Food Recommendations

For use in E-Tubes

If your vet has requested that you use a certain food, of course use that. But if not, know that not all foods blend alike. Some have grains, chunks, shreds or flakes that make it nearly impossible to blend them up finely enough. For example; if you are going to use Fancy Feast, only the “Gourmet” (also called Classic) flavors will blend smoothly. They are “pate-style”, without chunks, and blend into a smooth puree without much effort (added bonus: there is no gluten in those flavors). Anything with whole shrimp or fish or pieces of “real meat” is not a good candidate for blending. You can strain some of those foods, but that adds a lot of time and labor and may remove some of the protein source. I never needed to strain using pate-style food. Dr. Elsey’s cleanprotein^TM pate-style foods blend well and use high quality animal proteins or fish as the primary ingredients. In addition, two flavors (duck recipe and pork recipe) are single-source protein foods which may be beneficial for cats with IBD.

For Pets that Can Eat by Mouth

We are often asked what to feed those cats that still eat some of their diet from a dish*. The key is to use a wet food that is very palatable due to possible illness-related diminished smell and taste, and as nutritious and high in protein as possible to help maintain weight. Diabetic cats should have low carbohydrate diets, while immunocompromised e-tube patients can benefit from food that is free of additives and unnecessary chemicals.
 
Kitty Kollar is pleased to recommend Thrive Pet Foods for these patients.
 
The owners of Thrive Pet Foods have been in the food business for well over 30 years. Thrive Cat Food contains ingredients such as 100% tuna fillets and 100% chicken breast with no added artificial colors, preservatives, sugars, gluten or wheat. Thrive Cat Food stands apart from other popular cat food brands because of what is left OUT of the product. For example, the tuna and salmon flavor contains: tuna and salmon in tuna stock, vitamins and minerals-NO potatoes, rice, soy, corn or carbohydrate fillers. The brand offers single-protein foods to help those with allergies to chicken or other proteins. The food is appropriate for all types of cats, such as those with IBD, diabetes, or gluten intolerance.
 
*Note that this food consists of “shreds” of real proteins and as such is not suitable for blending for e-tube feeding. You can learn more about Thrive Foods here:
 
thrivepetfoodsusa.com

If you place an order, use coupon code: kitty10 for a 10% discount