Food Advice please

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Glassgoblin

Glassgoblin

Member Since 2018
Okay; so since diagnosis Jaxa has been eating Young Again Zero mature, and recently we switched to the LID because she suddenly started having soft bm (diarrhea maybe once a week but usually just soft/keeps its shape bm). When you have a sick cat you really start to pay attention to these things, right? So I took her to the vet and we ruled out parasites, worms, and her labs were all normal so we started fortiflora (on our third box since then) and Slippery Elm Bark (1/4 tsp daily since then also), and she is continuing to eat about 3/4-1 can of FF every night. However, she still have this little poop problem.

I tried ordering Dr. Elsey's and waited for over a month as it was back-ordered, and then canceled when they told me it would be another month. I think I remember Wysong Epigen 90 being suggested, so was thinking about ordering that. A 5lb bag on Chewy isn't so bad for cost. Should that be a better food for her than the YA? (taking into consideration that ECID) Would the Orijen dried foods be an acceptable change?- I can buy that locally but have no clue about carb content. We tried the seafood free sample of Dr. Elseys back when she was willing to eat seafood but never tried chicken, and some of the foods are super expensive if she refuses to eat them.

Also, I went to my local place this last weekend to grab some Weruvia pate (haven't tried it yet but got a couple) and got a can of NurtiSource pate food (made in MN); it is not on the canned food charts though- no grains or potato, no chicken, and we got one can of High Plains Select (beef, pork, lamb and rabbit). Does anyone know anything or use this food? Jaxa likes it so far but I only give a spoon at a time mixed with her FF. I am looking for a wet replacement of FF since they have so many reoccurring recalls and issues. The main problem is that she refuses to eat anything but pate, and hates seafood flavors (and gets sick from them).

I am also trying to make some things; I've made liver soup and bone broth in the last month and bought a pack of giblets from two turkeys to try making a food (local place has the nutrient supplement to add to homemade foods too). I don't think I could get her to only eat homemade food though so right now the plan is to use it as a treat and to supplement her meals.

I have liked the YA because it is locally made (MN here), but I am ready to move to something else if it will improve Jaxa's litterbox experience. Her bg has been so good, she is energetic and playing every day, affectionate and seems happy and healthy except for this one little issue.
 
Glassgoblin said:
Okay; so since diagnosis Jaxa has been eating Young Again Zero mature, and recently we switched to the LID because she suddenly started having soft bm (diarrhea maybe once a week but usually just soft/keeps its shape bm). When you have a sick cat you really start to pay attention to these things, right? So I took her to the vet and we ruled out parasites, worms, and her labs were all normal so we started fortiflora (on our third box since then) and Slippery Elm Bark (1/4 tsp daily since then also), and she is continuing to eat about 3/4-1 can of FF every night. However, she still have this little poop problem.

I tried ordering Dr. Elsey's and waited for over a month as it was back-ordered, and then canceled when they told me it would be another month. I think I remember Wysong Epigen 90 being suggested, so was thinking about ordering that. A 5lb bag on Chewy isn't so bad for cost. Should that be a better food for her than the YA? (taking into consideration that ECID) Would the Orijen dried foods be an acceptable change?- I can buy that locally but have no clue about carb content. We tried the seafood free sample of Dr. Elseys back when she was willing to eat seafood but never tried chicken, and some of the foods are super expensive if she refuses to eat them.

Also, I went to my local place this last weekend to grab some Weruvia pate (haven't tried it yet but got a couple) and got a can of NurtiSource pate food (made in MN); it is not on the canned food charts though- no grains or potato, no chicken, and we got one can of High Plains Select (beef, pork, lamb and rabbit). Does anyone know anything or use this food? Jaxa likes it so far but I only give a spoon at a time mixed with her FF. I am looking for a wet replacement of FF since they have so many reoccurring recalls and issues. The main problem is that she refuses to eat anything but pate, and hates seafood flavors (and gets sick from them).

I am also trying to make some things; I've made liver soup and bone broth in the last month and bought a pack of giblets from two turkeys to try making a food (local place has the nutrient supplement to add to homemade foods too). I don't think I could get her to only eat homemade food though so right now the plan is to use it as a treat and to supplement her meals.

I have liked the YA because it is locally made (MN here), but I am ready to move to something else if it will improve Jaxa's litterbox experience. Her bg has been so good, she is energetic and playing every day, affectionate and seems happy and healthy except for this one little issue.
Click to expand...

My cat did good on ya the first year, but this past year it's giving her the runs. I feed my non diabetics epigen 90 but find it raises CC'S bg. Your best bet is a low carb wet food. The food list is linked in my signature.
 
JanetNJ said:
My cat did good on ya the first year, but this past year it's giving her the runs. I feed my non diabetics epigen 90 but find it raises CC'S bg. Your best bet is a low carb wet food. The food list is linked in my signature.
Click to expand...
I've tried to switch her to wet but she won't eat more than 3/4 to one can per 24-30 hrs and that just isn't enough calories for a 15 lb (ish) cat. She hates wet and I've been trying for years. NutriSource has three listed on the chart, but none of the flavors I was considering- https://nutrisourcepetfoods.com/canned-cat-food/high-plains-select/34 https://nutrisourcepetfoods.com/canned-cat-food/lamb-lamb-liver-select/37 and https://nutrisourcepetfoods.com/canned-cat-food/country-select/35 which i can get can by can locally (instead of buying a pallet). Unless a miracle happens I think we are stuck having at least half our calories from a dry food.
 
