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n.. posted:I have one and use it, though to be honest I forgot about it until a couple days ago and started using it again. She coughed one up this morning but maybe that was from hair already in her gut before I started brushing again. The other thing is that she only really likes it along her back, and it does collect a poo poo ton of fur but she spends a lot of time licking her sides/belly too. I can't imagine any cat would tolerate a furminator on the belly. Then again I don't think their bellies shed nearly as much as their backs but I could be wrong. You could also get a steel comb for the spots they don't like being furminated on. Wide toothed for a longer haired cat, narrow toothed for a shorter haired cat. Also, you could try Laxatone instead of hairball control food. https://www.amazon.com/Tomlyn-Laxatone-lubricant-4-25oz-flavored/dp/B00061MRA4
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Aug 10, 2016 21:38
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I would just use laxatone instead of switching foods.
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Aug 10, 2016 23:00
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Reik posted:You could also get a steel comb for the spots they don't like being furminated on. Wide toothed for a longer haired cat, narrow toothed for a shorter haired cat. This totally works. I get a hell of a lot of hair out of my long haired cat's fluffy armpits. Also update on my stupid fatass cat and anorexic cat: they are still on meals now instead of being free fed, and to my shock and delight Hugo the Anorexic Cat is the one that bawls for food in the morning. He never fails to let us know when he wants to eat, but he still only eats little pecks at a time but whatever he's eating and not losing weight so I don't care. Decoy the Fatass has sort of sulkily accepted the new norm, but he is looking like just as much of a blimp as ever which leads me to believe he his probably pillaging food from other cats. We're trying to fix our possibly busted cat door so the microchip lock works again so we can lock him in but let Hugo still come and go, with any luck we'll get it working and see if he slims down when confined indoors completely. Not looking forward to his crazy rear end zooms 24/7 but all worth it in the name of winnowing down his ponderous pendulum of a gut.
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Aug 11, 2016 12:59
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My anorexic picky jerk used to do that too and lost a ton of lbs but now I got a new bag of EVO and she eats the WHOLE BOWL. I'm honestly shocked, she's NEVER eaten the whole bowl. I'm glad they put whatever type of addictive junk in it--I know I complained about it before-- but I've changed my mind because she's put on a pound or so, I'm happy 
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Aug 11, 2016 14:09
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Yeah I had a heap of trouble finding any food that Hugo would actually eat, I tried about 6 brands that he did not acknowledge as food before he finally deigned to eat Go! - the only other thing he'll reliably eat is Hills I/D. He may not eat a lot of it but he screams for a top up if he can see the bottom of his bowl so I think it's as close to him liking a food as we're ever going to get.
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Aug 11, 2016 14:18
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Do dental dog treats (greenies, dentastix and the like) actually do anything to help clean a dog's teeth, or are they just oversized kibble? My dog had bad breath so I've started brushing his teeth twice a week, and since greenies are apparently dog crack I give him one of those every now and then, but I'm not sure they actually help his teeth. I'd been giving them before I got the toothbrush to not much improvement, whereas brushing helped almost immediately.
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Aug 15, 2016 12:23
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Ten Becquerels posted:Do dental dog treats (greenies, dentastix and the like) actually do anything to help clean a dog's teeth, or are they just oversized kibble? My dog had bad breath so I've started brushing his teeth twice a week, and since greenies are apparently dog crack I give him one of those every now and then, but I'm not sure they actually help his teeth. I'd been giving them before I got the toothbrush to not much improvement, whereas brushing helped almost immediately. My vet says they're like giving the dog a stick of gum. It'll get some stuff off their teeth and freshen their breath but is not anywhere close to a substitute for brushing.
