The Momma speaks

Silly catz...

Okay, so Teazer has a mild heart murmur. Apparently not uncommon in Maine Coons, and definitely supports our theory that their father was at least part Coon. The murmur is more noticeable when he's stressed or working out, which obviously he is at the vet's.

So the vet suggested that we try out Royal Canin's Maine Coon formula. Larger chunks of kibble to help exercise their larger and stronger jaw muscles, extra glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health - hip dysplasia is another common ailment in Coons - taurine for heart health, Omega fatty acids for skin and hair, and very low carb. Because the vet says that cats, and especially Coons, are "opportunistic carnivores". They get more energy from protein than they do from grains.

Which is why she also wants us to give more canned food. She said that there's no reason to go for fancy stuff, that Friskies would be just fine, just so long as it's meat. Interestingly, the cans say that a cat should be getting an ounce of wet food per pound of body weight. So Mungo should be getting 9 ounces of wet - or almost two full cans - a day? I'm going to hope that this is assuming that they're not getting any other food, cause right now they aren't even able to finish a half-can at a sitting.

The good news is that the cats definitely like the new food. We've got about a half bag of Purina to finish off, but in order to save myself from a mid-wweek run, I picked up a bag of the new stuff today (at three times the price...gasp). I was transferring it from the bag to an empty resealable tub, and after I looked away for a minute, discovered both cats with their noses in the tub eating! They were never THAT excited over Purina before!

So the plan for now is to give them half a cup of crunchy in the morning when I get up from bed and put it away out of reach before I leave for work in the morning. That gives them about an hour for breakfast. When I come home, they each get a half-can of Friskies canned, and then for about an hour before I go to bed, they get another half cup of crunchy. If, over the span of a week, they're routinely emptying their bowl of crunchy, then I can up it by a quarter cup each feeding. We're not going to adjust the wet stuff yet. Up till now, they were getting a full cup of crunchy in the morning and topped off when I got home, plus half a small can of Fancy Feast (because freebies were coming with the Purina and then lots of coupons) twice a week.

So yes it's going to cost more money this way, but I think of it along the lines of me taking preventive medicine for my allergies. If you know there's an issue, why wouldn't you do what you need to do to prevent it from flaring up.

The Momma