(Part 2) Best cat supplements & vitamins according to redditors

You could see if you are eligible for CareCredit in an emergency.

Edit: Not affiliated but had it recommended to me on Reddit. I know that credit cards suck but I had a great experience and a lot of vets in my area accept it.

Edit again: Also, Nutrical is one of the best things that I have found for sick cats. I've used it in all sorts of situations. It is important to keep a cat's blood sugar up.

Edit again (I should really think these posts through): Boiled chicken or boiled low fat hamburger are also great for sick cats with no appetite (I do the rescue cat thing).

Blue Buffalo is also a good brand, but their No Grain variety is very expensive, and my cats tire of it and don't want to eat it after a while.

Everything's gotten pricier nowadays for pet owners. I remember when this stuff was available in Petco for fifteen bucks for the same size container.

http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Eckstein-Hugs-Kisses-Cat/dp/B000633QSY#customerReviews

I second the recommendation of Lysine, I use these supplement treats that my cat goes crazy for.

As for grooming, if you're curious, I made a video with some tips (my Brimley is long-haired, but the eye stuff would certainly apply)!

https://www.amazon.com/NutraLife-Pet-SAMe-100mg-tablets/dp/B005F6TICK/ref=pd_cp_121_4?pd_rd_w=mGJip&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=829SK913K9KS292P7VQY&pd_rd_r=a2163c2e-7678-11e9-a967-b34187462b23&pd_rd_wg=4jy5y&pd_rd_i=B005F6TICK&psc=1&refRID=829SK913K9KS292P7VQY

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KX4XM5B/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07KX4XM5B&pd_rd_w=8c9ez&pf_rd_p=46cdcfa7-b302-4268-b799-8f7d8cb5008b&pd_rd_wg=5N949&pf_rd_r=FAAHQ7YT2EDVYV989YGY&pd_rd_r=1ebb26fa-767a-11e9-9308-7719d34db95a

I second this. Pack your hammy in a smallish box so she doesn't get slammed around in transit. Instead of a water bottle (which can leak in transit) use some juicy veggies. Cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, etc. I have a friend who used to soak pieces of celery in water (for extra liquid) and used them while transporting critters long distances. Thicker slices will hold water longer than thinner slices.

I also recommend looking into something called Bene-Bac, which is a pre-and-probiotic that can help keep her intestinal flora from getting upset during the stress of travel. I find the powder easier to feed (you can sprinkle a little on the veggies) but there's also a gel form. You can find it at most pet stores, and don't worry if it says for dogs or cats or birds, it's all the same.

She's getting picky, like they do, but I try and give her foods low in phosphorus that she'll actually eat. She's in the first stages of kidney failure so the levels of phosphorus are very important. Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Chronic Kidney Disease website has a list of tons of foods that have low levels... since it's one of those things not listed on cat food labels, she hunted down the companies and posted the results. I try and get Chloe the foods that are non-Rx but on the top of her list. So far so good. No matter how good for her they are, she has to eat the shit so that's the main goal. Like all babies, she'd much prefer the junk food so if eating is tricky- Whiskas wet food in the square tub works every time if she's being difficult.

The good food- her main diet- Hill's (the Science Diet people) have the Ideal Balance line and a new one Ideal Balance Crafted. She likes both types (except the IB venison- that one is apparently disgusting) and she'll eat most of the flavors. I've added a vitamin in the mornings, something I found on Amazon and helps A LOT with her very, very slight dementia. And Forti-Flora digestive to help with any weird poops that may arise. Her vet comes here to the house, to complete the pampering, and has approved my choices for her eatin' habits.

Probably way more information that you wanted- whoops; sorry! But her diet is super important to me and I think it's played a large part in her longevity. Born on my bed when I was 17, she's been with me through the end of high school, two airplane trips, two cross-country car trips, a marriage, a divorce, births, deaths, earthquakes, fires and floods- she's my everything.❤❤❤

Original Recipe

This is what I started with. The red meat is too much for my kitty so I switched to chicken or fish if available. This website has other recipes too. It's fairly easy to prepare once you decide if your going to use supplements or not.

The most important things in this recipe is the taurine, cats must have this in there diet. I don't often use heart meat so I use taurine. Also the powdered bone meal is great for them too.

Taurine I'm sure you can find smaller packages but I buy supplements in bulk because I know I'll use them.

My dog had the same problem (or similar) after she gave birth. It could actually be stress related. Also....normal human food? You can consider a raw diet of boiled chicken or raw dog food (which you can find at your local pet store hopefully, depending on where you live), but I'd actually look at going grain-free first. Lots of great brands out there, but I really like Costco's option, which is Nature's Domain, as it is very reasonably priced (though not the highest end dog food out there). I also gave her some of this: http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Vita-Dream-Natural-Supplement/dp/B0015QT5EU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405126190&sr=8-1&keywords=vitaglo and fish oil pills to help her coat. As to how much food, I can't say...I just go by the bag.

