying Nutro Natural Choice for indoor cats as I posted above. Well, I tried gradually mixing in the new food like I have done in the past but, the cats had different ideas.

They love Nutro! This new food has larger pieces than their old food and the cats simpy eat the Nutro and leave behind the old stuff. They have eaten this stuff for two days now and the litter box is already 100% better. There has been no toxic gas events and no vomitting so far.

ETA: Brownie's fur already feels softer; I can't believe it!

 

[Laura]

Good luck with the new food! My kitties eat Nutro; they seem to like it a lot. It just might be that this food simply works better with your cats' digestive systems.

 

[MiaSRN62]

There has been no toxic gas events

Glad to hear the kitties are doing better !

 

[sleepyone]

^ Me too! Usually, I clean the litter box as soon as one of the cats does their business because I can smell it 3 rooms away. Today, I never noticed the smell until I was actually cleaning the box.

 

[mikesdisneymom]

never fear I am here

 

[mikesdisneymom]

never fear I am here

 

[LK03]

This past week we learned what exactly is in pet food at our puppy's training class. After that we looked at the cat bags and found that the bag you had asked about Nutro Natural Complete (the green bag) was actually pretty good. There was a food with better ingredients but it had less food per lb and was way more expensive so we chose the next best thing. My cats love it. They've only been on it for five days now, but they eat a lot more and the litter box is WAYYY better. Hopefully that will cut down on the throw up episodes.