Taste of the Wild food & Cats

[ksalvagno]

Ever since we transitioned our cats onto TOTW, we are having problems with the cats urinating all over the house. We are about ready to put them outside. They were previously on Purina One Sensitive Systems and we were having problems with them throwing up. That was why we changed food. Has anyone else had problems with this?

 

[Javamama]

I had a different problem - mine got the runs on Taste of the Wild.

 

[MetalSmitten]

do they seem to like/love/hate the new food? are the cats male/female, fixed/unfixed? any stray cats wandering into your yard recently?

it's possible they hate the new food and are stressed out because of it, so peeing.
it's possible they love the new food and one cat is "claiming" it as his, so territorial peeing + stress peeing from the other cats.
it's possible they're "detoxing" for lack of a better phrase...
i guess it'd be possible that the new food could've given them all UTIs if you didn't transition slowly enough, but, i doubt it unless your cats are super sensitive =/

it's also possible that it's just coincidence. maybe a new cat is hanging out in your yard, spraying outside and stressing your inside cats. or maybe they're sensitive to a seasonal change. anything new going on with you, your family or house? new furniture? new pet? new kid?

sorry to be so vague, there's literally about 100 reasons why cats start peeing inappropriately, it can be difficult to really pinpoint why.

 

[ksalvagno]

The cats like the new food. From what I can see, no one seems to love it enough to covet it. I transitioned over a 1 month period. They are strictly indoor cats and no new cats have been added. One male, one female. Both fixed and have been for over a year. Nothing new has been going on here and no new pets added. No children either.

 

[MetalSmitten]

hmm, so, nothing obvious are they both peeing? are they peeing on the floor/flat surfaces like they're going to the bathroom, or are they peeing on the walls/high surfaces like they're marking? do they pee in front of you, or try to hide it? i'm more inclined to think that the food change may be coincidental, i can't think of any reason why a correctly-transitioned food change would cause inappropriate peeing in both cats, if they seem to like the food...

this is gross, but does TOW seem to make their litterbox more stank recently?

 

[MetalSmitten]

wait; wet or dry food? (which formula are you using?)

 

[ksalvagno]

Dry food. Actually, they are pooping less and the smell is a bit less. I was told that would happen and glad that it did but it did seem to increase the urinating. Originally it just cleaning out more urine clumps from the litter box. They are peeing on the floor. No spraying. To be honest, I don't know if both are doing it or just one. We caught the one so we know the one is definitely doing it. They don't do it in front of us. It is the Canyon River feline formula with trout and salmon. We get it at TSC and that is usually the only choice of TOTW there.

I do clean out their litter boxes daily and have 2 large litter boxes set up. If we didn't have dogs, I would try and put a litter box on our first floor but we have no place that we can put a litter box that the cats can get to but the dogs can't. The dogs like to snack if they can get to the boxes.

 

[FarmerChick]

interesting read
hmm...I don't know anything to help cause I buy the cheapest dry for the barn cats. never had indoor cat I treated to 'good food' by the bag.


but all my cats do fine on 'store brand' crunchy LOL

 

[MetalSmitten]

honestly, i'd suggest getting the known culprit tested for a UTI ... or possibly diabetes/hyperglycemia =/ the carb content is the main difference from purina to TOW, so increased pee -could- be linked to insulin levels changing. i don't see anything in the TOW ingredient list that screams diuretic, and it doesn't have extra salt either so i see no reason why they'd drink more on it. unless the fish they use is naturally salty? you should try a piece lol. course, i'm not a vet, i just worked in the pet food industry for a while. i just personally like to rule health problems out first instead of last.

if you feel up to experimenting, you could try separating the two cats to see if they're both doing it or just one. is it the male or female that you know for sure?

farmerchick - your barn cats probably supplement their diets with things that are better for them than any kibble could be. i truly believe in good nutrition, for people and animals both, it just makes sense. and some store brands are better/worse than others. just because some people can eat mcdonald's every day and not show health problems, doesn't make it a good diet. just because a cat can eat Brand X and "be fine" doesn't make it a good diet. cats are obligate carnivores, they are designed to eat meat; a cat food high in carbs is simply not what they're meant to have. that doesn't mean every single cat on a high-carb diet will have problems, but it does increase the chances. i'm totally not lecturing you or anything btw, just discussing. all cats are individuals, some are more sensitive than others, and you know best what's working for your individual cats.

 

[FarmerChick]

Metal you took it way past 'whatever'

just saying I could not help and my barn cats do fine on store brand.

not saying ever that it was recommened or anything else. I agree with you....my cats 'eat it all' out there...they get their meat they hunt and meat scraps I give them and shots and all so they are healthy.

never looked into store brand difference. when I need to buy a bag I get a coupon and cheapest wins. they never eat the same crunchies cause it is always 'price wins' when I need it.

but I think many owners can way overthink a diet of an animal and it is best to go back to 'true critter' basics when problems occur.