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I have 2 wonderful cats that are very different in many ways. The male cat is slightly overweight and about 11 years old. The female cat is the picture of health and only 3 years old. The older cat was having some digestive problems, overeating and then throwing up and some major difficulties when attemping to poop. I thought that Senior cat food may be better for him b/c of his age and maybe it would be easier on his system. I feed the cats a small scoop of dry food in the morning and they have free range to it all day and then they each get a 1/4 of a can of moist food in the evening. At first, I supervised them when I fed the can food b/c I didn't want the young cat eating the Senior food an vice versa. Then they started being good and I left them alone and this went well until about 2 months ago when the older cat started pushing the other cat away from her food so he could try some of that too, but then stood there and wouldn't let her eat any food, not even what he wasn't eating. They don't agree with having a different type of food. So, when I was in the store, I noticed that Friskes has a Special Diet cat food, so I picked some up. They aren't very of the dry food, this morning I noticed both dishes still have plently in them from when I scooped it out yesterday morning. Also, the older cat seems to be having a hard time again with his litter box visits, he was better on the Senior food. Now I don't know which way to go, but I don't think they can handle eating 2 different types of food. Help me please! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I would suggest that you go to a good quality Pet Store and look at the ingredients of the dry foods. You want to find one that is high in meat ingredients first (after all our cats are carnivores) and has ingredients like corn further down the list. I would suggest brands like Eukanuba, Nutro, Felidae, Innova, Royal Canin, or maybe even the new one called Chicken Soup for the Cat. Since the older cat is having a hard time going to the bathroom, how about one of the hairball formulas? These put a little more "grease" in the diet and so maybe it would help the poop slide out easier? I don't know about this, but it is just a guess.

Be sure to get a really small package of the food just to try on your cats. Mix half and half for a week or so with their old food. Introducing the new food slowly will help keep down digestive problems in changing foods. If they don't like the one you brought home, go buy a small box of your "second choice" and do the half and half thing again. Hopefully you will find a higher quality food other than grocery store food that will work well with both of your kitties.

I personally am very fond of both Innova and Felidae. I have been feeding all my cats this for a number of years and they like it and do well on it.

Portia

In fact, I thought you might like to see a picture of my big boy guarding his food bowl (which is getting a little lower in food than he would like).

Ash DOES like to eat!

Portia

Thanks for the advice, I'm planning a trip to the pet store to find all these and see first which I can afford Do you really think that hairball formulas will help my older cat go to the bathroom? I wouldn't think the 2 would be connected and he's never had a problem with hairballs, when he throws up it's all food. I'm sure you know better than I do though, hehe. I never had an old cat before, especially such a big one. If I could figure out how to attach a picture on here, I'd show a picture of the cats, but I can't seem to get it to work right.

Thanks for the advice, I'm planning a trip to the pet store to find all these and see first which I can afford Do you really think that hairball formulas will help my older cat go to the bathroom? I wouldn't think the 2 would be connected and he's never had a problem with hairballs, when he throws up it's all food. I'm sure you know better than I do though, hehe. I never had an old cat before, especially such a big one. If I could figure out how to attach a picture on here, I'd show a picture of the cats, but I can't seem to get it to work right.

My reason for thinking of the Hairball formula was because it kind of "greases" the intestines so that the hairball will pass on out. I just kind of thought that it might help everything to come out as well . I do know that if you give a kitty to much Petromalt that they will get the runs, so it was just a thought.

Portia

That makes sence and sounds like it would work, of course I do worry for my younger cat about having too much Petromalt b/c she gets the runs pretty easily. What if I kept mixing half hairball formula with half special diet?? That way the greases would still be in there, but not too much, making it safe for them both (?). If one of the 2 dry foods mixed together was a cheap one like Friskies Special Diet, than it would be a lot more affordable also. What I had been doing was giving them a scoop of dry food to pick at all day and then a 1/4 can of moist food in the evening. Should I decrease dry food and increase moist??? Let me know what you think, again, the help is much appreciated by myself and soon-to-be much appreciated by the kitties too
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Not much to add to the advice you have received. Seem that all is covered already
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PHWildCat
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A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

Some one said to get a cat food that was hairball formula. I used to buy Nutro Hairball for my cat. It worked ok for the hairballs (she didnt' have a problem with going bathroom). But I switched her to Nutro healthy choice about a year ago, and she has not had one hair ball since the switch. So at least as far as Nutro goes I think the healthy choice is a better pick.
Good luck finding something that will work.
If nothing else fails you could try your vet. Seems most of them will give you a perscribtion diet food usually science diet.

Good luck again.
Jame