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Post by chaosisapony on Apr 10, 2015 4:51:08 GMT
This is Smudge. Smudge has issues with food allergies. Two weeks ago I bought some Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free food for her to try, thinking that might be part of her problem with the less expensive food (grains and fillers). I introduced it gradually like you're supposed to but she doesn't seem to be doing well with it either. She is still throwing up, has itchy skin, and has lost some hair on her belly and face. So today I went into a local pet shop and they told me all about brands of food I've never heard of, but that are supposed to be very high quality. They gave me free samples to try of a wet food called Almo Nature and dry food called Wild Calling and Earthborn Holistic. All are grain free and said to be of much higher quality than the Blue Buffalo. Tonight I fed one can of the Almo Nature, it was chicken and pumpkin. I have *never* seen her eat food so enthusiastically! So I was excited, until I read on the can that it is not a complete food and is intended for intermittent feeding only. I still have the two dry foods to try, Wild Calling and Earthborn Holistic. Do any of you feed these brands or know anything about them? Or have suggestions on other foods to try for a kitty with food sensitivities? I was shocked at the price of the Blue Buffalo, $12.99 for 2 pounds and these foods are even more costly so I am especially hoping for ideas of budget friendly foods. Thanks!
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luvnlifelady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,421
Jun 26, 2014 2:34:35 GMT
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Post by luvnlifelady on Apr 10, 2015 4:55:46 GMT
I have 3 cats and just feed them dry food from Target or the grocery store with no problems. I hope you find something your kitty can tolerate.
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Post by chaosisapony on Apr 10, 2015 5:01:49 GMT
I have 3 cats and just feed them dry food from Target or the grocery store with no problems. I hope you find something your kitty can tolerate. Thanks. I definitely miss those days of just being able to pick up a bag of cat food at Target or Walmart and not having to think about it. I feel like we have tried all of the mainstream brands now at some point in her life and unfortunately we may be out of options except for these specialty foods.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 15:13:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 5:08:10 GMT
We feed Wild Calling. It's a great food. It is expensive, but worth it to us. She especially likes the duck, pheasant and rabbit. She's 12 and skin and fur weren't doing as well as in the past. Switching to Wild Calling really helped with that. She also has dramatically reduced her puking episodes.
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Post by bratkar on Apr 10, 2015 11:45:47 GMT
I'm kind of going through the same thing right now, and found out that 1 of my 4 cant tolerate Chicken at all. So I've been looking for foods that that have NO chicken at all. They all really enjoy the Earthborn Holistic in the dry food and I will be trying their canned food version next. Our 4 split 1 can of canned cat food for breakfast and then have dry food the rest of the day. I will have to check out wild Calling too. I hope you find a solution. Smudges is beautiful and looks like our grey kiddo that has tummy issues
Kelli
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 15:13:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 11:49:51 GMT
My cats eat anything, so I can't be helpful here but I just wanted to say how gorgeous smudge is! I hope you find some noms she can enjoy.
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Post by austnscrapaddict on Apr 10, 2015 11:59:08 GMT
I also have a very sensitive and picky cat, the previous owner had him tested for allergies. I give him Orijen dry food, ( 5 fishes or something like that) and for canned I use BFF, and Weruvia brands and avoid any that have chicken or turkey in them. I get his pet food at Tomlinsons. a local boutique chain, I'm not sure if you have them where you live or not. But it's a great little shop.
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Post by melodyesch on Apr 10, 2015 12:41:15 GMT
Our porch kitty has grain allergies. We tried a grain free made locally in St. Louis, but he wouldn't touch it. My friend gave me samples of all of the Blue Buffalo flavors that she had and ours loved the Salmon and the Trout so we have switched him over. But we would have had no choice but to keep looking if he wouldn't eat it. I hope yours likes one of the dry foods.
The inside cat that we rescued in January will ONLY eat Purina Pro Plan. That's what they were feeding her at the rescue place and that's all she will touch. We have gradually switched our other inside guy to the healthier food, but little Zoey just will NOT even recognize that it's food. She walks right by it. Thankfully, she has no allergies so it's just a wish to get her on better food.
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Post by metaldancer on Apr 10, 2015 13:05:08 GMT
I love the name Smudge!! What a beautiful kitty you have. My two eat just about anything - their favorite is Friskies Grillers - crunchy and soft. I hope Miss Smudge will soon find something her tummy can tolerate.
