# Anyone with a Ragdoll Cat? Food question



## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

Hi I am just taking a shot here that someone familiar with the Ragdoll breed cat might have rec of a good quality canned food. I had our Mittens to the er vet today for a urinary problem and their rec was take him off the dry (fed Fromm) and start canned, rec of Friskies mixed grill. Id rather have a better food than Friskies, not that thats a bad food. I did speak with our canine speciality store who rec Wysong canned food.

Ive searched the net and most sites arnt rec any particular food........again, Im just taking a shot here..

Thanks


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Sophie_mom has 2 of them! You should PM her!


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## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

Thanks! Ill try to pm though Im not quite sure how.
Ill figure it out 
Thank You!


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

I don't, but I think they are the prettiest kitties ever.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

We have a himi x and he has urinary issues. The rec was to put him on all/mostly wet. Vet recommended royal canin SO which is pretty crappy food and he started to loose fur on it, so we spoke with a nutritionist and recommendation was Go! Natural. Contains cranberry among other things recommended for urinary issues. He's on 80% canned Go! Natural Chicken and Vegetable. The other 20% is Orijen kibble. His urinary issues have not returned since being on this diet (about 1 year now).


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## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

Jackie........
Thank you soooo much. Can you get the "Go" at most speciality stores? And, you leave your dry kibble out all day?

I have never heard of that food. I headed out in a few min to get him some new foods so I really really appreciate your Rec!!!

I did pm Sophie_Mom to


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## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

Thanks Kim they are veeery verrrry loving kitties!


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

I loooove Ragdolls. Our next cat will definitely be rescue so I don't think we'll find a Ragdoll but that's the cat I would get for sure if I was going through a breeder.

You should be able to purchase Go! at most pet food stores where you could get brands like Innova, Orijen, Fromm, etc. I don't know that the food will do the trick for you but at the very least it will get liquid into your kitty which is vital with urinary issues. You can also add more cranberry and Vit C to his wet food which we did for a while but have since stopped doing cause he was doing so well on his new food.

We have a funny feeding protocol because our cat has some behavioural issues. We have to make him work for his food - he has to come, sit and shake a paw for his wet food twice a day. We hide his kibble around the house in the morning and he very much enjoys looking for it (unfortunately so does Cosmo so we have to hide it in high-up places).


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

I don't have a Ragdoll but have meet a few ... beautiful kitties. When looking for a food for urinary problems look for a food with low ash...foods without fish are most times better. For years we had cats with urinary problems and for the past 7 years have been feeding dry Iams. Most of our cats have lived 18 to 20 years but have always had urinary problems until our last two Wilson and Stanley and they have never eaten anything but dry Iams. Just thought I would toss that information out, good luck.


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

I have two kitties but neither have urinary issues (knock on wood). Just another idea is to try looking at TheCatSite forums for possible suggestions, as well. I've gotten lots of good advice from there.  

Good luck..... and Ragdolls are awesome!!!!


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

You might want to do a bit of research and talk to your vet to see if there's a specific ash content in dry food and canned that you are looking for....

Most pet stores carry many varieties of canned food for cats. If you are able to buy it by the case, you may be able to save some money.


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## kwhit (Apr 7, 2008)

Cats never drink enough water, regardless of breed. Keep their water at least 3 ft. from their food, cats do not like their water next to their food and doing this will encourage them to drink more. Also, their diet should consist of 80% wet and 20% dry. You could actually go 100% wet and it would be fine. Try to stick with grain-free wet...EVO is a great choice as is GO!

Raw is probably the best choice for cats because of the moisture content, but if you keep their diet mostly wet, that works, too. Also they have very few taste buds compared to us and dogs. So they choose their food by the smell and texture. So...the smellier, the better.


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

We have a member, though she's not been on in a while, who raises and photographs Ragdoll kittens. Her first name was Lynn and her puppy was Harvey, an adorable little guy...I miss them.

I found her, Linncurrie, but she has no pics to view. She's a photographer, googling her name may bring up her work. Can't believe it's been over a year since she visited. She always had the best pics to share of Harvey and her kittens.


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## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

RedDogs said:


> You might want to do a bit of research and talk to your vet to see if there's a specific ash content in dry food and canned that you are looking for....
> 
> Most pet stores carry many varieties of canned food for cats. If you are able to buy it by the case, you may be able to save some money.


RedDogs their rec was Friskies Mixed Grill staying away from seafoods. They said that this is "almost" just as good as a prescription diet. I couldnt not find the "Go" foods at our speciality dog store. The owner of the store called and spoke with someone more knowledgable of cats diets. She rec and we ended up getting the Abady canned "Fat Cat Food" <actual name. Ive had kitties all my life and have rarely fed a wet food. Up till now we never had any urinary troubles with the cats  I gave him some new food tonight and he ate fairly well, not great. I'll just keep monitoring him over the weekend and than take him to my regular vet early next week for urinalysis. Unless of course he needs to be seen sooner. I was a little surprised the ER Vet didnt want to check his urine today :/ Anyway, He had no blockage so thats good. 

Ill definately check out the cat boards. I know there isnt one specifically for Rags. However Ill take the other posters suggestion for the site 

Thank You all for the suggestions!!! It is always very much appreciated.


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## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

kwhit said:


> Cats never drink enough water, regardless of breed. *Keep their water at least 3 ft. from their food, cats do not like their water next to their food *and doing this will encourage them to drink more. Also, their diet should consist of 80% wet and 20% dry. You could actually go 100% wet and it would be fine. Try to stick with grain-free wet...EVO is a great choice as is GO!
> 
> Thank You!!!! I never knew this little tidbit of info either!!! Going to move the bowl right now!


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

The other thing we did to get his water intake up was get him a kitty fountain. We have the one by Petmate: Deluxe Fresh Flow. Not all cats like it but our Oscar loves it. He now drinks much more. He also likes to play with the stream. lol. It's high up on a desk so the dog can't get it.

I do agree with whomever said grain free. Usually important in urinary issues.


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## 2DogsN3Cats (May 25, 2010)

A water fountain could very likely increase the water intake. My male who had urinary issues would refuse to drink out of the water bowl but would drink from the sink or *gulp* toilet (dont worry we keep the lid closed at all times now that we witnessed that trick last year). I had a problem with getting my cats to switch to a wet diet, none of them like wet food at all they liked their dry better. 

My vet said that the grain free food could have likely been a contributing cause to him getting UTIs and since I started mixing in a lower quality food (Purina Indoor) with their TOTW he has not had any urinary issues whatsoever. I think along with him increasing his water intake it helped. 

TOTW has a wet cat food out, I dont know if you have a Tractor Supply near you but you can check there and most times they will be willing to order the wet food in for you or purchase it online. I am a huge fan of TOTW without it Id probably still be having poo issues with 2 out of my 3 cats. You also want to stay away from foods that are mainly seafood also, I read somewhere that especially with males seafoods and fish can/will cause UTIs in cats. There are also urinary supplements you can get to help aid in urinary health.


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## Okamiko (Sep 9, 2010)

My mother adopted a Bengal kitten from a "breeder" who is elderly and couldnt keep up with her cats. Well due to the poor living conditions she got the kitten from she had to deal with a lot of health problems including UTI's. She was suggested to try EVO dry food and to add Raw meat with her diet. So she leaves the dry food out (evo) for her to eat throughout the day and gives her raw meat around dinner time. She has yet to have a UTI since.


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