Dog Community

NDR--cat food opinions needed

Posted : 4/9/2007 11:04:14 PM

Ok, so my cat Tigger has become FAT. He is not that old and ever since he was neutered he gained alot of weight (of course). He is probably 9-10 lbs and is offered dry food free-choice. The reason I give him free choice is because he doesn't eat more than 1/2 cup a day, which is fine for his size (and he gets destructive if the food bowl is empty). He has been checked for thyriod/endocrine issues (even though hypothyriodism is rare in cats anyways) and all was fine. I have tried the high protein foods and the lowest-fat content premium foods (and I mean EVERYTHING, lol). However he is not losing any weight at all. I think I may want to try an RX diet or something just to get his weight down (and then switch off). Just FYI--canned food is not an option and wouldn't work for my situation, so dry food is what I'm looking for.

Options:

Science Diet R/D

Ingredients: Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Powdered Cellulose 18.8% (source of fiber), Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil
     GA: 32% CP/ 7% fat

Royal Canin Beauty & Fit

Ingredients: Chicken meal, corn gluten meal, rice, corn, chicken fat, chicken, natural chicken flavor, pea fiber, rice hulls, beet pulp, dried brewers yeast, soya oil, salmon oil, salt
     GA: 37%CP/ 9% fat

Royal Canin Calorie Control High Protein

Ingredients: Chicken meal, rice, corn gluten meal, cellulose fiber, natural flavors, chicken fat, potassium chloride, beet pulp, dried brewers yeast, salmon oil, salt
     GA: 38%CP/ 7.5% fat

These are amongst the foods I am picking from.....honestly, the best looking one is r/d....what would you pick between these? Have you had any experience with them?

Edie

Posted : 4/9/2007 11:13:26 PM

The Royal canin looks the best to me. But whats with the corn gluten meal,why have all 3 got it??

Luvntzus

Posted : 4/9/2007 11:51:37 PM

I think the Royal Canin Calorie Control looks the best. Both the Royal Canin formulas have salmon oil, which I think is much healthier than soy oil in the Science Diet. Plus the protein is higher in those foods.

Edited to add, did you mean to say that Tigger is 9-10 pounds overweight rather than that he weighs 9-10 pounds? Otherwise I guess he's a kitty with a very small frame to be fat at that weight.

papillon806

Posted : 4/10/2007 1:11:53 AM

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus

I think the Royal Canin Calorie Control looks the best. Both the Royal Canin formulas have salmon oil, which I think is much healthier than soy oil in the Science Diet. Plus the protein is higher in those foods.

Edited to add, did you mean to say that Tigger is 9-10 pounds overweight rather than that he weighs 9-10 pounds? Otherwise I guess he's a kitty with a very small frame to be fat at that weight.

He is 9-10 lbs w/ a very small frame [&:]

papillon806

Posted : 4/10/2007 1:12:19 AM

ORIGINAL: Edie

The Royal canin looks the best to me. But whats with the corn gluten meal,why have all 3 got it??

I think RC is married to that ingredient (lol). It's in practically all of their foods.

Luvntzus

Posted : 4/10/2007 1:52:33 AM

ORIGINAL: papillon806

He is 9-10 lbs w/ a very small frame [&:]

Ahhh, okay. I was just curious. [

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Liesje

Posted : 4/10/2007 8:04:11 AM

Sounds like you've had him checked? I only wonder b/c we had a cat die of FIP. The tell-tale symptom is when their bellies start to swell, even though they eat normally (in her case, she slowly stopped eating, but her belly swelled first). She weighed about 8 lbs and seemed to slowly get "fat".

Jewlieee

Posted : 4/10/2007 9:06:13 AM

The higher the protein the better I think. Have you thought about trying Innova Reduced fat? Here's the website:

[linkhttp://www.innovapet.com/products/default.asp?id=1407]http://www.innovapet.com/products/default.asp?id=1407[/link]

My cat loves this food.

tzumommy

Posted : 4/10/2007 9:21:56 AM

ORIGINAL: Jewlieee
The higher the protein the better I think. Have you thought about trying Innova Reduced fat? Here's the website:
[linkhttp://www.innovapet.com/products/default.asp?id=1407]http://www.innovapet.com/products/default.asp?id=1407[/link]

My cat loves this food.

I recently switched my two cats to Innova RF also. My two 11 years old, indoor only, and very inactive.[&:]

I just switched to it about 2 or 3 weeks ago, but they really seem to like it. [

] Our litter box odor has also decreased since then [sm=dance.gif]

I also wanted to try the NB Reduced Fat, but I noticed that Bailey has less flakes than usual, so we may just stick with the Innova [8|]

papillon806

Posted : 4/10/2007 10:53:33 AM

Ok I am going to re-emphasize that I have tried EVERY holistic weight loss food, including Innova RF. I would like to choose between the one's above [

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tzu_mommy----cute xmas pic!!!!!!

And yes, he has been checked for anything and everything (because I am a nut) lol

tzumommy

Posted : 4/10/2007 11:35:55 AM

Ok I am going to re-emphasize that I have tried EVERY holistic weight loss food, including Innova RF. I would like to choose between the one's above

[sm=party.gif]sorry papillon...I haven't tried any of those you mentioned; if I had to choose one, I would go with one of the Royal Canin options; I don't like the idea of the Chicken *By-Product* Meal listed - especially first .

I would lean toward the Beauty & Fit out of those 3 options.

[

]Thanks for the compliment on Bobo!

gwahr

Posted : 4/10/2007 1:54:13 PM

I don't think those reduced calorie/weight control foods work. I tried low cal/low fat foods on my dog and they didn't help much. He's now on Innova EVO reduced fat, has lost 7 pounds (from a high of 29lbs) and he feels much more solid. I read that the carbs are what make them fat and after seeing the results on my dog I tend to agree. I've started the stray cat I feed on Innova EVO and am hoping she'll lose a few pounds. I just wish they offered the reduced fat food for cats.

beth82

Posted : 4/10/2007 2:23:28 PM

I like the Beauty & Fit best, of those three foods. I like the relatively high protein, the use of salmon instead of soy oil, and the fiber sources. Rice hulls & beet pulp tend to work well for cats, while cellulose can irritate their digestive tracts.

Have you tried making him work a little harder to get his food? For example, you could put it somewhere high up so he has to jump to get to it, or put obstacles in his way.

papillon806

Posted : 4/10/2007 6:11:38 PM

Have you tried making him work a little harder to get his food? For example, you could put it somewhere high up so he has to jump to get to it, or put obstacles in his way.

Actually yes, lol. It is beside my bathroom sink (which the way it is positioned is hard to get to) in addition to having "stuff" in the way [

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