Moses update ... Wellness food is good stuff!

I knew this was coming, but after six weeks, Moses decided that he was not
going to eat anymore Prescription i/d food. Moses has always been a cat who
tired of the same old food pretty quickly and we did great to get six weeks
of the i/d down him, but he simply decided that he wasn't going to eat
anymore, period. I probably could've pressed the issue and tried to wait him
out, but I really didn't want to risk letting him go hungry and maybe
messing himself up in some way since we've made such progress with the IBD.

Anyway, I think I told you guys that the vet had said we could feed him
anything he'd eat, but my wife and I have discussed this and our inclination
is not to risk feeding him any "over the counter" stuff. So I ordered some
Wellness from an online vendor. I found out later that there's a retail
source about an hour away from me, but at the time I thought ordering online
was my only option. Only thing was, it took FOREVER for UPS to get the
package too me, I guess because of the holiday during the shipping period.

Moses also refused to eat any regular Science Diet canned ... my healthy cat
turned up his nose at it as well; what can I say, my cats never have liked
Hill's stuff ... so we went to Friskies for a stopgap until the Wellness
arrived. He ate it, but whether it was the change of diet or what, Moses'
BMs got really runny again, to the point of out and out diarrhea a few
times, to where I was worried about a relapse. (He's still on 1 cc liquid
Prednisone a day, BTW).

The Wellness finally arrived last Friday, though, and Moses has been eating
it since then. Both of our cats have been eating it, gobbling it down so
fast that it's a miracle they can taste it. In other words, they really like
it.

Here's the big thing, though. Within 24 hours, Moses' BMs had gone from
runny at best and diarrhea at worst, to nice and firm and formed and just
the right color according to what Phil P. and others have told me. It
happened that quickly. I know that's anecdotal and it might not work that
way with other cats so don't take what I'm saying as gospel, but all I can
say is the proof is in the litter box for our cat.

I'm aware of the potential phosphorous issues with the Wellness, especially
in an older cat, but based on what this has done to his BMs, and they've
been consistently like that, and the fact that he absolutely loves the other
stuff (as does our other cat), we're going to go with this for a while.

FYI, though, I received a sampler package of various high quality foods
from another vendor ... Merrick and Precise canned; Royal Canin, Felidae,
Castor and Pollux and California Natural dry ... in today's mail, and I
split a 3 oz. can of Merrick Grammy's Pot Pie between the cats just to give
'em a taste, and while they ate it OK, they didn't gobble it down like the
Wellness. Bartholemew, our non-IBD cat, who likes a little smidge of dry in
his diet although he's 85-15 or 90-10 canned, liked the Castor and Pollux
Organix, though.

Will keep you posted on further developments ...

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I knew this was coming, but after six weeks, Moses decided that he was not
going to eat anymore Prescription i/d food. [...]

Will keep you posted on further developments ...



This is wonderful news, Gregory! Scritches to Moses!!

in article .net, Gregory
Bailey at wrote on 2/28/05 9:15 PM:

I knew this was coming, but after six weeks, Moses decided that he was not
going to eat anymore Prescription i/d food. Moses has always been a cat who
tired of the same old food pretty quickly and we did great to get six weeks
of the i/d down him, but he simply decided that he wasn't going to eat
anymore, period. I probably could've pressed the issue and tried to wait him
out, but I really didn't want to risk letting him go hungry and maybe
messing himself up in some way since we've made such progress with the IBD.

Anyway, I think I told you guys that the vet had said we could feed him
anything he'd eat, but my wife and I have discussed this and our inclination
is not to risk feeding him any "over the counter" stuff. So I ordered some
Wellness from an online vendor. I found out later that there's a retail
source about an hour away from me, but at the time I thought ordering online
was my only option. Only thing was, it took FOREVER for UPS to get the
package too me, I guess because of the holiday during the shipping period.

Moses also refused to eat any regular Science Diet canned ... my healthy cat
turned up his nose at it as well; what can I say, my cats never have liked
Hill's stuff ... so we went to Friskies for a stopgap until the Wellness
arrived. He ate it, but whether it was the change of diet or what, Moses'
BMs got really runny again, to the point of out and out diarrhea a few
times, to where I was worried about a relapse. (He's still on 1 cc liquid
Prednisone a day, BTW).

