Well I just finished making vet appointments for all my animals- I'm going out of the country in May and won't be back until August, so I want to make sure they are all healthy and up-to-date on their vaccinations! :D

I have a couple questions though, about my cats.

First, I noticed that they seem to throw up a lot. Not all the time, but more than I would expect. One of my friends who is very experienced with cats said it's just hairballs, but what can cause this? Can it be caused by their diet or other factors?

Also I was wondering what everyone here thinks about Nutro brand cat food. I want to switch my cats to something more natural and I picked up a can of Nutro wet food today, and they both like it. Is this a good brand?

Thanks!:D

I'd stay away from Nutro. I used it for years and even told people that it was a good brand. I was taught wrong on that.

Nutro is definitely not a more natural brand and it has a lot of grains in it. For me, if it's sold at a pet store or a grocery store, it's just not good stuff. But, when it comes to comparing Nutro to brands like Iams/Eukanuba which is sold in the same places, I'd choose Nutro over those.

I had all of my cats and my dog on Nutro for a long time. I finally found a different brand, no grains or fillers, and put them on that. They've been doing pretty well. It's a little more expensive than Nutro, but they are doing better on this one. Oh, also, the wet food is mostly water so that shouldn't be their main food source; dry food would do it. They also may react differently to the dry.

Now, if you -really- wanted to do the natural thing, you could do raw food for them, if you don't mind handling meat. Meat, veggies and fruit is pretty much what it is. I'm planning on trying this sometime for my 4 cats and my dog. It also is a lot cheaper. There are a lot of different recipes for it. I'm still trying to read up on it and figure it out myself.

I'd stay away from Nutro. I used it for years and even told people that it was a good brand. I was taught wrong on that.

Nutro is definitely not a more natural brand and it has a lot of grains in it. For me, if it's sold at a pet store or a grocery store, it's just not good stuff. But, when it comes to comparing Nutro to brands like Iams/Eukanuba which is sold in the same places, I'd choose Nutro over those.

I had all of my cats and my dog on Nutro for a long time. I finally found a different brand, no grains or fillers, and put them on that. They've been doing pretty well. It's a little more expensive than Nutro, but they are doing better on this one. Oh, also, the wet food is mostly water so that shouldn't be their main food source; dry food would do it. They also may react differently to the dry.

Now, if you -really- wanted to do the natural thing, you could do raw food for them, if you don't mind handling meat. Meat, veggies and fruit is pretty much what it is. I'm planning on trying this sometime for my 4 cats and my dog. It also is a lot cheaper. There are a lot of different recipes for it. I'm still trying to read up on it and figure it out myself.

Thanks for the quick response... I do feed my cats mainly dry food but I also like to give canned for the extra moisture, because I heard it's good for them to get moisture from food. Prior to this I have just been feeding 2 different brands of "grocery store" cat food, Happy Tails and Whiskas, so Nutro is a step up for me.

So just out of curiousity what brands DO you recommend? What are you feeding now? I am going to be gone for three months, and I don't think my roommate would be able to feed my cats a raw diet- she can barely feed herself right! So I am in the market for a good cat food.

How old are your cats?

Frequent vomitting can be caused by all sorts of things, but the biggest culprits are food allergies and hyperthyroidism, the latter being more common in older cats.

They should have a wellness test done every year the same time they get their vaccines. This is a simple blood screen that checks out organ function and things like a blood count, protein levels, etc. This is a great tool for spotting problems before they get too advanced and also for giving a baseline of what is normal blood work for your cat, so that if they get sick later on, there is something to compare it to.

For cats with sensitive tummies that isn't caused by hyperthyroidism or any other illness, I'd recommend Hills Z/D or Medical Hypoallergenic formula. These are both prescription diets, you'll have to discuss them with your vet at their appointment.

ETA: I'm not a big fan of Nutro, but I agree it's a lot better than what you were feeding them. Avoid grocery store brands. They suck. Pet stores will still sell sucky food, but they also carry good brands. I also like Wellness brand food for cats and dogs because it's made with human grade ingrediants.