Glassgoblin said:
I've tried to switch her to wet but she won't eat more than 3/4 to one can per 24-30 hrs and that just isn't enough calories for a 15 lb (ish) cat. She hates wet and I've been trying for years. NutriSource has three listed on the chart, but none of the flavors I was considering- https://nutrisourcepetfoods.com/canned-cat-food/high-plains-select/34 https://nutrisourcepetfoods.com/canned-cat-food/lamb-lamb-liver-select/37 and https://nutrisourcepetfoods.com/canned-cat-food/country-select/35 which i can get can by can locally (instead of buying a pallet). Unless a miracle happens I think we are stuck having at least half our calories from a dry food.
Click to expand...
well I can say my cats like the epigen 90. They will send a sample of you ask.
 
Here's are some numbers for carbohydrates as percentage of nutritional value for selected kibbles that I collected from CatFoodDB a while back:

1.2 - Young Again Zero
6.4 - Dr Elsey's Cleanprotein Chicken Recipe
7.3 - Wysong Epigen 90
8.3 - Young Again 50/22
10.2 - Dr Elsey's Cleanprotein With Salmon
11.6 - Purina Pro Plan Veterinary DM
12.9 - Innova Evo Turkey & Chicken
14.5 - Orijen Fit & Trim
15.4 - Hill's Prescription m/d
16.7 - Innova Evo Herring & Salmon
16.9 - Orijen Tundra
18.6 - Wellness Core Original Deboned Turkey

These are all numbers derived from GA and so far from gospel. Still, this should serve to give a rough, relative sense of which are lower in carbs.

Evo, long a popular choice, is no longer being made. The Purina and Hill's prescription foods are a not a high-quality kibble, all the rest are. My local store that carries Orijen does not stock the two lower-carb varieties listed above. My cats love Dr Elsey's.

I ordered some Dr Elsey's from Chewy about three weeks ago. Neither there nor at the Dr Elsey's site do I see any sign that not available. But maybe they give you the bad news only after checkout?

When I had to switch my cat to exclusively wet while his gums were healing after dental surgery, what finally worked was to grind up some kibble and sprinkle it over the top of the wet food. Not ground to a powder, just broken into small, peppercorn-sized nuggets. Not mixed in with the food, but left on top as decorative condiment.

Hope this of some use. - Tom
 
Last edited:
FurBabiesMama said:
The Young Again poop monster strikes again! Where did you order the Dr. Elsey's? I have never had trouble getting it from Chewy.com.
https://www.chewy.com/dr-elseys-cleanprotein-chicken/dp/146270
Click to expand...
I tried ordering in August- I wanted the smaller bag to try it first and I think I could have gotten the 6 lb bag immediately, but Chewy didn't have the smaller bag in chicken and even Amazon was backordered at that time. I would like to try agin, but stick with the smaller bag at first. She had a good number this morning and that was in between feedings that started 90 minutes previously so I don't want to screw that up.
 
Glassgoblin said:
Okay; so since diagnosis Jaxa has been eating Young Again Zero mature, and recently we switched to the LID because she suddenly started having soft bm (diarrhea maybe once a week but usually just soft/keeps its shape bm). When you have a sick cat you really start to pay attention to these things, right? So I took her to the vet and we ruled out parasites, worms, and her labs were all normal so we started fortiflora (on our third box since then) and Slippery Elm Bark (1/4 tsp daily since then also), and she is continuing to eat about 3/4-1 can of FF every night. However, she still have this little poop problem.

I tried ordering Dr. Elsey's and waited for over a month as it was back-ordered, and then canceled when they told me it would be another month. I think I remember Wysong Epigen 90 being suggested, so was thinking about ordering that. A 5lb bag on Chewy isn't so bad for cost. Should that be a better food for her than the YA? (taking into consideration that ECID) Would the Orijen dried foods be an acceptable change?- I can buy that locally but have no clue about carb content. We tried the seafood free sample of Dr. Elseys back when she was willing to eat seafood but never tried chicken, and some of the foods are super expensive if she refuses to eat them.

Also, I went to my local place this last weekend to grab some Weruvia pate (haven't tried it yet but got a couple) and got a can of NurtiSource pate food (made in MN); it is not on the canned food charts though- no grains or potato, no chicken, and we got one can of High Plains Select (beef, pork, lamb and rabbit). Does anyone know anything or use this food? Jaxa likes it so far but I only give a spoon at a time mixed with her FF. I am looking for a wet replacement of FF since they have so many reoccurring recalls and issues. The main problem is that she refuses to eat anything but pate, and hates seafood flavors (and gets sick from them).

I am also trying to make some things; I've made liver soup and bone broth in the last month and bought a pack of giblets from two turkeys to try making a food (local place has the nutrient supplement to add to homemade foods too). I don't think I could get her to only eat homemade food though so right now the plan is to use it as a treat and to supplement her meals.

I have liked the YA because it is locally made (MN here), but I am ready to move to something else if it will improve Jaxa's litterbox experience. Her bg has been so good, she is energetic and playing every day, affectionate and seems happy and healthy except for this one little issue.
Click to expand...

Have you tried raw substitutes? Rad Cat (going out of business) or Answer brand? I've read a lot of cats experienced the loose stool when YA switched to pork as an ingredient vs chicken. I never tried it. I did use a pumpkin supplement when Sketch had some diarrhea related to some medication and it seemed to work well. Additionally as a wet along with FF pates I did feed him Glycobalance prescription for diabetic cats. It seemed high in carbs but seemed to even our Sketchs #s and he loved it so it kept weight on him.
 
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