Readers who are regulars on this site know we live with three cats. That’s down from a high of about nine back when we lived in Kaaawa, where cats were often either abandoned when nearby renters moved on, or were dumped as unwanted. Over the years, many of those ended up moving in with us.
Well, the three survivors are now all senior citizens. Duke, the diabetic, really should be mostly eating appropriately low carbohydrate foods, whether canned or dried. But, of course, the foods that would be best medically are among his least favorite. So I confess to regularly offering Duke and Romeo the equivalent of junk food. The favorites have been a few different flavors of Friskies paté. Both Duke and Romeo eat relatively enthusiastically when it is offered. Annie, for whatever reason, prefers dry foods and seems okay with them.
The problem is that Duke and Romeo both frequently exhibited the feline “snarf and barf” problem. Eat, maybe too much, then within a few minutes, barf it back up. I attributed it to gobbling too fast for their own good or, alternatively, as a symptom of hairballs.
But then I tried some Whole Paws brand canned cat food from Whole Foods. It is marketed as “grain free.” I don’t know whether that’s just a gimmick or not, but it turns out both the boys like it.
After several weeks eating Whole Paws, I noticed a major difference. The “snarf and barf” has disappeared. I don’t think it has occurred since we switched to Whole Paws.
My working hypothesis is that there is something in the Friskies that is hard for older cats to digest. Hence the “give it back” episodes. I don’t recall it being as much of an issue when they were younger.
What I don’t know is whether the Whole Paws food is bad for diabetic Duke. It may be grain free, but that doesn’t make it low carb, which would be best for him.
In any case, perhaps these observations will prove useful to others whose cats are experiencing similar issues. And I would be interested in the experience of other cat people out there.
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Hi Ian,
Thanks for sharing this information. Had the same problem with my cat and solved it by serving her half a can and then two-three hours later the other half. No more barfing.
Read your blogs everyday. Mahalo,
Sophia (prone to UTIs) gets the expensive Royal Canin SO in another room, while the other 3 get Friskies pate. One is uninterested, while the others eat his. No barfing, unless my timing is off and they scarf it down like they don’t know when they will see another meal again. I asked Petco why no more Friskies can food. Petco asked Friskies to remove an ingredient and Friskies will not.
I’ve had four cats and the last two had kidney problems at about 14; I now think that’s because I was feeding them only dry food and they didn’t get enough liquids in their diet. So with the current cat, we feed here Honest Kitchen’s Prowl, a dehydrated chicken based cat food which you reconstitute with warm water. It doesn’t have grains but does have pumpkin, sweet potatoes, cranberries, eggs, spinach and other stuff; it claims to be made to human grade food standards so I supposed if we run out of hurricane supplies…we could eat it. I mix 1/4 of dry Prowl powder with 1/4 warm water and a couple of teaspoons more of water and refrigerate it overnight and it reconstitutes into a mousse textured food which the current cat loves and is about 3 servings for my cat. I have no idea if it would be good for your diabetic cat, but as a diabetic myself, I know it’s not just the carb count, it’s the type of carb and how quickly or slowly it breaks down. So I don’t see anything on in the Prowl that looks like a refined carb. You can buy Prowl on Amazon and check out other people’s reviews on it, apparently some cats refuse to eat it, so it is suggested that you buy a small container first. The cost on Amazon is around $40 for a 4 lb box the last time I looked; that lasts my cat about 2 months.
I’ve never heard of this product! Thanks. I’ll probably give it a try.
Simple. Feed the cats better food. Not necessarily canned, either. Costco chicken goes a long way. Also, fresh (vs frozen) fish like ahi or aku are fine and prevent throwing up.
Ever since Petco stopped carrying Fancy Feast I’ve been trying other brands, and have had mixed results, mostly negative. I’m not inclined to spend $2+ on a can of cat food , pretty outrageous that cats eat better than many people but that’s another matter. Anyway, thanks for the tip about the Whole Paws, if it’s not $$$ I will definitely try it. I tried Pet Smart’s brand, Authority, and so far the cats like it okay but I am suspicious of the ingrediments. Haha, I guess you get what you pay for but I do give them a couple of tablespoons of canned food twice a day unlike some of my friends who give their cats a tablespoon of canned food once a week.
I made a huge mistake with my cats food and boy did I pay the price. I was feeding them dry food from Costco and my youngest male cat got a uretha obstruction. He spent 4 nights at the vets and all total it cost me around $3,000!! I now feed my 3 cats Royal Canin SO wet and dry. I met a wonderful lady from Hauula who does blood work for dlnr sea birds and she suggested to feed raw. She also suggested to watch a documentary about the pet food industry, which I have yet to do. It’s just easier to open a can