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txjewels73
New Member
Posts: 2
Nov 22, 2014 13:53:08 GMT
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Post by txjewels73 on Apr 10, 2015 13:31:32 GMT
Hi, there! We feed our two Persians Natural Balance. You can only get it at Petco. It is grain fee and has limited ingredients. They love the dry duck and pea flavor. They get a little canned cat food from the same brand at night to help with fur balls. It is a little pricey but it is cheaper than Blue Buffalo. The last time we were there the cashier had sample bags at the register of the dry duck and pea formula so maybe you can get a couple of sample bags. I know that if you buy it and keep the receipt you can bring it back to Petco for a refund or exchange. I asked this question because we went through many different brands of cat food before sticking with this. Our male Persian won't touch beef at all. It has to have had feathers at one time before he will even try it. Picky little guy.
If you like their Facebook page you can print out a $5.00 off coupon.
Good luck!
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,363
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Apr 10, 2015 13:56:45 GMT
I don't have cats anymore but when I did, I tried a few different good quality foods. My cats primarily ate Wellness dry and wet (the kind in the packets, not the cans). Wellness offers a grain-free called Core which I did not try but is supposed to be pretty good. Natural Balance is another good brand. My two definitely liked it. I tried to give them the duck and green pea formula but neither one would touch that variety.
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Post by jesq on Apr 10, 2015 14:30:29 GMT
My cats don't have allergy issues, but one is the pickiest eater ever. We had to switch them from dry food to wet and Storm (who looks very much like Smudge) turned up her nose at every wet food we tried. We finally found one she would eat - Halo Spot's Stew Wholesome Chicken Recipe, (but only with a sprinkling of tuna flakes on top). It is grain-free and there is a dry form as well, which we occasionally give them in the hope that will help with dental issues. There are other flavors as well.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 15:13:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 16:09:33 GMT
beautiful kitty....we use blue buffalo sensitive stomach cause our throws anything else but that up....good luck with finding a food...sorry I don't have any suggestions.
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Post by birukitty on Apr 10, 2015 19:37:53 GMT
I currently don't have a cat since I lost my beloved Biru in December at the age of almost 17, but when he was diagnosed with kidney disease at 15 I did a TON of research of cat food. There is a site called www.dogfoodadvisor.com that I learned a lot from. Sadly they don't have a cat version, but they list the food companies in alphabetical order and give a full analysis of the foods. Just looking up the pet food companies (usually they make both a dog and cat version) helped me get an idea of their quality and ingredients. It was at least a good start, and overall helped me learn a ton about pet food in general. This will give you a place to look up the two brands of cat foods that you found at the shop-Wild Calling and Earthborn Hollistic. Personally I believe good nutrition makes a lot of difference in our pet's health and I'd much rather spend more money on high quality cat food, than spend more money at the vet later and have my cat suffer. It's the same for humans. If you eat junk food you'll end up at the doctor more often than if you eat a healthy diet. I wish you the best of luck with Smudge. I love his name too! Honestly in the end for Biru as far as his kidney disease went I ended up feeding him a "raw" diet which I found online that consisted of a base powder that included all organic ingredients he needed for 100% complete nutrition, and I'd mix that at home with store bought ground turkey and salmon oil. Our mixed breed tabby cat (17 years old) also devoured it and it was shocking how they both improved on this food-it turned them both into kittens again as they chased each other up and down the steps with glossy coats and clear sparkling eyes. This site makes powder bases for healthy cats too, not just those with disease. It took 10-15 minutes for me to make up a batch of this food that lasted 1-2 weeks in the freezer. The website is called www.felineinstincts.com in case you are interested. Just another way to go. What I learned is that a "raw" diet is the healthiest way to go for pet food and when I eventually get a new kitten this is how I'll feed him. I also learned that for cats in general it is very important to NOT feed them dry food 100% of the time. This is what leads to kidney disease. Cats are designed by nature to get some of their daily fluid needs from their food. They just don't/won't drink enough daily. When we come along and feed them a dry only diet it sets their systems up for failure. Raw is best, canned is better, or at the very least canned mixed with dry. Hope that helps. Hey, I didn't know either. Debbie in MD.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,711
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on Apr 10, 2015 19:51:01 GMT
The girl who fostered my cat before I got him, fed all of her cats a raw/homemade diet. She got her meat from a butcher who was familiar with a good mix of the right meat and bone (grinded). All of the cats were in great health adn this diet came with the bonus of completely odorless poop. She had four cats, and I couldn't smell anything!
I wish I could have continued this diet with my cat, but that butcher is on the other side of town. My cat does not have skin allergies, but I do buy from a local health food store for pets. If you have a store like that in your area, I'd highly recommend checking it out.
