Ragdoll Kitten - Upset Tum

[garylythgoe]

Let me introduce our Ragdoll Kitten - Bruce.







Born 12th July, so he's just over 5 months old.

He has absolutely changed our lives for the better. Me and the girlfriend absolutely love him to bits, and he seems to totally love us. He's incredible, and we feel so happy we are able to give him a loving a home and make him seem (to us) very happy.

He's as good as gold, loves playing, loves cuddles, hasn't destroyed much and is even learning what is and isn't out of bounds.

We got him from a very respected breeder (my parents have a ragdoll from the same breeder too), and when we got him the worming treatment hadn't been fully effective, so she collected Bruce and took him straight back for more worming treatment which seemed to do the job.

However, he's 5 months old and his number two's are still very runny and loose, and it causes him some distress when he's going. He's been on Waitrose kitten food and then Whiskas Kitten food, lots of water, not many treats etc and we feed him chicken quite often too.

Last week they were particularly bad, enough to make me consider doing something about it. I bought some James Wellbeloved kitten food which has been recommended for situations like this. While I'm giving that a few days to work, I thought I'd seek some advice/experience on whether others have experienced this before or have any insight to give over.

He seems so incredibly happy with us, that it's a bit sad to see him struggling with the 'number two' side of things. I don't want him to suffer with it.

Thanks in advance

[bexVN]

Sorry to say but Waitrose and Whiskas really are awful foods so not completely surprising he has struggled with his tum.

JWB is a good food to change to for now, I would do it slowly though a sudden change can cause more of a tummy issue. You will need to give it a good while before you know if it is helping, probably minimum 3 weeks (unless it gets lots worse before then!!

There are lots of foods on the market but you probably will need to invest in higher end foods for him in the future e.g. Lilys Kitchen, Applaws, Meowings Heads and hopefully in your case JWB. Which range of JWB have you got him on.

keep him off the chicken for now, believe it or not quite a lot of cats dont tolerate chicken that well. and no dairy based treats.

Cute kitty btw , love the name.

Edited by bexVN on Monday 14th December 18:03

[Mobile Chicane]

I couldn't agree more that you should buy the best quality food.

Yes it's more expensive than boggo supermarket chow, but sites like Zooplus offer good deals for bulk purchase.

You will see the difference in your pet's health and condition I promise you.

[garylythgoe]

We're still new to this, so we're learning. But it's fairly obvious the whiskas type food is no good for him.

He's been on the JWB food since Saturday and he's definitely responding well to it, so far.

Thanks for the advice, will order in a couple more boxes of JWB food.

It's about £8 for 12 pouches, compared to £6-7 for 24 pouches of cheaper stuff, and ideally we'd be looking to spend somewhere in the middle. But for now, we'll keep him on the JWB. Is the Royal Canin or Hills Science Plan stuff any good?

[ali_kat]

Try here for deals - http://www.petmoneysaver.co.uk/

And I hope Bruce is better soon, he's gorgeous!!

[bexVN]

Cats can do very well on the Hills and Royal Canin but tbh if things are going well with the jwb I would stick to it, Hills and Royal Canin go for a more science based approach to their diets which not all people like, the more natural ranges are like some that I have mentioned.

[garylythgoe]

Thanks for the advice guys, it's appreciated.

Bruce has some more JWB on the way, he was even purring whilst eating it this morning!

[xjay1337]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW KITTTTTTYYYY

<3

[Mr Tom]

bexVN said:

Sorry to say but Waitrose and Whiskas really are awful foods so not completely surprising he has struggled with his tum.

Edited by bexVN on Monday 14th December 18:03

Really? Why?

[ali_kat]

Think of them as the late night rip offs of KFC, McDs, Burger King etc

Think of the food being suggested as organic fillet steak

[bexVN]

Mr Tom said:

bexVN said:

Sorry to say but Waitrose and Whiskas really are awful foods so not completely surprising he has struggled with his tum.

Edited by bexVN on Monday 14th December 18:03

Really? Why?

Pretty much as Ali has said.

They do have the essential vits and minerals and nutrients needed so cats won't be deficient if on these foods, however the meat content is a miniscule amount and the fillers they use cause the dietary issues, this is wear they fall down as being quality foods. That being said I know of plenty of cats who have lived a good, strong long life on whiskas!

[Mr Tom]

Hmm I wouldn't say they are awful/like kfc et al. There shouldn't be any 'awful' foods on the market these days. Some will be better than others, but to tell people that a food like wiskas is rubbish is misleading. The vast majority of cats will be fed on the standard and supermarket brands Tthere are now very few cases of nutritional deficits and hypertrophic myopathy caused by a taurine deficiency.

However In this case it sounds as if this cat may benefit from a diet change.

Let us know how you get on!

[ali_kat]

Would you feed your child nothing but KFC etc?

Like KFC, Whiskers isn't 'rubbish' but it is not the best nutrition that you can give your cat

[Patch1875]

Our cats get felix wet food but high quality dry they just didn't like any of the posh ones we tried.

[Mr Tom]

ali_kat said:

Would you feed your child nothing but KFC etc?

Like KFC, Whiskers isn't 'rubbish' but it is not the best nutrition that you can give your cat

Well obviously not as that is not a balanced diet!! Wiskas is just with cheaper ingredients, it's like a roast dinner cooked with cheap meat and canned veg, the nutrients are still there but the ingredients are cheaper and of less quality. Perfectly acceptable. Applaws is like a sainsburys taste the difference meal. Perhaps more tasty, and of a higher quality but won't offer much more than the previous meal. My cat is fed on sainsburys cat food or whatever else is on offer. She is healthy etc and seems to like it.
Don't get me wrong there is a place for more expensive, higher quality foods in situations like this and other food allergie but I still maintain that cheaper cat food is perfectly acceptable..

[bexVN]

Check the CHO content of whiskas dry compared to Applaws dry and you will realise that it is far more than just the equivalent of Sainsburys high end range.

Cats and CHO are not designed to go together.

[ali_kat]

Go on, you justify it to yourself

[garylythgoe]

Update time.

Well we've had him on the JWB food for a week now, and his toilet issues have all but gone.

He absolutely loves the food too, he quite often purrs while eating it, and he licks the bowl clean.

Major difference, so we bought 48 pouches online and a bag of the JWB dry food, so will see how he gets on longer term. So far were really happy and he seems over the moon.

[bexVN]

Thanks for the update, seems like a great result all round. Hope it continues.

Add the dry food in very slowly over 10-14 days. Rememberto decrease the wet food as you increase the dry, jwb should have a guideline on that but if in doubt ask me and I can look into the amounts for you

[ali_kat]