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I am not so sure if I found a good vet or not. It's extremely close to home, which is nice. The vet I saw had a ton of passion and love for animals, but I felt a few things seemed off. I've never had a cat in my life (I'm 32) but I've been researching quite a bit. Here's the things I was confused about:
Vet said dry food is best. Half a cup a day... I was under the impression can food is better and raw is best. My cat gets one can a day and loves it. As soon as he hears the can crack open he sprints to his bowl. After that he gets dry food.
He's 9.3 pounds and the vet said that's his upper limit. He's far from fat, but she seemed to think he only needs half a cup of dry a day
I asked about llysine but she said she isn't convinced it even helps. I have heard nothing but good things about it on here. This forum is where I discovered it, actually.
I was told all single cats need 2 boxes. He has one on the main level and I was going to get one for the basement(he goes there to relax sometimes) but she said it's not necessary. I'm going to get a second one regardless. If he never uses it, that's fine too.
Anything I should know? I feel kind of bad to only have one cat, but he doesn't show signs of boredom and my wife is a stay at home mom so he's rarely alone for long.
Yeah, I'd be looking for a new vet. That sounds like a vet who either 1)is highly outdated and uneducated about feline nutrition, care and behavior or 2) wants to keep you coming back with health problems in your cat.
Did this vet tell you why she thinks it is better for your cat to have half a cup of dry crap a day? She wants him to remain dehydrated? She wants him to develop urinary tract problems or get diabetes? She hopes he'll have kidney failure when he gets to be 12 or 13?
Did she mention why she thinks a strict obligate carnivore who has a low thirst drive should be on half a cup of high carb dry corn nuggets a day, instead of a diet high in meat and moisture as nature intended?
As for the litter box issue, some cats will adjust to one box, but why should they? It's instinctive for a cat to pee and poop in different places. Not all cats seem to mind, but if it can improve a cat's quality of life, why on earth wouldn't you provide that for him?
Keep shopping around, there are better vets out there.
As for L-lysine for managing feline herpes, it is extremely effective in controlling flare ups and improving the quality of life of cats with herpes. I've never heard of a vet who "isn't convinced it helps".
My cat took it all his life, after a few years he stopped having any flare ups at all and went to a maintenance dose. Before l-lysine, he was about to lose both eyes, his eyes looked like those worst case scenario pictures you see on the internet. He was diagnosed and the l-lysine was prescribed by a veterinary ophthalmology specialist at Cornell University Companion Animal Hospital.
Those "for cats" treats aren't all that great, full of junk and you have to feed too many to get a decent dose, but the pure powder is a wonderful help for uncounted numbers of cats.
As for L-lysine for managing feline herpes, it is extremely effective in controlling flare ups and improving the quality of life of cats with herpes. I've never heard of a vet who "isn't convinced it helps".
My cat took it all his life, after a few years he stopped having any flare ups at all and went to a maintenance dose. Before l-lysine, he was about to lose both eyes, his eyes looked like those worst case scenario pictures you see on the internet. He was diagnosed and the l-lysine was prescribed by a veterinary ophthalmology specialist at Cornell University Companion Animal Hospital.
Those "for cats" treats aren't all that great, full of junk and you have to feed too many to get a decent dose, but the pure powder is a wonderful help for uncounted numbers of cats.
Where can I buy it online?
What affordable foods would you suggest?
I think the reason the Vet suggested dry is she's worried wet food is too fattening. I didn't question it because I knew it was bad advice.
Wet food is usually recommended to be fed to cats who are overweight to help them lose weight in a slow healthy manner. Why would a cat gain weight on a healthy quantity controlled diet? That vet is off her rocker.
I know a cat who was left at a shelter who weighed over 30 pounds. His foster family fed him a diet of Fancy Feast classics (the classics only, they are very low carb) and he is almost down to a normal weight now. It has taken almost 4 years (very dangerous for a cat to lose weight too quickly). When he went to his forever home their vet told them he should be on some stupid "Alphabet diet" Hills kibble crap to "help him lose weight". At first they followed the vet's recommendation but it soon became obvious that the cat was going in the wrong direction weight wise, so they went back to the Fancy Feast Classics, and he is still losing.
I don't recommend brands any more, because pet food manufacturers change things so often that a food I might say is good today, may not be a month from now. A for instance is a food I have been feeding a cat of mine with very special dietary needs. She is half raw half canned, and this canned food was the only canned food I've found, (that meets my criteria) ever, that she is able to keep down. It has been discontinued now.
Feeding a variety of brands and proteins helps, because it is difficult to find foods that meet all criteria, unless you make your own.
For example, it's difficult (but not impossible) to find carrageenan free foods, and foods that don't contain menadione sodium bisulfate (fake vitamin K) So if you must feed some foods with either of those, also feed some foods that don't contain those, to balance things out a little better.
Look for foods low in carbs (pates, usually). Look for ingredients that are identifiable. Chicken instead of "poultry", for example. Avoid grains, glutens, "meat meals", spinach. Carrageenan is used heavily, but can cause an inflammatory response in the bowel. ( I have a cat who used to lick herself raw, until I eliminated all foods containing carrageenan. Now her fur is all grown in so soft and pretty in that area)
Avoid, or feed in moderation chunks in style with gravy type foods. These are most likely to be as high in carbs as dry food, because of the thickeners used. Pouch style foods are very high in carbs usually.
