Which dry food? and which cat litter?

[Soupie]

Since I last had a cat which needed litter, Catsan have brought in a clumping litter which I am finding fab to use as I can basically "deep litter" Pousse's tray and it doesn't get smelly :smt023 I cannot crouch down due to very bad arthritis in my ankle so find doing a tray hard but because I can deep litter with this and it is so easy to scoop up as it just clumps into a neat ball.

Pousse is a house cat as I live in a ground floor flat although she is happy with this lifestyle and is used to it.

I have a bit of a social conscience though and wonder how environment friendly catsan is (it is very fine grains ad I'll be using half a small bag a week) and whether there is another alternative which is easy to use bearing in mind my limitations (no crouching and difficult to bend down and kneel). What do you all use and why?

Also a few questions about dried food. I've always just fed bog standard dry food along with meat - either whiskers/felix. Now I've been able to handle Pousse a bit more I've found out she doesn't have a great many teeth (make that very few :( ) certainly fewer than I would expect as 12 is not ancient Are the dried foods aimed at older cats like Iams 7+ or Hills 7+ softer and easier to manage and would you recommend them?

I have some Iams and some Royal Canin Acive Mature 32 to try as she turned her nose up at Morrisons own which is really just to hard and bulky for her :smt009

Feel a bit daft as I'm so used to having cats but none of them have had special dietary needs or had so few teeth at this age. She is also really rather underweight so I am trying to get a little back on. She has an MOT booked with the vet on Friday but any advice/discussion on the above would most gratefully appreciated.

[tilly]

My cat Tilly has got hardly any teeth (no canines and a few back teeth) and she eats hills science diet senior biscuits just fine. She has also scoff some t/d diet buiscuits which are fairly large I had put them down for her brother who has still got most of his teeth and she decided that she fancied them!!. So I think if Pousse likes the food she will be able to eat it. It can take Tilly a little while to keep the food in her mouth long enough to chew and swallow but she does fine on dry food.
Tilly is 9 years old and will be 10 on the 1st of may so don't worry about Pousse losing her teeth at 12. I think that the Iams or roayl canine will be Ok to try if not you could try some Hills Science diet senior which is on sale at most vet and quite a few pet shops.

Hope this helps

Sally

[jenny]

i would recommend worlds best for cat litter. it clumps well and leaves no smell, meaning u dont have to change all the litter. one small bag will last ages.
its also flushable, so kinder on nature.

for dried food, i recommend something like james wellbeloved, no artificial ingredients, additives, fillers etc and hypoallergenic.

[dinahsmum]

World's Best http://www.mpmproducts.co.uk/default.asp?in_section=worlds_best&page=worlds_best is flushable - woud that make life easier for you? Made from maize - don't know if you find that good in ecological terms or not.

Wellbeloved is a good food, so is Burns

[EmmaG]

I use sophisticat cat litter, works ok for my two.

Dry food is James Wellbeloved, no more problems with Arthur with crystals :)

[jenny]

ah yes forgot burns dinahs mum. Burns is the better option if u can get hold of it :D

[Sweet]

I use Hills Science Plan Dry and various litters along the way, I had bought Catsan this past week, but it remains unopened - giving Cat Attract Litter a go - more expensive but fingers crossed apart from a minor accident last night seems to be working x

[Kay]

Soupie if you think Pousse is underweight the senior foods are not the best option as they are less likely to fatten her up. An ideal food for putting weight on is Royal Canin Persian. If you could use this for a hile till she gets up to a good weight and then perhaps try her on the Senior.

[Kobster]

No real advice on litter or food (as I'm not from your area) but I DO have arthritis, and can sympathise there.

What I did was put both litterboxes up on an old desk/table top so I that I didn't have to bend down to scoop the boxes. The cats have taken to it very well, and as an added bonus, it keeps the dog from foraging for "kitty krunchies" in the litter box.

[Soupie]

Soupie if you think Pousse is underweight the senior foods are not the best option as they are less likely to fatten her up. An ideal food for putting weight on is Royal Canin Persian. If you could use this for a hile till she gets up to a good weight and then perhaps try her on the Senior.

The problem I have is her lack of teeth and so far the only dry food (out of 5 I've tried so far) she will eat is the senior - it is slightly softer? She is seeing the vet on Friday for her weight and teeth - I could be being overprotective about her weight :(

Meat wise she is on normal Whiskers fish selection pouches which disappear VERY quickly :D

Thanks for the tip though - my local pet store stocks the Persian version :) I just wish they did it in trial packs ;) If vet agrees about weight though I will give the persian a go. Why is that one higher calorie? and what are the "biscuits" like in terms of size and consistency.

No real advice on litter or food (as I'm not from your area) but I DO have arthritis, and can sympathise there.

What I did was put both litterboxes up on an old desk/table top so I that I didn't have to bend down to scoop the boxes. The cats have taken to it very well, and as an added bonus, it keeps the dog from foraging for "kitty krunchies" in the litter box.

That's a good idea - thanks!

[Fran]

Soupie, could you try moistening her biscuits a little to make them easier for her to eat? Just a suggestion if she has to have the higher calorie ones..

[Kay]

Thanks for the tip though - my local pet store stocks the Persian version :) I just wish they did it in trial packs ;) If vet agrees about weight though I will give the persian a go. Why is that one higher calorie? and what are the "biscuits" like in terms of size and consistency.



That's a good idea - thanks!

I don't know why it is good for putting weight it just seems that way in fact a lot of the persian breeders won't use it long term because of this reason and tend to use the Fit 32. My pet shop can get trial bags if you pm me your address I will send you a couple to try out. I agree with Fran try moistening the biscuits first this is how I first introduce the kittens to the biscuits when I start weaning.

[Sunny'sMeowmie]

I feed Sunshine Nutro and will be switching to Authority (cheaper, but also good quality), so maybe try the Nutro Senior or Authority Senior. ;) Good luck!

[Soupie]

I feed Sunshine Nutro and will be switching to Authority (cheaper, but also good quality), so maybe try the Nutro Senior or Authority Senior. ;) Good luck!


Hi there are they US brands? or available world wide? :)

[dinahsmum]

My pet shop stocks Nutro (I think - I don't use it)
It markets itself as non-cruelty in production and hyper-allergenic

[Elaine]

I have seen Nutro on zooplus but never tried it myself.

[Sunny'sMeowmie]

Hi there are they US brands? or available world wide? :)

I'm not exactly sure. I know I was on another forum and it was a Australian forum, but American members were on there too, but the Australian members didn't know what Nutro is, so I'm not sure. I know http://petsmart.com and http://petfooddirect.com sells it. Maybe they'd ship to other countries?