How are your cats for fleas. Lots of vomiting could be a sign of an allergic reaction to fleas which causes them to lick far more than usual and subsequently get more fur balls. That was the problem with one of my cats anyway.
Her other problem related to vomiting is that she gets all excited when she's feed and eats so quickly that it sometimes comes back. So my strategy with my next cat was to just always have dry food in her dish so she never scoffed it - turns out it works really well. She just eats a little whenever she wants.
This has also prevented two other things: she never follows you around the house loudly begging for food and she hasn't become overweight like my first cat. I think it's because she's secure in the knowledge that there's always going to be food there and so doesn't eat it all just becasue it's avaiable.

One of my cats, who is long-haired, gets hairballs, but not with great frequency. He's healthy though. You could get special food for hairballs or other hairball remedies if it seems like your cats have them frequently. Do you brush them regularly? That can help.

As for Nutro, I used it for awhile, and to tell you the truth I forget why I stopped. Is the first ingredient chicken? If not then it should be. Does it have by-products? If so, don't use it.

I fed my cats Natural Balance for a while, but it was too rich for one of the kitties who had to go on prescriptions food. That's a quality brand though.

Now all three of my kitties eat Royal Canin, prescription for one and regular for the others. It's pricey, but it's high-quality.

I also give them Trader Joe's wet food occasionally, which also has no by-products.

Definitely stay away from those big name supermarket brands! If it's advertised on TV or sold in supermarkets, you definitely shouldn't feed it to your kitties. It's like the equivalent of feeding your kid Fruity Pebbles every day.

My mom's cats throw up whenever she buys the cheap food. Switching to something better might help.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

My cats are not really old, they are 4 and 3. Venus does tend to scarf her food all the time, so that could be a possible cause. Also when I feed them wet food, Nassi follows Venus' lead and scarfs it down. Is there a way to get them to stop doing that?

I will definitely get them tested at the vet, and keep on the lookout for a better brand of food.

Out of my four cats, one (Cybil)throws up almost every day, and it's definitely hairballs. My oldest, Mandi has hyperthyroidism and oddly enough, she used to throw up a lot more often, but now it happens maybe once every other week or so. I definitely notice the vomiting happens more often on dry food, but it does occur also with the canned. Sometimes if I feed small amounts throughout the day, that helps, rather than letting her eat a whole can at one sitting. She will have a spell where she might not throw up for 2-3 weeks, and then I jump for joy. She is healthy and has her regular checkups. I have not been able to figure out why it happens so often. I tried all the different kinds of food out there, but nothing seems to work. I beginning to think some cats are just thrower uppers!

Well, I just got back from the vet, and the kitties got a clean bill of health! I asked about the vomiting/hairballs, and the vet said that if I am feeding them a cheaper brand of food, it will probably cause them to shed more, and thus have more hairballs. They recommended either Science Diet, Wellness, or Royal Canin brands of food. Anyone know about these?

I've just recently switched my cat over to Innova brand cat food. He's on the diet formula in effort to lose a few excess pounds that he's been carrying for years, now. I buy it at a locally owned pet supply store called The Urban Animal, and the girl at the counter said that it's what she feeds her cats. According to the site, the company doesn't sell to corporate pet supply stores like petco or petsmart- so if you're at all interested in switching your pet over, you'd have to find a locally owned supply store. It uses a high quality protiens (Turkey and Chicken in the diet formula's case), whole grains, fruits, and veggies. The food is also human grade and made with absolutely no GMOs.
Anyway, my cat loves it. I currently have it mixed with his previous food (Iams- that's what my parents had him on before he came to live with me a few months back) and he actually picks around the Iams for the Innova and then cries at his bowl for more.

My two kittens are both on wellness dry. I've heard good things about it, and they seem to love it. I noticed that their coats got super glossy right away. It can be a pain to find, but theres plenty of cutesy pet boutiques in my area. I noticed you can buy it online for pretty cheap.

I also give them canned food with some fresh pack salmon, tuna, or chicken...I'm still trying a bunch of brands to see what they like best. The wellness canned didnt seem to go over to well, they eat it, but dont finish. Same with innova. They really liked the whole foods oceanfish, but I guess I assumed it was all natural. I looked at it today, and its full of by-products.