I posted yesterday about my cat being neutered but on a different thread. This is about something else entirely.
So, my cat was neutered on Tuesday. I've noticed he's been quite out of sorts since then. He's just not himself.
On the plus side, he's eating really well and constantly begging for food (I've cut back his portions because of the risk of weight gain). Everything's fine on that front!
But I can tell he's not right. He plays for a couple of minutes and then goes straight to sleep, literally collapsing onto his cushion or the sofa.
Also, when he does play with me, you can see he's quite weak.
I'm really worried! It's been 48 hours since his op, so surely he should be okay by now?
Especially as my vet told me he'd be back on his feet the day after the operation... but it's been 48 hours and he's still not right.
I just hope it’s not a complication.
I'm someone who worries way too much about their cat, so sorry in advance.
Thanks in advance for your replies!
Translated from French
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Royal Canin is Mars, Hill's is Colgate, and Purina is Nestlé – yeah, I know. And the stuff they feed us isn't much better than dry food, which is why I only do homemade meals now. Chocolate bars are basically our version of dry food – just as digestible but so tasty for some; the addiction is definitely real for everyone! I actually think plenty of owners pay more attention to what their pets eat than they do for their own kids.
Yes, I get the VAT and all that, but not twenty times over! It's just that with our healthcare system, there's someone monitoring and limiting overcharging, whereas vets have free rein... and as long as your cat is ill, you'll keep on paying.
You shouldn't just look at your own cats; individually, they are the exceptions. You need to look at the bigger picture—alongside your own pets, there might have been hundreds of cats that died or got sick on that same food.
Two or three years old isn't too old to change a cat's diet; it's just that if they catch a whiff of the neighbour's food, they'll go into "waiting mode" to try and get the same thing.
When I changed my cats' food, I ended up giving the bag to a local animal rescue just to get the smell of that "source" they loved so much out of the house. (They were about a year old at the time.)
I’m not naturally anti-dry food, but it’s a shame that this product hasn't changed one bit in over thirty years. If anything, it’s actually gone downhill for the sake of profit. And when you try to understand why you see the same brands like Royal Canin and Hill's everywhere... in reality, it’s Mars, Nestlé, and Colgate. Their control isn’t just limited to food; it even affects the way we think...
I honestly think it's too late for my oldest ones, especially as one of them had surgery for calcium oxalate stones. I'd rather stick with her prescription dry food than risk another operation. Actually, this struvite-specific dry food has been great for the oxalates too, as there haven't been any recurrences in the two cats affected by these stones.
On a diet of dry and wet food, my Norwegian Forest Cat lived until nearly 19. I lost another girl earlier this year who was 18 and then some; she was fed exclusively on the famous kibble you’re so fond of. Her twin brother had CKD and passed away at nearly 16, also on that same dry food.
So, what's one to think? Honestly, I just don't know anymore. All I know is that I’d much prefer to prepare home-cooked meals for them like I used to for my moggies and my dogs—at least then I knew exactly what they were eating. But in the end, they died much younger.
As for what I’ve shelled out at the vets, I stopped counting a long time ago. Regarding why vet meds are so much more expensive, there are two reasons: they aren't produced by the labs in such large quantities, which pushes the price up, and the second reason is the VAT, which is much higher for vets than in pharmacies. That’s why I buy from the chemist whenever I can.
Most of my cats—apart from my current girl whom I got very young due to the breeder's personal circumstances—came to me at 5 months old. For me, that’s the age where I feel there won’t be any behavioural issues, which has been the case. I even take cats that are 8 months or a year old because I prefer adults to kittens. So, of course, they had plenty of time to get well and truly hooked on dry food at the breeders'.
You said: "For dry food, you just need a very long transition.
- For wet food, it's the same; you should mix it over 3-4 weeks and gradually increase the amount of the new wet food.
- However, to switch from dry to wet, you'll need to crush the kibble and sprinkle it over the wet food, gradually reducing the sprinkling."
Unfortunately, I’ve tried all that, very patiently, but without any real results. I’m going to try sprinkling the dry food over the wet again though—you never know, it’s been a while since I last tried.
I’ll give FortiFlora a go too; I’m not familiar with it.
In any case, thanks for the chat. It’s much more interesting than when we dig our heels in; nothing is ever black and white, that would be far too easy.
You also have to take into account that cats fed on dry food have plenty of reserves. This means they can skip several meals and just keep begging for their usual grub until even the most stubborn owners give in (and believe me, cats are more stubborn than you!).
(By the way, I’d like to highlight the fact that some of you prefer seeing your cats a bit chunky just in case they fall ill and lose weight... think about how much you live with the constant idea that your cats are going to get sick. It’s the result of being conditioned to believe that cats are fragile animals. If they're poorly fed, then yes, they are.)
When my cats were young, they ate dry food too – I’ve been there myself. The younger the cat is, the easier it is to break that dependency and get them to try everything. Above all, don’t give them anything from your own plate just for a bit of peace and quiet; once you stop that, it’s easy to feed them whatever you want and vary it endlessly, as the experience teaches them to be curious.
Mind you, it is indeed very difficult to consider changing a sick cat's diet at the risk of seeing them waste away even faster. At that stage, the trap has already snapped shut, and there might be no point in changing things other than making their life a misery.
My advice is for healthy cats; the idea is more about prevention, to spare them from the cycle of "junk food" that leads to vet visits while they're still very young. That’s where they train you to believe that a cat is "old" at 7, at the end of its life at 15, and an "exceptional survivor" at 18. Or that cats should eat vegetables or grains because protein is supposedly bad for the kidneys or causes cancer.
