About this canned cat food…

I’ve been feeding all the cats in our household just canned cat food since last Friday and I swear to god, they poop less.  A lot less.  And when they do poop, it doesn’t threaten to curl the paint on the walls—the smell isn’t even noticeable.  With the adult cats I could figure it’s because they’re eating less overall, but the kittens are eating just as much as ever (more every day, it seems), and I see the difference in them too.  I empty the litterbox less often (now that the smell doesn’t hang over us like a chemical weapon), and I’ve got so much time on my hands I might have to take up basket-weaving or something.  I don’t know if this will last, or if it’s a temporary condition caused as their bodies transition from eating kibble, but so far I like what’s happening.

I sent an email to Waltham to ask about them to explain why their Royal Canin Urinary SO food contains so many “by-products”, and I’ll definitely post their reply if I receive one.  Maybe they have a valid reason—maybe “by-product” is special code for “it’s good for you, seriously”.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 03/27 at 11:33 PM

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  1. Reading this makes me wish even more that I could get Salem to switch to wet food—a less smelly litterbox would be lovely! :)

    He’s on Felidae Platinum (weight control) kibble, but he’s *gained* rather than lost weight. I’ve read that wet food can help chubby cats slim down, so we tried him on the Felidae Platinum wet food—he ate it the first day, the second day he picked at it till it was gone, and turned up his nose on the third day. Maybe I need to experiment with different brands to find one he likes, but I’m not sure if that would upset his stomach.

    How did you figure out which brands worked for your cats (aside from the prescription food)?

    Posted by Helena  on  03/28  at  08:38 AM

  2. Huh? Just… Huh? I’d have thought the poop would be more smelly. Huh.

    Posted by Diana  on  03/28  at  10:00 AM

  3. My local pet store owner has told me this about cats and wet food before actually. (She was trying to convince me to adopt one of her rescue cats at the time.) She also said wet food will make them have less dander to fly around and irritate allergies. (I’m allergic.)

    Go figure. I always though all wet all the time was all bad. Guess not!

    Posted by jg  on  03/28  at  02:17 PM

  4. Diana, you’re preaching to the choir.  I was dreading the “all wet” diet, as I was sure the kittens’ smelly poop was from all the canned food they ate.  It’s sure starting to look like it was from the kibble, though.  I almost feel a bit guilty not giving them kibble because they really enjoyed Innova Evo, and I almost gave them some as a snack last night, but the thought of “the smell” deterred me.  Maybe I’ll try some in about a week though, as an experiment. 

    Helena, my cat Sweet Pea, who died a little over a year ago, would never eat anything but kibble.  Granted, I didn’t try to convert her very much, as I was sure wet food would cause dental problems or litterbox problems.  In her lifetime she happily ate Felidae, Royal Canin, and finally Eukanuba Reduced Calorie but she was still always a bit chunky.  I occasionally offered wet food “as a treat” and she didn’t want it, so I didn’t persist.  I’m sure if I’d persisted I could have eventually convinced her to switch, but I’m also sure there would have been a lot of wasted food in the process.

    Maybe you could try buying a number of different brands which offer the small, 3.5 oz. cans, to see if anything strikes Salem’s fancy.  I tried feeding Felidae canned to the kittens and they’ll eat it reluctantly (i.e., only if that’s all they’re given, and then they prefer the chicken and rice over the chicken/lamb/fish and rice).  They much prefer Merrick or Eagle Pack.  I think they were ambivalent about Nature’s Recipe and Wellness, but liked Science Diet for kittens in chicken and liver flavour.  *I* thought the Eukanuba (or maybe it was Iams) canned kitten food looked disgusting (an aside for Helly—it looked like diarrhea, but I don’t have any photos to prove it.)  They continue to dislike anything with fish or beef, so you may want to see if Salem has a “species preference”.

    My experience is completely unscientific, and although I’ve read a number of books and websites which support the “no kibble” principle, my instincts are still skeptical.  I just want what’s best for my “kids”, and I hope I’m doing the right thing and not just contributing to a fad.  So far, it seems to be the right thing—I’ll know in a few months if I see weight-loss in the adult cats and know they’re healthy.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  03/28  at  03:12 PM

  5. I too have found much research that proclaims the benefit of wet canned cat food.  I have tried and tried to convert Bear to the wet stuff.. but he will have none of it and simply refuses to eat if I only offer the canned food.  Perhaps if I held out long enough.. he would eat the wet food.. but with him having been so sick last year because of not eating.. I am afraid to push it for more than a day.  I think it has become a battle of wills.. and in this case.. Bear is getting what he wants.  But I do agree.. wet is better.

    Posted by Simply Coll  on  04/02  at  12:01 PM

  6. I’d never heard of this Merrick brand you mentioned, but I stopped by the local feed store today and they had a couple flavors—the lady there said she highly recommends it as well. So I picked up a couple cans, and we’ll see how Salem does on it. Thanks for the recommendation!

    Posted by Helena  on  04/03  at  07:52 PM

  7. I just had a couple of cases of it delivered today, much to the delight of all the cats.  I’d run out on Friday, and didn’t have time to get to the “fancy pet store” to stock up, so I tried feeding Eukanuba and Eagle Pack over the weekend.  The cats ate, but were pretty ambivalent.  Today when I was able to feed them the Merrick again they all chowed down eagerly and I could see they were enthused about eating.  They like it, and I feel good about feeding it, so I guess that means I’ll keep buying it.  I sure wish our feed store had it, but they have a pretty limited selection of stuff for cats.  It’s *the* place to go if you need goat chow, though :)

    I hope Salem enjoys it.  My cats only like the poultry flavours, and won’t eat the fishy or beefy ones.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  04/03  at  09:29 PM
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