Posted on 03/31/2007 4:51:03 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
Thanks for the information! Wednesday (who has a urinary tract infection) has lost half a pound in the last couple of months eating mainly Purina's "older cats" formula, so I probably won't get another bag of Hill's when my replacement bag is used up.
Do you get the "Wellness" products at PetsMart?
And the Meowmix website is down.
Also, have you brought in a stool sample to your vet for testing recently? At our practice, we're happy to get one stool sample a year per pet to test for parasites. However, in order to get a true negative, three samples need to be tested at various times. My dog's first stool sample tested negative but a few weeks later I took another sample which tested positive for giardia. Since being dewormed twice her diarrhea has finally gone away and her coat is now shiney and healthy looking (parasites deprive dogs and cats from essential nutrients). If Wednesday is an outdoor cat or a mouser he/she may have picked up a parasite which could be responsible for the weight loss.
Or, since you've been feeding an "older cat" formula it may contain less calories which have contributed to the weight loss. If Wednesday is not overweight and is active you may not want to limit his/her calories.
It can be an expensive process but a 1/2lb. for a 10lb. cat is a greater percentage of body weight than it would be for us. I really didn't understand all the testing of stools, and urine, and blood before I began working at the animal hospital but, as I tell our clients, I don't mind the expense because, at least in my case, my pets are "the most agreeable members" of my family :o)
Best Regards,
I'm not sure if PetsMart sells Wellness...I've been buying it from our local farm supply stores. We live in a rural area so there is no shortage of farm supply stores in these parts and the nearest PetsMart/ Petco is about 40 minutes away.
Thanks again! We adopted Wednesday a few months ago from a family who was moving. She hadn't had her shots in several years, and she was overweight, filthy, and had fleas. We've been getting her fixed up ever since! She needs to lose about 2 more pounds to be a healthy size.
The vet tested a stool sample this morning, and said it was okay.
There are some farm supply places around here; I'll keep my eye out for the food.
Not sure about your question, Fawn. Maybe someone else here knows more about the FDA and can answer.
Just read online this afternoon that the wheat gluten was “food grade” not “feed grade”....which means it was for use in human food also.
No reports yet if it entered the food supply.
Seems like that article was at petconnection.com—— can’t remember for sure as I was going to various links.
Bet this fiasco has added a whole new dimension to the company's least cost formulation program, right?
Which manager got a bonus for the cost savings in this grain purchase?
I would never have thought that Hill’s would be involved in this...
How very true...
Thanks!
Definitely!
Right...
Important info...
That is the big question...
You are a HERO...
Same here. I did have our diabetic cat on Hill's when he was still with us.
That's a real man's dog!
I admire 'em, but they're too much for me to train.
I saw the most beautiful dead-grass color Chessie bitch at a hunt test. She marked like a laser, and she no-whistled the blind. And extremely sweet-tempered, too.
On the first day of change, you should have plenty of the old dog food left. Add three quarters of their old food, and one quarter of the new food. You should do this for at least two days. After two days or so, add in another quarter, so you have half old food, half new food.
Again, keep it at this level for another two days or so. Then add in a third quarter (one quarter old, three quarters new), and finally you can phase out the old food completely.
http://dogs.about.com/cs/dietandnutrition/qt/switch_foods.htm
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