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Post by tallgirl on Apr 10, 2015 19:54:27 GMT
We use Wholesome Blend, the grainless variety, because one of our cats is a puker. It hasn't stopped the puking but it has cut it back significantly; he pukes maybe once a week or so now. When we feed using food with grain, it's more like a daily thing. Doesn't matter if we feed him the turkey/duck/salmon/whatever variety. He seems to like it and he has a very smooth and glossy coat.
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MsKnit
Pearl Clutcher
RefuPea #1406
Posts: 2,648
Jun 26, 2014 19:06:42 GMT
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Post by MsKnit on Apr 10, 2015 20:07:50 GMT
Check out the latest complaints on Blue Buffalo cat/kitten food. My kitten was happy with it. But, she got terribly sick. I do not know if it was the food or not. But, the complaints I found matched what we went through with her.
We ended up switching her to Merrick kitten.
She will not eat canned food at all.
ETA: I think it was the Consumer Affairs website where I was reading of issues with Blue. The reviews are both of dog and cat food. For the cat food, it seemed that the issues started around November (2014). Going from memory. Anyway, what it seemed was there had been a change in the way they made the food. My kitten was just fine for numerous bags of the Blue kitten food. Then she wasn't and it coincided with a new bag.
By the way, Smudge is gorgeous!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 15:13:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 20:09:40 GMT
If you have a wegman's they used to have their own cat food line. The canned sardines were whole fish and my cat loved it.
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Deleted
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May 20, 2024 15:13:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 20:15:59 GMT
We have four and one of them is diabetic that has to have two shots a day.
All of them eat Science Diet dry and the diabetic cat gets Fancy Feast wet. I look at the protein content of the food. It has to be at least 12 grams of protein. We also have a designated food time.....breakfast and dinner.....no bowl of food for grazing, just water.
It's been two years since diagnosis and he's doing great on the diet and routine we established.
My sister has a Smudge too!
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Post by mlynn on Apr 10, 2015 20:18:46 GMT
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Post by LilyRose on Apr 10, 2015 20:32:29 GMT
At one point in time I was trying to research some of the more quality brands out there, and also looked at the dogfoodadvisor.com site another poster mentioned. I then headed to the local Pet Supplies Plus store, as they carry a wise array of pet food brands. Perhaps I just got lucky, but the manager must have noticed my confused expression, because he started speaking with me and offering recommendations. This guy knew his stuff! He worked with me for 20 minutes and gave me a lot of good info. I wound up trying Orijen, but my cats didn't seem to love it. I'm still on the hunt. But the morale of my story is that you may want to check out PSP if you have one in your area.
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on Apr 10, 2015 22:30:12 GMT
If she does well on the expensive food, you can probably find it online cheaper. try chewy.com or wag.com. Consider the expensive food a great alternative to expensive vet visits.
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Post by gale w on Apr 11, 2015 0:38:57 GMT
We use the earthborn holistic grain free stuff. Also cans of chicken cacciatore for our senior cat. Our cats don't seem to have a problem with any foods though.
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Post by Skellinton on Apr 11, 2015 4:19:40 GMT
Our momma kitty who looks just like your Smudge also has very sensitive skin and we feed her ?Merrick in the plaid yellow bag, she wouldn't eat the Merrick Before Grain. We give our cats a can of wet food after our dinner every night and that seems to help with hair balls, I don't know why, but maybe the extra liquid? We give them solstice brand in gravy and it is really wet. We split one can among the 5 cats and it makes a nice treat for them.
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Post by Skellinton on Apr 11, 2015 4:21:56 GMT
If she likes the pumpkin you can just buy a can of pumpkin (not the pie filling, just plain pumpkin) and feed her spoonfuls of that. That will definitely help with hair balls and is really good for cats. We only have one cat that will eat pumpkin or food with pumpkin, but it is really good for them.
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Post by chaosisapony on Apr 11, 2015 7:55:56 GMT
If she likes the pumpkin you can just buy a can of pumpkin (not the pie filling, just plain pumpkin) and feed her spoonfuls of that. That will definitely help with hair balls and is really good for cats. We only have one cat that will eat pumpkin or food with pumpkin, but it is really good for them. I would have never thought of pumpkin being good for cats. The things you learn! Thank you everyone for the great information in this thread and for all the adoration of Smudge. She is purring on my lap right now next to my laptop, so it's safe to say she approves of the Peas too. It's interesting to read that there have been recent problems with Blue Buffalo. I mainly turned to that because I had always heard it was a good food and supposed to be much better than Science Diet which she's eaten for a while. I'm thinking at this point I am going to try the Earthborn dry food and feed the Almo cans a few times a week to supplement. It will be stretching my budget a bit, but not as much some of the other options. So it will be a good starting point. I have looked online to see if the prices are better and they seem to be about $2 less than the local pet store, but then factoring in shipping wind up costing more. So for now I'll buy from them. They're a mom and pop so I'm happy to support them. Also, I can't believe there's someone with another Smudge out there. We've never met one. That's awesome!
