? Recommendations moving forward healthwise for Tabi's sister.

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Tabi's Dad

Tabi's Dad

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Hi All,

The loss of Tabi has been devastating for me. But I want to ensure his biological sister from the same litter stays healthy and lives a long life. Smokey is 11 years old, no known health conditions.

I've always lived in high-rise apartments so Smokey, Tabi's sister will never go outside. She is like Tabi and is afraid of venturing past the front door of my apartment. Unlike Tabi, Smokey doesn't seem to get sick and I'd like to keep it that way. So I have a few questions:

1. Should I feed her a strict wet only low carb diet to prevent a chance of diabetes?

2. Would you recommend vaccinations? I never took them for vaccinations. I lean more on the side of natural immunity. Should I start taking Smokey for vaccinations? I kind of feel at this point taking you pet to the vet is a way for them to find problems to extract money from you ($15,000 in Tabi's case).

I've always had the vibe that vets push products, etc. on you, like feeding "special" dry food to a diabetic cat, which we know has carbs.

What would you recommend in this scenario?

Thanks so much.
 
A low carb diet is well suited to any cat. Cat's are obligate carnivores and require a good quality protein in their diets. They can't process vegetables or fruits despite what pet food manufactures will put in their foods. In addition, cat's have a low thirst drive so canned foods provide a source of moisture that is also necessary for their health. The webpage on feline nutrition written by Lisa Pierson, DVM provides a good oversight of what to feed your cat.

I have always vaccinated my cats. There have been various opinions about vaccinations especially given that some cats develop sarcoma at a vaccination site. I would see if reliable sites like the Cornell vet school provide any information as well as see what others here may have to say.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
A low carb diet is well suited to any cat. Cat's are obligate carnivores and require a good quality protein in their diets. They can't process vegetables or fruits despite what pet food manufactures will put in their foods. In addition, cat's have a low thirst drive so canned foods provide a source of moisture that is also necessary for their health. The webpage on feline nutrition written by Lisa Pierson, DVM provides a good oversight of what to feed your cat.

I have always vaccinated my cats. There have been various opinions about vaccinations especially given that some cats develop sarcoma at a vaccination site. I would see if reliable sites like the Cornell vet school provide any information as well as see what others here may have to say.
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Thank you for the reply Sienne. What you say makes sense. Is Fancy Feast Pate a good thing to continue to feed her? I do have a running cat fountain that I fill with spring water to encourage her to drink.

I don't come into contact with other cats as I live in dense city with no other cats running around. So I think the chance of me bringing home a virus to Smokey is very slim. Plus the first thing I do when I get home is wash my hands.

She is very sweet and with a few pokes her reading is at 5.2mmol, times that by 18 about 93. I just threw a Temptations treat off of the bed and she flew after it. She has no mobility issues at all and has never showed signs of physical aging in the past 11 years.

I guess the question is: Do I continue to let her live how she is, naturally and healthy. Or do I bring her to vet for checkups and expose her to potentially getting sick. She lives in a bubble in my 23rd floor condo.
 
Fancy Feast is popular on FDMB. Are there better quality foods out there? Yes. The issue is one of what is affordable for you. And frankly, the best food for a cat is what the cat will eat! You could be feeding Smokey the highest quality, most expensive food available and she could decide she likes beer better than champagne.

As for vaccines, it's an individual decision. I get a flu vaccine annually and I keep up to date on Covid vaccines. Not everyone does the same.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Fancy Feast is popular on FDMB. Are there better quality foods out there? Yes. The issue is one of what is affordable for you. And frankly, the best food for a cat is what the cat will eat! You could be feeding Smokey the highest quality, most expensive food available and she could decide she likes beer better than champagne.

As for vaccines, it's an individual decision. I get a flu vaccine annually and I keep up to date on Covid vaccines. Not everyone does the same.
Click to expand...
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Fancy Feast is popular on FDMB. Are there better quality foods out there? Yes. The issue is one of what is affordable for you. And frankly, the best food for a cat is what the cat will eat! You could be feeding Smokey the highest quality, most expensive food available and she could decide she likes beer better than champagne.

As for vaccines, it's an individual decision. I get a flu vaccine annually and I keep up to date on Covid vaccines. Not everyone does the same.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply again Sienne. You're right that I think about it. Smokey can be picky and turn her nose at FF Pate. She does seem to prefer the more gravy type FF wet foods. In hindsight I would think an eating cat is a better off cat. I have dabbled with the more expensive wet foods over the years, I'm not always sure they are more healthy. She seems to be more a beer gal :cheers:!

Online all signs point to vaccinate your cat. It's a tough call, like I said Smokey lives in a bubble with no other outside cats to pass something on to her, but I do worry that if she ever requires vet attention, she could pick something up there.
 
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