Mr. Softie’s tummy has been bothering him again and I can’t get him to the vet anytime soon. Every couple of days he throws up stomach acid and his poops are very runny. If any other hexbear out there has experience with a cat like this, is there any food you recommend?

  • Assian_Candor [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    My cat has a chicken allergy. Manifests as diarrhea, indigestion and hives. It’s a pain in the ass bc they put chicken in everything.

    He gets Purina indoor advantage which is turkey based. It has chicken meal on the ingredients list but he seems to do fine on it.

    You might try him on a chicken free food. Apparently chicken allergies are not that uncommon in cats.

    • fermionsnotbosons
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      3 months ago

      Same for my two cats, they are on non-chicken diets (rabbit-based and I think duck-based) and their vomiting, diarrhea, and itchiness have all been greatly reduced or outright eliminated.

      My partner (a practicing small animal veterinarian) sorted them out a few years ago, and also confirms that chicken allergies are super common. They were fine for 5 or 6 years of their lives, then they just were unable to handle the chicken. Figuring out which of the alternatives they liked enough to consistently eat was the toughest part, lol, they’re super picky.

  • Black_Mald_Futures [any]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    I’m not a vet or a doctor but my vibes based science has me wondering if he’s got some kinda liver/gallbladder issue, with the vomiting (you said he vomits acid) and runny poops, maybe if the food you feed him is high in fat you could try something higher in protein?

    the internet says gallbladder issues in cats can present with jaundice so def look out for yellowing around his eyes and face

    but idk again, not a vet, not a doctor, just a guy who dropped out of college once

  • TheLepidopterists [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    Nah, one of my cats even steals dry dog food from the dogs when they don’t finish it in one sitting, but I did want to say, what a handsome little fella, I hope you find a solution for Mr. Softie.

    • SorosFootSoldier [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.netOP
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      3 months ago

      Thank you he’s my little boy. He loves his dry food, I don’t ever get him wet. If I had the money I’d order online for him freshpet, but I’ll see if any stores around here carry something.

  • Weedian [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    my older kitty has a fairly sensitive stomach and we’ve found that feeding her wet cat food with pumpkin in it helps. She loooooves to eat the pumpkin and she vomits a lot less when we give it to her on a consistent basis

      • Weedian [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        we will give her some of this along with her breakfast or dinner but they also make wet cat foods with pumpkin mixed in with the chicken/fish/whatever

      • Omegamint [comrade/them, doe/deer]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        I would consider growing wheatgrass for your cat as well. It’s very simple to grow, and sprouts very quickly. You don’t even need to worry about feeding the grass either, you can just let the grass die off in a month-1.5 months and have another small planter going. The grass provides a lot of nutrients and fiber and it supposedly good for cats digestive health. Certainly in the wild cats are eating meat/organs and otherwise chewing on whatever plant material they find.

        There’s a possibility your cat doesn’t respond well and if they barf up grass you can decide if it’s not worth it. I guess you should also try to make sure your cat doesn’t have worms (if they got fleas at any point that is the primary vector), because some worms can cause vomiting as well.

        Personally my cat is obsessed with wheatgrass and if I don’t grow it she will search out literally any house plant available to chew on.

          • Omegamint [comrade/them, doe/deer]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            If you want it to live for longer yeah, wheatgrass needs full sun. You’ll need a decent powered grow light to keep it going indoors as it’s pretty sun hungry. If you just keep cycling new planters/pots, the wheatgrass seeds have pretty much everything they need to stay alive for fairly long, at least a month.

            There is a number of issues with keeping it going, wheatgrass will eventually start growing more of a stalk from the bottom which is less desirable to your cat. You asked will need to feed it something heavy in nitrogen. Wheatgrass tends to come in a winter and summer variety as well, and I’m unsure what that means for long term growth. It’s honestly a fairly finicky grass to keep alive.

  • LeninsBeard [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    What are you currently feeding him? You can try putting him on a bland diet which is just like poached chicken and rice but that’s only a short term solution. If it helps you would probably want to slowly start introducing different ingredients to see what could be causing the issues.

    Also if you can try spreading out feedings more and doing a few small meals a day rather than 1-2 big ones. Obviously not feasible for everyone so YMMV

  • theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    My mums cat is very sensitive to foods, for her it was a case of trial and error and trying all the different foods she had easily available to try and narrow down what sat best with him.

    She alternates between a couple of expensive cat foods and pre cooked chicken which seems to help. I can’t offer any brands or anything I’m afraid as I don’t know what they are but I know the ones his stomach prefers are the less processed, more natural ones.

    I hope you can find something that agrees with him, chicken may be something good to try that is an easyish first option.

    <3 Mr Softie <3

  • Black_Mald_Futures [any]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    I feed my cats the grain free Abound brand food. Every now and then one of them throws up though but i think it’s cause the fat one just horks it down so fast

    • LeninsBeard [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      Every now and then one of them throws up though but i think it’s cause the fat one just horks it down so fast

      Literally both of my dumbshit cats

    • thelastaxolotl [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      but i think it’s cause the fat one just horks it down so fast

      Oh yea i have one that does that too, i have to give him small portions so he doesnt eat too fast

      • Black_Mald_Futures [any]@hexbear.net
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        3 months ago

        My sanity couldn’t handle feeding her more frequently because she screams at me the whole time im getting the food. At least now she only yells at me when it’s food time. Or an hour before food time. Or when my gf feeds her and she thinks she can get me to feed her again

  • Facky [he/him,comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    My cat was very sickly and always threw up after she ate unless it was wet food. Eventually I found a dry food that helped but she only got through about a bag and a quarter before she passed.