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Aug 15, 2016 15:22
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Ten Becquerels posted:Do dental dog treats (greenies, dentastix and the like) actually do anything to help clean a dog's teeth, or are they just oversized kibble? My dog had bad breath so I've started brushing his teeth twice a week, and since greenies are apparently dog crack I give him one of those every now and then, but I'm not sure they actually help his teeth. I'd been giving them before I got the toothbrush to not much improvement, whereas brushing helped almost immediately. Brushing is ALWAYS preferable, but chewables aren't gonna hurt. They're made of ingredients that are slightly gritty, so they work a lot like whitening toothpaste does for humans. They aren't going to help with serious decay, but if your dog's teeth are already in decent shape, they can help keep them that way. I find raw bones to work better as they actually scrape the teeth a bit, but they're more expensive, and it adds protein/fat/calories if they're meaty bones. If you're interested, Primal sells some great frozen ones, which is also nice on a hot summer day, but you might want to adjust his dinner portions accordingly. When it comes to dental health the most important thing is to be consistent. Either way, definitely keep brushing his teeth! Not sure what kind of toothpaste you're using but try and pick up an enzymatic one-Sentry makes a decent one we sell a lot of, in peanut butter or chicken flavors.
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Aug 15, 2016 22:46
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porkswordonboard posted:When it comes to dental health the most important thing is to be consistent. Either way, definitely keep brushing his teeth! Not sure what kind of toothpaste you're using but try and pick up an enzymatic one-Sentry makes a decent one we sell a lot of, in peanut butter or chicken flavors. The toothpaste is Hartz Dentist's Best in vanilla mint flavour, the store didn't just have the brushes on their own so I had to get the set. Looking at the ingredients it's just paste with some abrasive stuff in it, might go and check out the other toothpastes they have at the store and try to find an ezymatic one. His teeth aren't in bad shape at the moment, but he's a pug so his teeth are all crowded together and crap builds up between them and gives him bad breath. Frodo doesn't seem too fussed about the flavour, he gets excited when I get out the brush even though he hates the actual brushing and having me messing with his mouth because he gets a treat afterward. Helps that he's pretty tolerant of me fiddling around with his face and ears to clean his wrinkles and all that fun stuff you have to do with a pug. As to why I own this little genetic dead end: I got him 3 years ago, being much less aware of how much bracycephalic breeds struggle with basic dog things and that their adorable snuffling isn't a good thing and also comes with 'reverse sneezing' and similar respiratory issues (nobody told me about reverse sneezing and I thought he was choking or dying the first time he did it). He's a great little dog and I love him, but I wouldn't get another pug and when people start talking to me about how much they want a pug, I try to nicely tell them that getting one is a bad idea after seeing how quickly he starts getting overheated on warmer days or with anything more than mild exercise.
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Aug 16, 2016 01:28
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Kitty has lost a pound already! Don't worry, I am being very careful about hepatic lipidosis. A pound is a lot already, but she's getting fed quite a bit and never bugs for food, so I think we're on the right path ^_^ ETA: That's also my scale vs the vet scale. The vet weighed her at 10.04 kg, and I just weighed her at 21 pounds even, so it's probable there are a few ounces difference in there. Echeveria fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Aug 17, 2016 |
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Aug 17, 2016 04:42
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Echeveria posted:Kitty has lost a pound already! Don't worry, I am being very careful about hepatic lipidosis. A pound is a lot already, but she's getting fed quite a bit and never bugs for food, so I think we're on the right path ^_^ My dog was weighed at three different vets the other week because he is a shitlord and he weighed almost a pound different at each one. I'd probably use the same scale each time even if it is a little off, it'll be consistent at least even if it's not totally accurate.
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Aug 18, 2016 00:39
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Even a half pound in 2 weeks is awesome, and more likely the case. I didn't think to weigh her at home before starting the diet, but I will going forward.
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Aug 19, 2016 04:22
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how are you weighing them at home? If you have a cat carrier, putting them in there, weighing them(I would do 3 times after letting the scale reset at my job), then subtracting the weight of the carrier is a solid way to do it. If you cant get a consistent number, try again. Just make sure its as centered as possible.
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Aug 19, 2016 04:54
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I'm curious about homemade dog food, can someone point me to good info like a beginners guide? What draws me too it is my pup has food allergies, and id like to know for sure im eliminating the problem foods.
