Taste of the Wild food & Cats

[ksalvagno]

It does make a difference when they are indoor or outdoor. My barn cats get Kent Barn Cat food. They really don't eat a lot of it because they are very busy hunters. I worm them quarterly and they get their annual shots. They definitely don't have the sensitive stomachs that my indoor cats do. But my 2 indoor cats also came from very bad backgrounds and didn't get the proper stuff they needed as tiny kittens. I had the one since she was about 3 weeks old and the other one came from the vet and they had to work hard on him to get him healthy.

It is the male that is definitely doing it.

 

[abifae]

My cats are on that with no issues at all. In fact, my kitty no longer pulls all her fur out from allergies, so her coat is all healthy now.

I am with Metal... check for UTI or other infections.

 

[MetalSmitten]

farmerchick - hehe like i said, totally not lecturing, not frowning on you everyone has a different cat, and a different situation. i'm not a food nazi i'd guess your barncats are healthier than most average indoor cats because they're getting their truly natural diet, along with whatever you feed, as well as fresh air and exercise. in all honestly, i don't really think any kibble is exactly what a cat needs, because just to get the meat into kibble form they have to use a carb to bind it. even the premium kibbles i think are inferior to wet foods (as long as the wet food doesn't use lots of carbs/grains in it, that defeats the purpose), and then wet food i think is inferior to raw. but i can't afford raw or wet for all of my 6 cats, so i do what i can. we make wet food for my one cat with health issues, the rest get good kibble and a good life and i'm comfortable with that. (as a side note - switching their food all the time like you do is something that i actually consider to be good for them, it helps prevent sensitivities from starting and gives them a more varied diet.)

karen - i would get him checked, if you're able. especially considering their backgrounds. i've noticed that one of my bottle-baby cats also has a very sensitive stomach, but we're not even sure if she ever even got colostrum to start out. =/ my one cat with real health issues also came from a terrible background and there's no amount of vet care that is ever gonna make her right. but she's a happy girl despite it all. if you do a vet check and the tests come back clean, i can throw out some other things to try, but i really can't figure any other reason (besides coincidence) that a food change like you've described would cause inappropriate peeing.

 

[lorihadams]

We have our outdoor kitty on Diamond brand all cat formula. We don't feed her a lot cause she is outdoors but she HATED taste of the wild food. I kept catching the dogs trying to eat it cause she would sniff it and walk away. Diamond brand has an indoor cat formula and is no corn, no wheat, and no soy and we are very happy with it...our dogs have been switched to their chicken and rice formula too and they look a lot better, cheaper than taste of the wild too.

I'm with the others too...I would get tested for a UTI first if they seem to like the food.

 

[freemotion]

Some cats do get stressed by ANY food changes, even gradual ones. Even to a better food. This stress alone can lead to cystitis and "thinking outside the box." We had a cat who was like this....we resolved it and he was fine for the second 8 years of his life and never pee'd outside the box again. We had to put him on a very high-meat diet (that is when I started making my own food, under the guidance of my vet....the recommended brands were exorbitantly expensive) and find out which box and litter he liked (we called this "The Great Catbox Experiment ) and of course he liked The World's Most Expensive Cat Litter and the box in the dining room! We had to scoop at least twice a day and change out the litter often so there would be no smell. Use no smelly cleaners. I bought a dozen small white bowls just for the cats so we could feed them four times a day in the same dish and always use a clean dish and never run out between dishwasher loads.

And on and on....this cat was so laid back that I argued with the vet at first that he was stressed....but as she talked, I realized that I did everything she said would stress out some cats. I'd had cats all my life and had him for several years without incident so I couldn't wrap my brain around it.

But we'd just moved to our house, and that was a big stress on all of us.

This is more common in males, but looking back, I had an older female cat who got like this after her companion of many years died and I wish I'd known then.....

BTW, I use Taste of the Wild kibble for my barn kitties. They supplement with rats, mice, chipmunks, etc.

 

[savingdogs]

I think you are getting lots of good advice here. I'm chiming in because I've done cat rescue quite a bit.

I have seen lots of people who were happy with TOTW foods. I think they are a high quality cat food. But all animals do better on different foods. I have seen cats and dogs that did better on cheaper/more expensive foods that did not seem to make particular sense. I think that they each are unique.

If all this started when you changed food, I would change back and see if it goes away. Some times it has to do with the PH of the food, and the cat develops urinary crystals from having urine that isn't the correct PH. So food can be prescribed that brings the PH back in balance. I would be hoping that this isn't the problem because it tends to be lifelong.
The one you are pretty sure is peeing in the house, I'd take that one to the vet and get it checked out. Lots of times cats pee inappropriately because they have a urinary issue, especially when a housetrained cat begins doing this and no new cats have been introduced to the household. Urinary tract infections are famous for making cats pee all over. Try giving them extra water or water from a cat fountain which encourages them to drink more. Cats that pee right in front of you especially tend to be the ones with a urinary health issue.

I would try "cat attract" litter. Cat pheremones can help (you can get them at Petsmart). The ladies in the cat rescue that I volunteered with all thought "Max Cat" encouraged urinary health.

I would put a litter box in that upstairs area where the dogs are, but use a dog proof one. There are some you can buy ready made or you can make them like I do......from a big cat box sized rubbermate tote. You cut a cat-sized hole in top and they learn to sneak through the hole (make the hole too small for your dog to fit through). If you have a chihuahua, it probably is small enough to fit through, but make the hole in the TOP of the tote and it would be awkward for him to make it in and out. My cats don't know what a normal litter box looks like, I have five dogs.

I would also try to isolate as Metal suggested, it is hard to sort things out if you don't know who is for sure making the mistakes. And sometimes cats do better if their litter box and territory is individual.

I hope my advice is helpful.

 

[ksalvagno]

Thanks for the advice. I think I will start with taking him to the vet.

 

[runsw/scissors]

When I switched my cats over to TOTW one promptly got a UTI from the PH change, I guess. And for some reason this stuff does cause cats to pee much more often, and poop much less.

We took the cat to the vet got him cured and them added cranberry tabs, (crushed) to their food. This seems to have fixed the problem.

Hope this helps...

 

[MetalSmitten]

pH change makes sense. i bet it's a simple UTI

if you aren't already (and sorry if you already know this), make sure you're using an enzymatic cleaner on his messes, otherwise he might continue to pee out of the box just because he can still smell pee there.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Is he declawed by any chance?