Pet care thread

[noisyturtle]

I've been feeding Pixel (my cat) Purina One for about the first two years of her life. About two months ago she just stopped eating out of nowhere. I thought it was nothing at first, but after nearly a week of her not eating (I started force-feeding her wet food and water after day 4) and fearing the worst I took her in for a full check up at the vet. $300 later and all diagnosis were negative, which meant she was just being a picky little ****. She'd literally rather die than eat a food she doesn't like.

I went through a bunch of brands - Purina Pro Plan, Royal Canin, Science Diet, Natural Select. Finally after a week of trial and fail, and nearly 2 weeks of Pixel barely eating I found a food she will at least eat on her own which was Acana brand dry food.

Has anyone else had experience with picky animals? What are your opinions on various high-end pet foods?

[hwood34]

My dog isn't really picky at all, but high-quality pet food will definitely pay off in the long run, especially with regards to stuff like weight and coat.

[noisyturtle]

Yeah Pixel will eat stuff like Meow Mix which is significantly cheaper, but it makes her puke sometimes and she hasn't thrown up once since I switch to better stuff. I wonder if it has any effect on lifespan and cognitive ability.

[hwood34]

Yeah Pixel will eat stuff like Meow Mix which is significantly cheaper, but it makes her puke sometimes and she hasn't thrown up once since I switch to better stuff. I wonder if it has any effect on lifespan and cognitive ability.

Well I do see brands advertising stuff like better cognitive ability in late age, haven't really looked into whether those claims have any merit

[trizkut]

It's possible she just got bored of eating the same thing every day.  I usually change things up for my dog once a year, but some people rotate foods much more frequently.  I have some friends with dogs with picky tastes, it can be quite hard to find a formula they love.

[hwood34]

It's possible she just got bored of eating the same thing every day.  I usually change things up for my dog once a year, but some people rotate foods much more frequently.  I have some friends with dogs with picky tastes, it can be quite hard to find a formula they love.

We try not to buy the same kind more than twice in a row, usually every time. There's enough good brands out there that you don't have to repeat all that often luckily

[tp4tissue]

It'd be mistreatment in the USA..

but in the ol' country,  they'd just let it starve before the problem gets fixed all by itself.. hahaha

also, they didn't have dog food,  it was just whatever's left over of people food mixed in warm water until paste like.

[IvanIvanovich]

My cat was doing the same... but it turned out it was because she has grain allergy. So I switched to grain free which is more expensive, and switch it up with dry and wet from Natural Balance.

[tp4tissue]

How do you know the cat is allergic to grains.

[IvanIvanovich]

Vet visit, allergy test.

[fohat.digs]

just could not resist

[tp4tissue]

Vet visit, allergy test.

how did they do this, did they shave the dog some where for the skin test?

[jacobolus]

she was just being a picky little ****. She'd literally rather die than eat a food she doesn't like.

Would you be willing to eat nothing but catfood for the rest of your life?

Pretty sure she’d be willing to eat canned tuna or sardines.

[noisyturtle]

My cat was doing the same... but it turned out it was because she has grain allergy. So I switched to grain free which is more expensive, and switch it up with dry and wet from Natural Balance.

That's a very real possibility. The formula for the food I was giving her changed apparently. They added chick pea and red rice yeast which is the exact time she decided to go all Gandhi.

[naasfu]

Apparently kidney failure is a common cause of death for cats (my mom's cat passed away from kidney failure.. it was very sad), and I also read that making sure that cats have enough moisture in their diet and also giving them good quality food helps reduce chances of getting issues.

So what I did was get my cat some better quality food, give her canned food (which has more moisture than dry food) for dinner, and also encourage and remind her to drink more water.  For both dry and canned food, I've been getting Spot's Stew (I order mine from Amazon), which doesn't come with all that filler crap, and my cat also seems to be pretty happy with.  I give her fresh water every day, and I pick her up every once in awhile and take her to her water bowl so she remembers to drink something.

edit:
also I tried getting her different kinds of foods, and I found out that she prefers chicken over everything else.  She doesn't really care as much for other things like fish.

