Help! How much?

[Seraphina]

Ok, this may be long so please grin & bear it! I recently decided to change Tess's diet as I read that what she was on (Wet pouches, mainly Whiskers & Felix) are like feline junk food, I have no idea if that's true.

Anyway, she's been on wet for ages as she had Cystitis twice in 2006 & since then thankfully it hasn't come back. I decided to see what Hill's do, as ages back a vet recommended it, so I went to P@H to have a look & they had cans of Hill's Science Plan (Sorry i'm putting it all!). I wanted something wet because of her Cystitis, Senior because of her age & light because of her weight (Big boned )

Anyways, they only had one can of Light which I think is Chicken flavour & one can of Turkey flavour Senior 7+. All the other flavours were Adult 1-6 & not Light Anyway, I got some but it's like pate with a wallpaper paste texture (I haven't eaten either I promise!) & she was fine the first few times then seemed to go off it & this is her who eats anything.

(Sorry to ramble, if you've got this far the torture is nearly over) So , I had a look & James Wellbeloved do a food which is Light & Senior combined & in four different flavours so no chance of boredom + I know she likes it. It's good for her teeth I know, being dried, which is nice as she can get abit of plaque build up & it says it has low magnesium & cranberry extracts to help prevent Cystitis.

So! My questions are:

#1 Is JWB a good/non *junk* type food?
#2 Is it ok for her as she's had Cystitis before twice?
#3 It says to give her 60g a day, but she needs some wet in the morning as she has medication once a day which needs mixing into her food, so if a pouch is 100g, how many grams of dried should she have? I'm assuming not 60g still?

She went to the vet last week for her booster vaccinations & was 4.1 1/2kg in weight, a year ago she was either 4.7 or 4.8kg, so I was pleased as i'd been trying to get her slimmer, but the vet said don't let her lose quick, especially at her age (She was ten yesterday). I guess now I should just maintain this weight? She was 3.5kg when I got her!

Sorry, i'm done! I really apologise for the essay & will never post again to make up for it! Any help & advice appreciated, thanks

Sam & Tess

[Mags]

Wow Sam, that's a post and a half but an extremely good one at that!

My Cassie is a Whiskas 'junkie' and is 11 years old. She has only ever had one bad illness in her life and has had Whiskas all her life.

Our members here who feed their cats Hill's Science Plan, JW etc. have all said what a good food these brands are, some have been prescribed it by their vets due to illnesses and others chose it for their cat's diet. I have never tried it with Cassie so cannot give you my views on it but I'm sure many of our members will be along to tell you their experiences of it.

[angieh]

Hi Sam - I've never used these foods either. Merlin is 21 years old and has in his time eaten Felix, Whiskas, Iams and freshly poached chicken or fish, carefully prepared by his mummy when he has been poorly. So sorry cannot comment on the foods you mention.

[MrsH]

My 2 are James Wellbeloved eaters and it's a very good, dried food. They are both of them good drinkers so I don't ever have to worry about them not getting any wet food.

I can't say whether or not it's good for a cat that is prone to cystitis as neither of mine, (young cats, only 2½ years old) have had any trouble like that.

[charlilou]

Ours were on JWB for a while but had to start giving Meeko whiskas pouches as the neigbours were luring him to their house with pouches and he started to prefer pouches and wouldny eat the dry food.

we have now got all 4 of our cats on a food called Fish 4 cats (or cod 4 cats - same food differenent name) we have found this food to be fantastic for their health, their coat etc.

Meeko regualry got the runs, as did tigger and this has stopped completely, their fur is alot softer and they dont moult as much.
meeko is still on the pouches once a day thou as he has lost weight now hes getting older and i like to spoil him, but the rest of the time he has the same as the other 3.

http://www.fish4dogs.com/cms/fish4cats.aspx

this is the website with more info.

JWB was a good food thou and we had no problems whilst they were on it, we just found fish 4 cats to be even better.

[Elaine]

Dont get me started on the whole whats best to feed our cats routine again It's all becoming so complicated these days
I am personally reading as much as i can about getting into raw feeding for my two, dont think its gonna be an easy transition though. Currently they are being fed wet foods such as hi-life, natures menu and applaws and their dry food is Royal Canin light.
Eva has had cystitis in the past but her cystitis is down to stress related issues rather than diet, although her weight probably didnt help.
I remember being told by a vet nurse that because Eva was on wet and dry that I should feed 1 pouch of wet and 39 grams of dry daily, but I think this may vary from cat to cat.

[Seraphina]

Thanks everyone, i'm off to look at the cat cod site link above =)

[Fran]

All mine are fed Royal Canin and I think that RC do one in their range for renal function type issues. Mine also get some wet but I rarely feed whiskers/felix etc. I tend to feed Natures menu, applaws and the more premium type wet foods now and they also get some raw. I think what you feed your cat comes down to personal preference and what your cat likes! Sometimes it's trial and error. Good luck!

[Kay]

Mine are also feed on Royal Canin and I have never had a problem with it. They have a very wide range for different breeds, ages and also special conditions. Of course it is trail and error as what suits one may not suit another.

Good luck.