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I’m trying to put my cat Hobo on a diet. His vet told me he needs to loose around 5 lbs so I thought if I cut back his regular food that would do it. Well it hasn’t so I switched him to science diet light yesterday. Every time he eats it he goes off into the kitchen and throws it back up. Now he has never been one to chew his food all the way, more like he just shovels it into his mouth and swallows. I’m not sure if its his way of saying “OMG Mom what is this garbage you are trying to feed me?!” or if he really has a medical problem going on. Has anyone had a problem with this brand of cat food or have any advice on what do to? Hes not in any distress and will try to eat his barf if I don’t pick it up fast enough. If he keeps this up I’m going to take him to his vet but I’m hoping its just an “ewwww this food sucks” reaction. Also he is getting a mix of his regular food and the new food I’m not switching him cold turkey from his old stuff.
Hills Science Diet? Kimi’s never had a problem with it. Except when she eats it too fast – but then she throws up whole kibbles practically. I don’t know if it’s a problem, if it continues it might be worth checking out. But she eats the dental stuff not the diet stuff.
Science diet is crap food, it is mostly corn, have you thought of trying a high quality food? Innova Evo, Taste Of The Wild or Orijen? These are grain free foods, and tend to be much better for cats (dogs too, just not giant breeds, they tend to have too high of a protein count). Our cat pukes up the science diet all over the house too, I just can not convince DH that the rain free would not cause crystals :?, but I refuse to clean them up . Evo also has a line of canned foods.
Here is an explanation as to why grain free foods help kitties loose weight. http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/catweight.html
CARBOHYDRATE
Cats, unlike most mammals, have no carbohydrate-digesting enzyme called Amylase in their saliva. Humans and dogs do and actually begin the digestion ofDry food kibble… be sure to check the protein and fat levels! carbohydrate in the mouth. In the intestine, amylase secreted from the pancreas breaks down large carbohydrate molecules into absorbable smaller units of glucose. Cats have measurably less amylase activity than humans or dogs. Nature did not intend the kitty to be a carbohydrate consumer.What we do…
We purchase convenient, attractively packaged and preserved dry foods mainly because we can pour it in the bowl and forget it. Dry pet food must have higher levels of flour and sugar than canned foods so that the kibble will stay uniform and not fall apart. Spoiling doesn’t readily occur because of the preservatives so the kitty can eat whenever it wants and we don’t have to prepare cat meals very often. Unfortunately, especially with dry diets, because of the metabolic biochemistry that converts the high carbohydrate content in almost all of today’s commercial cat foods into stored fat, the cat is really at risk for weight gain.What we should do…
Feed a diet consistent with the nature of a true carnivore… a meat based diet. An ideal feline diet will have a high protein level in the 35 to 45 percent range on a dry matter basis (meaning the percent in the diet when the water has been removed) and moderate fat content with a low percentage of carbohydrate (grains). A multitude of research reports have proven that diets high in protein and fat are most beneficial for carnivores. Cats cannot handle large carbohydrate loads efficiently. After a meal rich in carbohydrate the feline’s blood level of glucose tends to stay higher than normal for long periods of time. They become persistently hyperglycemic and this long term stimulus on the beta cells in the pancreas… the cells that produce insulin… renders those cells less sensitive to the blood glucose. As a result less insulin is secreted to bring down the blood sugar level. Nutritionists call this “down regulating’ of the beta cells; the insensitivity of the insulin secreting beta cells leads to what is termed “insulin resistance”. This scenario is a prelude to diabetes.I thought science diet was a good food thats why I spent the extra money for it 🙄 I saw taste of the wild at the pet store but didn’t see if for cats. /sigh maybe I’ll have to try something else. There are so many damn cat foods out there its hard to know which one to buy.
Vets take a course while in vet school that deals with nutrition, it is a few hours long, and hosted by, Hill’s, they get huge returns on everything they sell for Hills as well, it is crap though, not much better than old roy. The CD to help cats with crystals has a higher salt content to make them drink more, WTF?
I miss my old vet he refused to sell the crap, he sold Hund’N’Flocken for a time, Natures Original Recipe, and now carries the Orijen and Acana.
Since now I’m curious too, where can I get stuff like this? Kimi’s starting to not like the Science Diet, she will eat it but not happily. You’re in Fort Mac so this stuff must be available in Edmonton somewhere. And do you know prices and such? …. like I said, now I’m curious too. I want my cat to be healthy and such. Maybe I’ll just google it… lol
EDIT: Ok I just googled it… the Evo one at least sells in Edmonton, lots of places even…. (good old convenient store locater)
Acana/Orijen is made in Morrinville, I recommend their lines, being only hours from the factory, you always get really fresh food!!!
ruffian wrote:Vets take a course while in vet school that deals with nutrition, it is a few hours long, and hosted by, Hill’s, they get huge returns on everything they sell for Hills as well, it is crap though, not much better than old roy. The CD to help cats with crystals has a higher salt content to make them drink more, WTF?
I miss my old vet he refused to sell the crap, he sold Hund’N’Flocken for a time, Natures Original Recipe, and now carries the Orijen and Acana.