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Post by kellapea on Apr 11, 2015 11:29:06 GMT
My 10 year old cat was diagnosed with feline ibd and nearly died from it (the disease presented itself in her vomiting often). Total nightmare for both her and me over the course of one year. Many thousands of dollars spent on vet tests, medications, food trials, etc.
What I learned: other than grain-free also consider it's often the protein source that causes pet sensitivities. For example, turkey and chicken are in many foods, even in the best of brands. Some cats can build up an intolerance to it over time.
Here's a great video link to learn more about novel protein diets for cats. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0-9JxN-gZ4
My cat is doing well on Blue Buffalo Basics grain-free duck or fish. It literally saved her life. Thank you for this thread, because if she starts vomiting again, I plan to try the brands you mentioned- my specialty store did not carry those (although I did try several brands that were supposed to be "better" than Blue Buffalo Basics and my cat wouldn't eat those.)
I think there's a Yahoo discussion group for feline allergies. When my vet and I were trying to figure out what was wrong with my cat, I joined Yahoo groups for feline ibd, feline kidney disease, etc and learned a ton.
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Post by chaosisapony on Apr 11, 2015 15:45:54 GMT
What I learned: other than grain-free also consider it's often the protein source that causes pet sensitivities. For example, turkey and chicken are in many foods, even in the best of brands. Some cats can build up an intolerance to it over time.
I have been told that poultry can be a problem for some cats and I have noticed when reading a lot of these labels that even if it isn't a chicken or turkey flavored food that they can be present anyway. That's annoying. I'm glad your kitty is ok and you got everything figured out.
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Post by gale w on Apr 11, 2015 17:53:49 GMT
If she likes the pumpkin you can just buy a can of pumpkin (not the pie filling, just plain pumpkin) and feed her spoonfuls of that. That will definitely help with hair balls and is really good for cats. We only have one cat that will eat pumpkin or food with pumpkin, but it is really good for them. I would have never thought of pumpkin being good for cats. The things you learn! Thank you everyone for the great information in this thread and for all the adoration of Smudge. She is purring on my lap right now next to my laptop, so it's safe to say she approves of the Peas too. It's interesting to read that there have been recent problems with Blue Buffalo. I mainly turned to that because I had always heard it was a good food and supposed to be much better than Science Diet which she's eaten for a while. I'm thinking at this point I am going to try the Earthborn dry food and feed the Almo cans a few times a week to supplement. It will be stretching my budget a bit, but not as much some of the other options. So it will be a good starting point. I have looked online to see if the prices are better and they seem to be about $2 less than the local pet store, but then factoring in shipping wind up costing more. So for now I'll buy from them. They're a mom and pop so I'm happy to support them. Also, I can't believe there's someone with another Smudge out there. We've never met one. That's awesome! If you sign up for Earthborn Holistic's email list, they will send you $3 coupons from time to time. At our Petsense they keep extra coupons under the drawer too.
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Post by chaosisapony on May 5, 2015 1:26:08 GMT
Update 5/4: Well the fancy foods haven't quite worked out for us. Cat food only works if your cats will eat it. Right now I have her on Purina Pro Plan True Nature. It claims to be 45% protein. It's pretty pricy for Purina in my opinion, but she eats it and isn't throwing it up so that's a plus. Unfortunately her hair isn't growing back and the itching doesn't seem to have stopped. She's also started having problems with peeing on soft surfaces around the house. She has never had those problems before. So today we went to the vet. She got x rays, blood tests, the works. The vet said that overall she is very healthy but she has a major anxiety problem. The itching and hair loss is due to stress and the x rays revealed an old spinal injury that they say she has developed arthritis in. The theory is the arthritis is causing chronic pain therefore leading to the stress which is causing the other symptoms. They have recommended getting some kitty pheromones to help her relax and giving pain medication as needed. I am mainly bumping up this thread because I would have never guessed that Smudge was in pain. She plays and runs and jumps and seems like a very happy cat. I have always attributed her issues to food allergies. So for anyone else out there that may have a cat with similar symptoms, don't rule out pain!
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