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Aug 20, 2016 01:16
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I weighed myself 3 times, got the same weight, picked her up and weighed both of us 3 times, got the same weight. Subtracted. If I put her in the carrier she'll scream bloody murder. I just use a regular household digital scale.
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Aug 20, 2016 05:55
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Echeveria posted:I weighed myself 3 times, got the same weight, picked her up and weighed both of us 3 times, got the same weight. Subtracted. If I put her in the carrier she'll scream bloody murder. I just use a regular household digital scale. That's exactly what I do.
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Aug 20, 2016 18:50
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Food fun. When I adopted my cat, her notes said any food with grain in it gave her runny shits. In the stocking up on cat supplies spree, I picked up some taste of the wild chicken based grain free which she liked, ate fine, still had runny shits, and also had horrible paint peeling death farts. I upgraded to EVO fish based which mostly cured the horrible farts but runny shits continued. My boss had some blue buffalo indoor cat formula which is chicken+fish based and 40% of so grain and finally she has normal poops and the death farts are back because chicken. Am I a horrible cat parent for wanting to keep her on grain food since it seems to agree with her the best? I'll still look around for a non chicken based one to quell the death farts, and I'm fortunate that she's so far not shown signs of refusing any kind of food so options are wide open. Is there a best brand/formula dry food with grains? She has a fountain and drinks a ton so I'm not too concerned with the wet/dry food decision quite yet.
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Aug 24, 2016 17:07
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Boogalo posted:Food fun. My rule of thumb is to keep your cat on the food she does best on, as long as it's not straight-up trash. However, as cats really don't need much/almost any grains in their diet (as obligate carnivores), we all know that more meat=better food. I encourage you to try a few things if you're willing: Sometimes switching the food abruptly causes bowel issues. If you weren't doing it already, whenever you switch foods, do it slllooowwwlllyyy. She seems very reactive so I would switch her over a week or more. So the first day, take out 1/7 of the old food and replace it with 1/7 of the new. Do that for all her meals on the first day, and then the second, take out 2/7, etc. I liken abruptly switching your pet's food to you eating only crackers and cheese for a year straight and then someone giving you a big ol' meaty fatty burger....just imagine the shits you'd have. In addition to a slow change, consider adding canned pumpkin to her food, or goat's milk-the company Primal has a good and affordable one, just ask your local pet store. I've worked with a LOT of dogs and cats who have 'sad poops' and this seems to really do the trick. Perhaps consider trying a beef or lamb based food, as well, if chicken isn't sitting well with her.
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Aug 24, 2016 17:25
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Boogalo posted:Food fun. My parents' cat used to be able to walk through a room and 'mrrpt?' and look at you expectantly and then the smell would hit and the needle would come off the record and time would stop. That went away when they switched to Natural Balance Limited Ingredient. He never had any issues with poop consistency though. NB uses peas instead of grain as their bulk-up ingredient so it might be worth seeing if it makes a difference. You'd probably have to get it at at Petco or Petsmart or something, I haven't seen it at ordinary grocery stores.
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Aug 24, 2016 17:29
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As mentioned, slow transitions and pumpkin are what save me when I change foods. Weruva has individual pouches of pumpkin if you don't think you can use an antire can before it goes bad (I can't). I also use it when one of my cats is on antibiotics. I also give them some probiotics and that really helps with gas and smell. Most pet supply stores should have all of the above.
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Aug 24, 2016 17:48
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Food transitions have been the slow, weeklong ordeal type and once fully switched I wait a month or so before deciding to try the next thing, both to make sure she's adjusted ok, also to not waste the food I already have. It was funny and frustrating when just 3 days into the grain food switch process, her poops were normal and solid. Thanks for the input. After looking at ingredient lists and how ridiculously goddamn long some of them are, thinking I'll try the Orijen 6 fish next. Low fillers, pretty short ingredient list to rule out sensitivity to any of the weird poo poo, no chicken. Will report back. Drooling Fluff tax: 
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Aug 24, 2016 19:44
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Echeveria posted:As mentioned, slow transitions and pumpkin are what save me when I change foods. Weruva has individual pouches of pumpkin if you don't think you can use an antire can before it goes bad (I can't). I also use it when one of my cats is on antibiotics. I also give them some probiotics and that really helps with gas and smell. Most pet supply stores should have all of the above. That way, you can just pull out one frozen portion and thaw it overnight in the fridge before feeding it to your cat.
