Kitten food, easy to digest?

Question

What foods can I buy at Petco or Petsmart (No Wal*Mart crap) that is still healthy for him (He's on Nutro now, just to give you an idea of what I'm looking for) but won't irritate his system?

If it helps, he'll be 5 months old on the 4th.

He's not throwing up, he has diarrhea. He has only had this problem since I switched him over to the Nutro, which I was told was a healthy brand. My assumption is that he either has a sensitive stomach or that the food is too rich for him. Either way, I want to buy something that will be easier for him to digest; and I refuse to go back to Science Diet or Iams because I know how they are processed and what they contain.

Yes, it was about a 2 1/2 week transition from one food to the next.

Answer 1

Any "holistic" premium brand is worth a try. The first ones that come to mind are Wellness and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul. Just head on down to your local pet sotre, and look for something that doesn't contain by products, and names a meat (such as chicken or beef) as the first ingredient. Royal Canin is a pretty good brand, and doesn't usually contain animal by products.
You also might try a different flavor of Nutro. Are you feeding Nutro Max, or Nutro Natural Choice? Nutro Max is a slightly less quality food, and if that's what you are feeding, the problem may resolve if you switch to Nutro Natural Choice. You also might try switching formulations from the Regular one to the Sensitive Stomach formulation.

Hope this helps...

Answer 2

did you make the transition slow? over a 2 week period or did you just discard the old food and start feeding the new food? generally when making a food change you should make a gradual transition by adding 1/3 of the new food to 2/3 of the old food for about 5 days, then do 1/2 new food to 1/2 of the old food, for at least 5 days, then do 2/3 new to 1/3 old for another 4 or 5 days to make a slow transition.

Some cats and dogs just don't do well on certain foods you may want to try one of these:

Authority Baked Brand
Nature's Recipe
Wellness
Natural Balance

If the diarrhea continues I would strongly recommend a trip to the vet to see what the problem could be. Good Luck.

Answer 3

Hi there again...I'll repost my answer again as I'm uncertain how people receive their answers since I've never asked question here.

Perhaps your cat may have food allergies to certain ingredients aside from the most common corn, corn meal found in most commercial cat food brands which Nutro does not have. Unfortunately, most large chain pet stores do not have a large enough variety of quality foods. However, Petco has begun to stock more healthy brands such as Eagle Pack, Natural Choice, Organix, Pet Gold, Solid Gold, Wysong are some that I've seen: http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_productlist_Nav_201_N_23+92.aspx

Some cats can be allergic to the egg, particular meats, etc. so you have to experiment to find the the irritant that is the culprit. Have you considered lamb and rice combinations? For some reason cats with sensitive stomachs and allergies seem to fair better.

Please keep in mind as well even when gradually switching foods the stomach bacteria can take a little while to readjust so the diarrhoea symptoms can linger for a week or two before it ceases. http://www.peteducation.com:80/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1276&articleid=1155 You could offer your cat a little cultered yogurt to help restore/regulate the healthy intestinal bacteria.

Answer 4

How long ago was the switch, and do you do it gradually? A sudden change in diet will upset any pet's tummy. To help him with the change (Nutro is a good brand, but I prefer Medi-cal-a veterinary formula), try mixing cooked rice and plain cooked chicken or lean beef in with his food, for about a week, gradually ween him off the homemade bland diet and onto pure Nutro, If that doesn't work, then there may be something non-dietary wrong with him. Other causes of diarhea could be worms (and kitties are sometimes wormy), so get him de-wormed if he wasn't already. Once he's been neutered, then switch him to an adult cat food (again gradually), unless he is getting too fat too soon, then switch him sooner. Good luck with him, and take care.

Answer 5

I have never eaten kitten food so I do not know if it is easy to digest.

Answer 6

You changed your kittys food too suddenly. Take a week or so with the change, by gradually introducing the new food. And all dog food is processed NutroMax is processed just the same.