Gluten Free Cats?

[BethJ]

I used to toss their canned food if it wasn't eaten in an hour or so. I was about to give up on wet food when I forgot to throw it away one evening and to my surprise, it had all been eaten by bedtime. Thanks, Peter, for clarifying this. I think some cats prefer to nibble a little rather than scarf it all down in one sitting.

One thing about taurine, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure cats can only obtain it from raw meat and supplements. Cooking destroys it so if you're thinking of feeding them a homemade diet with cooked meat, chicken, etc., you must supplement it with taurine or they're go blind.

[psawyer]

Our cats don't get supplements and are not fed raw meat. None of them are blind, so they must be getting sufficient taaurine from their food, none of which is raw. One of them eats only canned food, and everything in the can is cooked to at least some degree.

[BethJ]

  On 1/23/2011 at 9:35 PM, psawyer said:

Our cats don't get supplements and are not fed raw meat. None of them are blind, so they must be getting sufficient taaurine from their food, none of which is raw. One of them eats only canned food, and everything in the can is cooked to at least some degree.

All commercial cats foods, both dry and wet , have taurine added to make them a completely balanced food. I was referring to folks who cook "people food" for their cats. Nothing wrong with this as long as they get a balanced diet from either raw, commercial, or supplemental cat food. In fact, I think some of my friends who feed a raw diet also supplement it with taurine.

Personally, I prefer feeding our cats food that's already made in either bags or cans. As picky as they are, I could never cook to please them!

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/23/2011 at 3:31 AM, psawyer said:

Wet food can be left out in the dish for much more than 15 minutes. Several hours will see it drying out, but it is still safe to consume.

If you want to use 15 minutes as a domination technique it may work. But there is not a problem with leaving canned food in a dish for a few hours. Leftovers in a can with an air-tight cover will keep for at least 12 hours unrefrigerated. Your cat will appreciate that the food is not cold. She likes it at room temperature.

Cats are by nature animals that like to eat a little bit frequently during the day and night. If I picked up my cats food after 15 minutes they would slowly starve to death. It seems most of their eating takes place at night judging by the empty bowls in the morning. My cats eat both wet and dry food and I must be doing something right as when another cat person and I were talking about our animals and I mentioned that mine were 14 and 16 years old she looked at me and said 'Wow I can't get one to live over 12!'.

[Fire Fairy]

  On 1/24/2011 at 3:55 PM, ravenwoodglass said:

Cats are by nature animals that like to eat a little bit frequently during the day and night. If I picked up my cats food after 15 minutes they would slowly starve to death. It seems most of their eating takes place at night judging by the empty bowls in the morning. My cats eat both wet and dry food and I must be doing something right as when another cat person and I were talking about our animals and I mentioned that mine were 14 and 16 years old she looked at me and said 'Wow I can't get one to live over 12!'.

My cats have lived to a great age as well. I currently have a 15 yr old and a 14 yr old. I really worry about my fat boy (who is a little over 5 yrs) developing diabetes. It's mostly for him I want to change their diet. But it hopefully will also help the oldest with her skin problems.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/24/2011 at 5:28 PM, Fire Fairy said:

My cats have lived to a great age as well. I currently have a 15 yr old and a 14 yr old. I really worry about my fat boy (who is a little over 5 yrs) developing diabetes. It's mostly for him I want to change their diet. But it hopefully will also help the oldest with her skin problems.

It should help with the skin issues, at least it did for my little dog. Don't know if it will help with the weight but time will tell.

[Fire Fairy]

  On 1/24/2011 at 9:42 PM, ravenwoodglass said:

It should help with the skin issues, at least it did for my little dog. Don't know if it will help with the weight but time will tell.

Thank you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. They are eating their new food very well. I have been easing them into it slowly and I think it's working quite well.

[SGWhiskers]

I'll add that I agree with keeping kitties on a moist, grain free diet. It did wonders for our fuzzball's weight and energy. I also wanted to mention that I had a cat while I was growing up that chewed out all the fur on his tummy and thighs. We didn't know to switch his diet. Once I moved out of the house and he moved in with me, he stopped chewing the fur off. I never changed his food. He was 16 and was getting chemo pills at the time. The big change was that he was no longer living with 3 dogs and 4 siblings. The poor cat was just stressed out.