The Wellness finally arrived last Friday, though, and Moses has been eating
it since then. Both of our cats have been eating it, gobbling it down so
fast that it's a miracle they can taste it. In other words, they really like
it.

Here's the big thing, though. Within 24 hours, Moses' BMs had gone from
runny at best and diarrhea at worst, to nice and firm and formed and just
the right color according to what Phil P. and others have told me. It
happened that quickly. I know that's anecdotal and it might not work that
way with other cats so don't take what I'm saying as gospel, but all I can
say is the proof is in the litter box for our cat.

I'm aware of the potential phosphorous issues with the Wellness, especially
in an older cat, but based on what this has done to his BMs, and they've
been consistently like that, and the fact that he absolutely loves the other
stuff (as does our other cat), we're going to go with this for a while.

FYI, though, I received a sampler package of various high quality foods
from another vendor ... Merrick and Precise canned; Royal Canin, Felidae,
Castor and Pollux and California Natural dry ... in today's mail, and I
split a 3 oz. can of Merrick Grammy's Pot Pie between the cats just to give
'em a taste, and while they ate it OK, they didn't gobble it down like the
Wellness. Bartholemew, our non-IBD cat, who likes a little smidge of dry in
his diet although he's 85-15 or 90-10 canned, liked the Castor and Pollux
Organix, though.

Will keep you posted on further developments ...


Wow. Great update.

I'm very glad to hear that Moses is doing so well. Wellness has been a
godsend for many cats suffering with IBD. It seems pretty apparent to me
that grains and meat quality are the big issues here, so I would suggest
you stick with the Wellness and give Moses a different flavor at each
meal so he doesn't get picky. I wouldn't experiment with giving him any
of the other foods if they contain *any*grain in them. Also, again I
will reiterate that the phosphorus level in Wellness is well within the
range recommended by the Cornell Feline Health Center. I have at least
10 cats that are 10 or older, with several that are almost 15. They all
have been eating Wellness canned for years and without exception their
bloodwork is perfect with all levels in normal ranges. Don't get sucked
in by the pet food industry plants that frequent this newsgroup.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

First batch we ordered was plain Chicken and plain Turkey. We have some
Chicken/Herring, Turkey/Salmon and I think Salmon/Trout on the way, in
addition to more Chicken and Turkey.

I had ordered this sampler of other stuff before we got the Wellness. I've
heard good things about the Merrick as well (it's grainless), and as I said
Moses and our other cat didn't turn their noses up, but they didn't eat it
so fast it's a wonder they tasted it, as they do the Wellness. I have a
hunch that they prefer the consistency of the Wellness, which looks like
that of a typical canned cat food, to that of the Merrick, which seemed a
little soupier.

As far as the phosphorous thing, I don't rule out the CRF concerns that I've
seen expressed by folks here and elsewhere. I think the people who've
expressed them are sincere and much of what they say is compelling to me.
However, before we got a handle on the IBD, Moses was wasting away to
nothing, and although he was OK on the i/d, it did what it was supposed to
and put some meat back on his bones, it's nothing like how he's done as far
as his BMs and just general overall demeanor and appearance in the short
time he's been on Wellness. So, being that we KNOW what was happening with
the IBD, and he MIGHT have some issues with the phosphorous, we're inclined
to concentrate on dealing with what we KNOW as opposed to what MIGHT happen.




wrote in message
...
I'm very glad to hear that Moses is doing so well. Wellness has been a
godsend for many cats suffering with IBD. It seems pretty apparent to me
that grains and meat quality are the big issues here, so I would suggest
you stick with the Wellness and give Moses a different flavor at each
meal so he doesn't get picky. I wouldn't experiment with giving him any
of the other foods if they contain *any*grain in them. Also, again I
will reiterate that the phosphorus level in Wellness is well within the
range recommended by the Cornell Feline Health Center. I have at least
10 cats that are 10 or older, with several that are almost 15. They all
have been eating Wellness canned for years and without exception their
bloodwork is perfect with all levels in normal ranges. Don't get sucked
in by the pet food industry plants that frequent this newsgroup.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

Congratulations to Moses on his perfect poop!

