When Aurora first came to live with me, I fed her what she had been eating in her previous foster-home, but without success. She didn’t like it here, for whatever reason. A variety of soft-foods was attempted, but none met with her approval except one that was of fish. It was strongly fish, as could be discerned by the smell. Auro enjoyed it and ate it up.
Her digestive tract did not care for it. Her next poop was liquidy, which the previous droppings were not. A change of diet, no matter the content, frequently causes diarrhea in cats; I have seen it in many of the beasts who have come here. I suspected the new food, but continued to feed it to Aurora in case it was simply a matter of growing accustomed to it. That plan changed, however, when she couldn’t even make it to the litter-box one evening; her habits until then had been exemplary.
I altered her food again, and fortunately, have found one that she finds appetizing. Her body agrees. It is not cheap and, being a kitten, she eats a lot of it. But it is a good food. She is still attracted to other brands, nonetheless, and, when I was not looking last night, finished up some sole-cod-shrimp variety of Fancy Feast that Renn had left in his bowl. Within a quarter-hour, little Auro was in the litter-box leaving a liquidy review of the tasty but digestively-unfriendly Fancy Feast. A stricter vigilance led to a more solid deposit in her next visit to the facilities; the effects of different foods on her are that rapid. If I needed confirmation about her necessary diet, though, I had it.
These are the discoveries it is useful to make before a cat in
foster-care is adopted. In Aurora’s case, the discovery is…no fish!
Wow, she's not too allergic, is she?? Good thing you know about that now, though.
ReplyDeleteSaku doesn't care for fish any longer, though I've seen no change in his deposits. Thank goodness!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to determine the issue for Aurora and find an option she's happy with...because I'm sure you're happy not to see the alternative in the box.
Food allergies can be difficult to deal with and finding the offending allergen can take weeks. Luckily you were able to discover what causes Aurora to react pretty quickly and now those foods can be avoided.
ReplyDeleteAh! Bless the little lady..! :).
ReplyDeleteAnd a pussy~cat not liking fish is a bit strange...
Though it does happen l suppose...if l come home
on a Thursday, having bought a couple of mackerel
on the market, l have the first one just boiled in
water/vinegar, Fudge who lives a couple of houses
away, smells the fish, and shoots round for a share
out...he's very fond of sharing my meals, though
draws the the with curry...HeHe! Bless him..! :O).
I remember as a child in the 50s the only brand of cat food was Kit E Kat. It was bright pink, mushy and strongly smelled of fish! The cats didn't have diarrhea but always had very soft stools and stunk to high Heaven. That put me off fish flavours and I have never fed similar to any of our cats. Of course there are so many different brands now and better ingredients so it wouldn't necessarily cause a problem. I am glad you have found Aurora's intolerance and know to avoid it.
ReplyDeleteI recall Poppy Q's mum writing a couple of times that as late as the 1970s the only tinned cat-food available in New Zealand was a product with a name like 'Jelly-meat', or something similar. The pet-food industry is a field that would have made a person rich, if they'd invested in it in the late 1970s...
DeleteI'm still nostalgic for Kitty Queen. It was the worst smelling stuff in the world, but it was inexpensive, had all natural ingredients, and I never met a cat who didn't love all the flavors. It was a sad day when that brand went away.
DeleteI remember when I got my first cat in 1971, the vet recommended Alpo, which according to the label, could be used for both cats and dogs. Of course, now we know dog food does not contain the all the nutrients cats need.
DeleteYes, it's good you have this information for a future adopter. It's even better that Aurora has other options that suit her digestion just fine! (As opposed to the hydrolyzed protein stuff!)
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, can she eat other flavours of Fancy Feast? Or is there something in Fancy Feast in general?
So far as I can determine, she can eat other varieties of Fancy Feast (such as chicken-and-liver) without mishap, even though many suspect that non-fish flavours have fish in them, to some extent.
DeleteI found this to be true of a many years gone now kitty. She had to eat just dry food that was lamb and rice. And now Precious can not eat any canned foods. They all go in semi solid and come out liquid. A trial and error hard on stomachs and behinds and hard on humans. Glad you have found a good food for Aurora. She is showing off her orangey-brown chin, love it.
ReplyDeleteAuro's colouring is interesting, isn't it? Half-way between calico and tortoiseshell, it seems.
DeleteThat was a hard thing to deal with for both of you. Thank goodness you found the offender.
ReplyDeleteAurora's name is puffect for her colouring!
ReplyDeleteAround here, chicken and beef create the process that you mention; fish and turkey are our mainstays.
And Sweetie has stopped eating kibble, so no more faces left behind in her bowl for me.
We must roll with what is right for our feline friends, no matter what.