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Forti Flora is mostly animal digest, not much probiotic at all, there are better ones out there. I use probiotics made for humans for my cats, but if you prefer made for pet probiotics I'd recommend Proviable-DC over forti flora..
ITA with this, but wanted to suggest that if you use human probiotics, look for ones without added dairy. Kitties don't tolerate dairy well. Most probiotics don't have dairy but not all are created equal so make sure to read the label. I like the "Now" brand myself.
My kitty has IBD issues and I feed him Fancy Feast. He does best on the beef. My vet says that is a fine food for him to eat. Some of the "so-called" premium foods have a lot of ingredients, and too many ingredients can be difficult to digest. Best foods have minimal ingredients.
And yes, wet is ALWAYS better than dry if your kitty will eat it.
This. I tried to give my cat Royal Canin, Wellness brand, and a couple of other higher end brands - no dice. She will only eat Fancy Feast pate. Fortunately there's a lot of different flavors that she'll eat!
Either one. I use boiled egg yolks (I eat the whites myself) because I don't like to leave raw yolk in the fridge more than a day or two. You can also buy powdered egg yolk, but look for a product that is only yolk, no flow agents or fillers. Food Fur Life sells pure powdered egg yolk. Excellent quality.
This is genius.
My first cat (now deceased) used to get crazy amounts of hairballs. I've had my current cat for a year and a half and she seems better, but this is a good idea should I need it in the future!
My cat eats a mix of Castor & Pollux Pristine/Organix brand and Open Farm (not both at the same time, I swap out between the two). Castor & Pollux comes in pouches or cans depending on the flavor and product line, and Open Farm comes in those sealed juice box package type things. He's on wet food only except when I go out during his mealtimes, when I put out Castor & Pollux dry food out for him. He's not particular about his food, except for some reason he doesn't like pate but he's like 4 months old so he'll literally eat whatever.
The lady I brought him home from used to feed him Friskies and he had massive diarrhea the day he came home with me, so I went out and got the most expensive organic food I can find at Whole Foods. He hasn't had any stomach trouble since.
My cat eats a mix of Castor & Pollux Pristine/Organix brand and Open Farm (not both at the same time, I swap out between the two). Castor & Pollux comes in pouches or cans depending on the flavor and product line, and Open Farm comes in those sealed juice box package type things. He's on wet food only except when I go out during his mealtimes, when I put out Castor & Pollux dry food out for him. He's not particular about his food, except for some reason he doesn't like pate but he's like 4 months old so he'll literally eat whatever.
The lady I brought him home from used to feed him Friskies and he had massive diarrhea the day he came home with me, so I went out and got the most expensive organic food I can find at Whole Foods. He hasn't had any stomach trouble since.
You don't need to give him kibble. Get a timed feeder. They even come with ice packs if you're worried about a hot day. Kibble is just that bad for cats. Avoid it at all costs.
I asked my vet about egg yolk lecithin and my vet suggested 1/4 of a scrambled egg per day. He's been on it for 3 days now so perhaps he's improving.
also still on the Forti Flora and some Pepcid for upset stomach.
My vet suggest 200-220 calories a day, he's 14 pounds so that only 15 cal/pound. A lot of online recommendations seem to be in the 20 kcal per pound range depending on age, activity level etc.
A majority of his calories are coming from wet food. Still looking to transition him all the way.
Looking at ingredient lists online of so many wet can foods is exhausting. One takes out carageen but there's also 3 different "gum" used as thickeners. It's a crazy world.
I asked my vet about egg yolk lecithin and my vet suggested 1/4 of a scrambled egg per day. He's been on it for 3 days now so perhaps he's improving.
also still on the Forti Flora and some Pepcid for upset stomach.
My vet suggest 200-220 calories a day, he's 14 pounds so that only 15 cal/pound. A lot of online recommendations seem to be in the 20 kcal per pound range depending on age, activity level etc.
A majority of his calories are coming from wet food. Still looking to transition him all the way.
Looking at ingredient lists online of so many wet can foods is exhausting. One takes out carageen but there's also 3 different "gum" used as thickeners. It's a crazy world.
Yes, feeding your cat, when you really start taking the time to pay attention, becomes a minefield. Once I wanted to eliminate carrageenan from their diets, it became even more challenging, but worth it. Eventually i went to raw feeding.
Cats vary widely on caloric need. Weigh your cat every couple of weeks. If you want him to lose weight, no more than an ounce a week. Very dangerous for cats to lose too quickly.
Once you reach desired weight, continue to monitor to learn what he needs to maintain that weight. I keep a cat journal recording what the cats eat, how much, when, I also keep track of output, weekly weigh in, when I do nail trims and other things. I got in the habit of the journal when I was in my 20s with my first cat as an adult, all my own. He developed asthma, so I started keeping track of his symptoms and medication, and then a couple years later he had a urinary tract blockage and I started keeping track of intake and output (that was when I went to an all wet diet for all cats since. It was in 1986) I use different inks for things that I want to stand out.
Once I got in the habit, I never dropped it, so for the past 35 years I've kept a daily cat journal on my cats.
Scrambled egg is okay, to a point, but what are you scrambling it in? You need to be careful about adding additional fat with butter or oil. It's the egg yolk specifically that is beneficial to motility and helping with hairballs.
Last edited by catsmom21; 07-10-2021 at 07:25 PM..
This. I tried to give my cat Royal Canin, Wellness brand, and a couple of other higher end brands - no dice. She will only eat Fancy Feast pate. Fortunately there's a lot of different flavors that she'll eat!
Yes, feeding your cat, when you really start taking the time to pay attention, becomes a minefield. Once I wanted to eliminate carrageenan from their diets, it became even more challenging, but worth it. Eventually i went to raw feeding.
Cats vary widely on caloric need. Weigh your cat every couple of weeks. If you want him to lose weight, no more than an ounce a week. Very dangerous for cats to lose too quickly.
Once you reach desired weight, continue to monitor to learn what he needs to maintain that weight. I keep a cat journal recording what the cats eat, how much, when, I also keep track of output, weekly weigh in, when I do nail trims and other things. I got in the habit of the journal when I was in my 20s with my first cat as an adult, all my own. He developed asthma, so I started keeping track of his symptoms and medication, and then a couple years later he had a urinary tract blockage and I started keeping track of intake and output (that was when I went to an all wet diet for all cats since. It was in 1986) I use different inks for things that I want to stand out.
Once I got in the habit, I never dropped it, so for the past 35 years I've kept a daily cat journal on my cats.
Scrambled egg is okay, to a point, but what are you scrambling it in? You need to be careful about adding additional fat with butter or oil. It's the egg yolk specifically that is beneficial to motility and helping with hairballs.
I'm just plain scrambling the egg, no butter or oil, he seems totally ravenous and is constantly meowing in the kitchen when I'm there. I think he needs more than 15 kcal per pound. More like 20. He's pretty playful.
and yes, I'm keeping a journal to document how often he has a hairball or food throw up and keep track of his pepcid and everything else.
Fun times. I just hope we cure this and he doesn't have something major develop like IBS. The one thing I noticed with the "better" quality canned foods is that it seems like at least there is less calories per can if they have slightly better food in them. For instance, a 3oz can of FF Grain free might have 100 kcal but a 5.5oz can of better quality might only have 127 kcal.
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