(Did I say that?)

Hope things continue to go well for him.

Rhonda


Gregory Bailey wrote:


Will keep you posted on further developments ...

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
link.net...
First batch we ordered was plain Chicken and plain Turkey. We have some
Chicken/Herring, Turkey/Salmon and I think Salmon/Trout on the way, in
addition to more Chicken and Turkey.

I had ordered this sampler of other stuff before we got the Wellness. I've
heard good things about the Merrick as well (it's grainless), and as I
said
Moses and our other cat didn't turn their noses up, but they didn't eat it
so fast it's a wonder they tasted it, as they do the Wellness. I have a
hunch that they prefer the consistency of the Wellness, which looks like
that of a typical canned cat food, to that of the Merrick, which seemed a
little soupier.

As far as the phosphorous thing, I don't rule out the CRF concerns that
I've
seen expressed by folks here and elsewhere. I think the people who've
expressed them are sincere and much of what they say is compelling to me.
However, before we got a handle on the IBD, Moses was wasting away to
nothing, and although he was OK on the i/d, it did what it was supposed to
and put some meat back on his bones, it's nothing like how he's done as
far
as his BMs and just general overall demeanor and appearance in the short
time he's been on Wellness. So, being that we KNOW what was happening with
the IBD, and he MIGHT have some issues with the phosphorous, we're
inclined
to concentrate on dealing with what we KNOW as opposed to what MIGHT
happen.


Wellness phosphorus isn't that bad - it was one of my select foods. There
are lower P foods, but it doesn't matter how perfectly formulated a diet is
if the cat won't eat it!

You might to give Wysong a shot - its even lower in P than Hill's.

I'm overjoyed with Moses' progress!

Best of luck for continued success.

Phil.

FYI, the sampler I got included some Royal Canin dry, which I put down
mainly for Bartholemew, our orange tabby, who as I said likes just a bit of
dry with his diet although he is overwhelmingly a canned food eather ... and
Moses is going after that like it was chocolate candy or something, I'd
rather him not have much if any of it but I guess I'm going to have to lock
it up or something to keep him from devouring it. I've never seen him act
that way toward a dry food, he usually takes a notion for it semi-annually
because he's pretty much a 100 percent canned eater.

A Petco will be opening locally in about a month, and they have Wysong on
their Web site so they may carry it in the store to where we could try a few
cans.


"Phil P." wrote in message
...

"

Wellness phosphorus isn't that bad - it was one of my select foods. There
are lower P foods, but it doesn't matter how perfectly formulated a diet
is
if the cat won't eat it!

You might to give Wysong a shot - its even lower in P than Hill's.

I'm overjoyed with Moses' progress!

Best of luck for continued success.

Phil.

the sampler I got included some Royal
Canin dry, which I put down mainly for
Bartholemew, our orange tabby, who as I
said likes just a bit of dry with his diet
although he is overwhelmingly a canned
food eather ... and Moses is going after
that like it was chocolate candy or
something,

Royal Canin has corn in it, which is one of the worst offenders with
IBD.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

I wrote:
Royal Canin has corn in it

I just took a look at the ingredient list for their adult formula and
based on that I would never feed this to a cat with IBD or my own cats.
It has way too much unnecessary garbage in it, not to mention a generic
meat source:

Chicken, chicken meal, rice flour, corn flour, corn gluten meal, poultry
meal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ground yellow
corn, brewers rice, beet pulp, chicken flavor, powdered cellulose, dried
egg product, fish meal, brewers dried yeast, sodium bisulfate, L-lysine,
DL-methionine, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, choline chloride,
taurine, salt, vitamin E supplement, vitamin A acetate, ferrous sulfate,
ascorbic acid, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate,
copper proteinate, niacin supplement, zinc oxide, pyridoxine
hydrochloride, biotin, copper sulfate extract of rosemary, thiamine
mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, sodium selenite, vitamin B12
supplement, calcium pantothenate, calcium iodate, riboflavin supplement,
manganous oxide, folic acid.

Also, with regard to Merrick Cat Food, there were a few discussions here
about that not too long ago which you can read he

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...to+Sea rch&&d

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...to+Sea rch&&d

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray