Q: I purchased 3 large packages of your dry cat food that says it is for indoor cats, sensitive stomachs etc. I have noticed that my cats throw up more often than when they were on other brands of cat food. Your ingredients seem so much better for them. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Jean

A: Hi Jean,
Thanks for trying Halo. Even the highest quality food can cause digestive upset if it is introduced too quickly and cats are notorious for stomach upset with food changes. This happens because the bacteria and enzymes within the digestive system have to adapt to the new food in order to properly digest it. If you have been feeding the new food for less than 2 weeks, be patient, the problem may resolve itself. In general, for patients with sensitive stomachs I recommend the following diet transition:

Day 1, 2, 3, 4 – 75% old food, 25% Halo food
Day 5, 6, 7, 8 – 50% old food, 50% Halo food
Day 9, 10, 11, 12 – 25% old food, 75% Halo food
Day 13 and on – 100% Halo food

The other possibility is binge eating. Often when cats are switched to a superior food, it tastes better than some of the foods they were previously eating and so they binge at the bowl! This over-eating is often a problem with cats that are free fed (have access to food throughout the day) and can definitely lead to vomiting. I recommend placing small portions of food out two to three times daily to cut down on this problem.

If the vomiting persists, please see your veterinarian as there may be another cause.

Hope that helps.
Keep us posted.
Dr. Donna Spector

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Ask a Vet, Cat Food, Dr Donna Spector, Holistic Cat Food, Natural Pet Food, Pet Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.