Look at the food for a cause of the hair plucking, but also look at finding ways to reduce stress. If he is the older cat, maybe make sure he has a safe place to get away from the playful kittens. Did the chewing start when something in the house changed?

Give them all a scratch behind the fuzzy ears for me.

[GFinDC]

I've seen cats and dogs eat grass of their own volition. So they are willing to eat some green vegetable matter. Heck, I had a cat that ate an olive one time.

I think grain free foods are a step in the right direction though and am looking for ones that Muffin the meow-head will eat. Thanks to all for the food suggestions in this thread!

[possiblyglutensensitive]

  On 1/24/2011 at 3:55 PM, ravenwoodglass said:

Cats are by nature animals that like to eat a little bit frequently during the day and night. If I picked up my cats food after 15 minutes they would slowly starve to death. It seems most of their eating takes place at night judging by the empty bowls in the morning. My cats eat both wet and dry food and I must be doing something right as when another cat person and I were talking about our animals and I mentioned that mine were 14 and 16 years old she looked at me and said 'Wow I can't get one to live over 12!'.

I feed my cat 4 times a day and he eats everything in one sitting. I think he would only ghraze if he was grossly overfed and not so hungry. So I think it deepends on the cat.

One of the things I do to keep him busy and stimulated, especially in the winter (he IS an indoor cat, he spends time outdoors on the balcony but only half of the year) is that I feed all his kibble while I am at the computer (once during morning cofee, once in evening). What I do it i throw one piece of kibble at a time down the hallway, and he chases, catches and eats it. He LOVES this and afterwards he always settles down happily for his nap.

His wet food he eats all in one sitting. I should start clicker training him though and using his meals as reinforcement.

[Fire Fairy]

  On 1/27/2011 at 9:21 PM, SGWhiskers said:

I'll add that I agree with keeping kitties on a moist, grain free diet. It did wonders for our fuzzball's weight and energy. I also wanted to mention that I had a cat while I was growing up that chewed out all the fur on his tummy and thighs. We didn't know to switch his diet. Once I moved out of the house and he moved in with me, he stopped chewing the fur off. I never changed his food. He was 16 and was getting chemo pills at the time. The big change was that he was no longer living with 3 dogs and 4 siblings. The poor cat was just stressed out.

Look at the food for a cause of the hair plucking, but also look at finding ways to reduce stress. If he is the older cat, maybe make sure he has a safe place to get away from the playful kittens. Did the chewing start when something in the house changed?

Give them all a scratch behind the fuzzy ears for me.

The vet tried that route, we had Feliway air diffusers but they didn't help. It's a good thought but I'm hoping it is a food allergy.

[Fire Fairy]

  On 1/28/2011 at 12:04 PM, possiblyglutensensitive said:

I feed my cat 4 times a day and he eats everything in one sitting. I think he would only ghraze if he was grossly overfed and not so hungry. So I think it deepends on the cat.

One of the things I do to keep him busy and stimulated, especially in the winter (he IS an indoor cat, he spends time outdoors on the balcony but only half of the year) is that I feed all his kibble while I am at the computer (once during morning cofee, once in evening). What I do it i throw one piece of kibble at a time down the hallway, and he chases, catches and eats it. He LOVES this and afterwards he always settles down happily for his nap.

His wet food he eats all in one sitting. I should start clicker training him though and using his meals as reinforcement.

I can see my fat boy now, watching me throw the kibble...and waiting until enough food lands in one place to slowly walk over to eat. It's a great idea and I think it will work for my chubby dog but the fat cat I can't see going for it.

[Jestgar]

  On 1/28/2011 at 8:12 PM, Fire Fairy said:

I can see my fat boy now, watching me throw the kibble...and waiting until enough food lands in one place to slowly walk over to eat.

:lol:

I had a friend who made her cat get some exercise by putting the food on a table and creating a series of jumps to get to it.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/28/2011 at 12:12 AM, GFinDC said:

I've seen cats and dogs eat grass of their own volition. So they are willing to eat some green vegetable matter. Heck, I had a cat that ate an olive one time.

I think grain free foods are a step in the right direction though and am looking for ones that Muffin the meow-head will eat. Thanks to all for the food suggestions in this thread!