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Aug 25, 2016 05:32
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Huh! Thanks for the tip! I'll try that next time.
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Aug 25, 2016 16:32
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My cat has been diagnosed with diabetes and the doctor suggested either Purina DM diet or Hill's MD diet. I'm not crazy about this vet in general so I thought I'd ask you nutrition experts if those are the best foods or if there are other good options that don't require a prescription. I say it's my cat because he loves me more, but he's with my ex these days. I'm just footing the bill because she's poor and I want him to be ok.
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Sep 25, 2016 23:14
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Snowy posted:My cat has been diagnosed with diabetes and the doctor suggested either Purina DM diet or Hill's MD diet. Vets know what cats need numbers-wise, but in my (limited) experience, they rarely know anything about available brands. So they can say "cats need x, y, and z, but I've only ever heard about -Hills- because they taught all my nutrition classes in school. I can be sort of confident about this, so, ok!" I am NOT a vet, but I do lots of brand research for my job. For diabetic cats you want: Lots of protein (MORE than 50% if possible!) A good amount of fat (20-50%) As few carbohydrates as possible (cats don't need 'em anyways) WATER WATER WATER So you will be looking at a wet, frozen, or freeze dried food most likely. You could substitute some wet for a high, high quality dry, mixed in. What can you afford? This is very important. Keep in mind a high protein, high fat, low carb food will mean you will feed LESS of it, so try not to let the price point freak you out too much. Look at Primal (frozen is best but requires your ex to prepare it), Stella and Chewy's, or any wet foods that fit the criteria above. I feed Weruva wet to my boys and they love it, but check ingredient analyses on everything you consider and see if it matches what you need. Also, every 'flavor' of a wet/etc food will have different nutritional values, so you're not just looking for a brand, you'll be looking even closer. If your ex is hell-bent on dry food, Orijen, Acana or Rawz (Northeast USA) with water added *may* do the trick. Your ex should be adding a little water to everything she feeds your buddy from now on, and changing his water at least twice a day to get him hydrated. Here's an additional warning I stole that you need to take into account: "Many cats that are in a diabetic state no longer need any insulin when they are finally fed an appropriate low-carbohydrate diet. Others will always need some insulin but the amount necessary to maintain proper blood glucose levels is nearly always significantly reduced once the patient is on a low carbohydrate diet. If you change your diabetic cat's diet to one with lower carbohydrates, he will, in all probability, IMMEDIATELY (not days or weeks later) require a reduction in his insulin dosage. He may also immediately go into 'remission' and not need any insulin at all. If this warning is ignored, you may very well end up with a cat in a hypoglycemic crisis (dangerously low blood sugar) which can result in death, or brain damage." Please make sure you and your ex are keeping a close eye on your buddy as you change his food, and change his food SLOWLY. Over at least 5-7 days.
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Sep 26, 2016 00:45
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porkswordonboard posted:Helpful advice Thank you! I'm going to talk to her to get some input, that's more than I'm prepared to answer right now. I didn't really know anything about diabetes before so I'm trying to catch up quickly. The vet didn't say anything about transitioning to the new food, but she did mention watching for lethargic behavior six hours after the insulin shot because that might indicate remission.
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Sep 26, 2016 01:04
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One of my cats has always had issues eating to fast and barfing, and it's getting a bit worse. He didn't have the issue when he was a kitten/younger cat and we had him on some lower quality dry food (Natural Balance). Now they're eating Nature's Variety Instinct dry food. We've tried to slow him down with a special bowl and that worked for quite a while (like, years), but it seems that he's learned how to down stuff fast enough again. I think the "freeze dry raw coating" on the Nature's Variety stuff might be part of the problem so I might try switching them to solid gold or some other brand that doesn't have it. Any time we'd gotten the kind with freeze dried chunks the cat would instantly barf so I'm wondering if it messes with his tummy.
