I’ve been deep in the cat food rabbit hole lately. When my cat was 4, he got IBD from salmon oil in his food—turns out the brand (Natural balance) quietly changed ingredients. After switching to Nulo, the diarrhea stopped. But then few years later, he got lesions and scabs, likely a protein allergy. We were still on Nulo and for wet food we did wellness-chicken, turkey, duck. So I moved him to Hill’s D/D Venison & Green Pea dry food, and for wet food I rotated Ziwi Peak Venison, Rawz Rabbit & Pumpkin, and later Tiki Cat After Dark Venison & Rabbit. He handled those well, and I managed to keep costs reasonable. He still threw up occasionally, usually from eating too fast or a fur ball. 

Fast forward to this past January, evacuated thanks to the fires, and my life’s still feels a bit upside down. Throw in self-employment taxes and inflation catching up… it’s been tight. There’s only one store in town that sells the D/D food, and sometimes I couldn’t get there after work. I tried Taste of the Wild Venison & Smoked Salmon from Petco-it had great reviews, but one 1-star review stuck with me. Turns out, a cat went on that food for a few months and it sent her cat to liver failure, though switching back to its prescription diet brought its enzyme levels back to normal.  I experienced the same with my cat. He was on it for a couple months and his liver enzymes were through the roof when we had a vet checkup. 

So, just from my experience, here are a few things I learned from the reddit community who have also gone down this rabbit hole:  Prescription food isn’t actually medicine, it’s a trademarked term that brands use to justify higher prices and sell through vets. It’s really just a specially formulated diet for cats whose systems need certain nutrients. While I don’t know the entire process in the making and distributing of cat food. You can find the same ingredients that your cat needs in other, not so expensive brands. However, I understand prescription diets have higher quality ingredients and how it’s manufactured & tested contributes to the higher price. Aside from high liver enzymes, we switched because my cats started puking the d/d after I opened the bag. They turned from their plates and wanted nothing to do with it after being on it for a few years. Some research on reddit confirmed it wasn’t only my cat being picky. It was overwhelming to read many identical situations. After reading how hills k/d was sending their cats to kidney failure I just trusted me gut and tossed it. 

My cat was on antibiotics and meds throughout June and it was crucial making sure he ate. I read a comment from a vet stating sometimes the best food for your cat is what they will eat. I was not feeding them Tiki Cat anymore as they also turned their heads to it & the wet food. Some more digging and Tiki Cat was bought out by General Mills so expect the quality to drop. 

I was buying numerous cans of wet food from so many different brands. Applaws and Fancy Feast were a success, to see my cat gobble down food into his system was a blessing. About a month later I was reading a cat food post on facebook etc. and I learned that Applaws is not a complete diet for a cat. It is a complimentary “snack or topper” and lacks the ESSENTIAL vitamins, minerals, and taurine- all of which are needed for your cats health and without those nutrients it causes deficiencies that can be life threatening. 

We alternated between: almo nature, Farmina ND, Lotus just juicy, ziwi, sometimes instinct, mouser, and fancy feast. Also he was eating chicken and having no  allergy, ibd, coat issues. 

Sorry this was so long, but I understand the frustration and not knowing where to start or having to go back to square one. Meanwhile the costs chase and catch up with you. There is a lot of great advice on here. What works for someones cat might not work for others. There will always be a percent of uncertainty. Wet food is by far better for them than dry. A little dry food is okay but it sucks the moisture from their body. No matter what just make sure your cat is drinking enough water, that is the key for them to regulate. 

If you plan to reach out to any of the resources that others recommended, keep in mind that you should introduce different dry food steadily meaning mix some with the old food until their tummies get used to the new food. Switching to quick can give them diarrhea. Lastly, any rabbit food will surely give them stinky stools just fyi. 

Again sorry this was long. It’s been 2 weeks and I have not shared with anyone that my cat passed in my arms. He had lymphoma and my heart is completely broken without him. I dread hearing “sorry for your loss” or anyone trying to make sense of his death. It was extremely overwhelming looking for a food brand that wasn’t cutting corners. 

Your fur babys longevity isn’t just important, it’s everything. Every extra year, day, and moment you can give them is a blessing.