The Cat thread: food, litter and vets

Quote from another thread

serafina, what brand are you feeding?

Serafina really likes Küme (https://www.kume.com.ar/alimento-holistico-gatos/) which is sold in certain pet stores - you have to look on their map to find the closest to you. They just have one type for cats but they have more options for dogs. Originally, it was created by Argentinian veterinarians for dog breeders. This is the cat food I was referring to in my post currently sold for 670 ARS per 1.5kg bag. The price may vary depending on the store where you buy it. I have found differences of up to 80 ARS between stores, which I paid anyway because the supply is limited (apparently, it is very sought after and they can't keep up with the demand), so I buy it whenever I can.

We have tried several premium brands that were launched recently, such as Nutrique (made with turkey, is considered super premium, it is the most expensive of all) which offers 4 cat food: kitten, adult, sterilized and seniors. We tried kitten and adult.

We also tried Mon Ami, also premium. The box contains a number of plastic sealed packets to preserve freshness. She was intrigued by the novelty, but it was a fad for her. Of course, if there is only one food type, she will have it.

But I have bought all three at the same time, and the bowl constantly empty was the one with Küme.

We also bought Ünik in the past, but Serafina the cat was not fond of the brand.

Originally, when we adopted her in 2014 the cat food offer was very limited. I remember seeing some small golden tins of Gourmet (here they were sold under a different name, I think Diamond something...) but they went away in a few months. So Serafina has been brought up on dry food only, and she won't have real food (except some crumbs that reminds her of dry pet food). We fed her Royal Canin and Pro Plan for years, but since we found about the other premium brands, we have tried them all and the verdict is: Küme.

I tried several brands to break the routine throughout the years. I have always given her two types of food at the same time since here you cannot pick flavors (i.e. chicken, meat, turkey, fish) to rpovide some variety.

As for litter, we have tried it all: stones, silica gels and pellet, and we stuck with the latter because the smell is nice and they last longer.

We buy big packs of 5-6 bags for 25 kg in total on Mercadolibre. Our favorite brand is Poopy Pets.

A 5-kg bag lasts for a month, so we 480 ARS we are good for 5 months straight!

I just throw away the solid every day, and move it around to mix the 'melted' pellets with the fresh one (as you might have noticed, cats tend to pee always in the same point of the litter tray). Then I sift the litter every 3-4 days to remove the sawdust.

<p>Serafina also likes to take a piss in the flower pots on the terrace, and sometimes I have also found solid. She does solid outside only if the soil is tender enough, usually after some gardening.</p>
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<p>That’s when our interests do not converge. 🙄

I don’t mind paying for premium cat food, since I have no hobby, am not a fashion addict and my only treat is watching Netflix and eating out from time to time.

There are some pet shops selling fractioned dry food for less because they buy a 15 kg bag and then sell it by weight, which is cheaper than buying a 1.5kg bag.

But most place do this only for a limited selection of brand/types.</p>
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<p>Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk</p>

When we were still feeding her Royal Canin and the exchange rate was terrible, we bought fractioned Pro Plan in a neighborhood pet shop.
I sent my husband to buy food once, and he mixed up the names and instead of the premium brand he bought the regular one, which Serafina loved.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote from Semigoodlooking

Incidentally, it is a complete myth that cats are easy housemates. If their a solely indoor cats they are harder to deal with than dogs. I have had cats all my life but this is the first time they have been confined indoors. I have one who shits all over the plastic sides of the litter box frequently (othertimes not), and sometimes even straight after I have changed the litter. What a dick he is for doing that.

Your cat is telling you he wants two litters: one to piss and one to poo. Trust me on this one.

Out in the wild, they do not do pee and poo in the same place.

Even Lady Serafina enjoy peeing outside or in the bidet, leaving the litter for solids.

And I clean after her litter as soon as the does it, as the smell is pretty marked. MY husband is angry at her, but that's the way it is.

When we foster cats, we have a litter for them and Serafina keeps her, but she is always trying to use the other cat's mate to piss and hers just for solid!

According to Jackson Galaxy, who is an authority worldwide on cat's behaviors, the correct number of litters in a house should be equal to the number of cats plus 1, and they should be preferably in different quiet place.

Other tips include: do not put the drinking bowl next to the food bowl, and of course not next to the litter tray!

Quote from Semigoodlooking

I have two cats and a dog, so buying premium for them could be too expensive for me. That said, I am well aware that brands like Whiskas are hardly a dietary goodness for them, and there are those that would argue only dry feeding cats is bad and raw meat is the way to go.

Yes, bad cat food means more renal problems, so the rationale behind it is what you don't spend in cat food, you'll end up spending for their healthcare.

However, there is plenty of cats living well until old on cheap food, and fancy-fed cats who die young. That, and add that they don't have a say on what they eat and often the cheaper stuff is more palatable due to additives... When Serafina was fed second-tier cat food by accident, she LOVED it. But I assumed it was like McDonald's to her. More than palatable, but not healthy at all.

However, when we fed a cat colony in San Isidro we bought the cheapest available, otherwise the cost was going to be too high, so I am not judging here.

I recently bought cat's treats fish-shaped. One packet had a TOXIC smell and I threw it away, with green mold at the tips of the fish-shaped food. It was sealed and just bought from a reputable pet shop on a prominent Avenida, so I am pretty sure it hadn't been sitting in the store for years.

I bought a new packet at a different location and noticed that Serafina was starting to make partially GRAY POO. The first, older part of the lump was okay (brown and solid), then there was a gray section and then another normal but softer and fresher bit.

It took me a week to realize that it was the same gray of the cat treats. Never again!

For the record, this is the brand I bought:

Serafina is a cat influencer and has her Instagram account!

Quote from UK Man

Here's our moggie. She's the only cat we have left....a lovely natured cat she is too.

Ain't she a cutie with those sweet eyes?!

Quote from Semigoodlooking

Sorry, should have clarified. They do have two litter boxes, in fact they have three. Two where they usually do their eliminations and another in another room. For the main spot, we have tried everything, two litter boxes seperately, having just one larger box (reasoning he must simply find the box too small), softer litter, putting less litter in the box, putting more litter in the box. Another thing this cat does is never cover his crap, and never has.

Also Serafina doesn't always cover her poop.

I think the only explanation is that he is marking is territory and 'claiming' both litters.