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Oct 2, 2016 20:26
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powderific posted:One of my cats has always had issues eating to fast and barfing, and it's getting a bit worse. He didn't have the issue when he was a kitten/younger cat and we had him on some lower quality dry food (Natural Balance). Now they're eating Nature's Variety Instinct dry food. We've tried to slow him down with a special bowl and that worked for quite a while (like, years), but it seems that he's learned how to down stuff fast enough again. My cats love natures variety but I just switched them to the new natures variety premium (it doesn't have the freeze dried bits) and they love it and will no longer eat the other one. My cats also vomit so I got 2 sheet pans and spread the food out and they haven't vomited since. Might be worth a shot. These are stainless steel cookie sheets. It's not the prettiest thing but it works. 
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Oct 9, 2016 02:52
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Hey pet nutrition thread I'm bringing you a gift from tumblr (I'm sorry)
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Oct 24, 2016 17:29
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How do you get a dog to eat when they violently refuse? 7 y/o 12lb terrier mix was just diagnosed with anemia the other day (he just suddenly became ill). Our next checkup is on Tuesday. Until then, it's impossible to get him to eat. He'll growl and even bite if we try to force him to eat We've been trying to give him the Hills a/d we were recommended by the vet tech.
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Oct 29, 2016 01:23
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UserErr0r posted:How do you get a dog to eat when they violently refuse? Unless otherwise specified by your vet, it is generally more important to get your dog to eat then to be specific about what he's eating. I suggest going to your local pet store and asking for samples (if you're talking kibble) as well as grabbing some canned food. Stinky stuff (tripe, fish, anything gamey) if possible, or whatever he's liked in the past. Perhaps even microwave it briefly to bring out The Stink. If anything has a particularly high iron content it's a bonus. Try freeze dried or frozen if it's an affordable option. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on it! Add some low sodium chicken or beef stock! Try goat's milk! If you get something that he doesn't like, ask stores about how they guarantee their food, or check out rescues/pet food pantries/etc to see if they'll take opened donations. If he continues to refuse any and all food, call your vet and see what they think before your appointment. If he is ill it would be very bad for him to go days without eating. There are also high-calorie gel supplements you can wipe on his paws so he licks it off, but while this can be somewhat effective it can also result in what my gf calls "Willy Wonka Walls" where they shake it off onto the walls and another pet licks it off. Or, I just assume someone has really dark and gnarly boogers they're wiping on the walls and get very concerned for a moment. Good luck!
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Oct 29, 2016 23:43
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UserErr0r posted:How do you get a dog to eat when they violently refuse? When my dog was anemic the only thing he would eat was nature's kitchen, you can get a couple trial bags for $2 http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/sample-bundle Also the natty balance dog food roll. Basically seconding getting a bunch of dog food samples.
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Oct 30, 2016 08:31
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Hey, so does anyone know anything about Solid Gold's Holistic Delights cat food pouches? As seen here: http://www.solidgoldpet.com/product/holistic-delights-salmon/ My cat is crazy about them, probably because of the coconut milk and his love for anything dairy related. But is coconut milk bad for cats? I'm finding conflicting results ranging from "yes" to "meh" to "no".
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Nov 12, 2016 16:28
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It's bad in that it's meant to appeal to people who buy into the coconut water fad and doesn't really add anything to a cat's diet, but if your cat enjoys it, great. I don't think it's a problem in small amounts, or what you would get from one of those pouches. I think a lot of the "no" is coming from people trying to talk idiots out of feeding their cats coconut milk and oil instead of proper food.
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Nov 13, 2016 04:00
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Thanks. We tried them out because they were on sale and our cat keeps trying to drink our cereal. Glad to know its probably ok.