This is actually a myth (though I’m not surprised to see it, I’ve heard it over and over again). Vets and vet clinics don’t get any money from selling Hill’s food other than whatever their profit markup is. Hills might give us things like pens, notepads or lanyards, but you’d better believe we pay for our own food if we work at the clinic. I’d like to work for this vet clinic that gets huge returns for pushing Hills food. Doesn’t happen. And as for the nutrition class? Vets are lucky to get any nutrition education at all while in vet school. I know that we didn’t get much in Vet tech classes. The Hills Rx diets are good food, and do what they’re supposed to do (so if your cat has crystals, I would strongly recommend you keep him on that Rx diet!) to keep the animal healthy.
But if you’ve decided that you really hate Hills that much, Purina and Waltham/Royal Canin also make veterinary Rx diets. And keep in mind as your cat gets older that high protein foods carry a risk of messing with kitty kidneys.
PD, what was Hobo eating before you started switching him? Did you start with a very small amount of the Hills mixed in with his other stuff before going up to a half/half mix?
Hobo was eating Meow Mix. He seems ok with the new food mixture today, he hasn’t thrown it up. The science diet is alot smaller pieces then the Meow Mix and he always swallows his food mostly whole so I’m not sure if that was part of the issue or not. I didn’t watch him eat today to see if he chewed it more or not but so far he has kept it down. He is giving me the evil “I hate you” look though.
I recently switched my cats to Halo, Purely for Pets. Very happy with it so far. The cats love everything we’ve tried. Here’s the website if anyone wants to read up on it. http://www.halopets.com/
Gee rusty how dare I relay what my old vet told me.
Corn should not me in pet food, it is nothing but a filler and turns to poop. first 4 ingredients in science diet indoor cat “Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, “. Chicken by-product, “Definition: Chicken by-product meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.
Examples: Chicken by-product meal is considered an inferior source of protein for cats. Although cats may eat a certain amount of by-products “in the wild,” the most nutritious commercial cat foods will show a named meat, such as “chicken” as the first ingredient, rather than “chicken by-product meal.”MMM thats good eats right there.
Brewers rice. Definition: Brewer’s Rice: The dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer and may contain pulverized dried spent hops in an amount not to exceed 3 percent.
Also Known As: “broken rice”
Examples: Brewer’s rice is an inexpensive form of carbohydrate, and does not contain the full nutritional benefits of whole grain brown rice. Since cats are obligate carnivores, they do not require a large amount of grain in their diets, so this ingredient should be listed way down on any cat food label. Caution also should be used for cats with food allergies as rice is a known allergen.Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, now when you add these 2 corn products together as “corn” I wonder if they out weigh the meat by-product? Besides that corn is a known allergen, poor source of protein, highly indigestible.
Should I go on with the list of ingredients, or are the first four being Crap with a capital ‘C’ enough?
The definitions are by the Association Of American Feed Control Officials, Inc. for everyones info.
Rusti wrote:Vets are lucky to get any nutrition education at all while in vet school. I know that we didn’t get much in Vet tech classes.
Ok so please explain why exactly anyone should take the advice of a vet or tech on food, when you just admitted that they have little or no training in nutrition for pets?
ruffian wrote:Rusti wrote:Vets are lucky to get any nutrition education at all while in vet school. I know that we didn’t get much in Vet tech classes.
Ok so please explain why exactly anyone should take the advice of a vet or tech on food, when you just admitted that they have little or no training in nutrition for pets?
They have continuing education that teaches things like that. Research studies, journals and conferences. And instruction on what foods to feed to manage specific problems and why. I want to know what kind of kickback this old vet was getting from Hills that none of the rest of the clinics I’ve been in seem to be getting. We never even got so much as a free bag of food. The drug companies gave us better (free heartworm and flea prevention).
At the same time, since you’ve not had a nutrition class either, I’m curious what makes you the superior go-to for nutrition advice as opposed to a veterinarian who is trying to manage a medical problem with diet instead of drugs? Snapping at me and getting defensive doesn’t impress me too much, and neither does a self righteous listing of ingredients. I see more than enough of that on LJ, thanks.
If you’re concerned about what’s in the Rx diet your cat is eating, you could ask your vet and if they don’t know, they can find the information, because they have access to it.
PD, it’s hard to say why Hobo is tossing up his food. It’s possible he’s sensitive to something in the Science Diet or just upset about the change. Are you feeding the r/d forumla (in the white and green bag?) or just SD Light? If you’re on a prescription food you have to get from the vet, you can talk to them and see if you can try something different, like the Purina OM formula or Royal Canin’s diet, the name of which I’m not sure.
Although, ruffian’s happy little rant aside, I’d say SD would actually be a step up from what Hobo was eating. 😉 You’ll find something that works for you and Hobo, and as long as you’re able to afford it and Hobo is healthy and happy, it’s fine.
I have to agree that it is a step up from meow mix, but not much of one.
As I said in my original post I try to go by the AAFCO recommendations, which are free on the web, just have to look. I am not concerned what the cat is eating, it is his owners decision as to what he eats, not mine.
I am not impressed that you completely ignored the FACTS behind why Science Diet is crap food, and would rather call me self righteous.
As for kick-back from Hill’s or Walthum there were none, he refused to sell them because he said they were well crap. In his opinion corn has no place in dog food and would only carry corn free foods.
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