Cat food experts? change in Wellness canned

[charlatti]

My cat is prone to bladder infections, but we've been infection-free (knock on wood and all that) for the last 3+ years with his current diet. He eats Fromm dry and Wellness canned, both chosen for their target pH. Wellness has apparently changed its formula and added chicken broth, so it's a lot squishier and wetter. I'm seeing complaints about this online, but for us, this isn't bad, right? We try to get as much wet food in him as possible, so wetter wet food seems like a good thing, and he actually seems to like this new formula better. Should I be concerned about the formula change nutrition-wise?

[niemand88f]

Wellness should still be a good food- I haven't heard of any changes but I feed the chunky wet food.

I think if they have changed the formula, it would be beneficial in your case- the more liquid the better. I would just watch for changes in his bathroom habits.

[TEM325]

OMG!!!!! I'm SO HAPPY you posted this!!!

I have been feeding canned Wellness for 3+ years and all of a sudden, one of my cats (who tends to have an iron clad stomach!) started puking all of his food up every time he ate. He must be allergic to the new recipe, so I switched him to Blue Buffalo.

My other kitty, gets the bladder crystals and Wellness dry prompted it in him. But, he's been good on the Wellness canned. I'm nervous to change him over to the other brand because it could bring out the crystals.

AYE!

Well, I guess the point is--you're not alone! My kitty had probs too!

[charlatti]

Feb 27, 2013 14:59:37 GMT -5 niemand88f said:

Wellness should still be a good food- I haven't heard of any changes but I feed the chunky wet food.

I think if they have changed the formula, it would be beneficial in your case- the more liquid the better. I would just watch for changes in his bathroom habits.

That's what I've been thinking -- helps to hear someone outside of my head agree!

TEM325, you could try to find a different canned food with the same target pH as Wellness, but I wouldn't risk it if I didn't have to. At least for my cat, change should be avoided as much as possible.

[TEM325]

Feb 27, 2013 21:33:01 GMT -5 charlatti said:

Feb 27, 2013 14:59:37 GMT -5 niemand88f said:

Wellness should still be a good food- I haven't heard of any changes but I feed the chunky wet food.

I think if they have changed the formula, it would be beneficial in your case- the more liquid the better. I would just watch for changes in his bathroom habits.

That's what I've been thinking -- helps to hear someone outside of my head agree!

TEM325, you could try to find a different canned food with the same target pH as Wellness, but I wouldn't risk it if I didn't have to. At least for my cat, change should be avoided as much as possible.

How do I find the pH of the food? (sorry if this is a dense question!)

[charlatti]

The company websites usually have the food's target pH, but not always. If it's not online, customer service should be able to tell you. There used to be a really handy chart online somewhere with a ton of different foods, but I can't find it now. As I said, my cat isn't a fan of change, so I haven't researched it in a while.

ETA: It's not the pH of the food that matters but the target pH of the cat's urine after eating the food. The Hills Rx foods are designed to raise or lower pH depending on the kind of crystals. My cat was prescribed Hills c/d for his first bout with crystals, so I sought out foods with the same target pH as the c/d, and we've stuck with those numbers because it works for him.

[TEM325]

Feb 28, 2013 8:37:58 GMT -5 charlatti said:

The company websites usually have the food's target pH, but not always. If it's not online, customer service should be able to tell you. There used to be a really handy chart online somewhere with a ton of different foods, but I can't find it now. As I said, my cat isn't a fan of change, so I haven't researched it in a while.

ETA: It's not the pH of the food that matters but the target pH of the cat's urine after eating the food. The Hills Rx foods are designed to raise or lower pH depending on the kind of crystals. My cat was prescribed Hills c/d for his first bout with crystals, so I sought out foods with the same target pH as the c/d, and we've stuck with those numbers because it works for him.

Thank you for this info! I appreciate it! My Oliver gets the struvite crystals. He seems to be fine on Taste of the Wild dry and a fork of Wellness wet food. Like I said, the Wellness dry is what prompted the initial breakout about 2 years ago--I was so sad for him. Then, salmon flavored Greenies did it again about 5 months ago (that's what I get for trying a new flavor!)

[caligurl]

I've posted this info before on a different post about cats with bladder/crystal issues - there's a supplement you can add to their food. It's by Wysong and it's called Biotic. It comes in two formulas Biotic- or Biotic+ depending on whether you need to increase or decrease the urine ph. It is sold in natural/holistic pet stores (at least that's where I found it in my area) and it is a great alternative to Rx Hill's or other foods that are of a lower quality. You only add a sprinkle to whatever food you are currently feeding, which allows you to continue to feed the high quality food of your choice, and I know lots of folks who have had great success with it. It is species neutral so it's good for dogs or cats. Good luck.

[dottyblue]

I'm so glad you posted this.  We just had to switch foods and couldn't figure out why Wellness was bothering my boys all of a sudden.  We're pretty sure my one cat has a chicken allergy, so chicken broth in the food would explain it!    3 weeks of peeing issues and this was the cause?  not.happy.

We switched to b.f.f. (best feline friend), but we don't have crystal issues.