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Nov 14, 2016 00:22
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(Sorry, this ended up a little long) I have three sibling cats (two boys and a girl) who are about 6 1/2 months old. Here's Emily:  And here are her brothers, George (in back), and Henry (in front):  I know that cats in the same litter can have different fathers. Emily looks so different from her brothers. I think maybe that George and Henry had the same dad (their share long bodies, pointy faces, big ears, and extra silky, short hair). Emily looks more like a traditional domestic cat: her hair is a little longer than theirs, though she's not a longhair cat; she has smaller ears and a rounder face; and she is tiny compared to her brothers. When I adopted them, they were all around 3 lbs. I took them to the vet for their rabies shots back in August, about a month after I got them. George had doubled in weight, from about 3 lbs. to 6.2. Henry weighed 5.5 lbs., and Emily 4.1 lbs. George has continued to grow, and is now by far the largest. I tried weighing them tonight (using my food scale and a box lid), and Emily was around 6 lbs., Henry about 8 or so, and George somewhere between 9 and 10 (he kept moving). I've been giving them about 4 oz. of wet food a day (divided into two meals, morning and evening) and I leave dry food out for them to eat during the day while I'm at work. They've been eating Friskies wet food (since that's what they were used to at the shelter), but the dry food is Solid Gold Indigo Cat/Kitten formula. They all seem to eat just fine: one of the boys tends to eat more of the dry food during the day and less wet food at dinner, but the other two finish his portion and eat less dry food. Sometimes they'll take a break while eating their wet food and come back to it a little later. As I said, they all seem to eat fine. They're all growing. But I'm worried that maybe George is eating too much and he'll get fat. He's already kind of plump. Based on the fact that he's only 6 months old, I imagine that he still has some growing to do. But I've found conflicting information online about when a cat is "full-grown," whether or not to free-feed kittens are start them on a schedule (and if you free-feed them, when to stop), and how much to feed cats at this age. Also, if he is eating too much, I'm not sure exactly what to do. Should I give them more wet food for their morning and evening meals and just leave a little dry food out during the day, just in case (there's no way I can come home to feed them a third meal in the middle of the day)? Should I stop the free-feeding completely? What if that means that Emily and Henry aren't getting enough to eat (especially Emily)? Do I separate them when they eat their wet food, or take the food away from everyone once they stop eating? I have a cat tower (in the picture), plenty of boxes and toys, and they all play and run around a lot, so I think they're getting good exercise. I just don't want to make a mistake now and have it harm George's health (or Emily's or Henry's) in the long run. If it's not obvious, these are my first cats. I adopted them a few months after my now-ex broke up with me and took his cats across the country. I wasn't sure I could handle three, but they had bonded and I didn't want to leave one behind. They are so sweet and good-natured, and they have been a lot of comfort. I just want to make sure I'm taking care of them the right way.
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Nov 15, 2016 01:10
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Anyone have any info on this Young Again Zero cat food? Just found out about it through Google but not too much info since it looks like it's really only sold via their website.
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Nov 18, 2016 04:33
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I'm going to bring this question over from the dog thread. I adopted a 1.5 year old rescue hound (maybe a Plott Hound) a little over a month ago. She weighed 47 lbs and the vet is thinking she should probably weigh a bit over 50, maybe 55. I'm feeding her the Blue Buffalo Wilderness Large Breed Healthy Weight formula. She's getting 3 and 1/3 cups of food a day plus we're still on treats when working on her training. GoodBee posted:How can I judge if a dog should have some extra food for extra activity? And how much extra? She's still a little underweight but my vet said I shouldn't overfeed her, she'll probably gain weight just because she's been fixed and eating regularly. I'm feeding her according to the weight maintenance amount for how much we think she should weigh and we're going to she how she's doing when we go back in March.
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Nov 20, 2016 20:56
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Any food recommendations for a 12-week growing Great Dane male? We've been feeding him Royal Canin large breed puppy food.
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Nov 21, 2016 00:08
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We've been giving my dogs Taste of the Wild for awhile now but my wife said she read an article about how their food isn't as good as it used to be. Is that true and if so could you guys recommend something else?
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Nov 21, 2016 00:28
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