As for vets who claim they don’t make a profit on dry food sales or give "good advice" on saving money, just ask yourself how much you’ve forked out to treat your cat for stones. And explain to me why a bit of medication costs 20 times more for a cat than it does for a human.
Best regards
Regarding oxalate issues.
When people first started feeding cats dry food, there was a massive surge in struvite cases. Manufacturers came up with a fix which involved acidifying the urine; a few years later, the number of struvite cases dropped, but oxalate cases shot up. In reality, the total number of cases—both struvite and oxalate combined—has barely changed. We’ve been stuck in the same position for decades: a cat on dry food is a "poor drinker" and tends to stay that way.
The difference between these types of stones is that you can dissolve struvites with some meds for about £45, but oxalate stones require an operation costing around £250... why would they want to change anything?
(A specific "prescription" dry food will have lower mineral/ash levels to prevent a relapse, but in the meantime, your cat is consuming carbs galore which puts their pancreas at risk, for instance. Their goal is achieved: getting the cat to eat a product that lines the pockets of these lobbies. So yes, it works, and it works very well. The real question you need to ask is: what did cats eat before dry food to avoid suffering from stones?)
Regarding changing "grub".
Royal Canin, Hill's, and basically all dry food manufacturers work on creating "appetising" coatings that they spray onto the kibble to give it a very recognisable scent and make the cat addicted to their products. Since cats tend to be wary of anything new, food is no exception, and day by day they become more and more restricted to just one product.
Switching can be a real nightmare; there’s no magic fix, it’s just a matter of patience.
- For dry food, just do a very long transition.
- For wet food, it’s the same: you should mix them over 3-4 weeks and gradually increase the amount of the new wet food.
- However, to switch from dry food to wet food, you’ll have to crush some kibble and sprinkle it over the wet food, gradually reducing the sprinkling.
- You can also look for more tempting products; I’d suggest Fortiflora, which you can spread over the new food—it’s enough to make most cats cave in.
./...
Absolutely, especially given that cats are so prone to CKD. As I always say, you try your best but you can't control everything. It really does make you wonder though—why do the vast majority of cats end up dying from this horrible stuff? They don't all have the same lifestyle, far from it. When I mentioned to my vet that I thought it was mostly pedigree cats that were affected, she corrected me, saying that when you look at the proportions, it’s actually moggies who are the most affected, contrary to what I thought.
The best solution—if you can call it that, as it’s not exactly a magic fix—is to give him wet food like tins or pouches at least twice a day. Personally, I’d give a full pouch at each meal and leave some dry food out for him to graze on during the day if he’s hungry or if you aren’t around to feed him. He’ll regulate himself.
Wet food is really filling, and because it’s packed with water, it’s great for preventing kidney and urinary issues.
With his pouches, he’ll eat less dry food because they really fill him up, so the dry food is just for little snacks during the day.
If I were you, I’d just carry on as you were doing before; it was working perfectly and it suited your cat.
Okay. He’s my first cat, so I’m following my vet’s advice to the letter, but he’s so young and I find it really tough to portion out his meals like this. Can I just let him free-feed on dry food like I did before then? It won't cause any kidney issues, will it? (Cancer, stones etc.) I’m really worried, which is why I don’t want to mess up his diet.
Okay. He’s my first cat, so I’m following my vet’s advice to the letter, but he’s so young and I find it really tough to portion out his meals like this. Can I just let him free-feed on dry food like I did before then? It won't cause any kidney issues, will it? (Cancer, stones etc.) I’m really worried, which is why I don’t want to mess up his diet.
Look, I completely agree with you that dry food is absolute rubbish, regardless of the brand. There is nothing natural about it compared to a home-cooked diet. But when you have pedigree cats who have been conditioned to a certain brand of dry food, and you try everything to get them interested in a healthier diet and it just doesn't work, there comes a point where you just throw in the towel and let them have their bloody biscuits.
I’m well aware that this dry food played a part in my cats' CKD, but I can also say for a fact that the "Urinary" dry food cleared up their oxalate stones. So, what am I supposed to do? Stop it and risk them needing another operation? We try to do what’s best, but sometimes it’s difficult, if not impossible. Out of my ten Persians, not a single one would touch wet food or home-cooked meals except for the last one. I can promise you I tried, but after constantly throwing food in the bin, I got fed up—what will be, will be!
I’m delighted that my newest Persian prefers wet food, even if it’s not "premium" quality (since he refuses those too). He only has eyes for one particular brand. I tried everything—at first, he was eating fresh fish, but that didn't last. He prefers his wet food and leaves everything else in the bowl just to peck at his dry food, so I’d still rather give him the wet stuff. His foster carer used to give him that brand, and since she rescued him when he was starving and skin and bones because he’d been underfed, he probably associates that brand with something positive...
You must know as well as I do that cats are incredibly stubborn. I’m not the type to give up easily, but there's a point where it’s either that or they don't eat at all. And when they have health issues, the last thing you want is for them to lose weight.
If you have a magic solution to get them to accept everything you’re recommending, I’m all ears!
Where I do agree with you is that whether the dry food is grain-free or not, I think it’s just an opportunity for the big corporations to make money off our cats’ backs. That said, dry food is very convenient for cats who aren't out hunting all day because their owners have busy lives, whether they work away from home or not. It's a bit of a compromise really, rather than leaving wet food out to go off all day.
Now, as for why certain dry foods manage to tackle oxalates and struvites? I’ve stopped trying to figure it out; I just accept the results.
As for the idea that vets only sell their own dry food for profit—well, of course they make something from it. But my vet actually pointed me towards a veterinary website so I could get them cheaper, and they deliver them to her surgery, so I highly doubt she’s making much of a profit out of me.
