Food

[WelshMoth]

We adopted our twin sisters at 4.5 months from the CPL. they arrived with the advice of feeding them biscuits (Burgess for kittens) and pouches (felix) for kittens. Both cats loved the food routine but 1 cat was really smelly with occasional droplets of faecal matter making an appearance.

Vet over the phone reckoned possible glands needing doing so booked her in. When he saw her, he said it wasn't glands, but more likely a viral thing going on (she arrived with a heavy snuffly cold and sticky eyes) and possible worms so both were wormed over 3 days and I had to administer a probiotic for 3 days as well.

Poor little kitten's gums were very inflamed as well which he put down to the virus BUT he told me to drop her wet pouches.

Kittens seem fine, not smelly, can't check her gums as she won't let me, but neither are showing such a hearty interest in the biscuits. Whenever I open the food pouch draw, they sprint from wherever they are in the house then wander off in disappointment when they see the biscuits. Their pops aren't very big and are small and shrivelled too.

Gums will be checked on Thursday so if they're looking health (so the virus was the cause), am I doing wrong by giving them pouches?

I'm sure half a pouch a couple of times a day isn't going to do harm. Wet food is a good way of getting moisture into a cats diet too as they tend not to be big drinkers of water. Could you try a higher quality wet food instead of felix?

Try changing the brand. One of mine Had felix as a treat and it really didn't agree with her!

Agree with PPs. Try changing the brand and perhaps just feed them with wet food twice a day with biscuits available at all times?

Felix is a very smelly brand. We made the mistake of starting our two boys on Felix as kittens and now they won't eat anything else. They are nearly 20 now.

We call those pouches 'cat crack'.

If the smell doesn't improve, look at ingredients. One of my boys has smelly or soft poos if he has something with vegetable protein extract (normal Felix doesn't contain it but Felix AGAIL does) and I don't think wheat helps either so I limit that. Regarding dry I feed him Applaws and sometimes Thrive (the latter gives both of mine very firm poos even though it's around a third of their diet). If you decide to change diet do it slowly over a few days and see if there are any changes before trying anything else.

I'd have thought any animal with inflammed gums should be on wet food anyway. Kittens use up an awful lot of energy and need to keep up their liquid intake, so personally I'd give them wet.

Felix would make my two cats absolutely stink out my house. It is low quality with fillers to bulk it out which can upset little tummies.
Try a grain free wet food, which doesn't have to be expensive either. Ones to try are butchers classic, hi-life and applaws, and there is a fantastic selection on zoo plus to try too. I bet this sorts the problem out.
It also has the benefits of ensuring your cat is not overweight too, as they are getting more lean meat.

Thanks everyone.
Not sure about glands again as I heard a shriek from DD earlier and she saw WelshKitten dragging her bottom across her carpet leavening a bloody marble sized turd in her wake.

They're booked into be spayed in the morning so I'll mention her glands again - perhaps they can be sorted whilst she's under anaesthetic.

Or, maybe she's constipated because she's not having enough water?!

So. Wet food pouches - high in water content. Not Felix.

Crack cocaine for cats?! Is that all pouch food?!

Wild freedom dry food. My cat came to investigate when I bought it and sat at the cupboard until I opened it, then stuck his head in

Mine like thrive dry, encore dry and crave dry. They are all grain free. Sadly they dont like much of the 'good' wet food especially not pate style. They have gourmet perle pouches with the odd gourmet solitaire tin

Bum dragging can be worms

Try an own brand cereal free pouch like Sainsburys or Aldi. Dry poo in humans would indicate dehydration.

demented that was my thoughts too - I tried the 3 day worming solution (syringed) on both but they both have retained their Mum's feral streak and it wasn't as successful as I'd hoped.

I have just shooed one off my bed and she has splattered a really smelly shower of droplets from her backside onto my bed . What is this?!?

Glad they're both at vets - I just want her bottom checked!

off to strip and boil wash the sheets

I had to burrito wrap mine in a towel to give the liquid wormer

demented my swaddling skillls were good, I thought!

Sadly, WelshKitties seemed to yodel the solution around my kitchen.

Bastards.

One has just lovingly head butted me though, so all is most definitely forgiven