Yea it is surprising what they will eat. At one time I had a kitty that went nuts for brussel sprouts and broccoli, you couldn't leave a bowl unattended and expect it to be there when you got back, another loved pb and jelly or anything sweet and another that wouldn't eat any people food other than meat. Never had to worry about leftovers back then.

Oddly enough my biggest cat (25 lbs) won't eat people food in any form. However the vet says his size and some other issues he has had over the years may be due to his being born to a starving stray and that he didn't get adaquate nutrition in the womb. He is now quite healthy at 14 but nothing we have tried can get him to lose weight. The vet told me not to worry about it as she can't find anything wrong with him at this point.

[BethJ]

  On 1/28/2011 at 9:35 PM, ravenwoodglass said:

Yea it is surprising what they will eat. At one time I had a kitty that went nuts for brussel sprouts and broccoli, you couldn't leave a bowl unattended and expect it to be there when you got back, another loved pb and jelly or anything sweet and another that wouldn't eat any people food other than meat. Never had to worry about leftovers back then.

They're amazing. I have one who loves asparagus and Italian salad dressing. If I leave asparagus on the counter, she'll slowly drag them all away. Licking our salad bowls when we're finished is another thing she loves. Apparently she doesn't know cats are supposed to hate vinegar and sour stuff!

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/29/2011 at 9:40 PM, BethJ said:

They're amazing. I have one who loves asparagus and Italian salad dressing. If I leave asparagus on the counter, she'll slowly drag them all away. Licking our salad bowls when we're finished is another thing she loves. Apparently she doesn't know cats are supposed to hate vinegar and sour stuff!

Just had to say love the ears on that kitty! I have never seen cat ears so large, he reminds me of the Flying Nun. Keep a close hold on him on windy days!

[BethJ]

  On 1/30/2011 at 4:07 PM, ravenwoodglass said:

Just had to say love the ears on that kitty! I have never seen cat ears so large, he reminds me of the Flying Nun. Keep a close hold on him on windy days!

We call them airplane ears.

Her brother has even bigger ears. Here's a picture of them together.

Wow, i didn't know the picture thingie would work here. As long as I have Photobucket open, here's one of Koal enjoying a sink bath. He's totally soaked!

[Jestgar]

Are they Rexes?

[BethJ]

  On 1/30/2011 at 9:42 PM, Jestgar said:

Are they Rexes?

No, they're Oriental Shorthairs.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/30/2011 at 10:08 PM, BethJ said:

No, they're Oriental Shorthairs.

They are really beautiful. They must be a fairly rare breed, I didn't think there was a breed I hadn't heard of. Learned something today.

[BethJ]

  On 1/31/2011 at 12:02 AM, ravenwoodglass said:

They are really beautiful. They must be a fairly rare breed, I didn't think there was a breed I hadn't heard of. Learned something today.

Thank you! I don't think they're rare but may be a more recent breed than some others. They're pretty much Siamese without the albino gene that gives them their "points." My breeder always described OSH as "Siamese that come in more colors."

I guess everybody has figured out by now my favorite topics are cats and food.

[ravenwoodglass]

  On 1/31/2011 at 12:15 AM, BethJ said:

Thank you! I don't think they're rare but may be a more recent breed than some others. They're pretty much Siamese without the albino gene that gives them their "points." My breeder always described OSH as "Siamese that come in more colors."

I guess everybody has figured out by now my favorite topics are cats and food.

They almost look like they are a cross between Siamese and Abysinian (sp) they have such regal looking faces. Remind me of Egyptian statues.

[Fire Fairy]

  On 1/31/2011 at 12:15 AM, BethJ said:

I guess everybody has figured out by now my favorite topics are cats and food.

Mine too! My oldest cat hasn't plucked out any fur since going grain free! I'm very happy.

[BethJ]

  On 2/2/2011 at 3:27 PM, Fire Fairy said:

Mine too! My oldest cat hasn't plucked out any fur since going grain free! I'm very happy.

This is wonderful news! I hope it lasts. I was afraid it could have been from stress, as SGWhiskers said earlier. My oldest has a nervous habit of pulling all the fur off her tummy and inner thighs. The two boys get on her nerves at times and this is how she shows her displeasure. Hopefully that isn't your problem and the change in diet is all that's necessary.