Better food for my old cat "David"

[Dutchman]

No more Friskies canned food for my pal "David".. After the advise I was given here from this forum and from what information I found elsewhere on the web I went "Cat food shopping" today. From what I've been gathering from my search on cat food, Petsmart and Petco both carry some better qualility foods then what you would ever find at the super market, but they also carried the super market brands as well, at a higher price of course.

Better food is one thing, GOOD food is another. I went to quite a few manufactors web sites to read the ingredients and took advantage of their "Where to buy" tabs. It seemed like for the most part what I thought might be worth looking at was not available at Petsmart or Petco. (I have both of these nearby), How ever a smaller store called "Tracy Feed and Pet" was coming up often, and they are also nearby, so that is where I went.

I walked into the store keeping an open mind as to what I might end up purchasing but I was leaning toward the idea of "Chicken Soup" and and "Natural Balance".. This store had only just started carrying the "Chicken Soup" for cats and only had a small selection, For Dogs it looks like they have the full line. The "Natural Balance" that they had was also only for dogs. So I had to improvise a bit in making my selection.

For dry food I got David the Chicken soup, Kitten Formula. The only size bag they had was small, only 1/5 lbs. I took a chance that David would eat it and bought 2 bags. The only canned they had in stock of Chicken Soup was the adult formula but I figured this would be FAR better then the junk my Kitty has been eating. I also bought a few cans of "Felidae, Cat and Kitten formula" to try out. The personel at the store were super friendly as I was selecting on what to get. I told them David's age and that he had lost a lot of weight because of fleas. The fleas are gone and I wanted to give him some REAL good food and Fatten him up a bit. I mentioned that it had been recommended that I feed him KITTEN food for awhile and then switch him over to a Adult food. They mentioned they had never heard of this idea before but commented that it sounded like a very good idea. They told me, much to my surprise, that if I want to order the Chicken Soup Kitten formula some time soon all I had to do was give them a telephone call and they would get it on their next order. NOTHING was said about having to pay for it first.

When I got home the fun began. I wanted to read all that was on the bags and cans so I was sitting down. David somehow must have known that this was for him as he was right at my feet just staring at me..... WAITING...
I gave him about 1/8 cup of the dry kitten Chicken Soup just to try it out and it was gone in no time at all.. Then I gave him a small serving of the Chicken Soup Adult formula. He lick the bowl clean in no time at all. Then I got that STARE look from him again. He wanted more!!! So I gave him a little more of the dry food. I felt that would satify him for the time being and since I was a bit tired I decide to take a short nap.. I rolled the bag of dry food up and not really thinking to much about it I set it on the floor. I woke up about an hour or so later and found that David had tipped the bag over, unrolled it, and had his head stuck in the bag muchning away. I don't know just how much he ate but he has nice full belly now!!!! Off hand, I'd say he really likes this Chicken Soup brand.

So far it looks like Chicken Soup is a winner for my old pal...

Dutchman

[my_cat_sissy]

Wow! That's GREAT news! I'm so happy to hear about David's excellent progress. He is a lucky boy to spend the rest of his days with you and being so loved and cared for. :D

[Dutchman]

David has come along in the past two weeks. Even eating the "junk food", Friskies, I've noticed that he put on a little weight. Not very much mind you but every little bit helps. He really seems to like this new and higher quality food that I got him. He's been a bit more social as well in the past few day and commanding more of my time. He just likes a good neck and chin rubbing.
He gets around better then before. He still has a good ways to go to get back up in shape and I'll be doing all that I can to help him. David has been a very important part of my life and he means a great deal to me.

Dutchman.

[Squawksx3]

Thats awesome Dutchman!. Keep us updated if the Chicken Soup puts weight on him.. I may try it with my 15 yr old. He's letting you know he approves of his new yummy food :D .

[Dutchman]

Jan,

From what I understand it's recommended to gradually introduce a new food to a cat by mixing the old with the new and then increasing the new until the change is complete. I was totally out of the "junk food" so I didn't have that option unless I bought some more of it. David is having a instant change over. I keep the dry Chicken Soup available at all times for him but only put a small amount in the bowl at a time and refill it as needed. He really seemed to enjoy the Chicken Soup canned food, again I just gave him small servings but that can was gone in no time. He "knocks" on the cupboard door when he want's something to eat. LOL He's now on a can of FELIDAE. His first serving disappeared quick but he's a bit slower on eating the meals that followed. I did have a problem around noon time where he "barfed" making quite a mess for me to clean up and then when he used his pan for a bowel movement I notice that it was quite runny. Hopefully, he will get over this pretty soon. For his supper tonight he had a bit of a treat. I fixed up some fried chicken for dinner and he had a good size serving as well. David really likes chicken and he insist on "sharing" it with me. I don't think there is any harm in him having some, and I do take the time to make sure that it is bone free before giving it to him.

I don't know who else carries the Chicken Soup brand of cat food in "our" area but I got mine at "Tracy Feed and Pet" on "F" street in Tracy. They just started carrying the CAT food and they don't have the full line in stock yet. The did say that they would order anything that I wanted along with their next stock order which I thought was rather nice of them.

I'll keep you up to date on how this change over goes and David's progress.

Dutchman

[Squawksx3]

When I looked on the Chicken Soup website it showed quite a few pet stores that carry it here in Modesto. Im pretty much stocked up for awhile on my cat food.. but Im thinking I might try it when I get low... mix it in slowly. Ill be at Petsmart tomorrow with the dog rescue.. Im going to look and see if they carry it and if they have food for senior cats.. keep me updated with how it goes with David and his weight gain.