Advise please :-)

[Erin]

Hello everyone :-)

Just after some advise! Jerry is currently going through another bout of cystitis ( it's been over 12 months since the last bout, he was doing so well!)
We have been to the vets and have all the usual pills.

Anyway, after the last nasty bout he had last year, he was put on royal canin so food for about 6 months. However I wasn't happy feeding him this food long term and I wanted to try and get him onto a complete wet food diet. He has been being fed on feline fayre since coming off the SO and has loved it, he did not however take to having a strictly wet diet so I started giving him James Wellbeloved daily as well as the wet food, I chose this food as it has cranberry in to help keep the urine tract healthy. Anyway since this latest flare up, I think that it would maybe be best for Jerry to put him on a complete wet diet, no matter how much he complains!
My question is, how many pouches of food should I give him a day? The box suggests 4 a day but this seems like an awful lot to be feeding him!
Thanks in advance for any replies, hope you are all well :)

[angieh]

Hi Erin! Good to hear from you again. Sorry to hear about poor Jerry.

I am not sure - do you know what weight he is now? I guess you do and that's how you are judging the four pouches. Is he over/under weight do you think?

[Mags]

Hello Erin, it's good to hear from you again!:)

Sorry to hear Jerry is suffering another bout of cystitis, poor boy.

Fortunately I've never had that problem with Cassie so I'll leave any good advice for other members to reply.

However, Cassie is on a wet diet and I give her between 2 and 3 pouches a day..... sometimes she is satisfied with just 2. I do add a small sprinkle of biscuits on top of the wet food feed.

I can't remember how old Jerry is now but Cassie is 14 and being a senior, she may not need as much as a younger cat.

[Velvet]

Hi

Our 16 & 14 month old cats eat between them every day between 6-8 sachets of wet food plus a dishful of dry kibble. The kitten eats two and half sachets of kitten food

So no, i dont think 4 sachets of wet food a day is a lot for an adult cat :)

[Erin]

Hi both, thanks for your replies. Mags Jerry is 5 and a half now I was thinking more along the the line of 2/3 pouches a day, he doesn't eat all of the wet he has now, I know that that will change with the absence of the dry food.
Angie Jerry is 5 kilos spot on (weighed today) so slightly over weight but it's coming off slowly, he was 5 and a half the last time he was weighed at the vets!
I think it's maybe going to be trial and error to start with, I just don't want to over feed him and he start putting the weigh back on cause that will only add to the problem! I'll start will 3 pouches tomorrow and see how we get on. He's not at all happy then I've moved his crunchies, he's very food at making me feel bad!

[Mags]

Hi both, thanks for your replies. Mags Jerry is 5 and a half now I was thinking more along the the line of 2/3 pouches a day, he doesn't eat all of the wet he has now, I know that that will change with the absence of the dry food.
Angie Jerry is 5 kilos spot on (weighed today) so slightly over weight but it's coming off slowly, he was 5 and a half the last time he was weighed at the vets!
I think it's maybe going to be trial and error to start with, I just don't want to over feed him and he start putting the weigh back on cause that will only add to the problem! I'll start will 3 pouches tomorrow and see how we get on. He's not at all happy then I've moved his crunchies, he's very food at making me feel bad!
Erin, do you think we can have a photo of Jerry please ......... just to see what size he is of course! ;):D

[dandysmom]

Hi, Erin, nice to see you again; why not try sprinkling a bit of dry on top of the wet as Mags and I do; I find it gets them started eating, especially if it's a tin of something she's not especially fond of.

Pic would indeed be appreciated ... been a long time!

[Erin]

Hi DM :-) yeah I think I'll try that with the SO food again, I did try putting a bit of water on his James Wellbeloved but he refused to eat it, he is very fussy!
I'll get a pic up for you when I get to my laptop. On my phone at the moment.

[angieh]

I think that's good advice and see how he goes on. Can't have Mr Jerry going hungry!

[Erin]

I think that's good advice and see how he goes on. Can't have Mr Jerry going hungry!

Oh he would never allow me to let him go hungry :roll: :lol:

[truthisouthere]

The main reason why the switch to wet food is recommmended is that it gets more fluid into them and helps prevent crystals (FUV I think it is, only the female cats get cystitis.)

To reach a happier compromise with Jerry try using a little off the boil water from the kettle on his dry food, it must be warm for Jerry to smell it and start lapping it up, my girl finds it hard to eat dry but laps up this mixture. This way Jerry will still get the taste of his dry food he loves so much but not the crunch. (I put what he doesn't eat out for the birds, the magpies love soggy cat food!)

If he still wants the crunch try water bowls around the house to encourage ease of drinking and change the water at least every day. Jerry may be able to have a few hand fed biscuits as treat if he is encourged to drink more, just a thought.

[Erin]

He's a real good drinker since I got a water fountain 2 years ago and I always add water to his wet food but he won't touch the dry if I put water in it.

I have in the past thought of putting on to a raw diet and am going to go for it now! He didn't touch his food last night or this morning so that's 2 lots of medication he's not had!(he's far from stupid, he knows I've put something in it lol)! I've been speaking to a family member in America who have always fed their animals raw, she advised to try Jerry with a bit of raw mince first. He is currently stuffing his face and not seeming to care about the 2 crushed up tablets mixed up with it! We may be in to a winner here!!

[Velvet]

Good lick wit the raw diet

[dandysmom]

It's starting off well, Erin! :D

[truthisouthere]

Excellent! :)

[pamela81]

aww sorry to hear that jerry has cystitis again. hope hes ok. I feed both of mine a pouch of wet food each in the morning then again in the evening. i think the 4 would be too much for them in 1 day