Comments on: Solving the “What To Feed A Sphynx Cat” Puzzle

By: Allison

Allison — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 20:49:18 +0000

Good to see you Kirsten. I am more inclined to think ingestion of the new litter in one form or another is more likely the issue than a protest (but you never know ). Some Sphynx, and other cat breeds, are allergic to the dust that is present in some litters, or the accompanying resin/strong smell from pine pulp derived litters. One of my little darlings loved to eat the clay based litter.. ugh lol

By: k&s

k&s — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 20:15:15 +0000

at the start of November this year, our sphynx kitten had an issue with really bad liquid stools – we were quite worried abnput him – he’s always been on Royal Canin Kitten 36 food which is great and the problem happened quite suddenly – it had lasted a week or so when we realised it started in conjunction with changing his litter to a cheaper brand (mixing it in with his old stuff, catsan wood), so we decided that we’d change the litter back to Catsan wood before taking him to the vets if neccesary. within days he’s returned to normal and hasn’t had a problem since. seems like he was staging a dirty protest to the cheap litter! i’d always suggest ruling things like this out first before diagnosing stomach issues or food intolerances

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:51:21 +0000

Christine

If your vet doesn’t know that cats are “true” carnivores then I would be getting a new vet! Cats (of ALL breeds) obtain no nutritional value from vegetable matter and naturally subsist entirely on meat. Same as dairy products causing gut issues, vegetable matter will give bad belly problems. Anything that an animal cannot digest can cause fermentation in the bowels which leads to diarrhea and flatulence.

From my research into feline kidney issues I still endorse a raw diet (unless the cat is very ill). There is a lot of old thinking that is still being repeated out there, not backed up with any scientific study. It stands to reason that a diet as close to the natural wild diet of a cat will cause the least amount of health issues, and have the least amount of stress on the digestive system. I am not partial to buying rats and mice for my cats to eat (though some people do!) but I strive to imitate as closely as possible what a natural diet would be. That is, largely flesh with bone, a small amount of internal organs and a tiny amount of vegetable matter to imitate the stomach contents of a rodent (who are omnivorous not vegetarian).

From all of the stuff I have read and heard, the best results have always come from a raw diet. In your position I would be giving a try

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:36:24 +0000

Hi Allison,

I would love to put Isis on the raw diet, unfortunately I have a persian ( Bob) that has a health problem. He has stones in his kidneys so the only food he can eat is Hills C/D. As so I was told. I don’t think it would be fair if i only put my Sphynx on the raw diet. The others would hate me! Do you have another suggestion? I did some research and found that Sphynx can’t eat processed food that contains vegetables like corn oil, corn starch, etc… is that true? I called the vet and he’s never heard anything like that before. I hope I can get her in better health and no more runny poops.

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:57:02 +0000

Hi Christine

I know the pain of dealing with gut issues in the breed (and the appalling stench!)

I have to admit after putting my guys on a raw diet I am a complete and utter convert. NO diahrea, no stinky poos, no rumbly bellies. I posted about it here http://www.sphynxcatblog.com/sphynx-cat-news/putting-your-sphynx-on-a-raw-food-diet/ .

Are you able to get a cheap hand meat grinder to test out your guys, or borrow an electric one? I had no problems with them turning their noses up either. It was like feeding time at the zoo!

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:07:11 +0000

Me and my boyfriend recently adopted Isis. She is about 1 year old. We’ve had her for 2 months already and the serious diarrhea problem started to worry me. Everything that I’ve read above are all symptoms Isis is having with her bowels. At first I thought there was something wrong with her like worms etc. I took her to the vet and he first gave her some pro-biotic powder to see if that helps. It didn’t. Went back 1 week later, then he tested her for worms, and some other stuff. He then asked me to change her diet and now she is on Purina EN GastroENteric. Not cheap food but it’s a mixture. Some days she had soft bowels and some days she has #3 again! I just looked up the food ingredients and i’m not really sure how to read what’s made from vegetables. Is it anything with “corn” in it? I’m not taking her back to that Vet because he diagnosed her incorrectly and said she had an inflammatory problem. He gave me antibiotics and it’s not even working. What a waste of money! I need help. We have 4 cats total. One is a persian cat that can only eat Hills C/D and the other 2 are okay with eating Hills. Isis my Sphynx cannot eat that, my loft would be filled with smelly diarrhea. My question is, how do you monitor how the cats eat and how much food should Isis be eating since she can’t have a bowl of food just sitting there? To be continued….

By: terra

terra — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:17:26 +0000

I got my Sphynx from a friend and when I got him he had bloody diahrea. The vet put him on meds but had no good ideas how to make it stop. I have him on Royal Canin Sensitive Stomachs and it works perfectly. You can get it at Petco and Petsmart.

By: Monica

Monica — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:28:03 +0000

You guys, just feed them raw mince meat or chicken mince
Maybe crack a raw egg every 2 wkd. I have 2 male boys. 1 a pig who eats everything but has sinuses N
And my 2 boy is picky in what he eat and if cheap can store food he will have the runs
Just feed them raw mince meat and you will be okay

By: Allison

Allison — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:11:00 +0000

heather I know that scene well.

I am just about to post about my experience with raw food diet….it will address this issue

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:39:23 +0000

I have been experiencing the same problem with my sphinx, Gypsy. When she heads to the litter box, everyone in the area would run! I have to keep her contained in a small area of the house at night or whenever I leave because if she does go #2 I have to be there to wipe it off her bum, her paws, her tail, her belly and any place that she walked or laid down afterwards. I have to keep baby wipes stocked by her litter pan for easy access and clean up. I took her to the vet and they gave her a shot to stabalize the PH of her intestine, but that didn’t help at all. I really appreciate the information that you have all provided and I hope this will be the answer to our problem.