[bueller]

Apparently kidney failure is a common cause of death for cats (my mom's cat passed away from kidney failure.. it was very sad), and I also read that making sure that cats have enough moisture in their diet and also giving them good quality food helps reduce chances of getting issues.

So what I did was get my cat some better quality food, give her canned food (which has more moisture than dry food) for dinner, and also encourage and remind her to drink more water.  For both dry and canned food, I've been getting Spot's Stew (I order mine from Amazon), which doesn't come with all that filler crap, and my cat also seems to be pretty happy with.  I give her fresh water every day, and I pick her up every once in awhile and take her to her water bowl so she remembers to drink something.

edit:
also I tried getting her different kinds of foods, and I found out that she prefers chicken over everything else.  She doesn't really care as much for other things like fish.

One other thing, make sure the cats dinner bowl and water bowl are far apart (ie. different room), a lot of them won't drink if you put them together.

[naasfu]

Apparently kidney failure is a common cause of death for cats (my mom's cat passed away from kidney failure.. it was very sad), and I also read that making sure that cats have enough moisture in their diet and also giving them good quality food helps reduce chances of getting issues.

So what I did was get my cat some better quality food, give her canned food (which has more moisture than dry food) for dinner, and also encourage and remind her to drink more water.  For both dry and canned food, I've been getting Spot's Stew (I order mine from Amazon), which doesn't come with all that filler crap, and my cat also seems to be pretty happy with.  I give her fresh water every day, and I pick her up every once in awhile and take her to her water bowl so she remembers to drink something.

edit:
also I tried getting her different kinds of foods, and I found out that she prefers chicken over everything else.  She doesn't really care as much for other things like fish.

One other thing, make sure the cats dinner bowl and water bowl are far apart (ie. different room), a lot of them won't drink if you put them together.

Ah I didn't know that was a thing.  My cat never really drinks out of the water bowl I set beside her food bowl.

Awhile back, I would keep a mug with water in it beside my nightstand in case I was thirsty in the middle of the night.  Well, my cat would wake up, walk over my head, drink out of my mug, and then go back to sleep.  I also keep water at my desk, and she would do the same thing.  So now I have a large mug for her sitting on my desk, and she exclusively drinks from that one.  She'll be eating her food in the kitchen, decides she is thirsty, ignore the water that's right there, and walk across the house and jump onto my desk for water.

[user 18]

Cats are generally picky eaters, once they get used to a particular food it can be really difficult to get them to switch over to something new. I know it seems intuitive that an animal would want variety, but it can actually be a huge shock to their system to switch between a bunch of different foods (dogs and cats). It's often not a problem to move between similar formulations in the same brand, but changing foods often is a known cause of GI issues.

My cat (5 years old this summer) eats MCRC Adult, it's the veterinary formulation of Royal Canin. I feed her the dry, but I really should see about switching to the wet. Kidney failure is a common cause of death in elderly cats, and naasfu's right that in most cases the wet foods are better for the animal.

In terms of water, cats don't like to drink from deep water dishes, they like to be able to see what's going on around them as they are drinking. Using a shallow dish for water, or filling it almost to the brim can be used to encourage a cat to drink.

[tjcaustin]

I spend $45 every 5 weeks for dog food and $15 a month on cat food getting this brand - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=taste+of+the+wild+cat+food

High quality ingredients in a good balance and flavor that neither dog in 8 years or cat in 6 months has turned his nose up at.  Also, I've noticed less poops too.

[tp4tissue]

I spend $45 every 5 weeks for dog food and $15 a month on cat food getting this brand - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=taste+of+the+wild+cat+food

High quality ingredients in a good balance and flavor that neither dog in 8 years or cat in 6 months has turned his nose up at.  Also, I've noticed less poops too.

This is weird.. they put things on the label that would appeal to humans more than animals..

 Roasted Venison and Smoked Salmon...

As if Cats looking for (taste of the wild)  would be interested...