Shredded types are sometimes lower in carbs, Tiki cat is very low in carbs but is expensive. Ounce per ounce Tiki chicken formulas cost as much as the Rad Cat raw I use in rotation (I do feed some Tiki cat, only the chicken flavors)
1/4 teaspoon a day is the therapeutic dose of 500 mg a day. Usually half in a morning meal and half in an evening meal. Cats don't seem to mind it, it only tastes slightly salty. (I take it myself when I feel a cold coming on, helps boost the immune system)
By the way, L-lysine was first prescribed for humans to help reduce their human herpes flare ups. I know this because the vet I was going to at the time my cat saw the ophthalmologist, when I told her what he recommended she said in surprise "Oh I take that myself, for my own herpes, I didn't know cats could take it". this was back in 2002, so l-lysine for cats was in the early days then, there weren't all these "treats" and "pastes" made specially for cats back then, and I wouldn't use them now, either.
Appreciate the info. So 3 cans of food a day is better than dry food at any time? What about for overnight? If we go to bed at 10pm and get up at 7am, isn't that too long with no food?
Last edited by tonybarnaby; 06-09-2015 at 06:50 PM..
I don't know about all this pop culture cat stuff. My daughters cat lived 19 years on dry food table scraps kidney fish and anything she could run down or filch behind the humans backs.
19 good, happy years.
Let the cat be a cat, it might live a long happy life.
I am not so sure if I found a good vet or not. It's extremely close to home, which is nice. The vet I saw had a ton of passion and love for animals, but I felt a few things seemed off. I've never had a cat in my life (I'm 32) but I've been researching quite a bit. Here's the things I was confused about:
Vet said dry food is best. Half a cup a day... I was under the impression can food is better and raw is best. My cat gets one can a day and loves it. As soon as he hears the can crack open he sprints to his bowl. After that he gets dry food.
He's 9.3 pounds and the vet said that's his upper limit. He's far from fat, but she seemed to think he only needs half a cup of dry a day
I asked about llysine but she said she isn't convinced it even helps. I have heard nothing but good things about it on here. This forum is where I discovered it, actually.
I was told all single cats need 2 boxes. He has one on the main level and I was going to get one for the basement(he goes there to relax sometimes) but she said it's not necessary. I'm going to get a second one regardless. If he never uses it, that's fine too.
Anything I should know? I feel kind of bad to only have one cat, but he doesn't show signs of boredom and my wife is a stay at home mom so he's rarely alone for long.
I treat my cat in a low-maintenance way. She has about 1/2 cup of decent dry food a day (she eats most of it and I fill it the next morning). She gets a can of wet food once per week (in addition to her dry for that day), and a tiny amount of cat treats once (occasionally twice) per week.
My cat is 10 years old and weighs 8 pounds, and the vet says she is an extremely healthy weight. She says most people overfeed their cats, and so they rarely see a cat that is at a healthy weight. Our cat looks lean, and apparently most people mistakenly think that's "skinny" and "underfed" rather than healthy, so they overfeed. I'm sure it varies by the cat's overall frame size and breed, but I can see a vet saying that 9 pounds is the limit on some cats.
We only have one litter box for our cat, and she uses it faithfully with no problems. If your cat doesn't have problems with one box, I don't think you need a second one.
We only have the one cat (and our dog), but she has never seemed lonely or lacking. However, I rescued a 3-month-old kitten once when it was freezing outside and she came looking for food and shelter, and our cat had a fit, hissing and growling. We kept the kitten quarantined in a closed room until we found her a home the next week, but our cat was very unhappy about having another cat in the house the whole time. My point is, not every cat needs or even wants other feline company. Plenty of people only have one cat, so I think you're fine.
Appreciate the info. So 3 cans of food a day is better than dry food at any time? What about for overnight? If we go to bed at 10pm and get up at 7am, isn't that too long with no food?
10 hours is a longish stretch (two of mine go nine hours most nights, but sometimes a bit longer than that) but not really awful for a cat being fed a good species appropriate diet.
I would recommend feeding no dry. A 9.3 pound adult cat should probably eat about 6 ounces of canned food a day, individual cats may vary of course depending on metabolism and activity level.
If he gets too heavy, cut back a little, if he is losing weight, increase the amount.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrat335
I don't know about all this pop culture cat stuff. My daughters cat lived 19 years on dry food table scraps kidney fish and anything she could run down or filch behind the humans backs.
19 good, happy years.
Let the cat be a cat, it might live a long happy life.
Letting a cat "be a cat" means feeding that cat a species appropriate diet. Dry food is not that, by any stretch
Longevity isn't everything. Quality of life matters too, in my opinion. Sure cats can survive on a dry diet. But a dry fed cat is not thriving, he is surviving.
Feeding a cat an appropriate wet diet is not new. Vets have known for years that wet is a better diet. Then Hills and Royal Canin and Purina started their vet school propaganda and mass advertising campaigns.
To clarify I am not saying a dry fed cat is not loved or cared for. But there is always room for improvement. I'd like more people to educate themselves about what is a better healthier diet for their cats, and see cats live better lives because of it.
The difference between a dry fed cat and a cat on a wet diet is, as the saying goes, like night and day.
Last edited by catsmom21; 06-09-2015 at 07:56 PM..
Any good places to order can cat food in bulk at a decent price?
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