Hi Theresa,
Thank you so much for replying. I didn't think I was going to
change my mind about allowing Darcy to eat what he wants when I
posted, but it sure helps to get support. We are SO good at feeling
guilty when it comes to our sick ones!
I know about the Innova Evo: I got some for Darcy as treats a while
back. I've made a deal with him. If he'll eat some canned food in
the morning, I'll let him have Evo and Royal Canin for his other
meals. He's always been a good water drinker, and he was getting
sub-q fluids 3 times a week, which we've upped to every other day so
make sure he stays nicely hydrated. The little bit of wet food
won't make much of a difference, but he's got a herpes virus which
is nicely kept in check with L-lysine. The caps are huge, but since
the stuff is tasteless I mix it in with his food. I hope he
understands what a big favor I'm doing him - he takes enough pills
as it is.
I think I've found a compromise I can live with: some wet food, the
best dry food and lots of fluids. The big bonus here is that he's
so happy to be allowed to eat his crunchies -- and we do want him to
be happy. We also want him to put on some weight.
Thank you for the mold warning. I knew about not wetting dry food,
but I didn't know that it could grow mold just by contact with a
cat's saliva. It makes sense. Fortunately, no food is left out
here in between meals: Nibbles has a urinary problem and needs a
special diet. He eats in the spare room, Darcy in my bedroom, and
the girls in the kitchen. All food is removed after meals. It's
almost a full-time job!
Marie, Alice, Zoe, Mr. Darcy, Bolivia and Nibbles
--- In feline_lymphoma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Tbug57" <tbug57@xxxx> wrote:
>
> Marie,
>
> I realize that we want the canned food for the low-carb
ingredients, and for
> the moisture content. However, there are a couple of good foods
for
> dry-food junkies. The Royal Canin Dry is supposed to be a pretty
good food,
> and if that is all Darcy will eat, then give it to her and
encourage her to
> drink lots of water. I would not recommend mixing the water with
the food,
> unless you are going to take it away and replace it with fresh
food fairly
> frequently. Dry food can grow mold, especially if it is not the
freshest
> when you get it from the store. Always check the "use by" or
freshness
> dates.
>
> If you can get it, EVO by Innova is supposed to be one of the best
dry foods
> for dry food junkies. It has no grains, and the first few
ingredients are
> meat. They say on the bag that it has a high protein content and
low
> carbohydrate level. That is what I had always wanted for my
lymphoma kitty.
> Unfortunately, this only came out recently. However, it is very
much
> appreciated by my IBD cat, who also needs a low-grain, low-
carbohydrate,
> high-protein diet. I feed her mostly canned, which she will eat,
but she
> loves the few munchies of Innova that I can give her without her
having
> explosion problems. (This food was highly thought of by a few
vets I know
> of who have studied nutrition in cats more than just the brief
seminar they
> get sponsored by some cat food companies.) I got mine at
Petfooddirect, and
> right now, there is a 22% off coupon, which more than pays for
shipping when
> I order my canned food. Write me off-list if you want me to
forward the
> coupon to you. (I don't always see the posts on the lists in
time.)
>
> They are currently having a problem with some dry food that had
corn as an
> ingredient, and the corn was contaminated with Aflatoxin, a mold,
which has
> caused the death of several dogs along the east coast. They have
recalled
> all the dog and cat food that had corn as an ingredient made by
that
> manufacturer at the suspect plant. It has probably already been
discussed
> here. I haven't been able to keep up again and seem to be coming
down with
> a cold now. My local news took advantage of the opportunity to
remind us of
> the problem with mold forming in dry food that has been left out
because of
> moisture from the saliva or water, and reminding us to throw it
out at least
> every day and replace with fresh food, even though we are not in
the
> affected area. We definitely want to take every precaution not to
add any
> physical stress to our sick kitties.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
>
> Theresa,
> Missouri, USA
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: feline_lymphoma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:feline_lymphoma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Marie
> Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 8:09 AM
> To: feline_lymphoma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [feline_lymphoma] Losing the canned food battle - ideas?
>
> * Hi All,
> After three months of coaxing, cajoling and just plain begging,
> getting Darcy to eat canned food has become even more difficult.
> I've tried everything I can get ahold of, but he's not interested.
> What he wants is dry food. When I let him out of my bedroom after
> his "meals", he runs to the kitchen to see if the girls have left
> anything in their bowls. They eat Royal Canin dry, which is a very
> good food. I empty their bowls before I let Darcy out, but on the
> few occasions when I forgot he gobbled down whatever was left.
>
> I know about the carbohydrate issue; I also know that canned food
is
> easier for him to process. He's got small cell GI lymphoma. The
> fact that his lower intestine shows definite thickening makes it
> even more important for him to eat highly digestible food.
>
> However, he's losing weight because he won't eat enough canned
food,
> even with the addition of periactin. More importantly, he's not
> enjoying his food ? and to me that is a major part of his quality
of
> life. So I've decided, rather reluctantly, to allow him to eat
what
> he wants. After all, it's not as if this is a temporary situation
> in his life, and he can go back to eating what he likes when he
gets
> better ? he's not going to get better. Of course I would prefer
> that he eat what's best for him, but I also want him to enjoy the
> rest of his little life as much as possible.
>
> Have any of you gone through this? What did you do?
>
> Any ideas, suggestions, thoughts would be appreciated.
>
> Marie and one very stubborn Mr. Darcy
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _____
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
|
