Diet

[Suzynick]

Help! Alfie seems to suffer from the odd smelly and loose stool from time to time, he is up to date with his vacs, worming and flea treatment. I think it could be either his food or the fact that he will regularly pick things up off the floor such as a bit of hay that has come in from the back garden (I also have rabbits) or even a bit of dried mud brought in from the hallway (we have an allotment!) as well as chewing on plastic....he is a house cat and I think he does this out of boredom.

I have started a food diary over the last month...he is on yarrah wet and arden grange dry. I originally thought it was his dry food but this hasn't got any allergens in it, however yarrah has grain. So I stopped all dry food but he is still getting the odd loose stool. I have bought some yarrah grain free and some other arden grange dry which is better for sensitive tummies. Though I am confused on how to go about it all. I don't want him on a prescription diet as I don't like to use the companies that make them.

Hope all this makes sense!

[Jacks]

Suzynick I don't know the brand you've mentioned here so I'm guessing you're not in the UK? I have certainly read a lot about wheat causing stomach irritation amongst other things and I think the idea of reading the ingredients and trying to keep cereals out of his food is a very good idea. They are no use to cats in any case and used as bulking agents.

Some brands here (James Wellbeloved, Harringtons) have meat with rice varieties of dry food - rice is generally well tolerated by cats. We also have a brand called Encore which does a completely cereal free dried food, 80% of which is dried chicken. There are brands of cat food with no cereals and they're generally a little more expensive that their cereal counterparts, for obvious reasons, but well worth that extra if your cat has a sensitive gut.

It's certainly worth a try!

[Suzynick]

Hi, no I am in the UK! Yarrah is an organic food from the Netherlands, I buy it from Zooplus, arden grange is a uk food. I didn't want to change alfies food unnecessarily but have read about grains not being very good.

I have bought some yarrah grain free but it comes in trays not cans so a bit more pricey, and also lily's kitchen which is super pricey! Also burns grain free and arden grain free.

I don't know whether I should start adding some grain free to his food gradually moving him on it and when to start adding some new biscuits.

[Kay]

I've had the same problem with my Trigger - I found after months of trying them all that he wouldn't eat any of the grain free wet foods available from Zooplus, so in the end I settled for grain-free good quality biscuits with home cooked chicken, white fish and lamb's kidneys (he wouldn't eat raw), and it has made a huge different to the colour and firmness of his poo

and his posture suggests he is much more comfortable intestinally