[bueller]

Apparently kidney failure is a common cause of death for cats (my mom's cat passed away from kidney failure.. it was very sad), and I also read that making sure that cats have enough moisture in their diet and also giving them good quality food helps reduce chances of getting issues.

So what I did was get my cat some better quality food, give her canned food (which has more moisture than dry food) for dinner, and also encourage and remind her to drink more water.  For both dry and canned food, I've been getting Spot's Stew (I order mine from Amazon), which doesn't come with all that filler crap, and my cat also seems to be pretty happy with.  I give her fresh water every day, and I pick her up every once in awhile and take her to her water bowl so she remembers to drink something.

edit:
also I tried getting her different kinds of foods, and I found out that she prefers chicken over everything else.  She doesn't really care as much for other things like fish.

One other thing, make sure the cats dinner bowl and water bowl are far apart (ie. different room), a lot of them won't drink if you put them together.

Ah I didn't know that was a thing.  My cat never really drinks out of the water bowl I set beside her food bowl.

Awhile back, I would keep a mug with water in it beside my nightstand in case I was thirsty in the middle of the night.  Well, my cat would wake up, walk over my head, drink out of my mug, and then go back to sleep.  I also keep water at my desk, and she would do the same thing.  So now I have a large mug for her sitting on my desk, and she exclusively drinks from that one.  She'll be eating her food in the kitchen, decides she is thirsty, ignore the water that's right there, and walk across the house and jump onto my desk for water.

It's instinct from their feline friends who live in the wild

Animals will often not drink from a water source that is near their food in case an old kill has contaminated the water.

[jacobolus]

In terms of water, cats don't like to drink from deep water dishes, they like to be able to see what's going on around them as they are drinking. Using a shallow dish for water, or filling it almost to the brim can be used to encourage a cat to drink.

This sounds like a made up explanation, or at any rate anecdotal.

When I was growing up, my family’s cat’s favorite water bowl was the toilet. Something about hunting that wild water...

[user 18]

In terms of water, cats don't like to drink from deep water dishes, they like to be able to see what's going on around them as they are drinking. Using a shallow dish for water, or filling it almost to the brim can be used to encourage a cat to drink.

This sounds like a made up explanation, or at any rate anecdotal.

When I was growing up, my family’s cat’s favorite water bowl was the toilet. Something about hunting that wild water...

That's the explanation I got from the vets and staff at the clinic I used to work at. I have no specific data to support it.

[noisyturtle]

Apparently kidney failure is a common cause of death for cats (my mom's cat passed away from kidney failure.. it was very sad), and I also read that making sure that cats have enough moisture in their diet and also giving them good quality food helps reduce chances of getting issues.

So what I did was get my cat some better quality food, give her canned food (which has more moisture than dry food) for dinner, and also encourage and remind her to drink more water.  For both dry and canned food, I've been getting Spot's Stew (I order mine from Amazon), which doesn't come with all that filler crap, and my cat also seems to be pretty happy with.  I give her fresh water every day, and I pick her up every once in awhile and take her to her water bowl so she remembers to drink something.

edit:
also I tried getting her different kinds of foods, and I found out that she prefers chicken over everything else.  She doesn't really care as much for other things like fish.

One other thing, make sure the cats dinner bowl and water bowl are far apart (ie. different room), a lot of them won't drink if you put them together.

Funny you mention this, when I first got Pixel she refused to drink from water near her bowl. Eventually I got sick of having it in another room so over about a 3 week period I gradually placed her water closer and closer to the kitchen. Like leave it in one spot in the hallway or whatever for 3 days then move it a little closer. Eventually I had it right next to her food dish and since then she's totally cool with it, even in a new house she's just used to it now.

[absyrd]

If I don't buy high-end dog food with tons of fiber, my dog's anal glands get way too full and infected. His poo needs to be expanded so that the glands release a bit every time he goes. We still need to stick our fingers up his arse once a month to release them, though. It is better than once a week and paying the vet $20 per.