I hear lots of good about coconut oil but haven't personally tried it.

my kiddo is also 140lb gets 2 zyrtec every morning and 2 of these:
allerg-3 caps which I get from my vet and which are formulated for dogs. they also come in a pump version. I can definitely tell a change in his coat if he's off of them for a few days.
(chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, hydroxyzine all did little/nothing for him but I have not tried loratadine. he does ok on the cetirizine.)

also, bathing helps so much! invest in some medicated or hypoallergenic shampoo from your vet, and resicort if they have it.

my kiddo is prone to staph dermatitis secondary to his allergies. he gets malaseb baths once to twice weekly and I use resicort diluted 1:1 with water 2 to 3 times a week when he gets really bad.

This is the supplement my vet gave us, you powder it up and blend it into their food according to the package directions though I have found that a half a tab more doesn’t hurt.

I see my vet again in two weeks (he’s very rural, I used to live on a farm and now that I’ve moved for work it’s a 193 mile drive) and I’ll ask him about your case in person, since he only had a minute to chat just now.

Heck, if he’s amenable, I’ll pass on y’all’s info so you can get some of the “tinkle tonic” to try.

Above all, though, make sure your kitty is being treated for possible infection. If the vet hasn’t given him an antibiotic yet, please go get a second opinion.

Like I said, my family has a nearly ten year old tomcat and a three year old queen both with the same condition, and they currently have great quality of life. We have maybe three urination incidents a year now with my little girl, and my mom says that Walton only pees on things when he wants to now.

Y’all are in my family’s thoughts and I’ll report back when I see the doc.

My Doxie had hair loss on his ears and chest. The vet said that it was heredity and to try Derma-3 gels. They really work but they take some time. My doxie has most of his hair back even though it's a little thin in some places but it looks sooo much better!

Our vet recommended these! We just buy them from Amazon. You just pierce the pill and put it on the food. Our little girl loves it and actually encourages her to eat her food.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L1BQB2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My doggies have dry skin.

unicorn

Thanks for the contest.

I'm so sorry you're having to treat infections, it sounds like your cat has a more severe case! :( I am happy to tell you what has worked for us.

To cure this particular flare-up, we added water to her food for hydration and gave her some tuna (more pungent so she would eat it even with her nose clogged).

We also purchased this moving water fountain. She slurps out of that thing where she wouldn't even look at her water bowl before. We also ran a humidifier for a while. She might have been on the up and up anyway, but all of this seemed to do the trick.

I mainly try to reduce her stress by keeping everything consistent, especially the kind of litter I use. If you're not already, do consider using a dust-free corn based litter like World's Best. Their lungs are smaller and the dust can really aggravate them.

Anitra's Vitamineral Mix is something you might want to look into as a wet food supplement. I considered using Feliway like one poster here suggested, but the price kind of kept me from pulling the trigger and we've been fortunate to not have another outbreak.

You might have known all of this already, in which case just ignore me, but I really hope your kitty gets feeling better. The Natural Cat is a book that really helped me after I first adopted. I don't agree with everything she prescribes and she's big on holistic treatments (avoiding the vet and medication as much as possible) but the lady knows her cats and I think everyone has something to learn. When nothing else has worked, it might be worth a shot! Take care!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002EOVP4/ref=mp_s_a_2?qid=1319311141&sr=8-2 animal apawthecary. Sorry. :) check it out though, it works wonders. Also follow the directions on the bottle!

My cat Cosmo (RIP) had this same problem. He had the beginning of kidney disease (due to age), some constipation issues, and loss of weight. Here are some things you can talk to your vet about and try. My vet agreed with all I was doing and it kept the test results for his kidneys from getting worse.

1.) Azodyl - The shipping on this will also be expensive, because it has to be shipped in a cooler with ice packs. When you get it, it has to be kept in your fridge as well. I would give my cat one in the morning and one in the evening. To make the pilling easier, I bought a small jar of this coconut oil for pets and would sip half the pill into it, and then put that end first into the back of my cat's throat. He took the pilling like a champ.

2.) Epakitin - They make this for both dogs and cats, and sometimes put in the larger plastic spoon for the dog dose, so just be aware to make sure you measure correctly and use your own measuring spoon if they do that. My cat would not eat this sprinkled or mixed in with his food, so I bought several cans of Feline Clinicare Renal, put a few CC's into a shot glass, mixed in the small dose of Epakitin, and then drew it into a 3 CC oral syringe and give it to him orally after the pilling, which also helped make sure the pill went down with ease. I would drop the pill in, and then quickly wash it down with half the syringe, let him swallow and then did the other half. Because my cat would not really drink the Renal Clinicare much on it's own, I would open the can, pour most into an ice cube tray, and freeze and then transfer to a small plastic bag in my freezer. If I took out a cube the night before, it was thawed by morning. I would keep the liquid it in tiny jar in the fridge and it would last a few days.

3.) Pet-Tinic - Vitamin/Minerals for older cats. My cat was low iron and my vet suggested this.

4.) If constipation is a chronic problem, you may want to ask your vet about lactulose, which you will need a prescription for.

Again, talk to your vet about all of this, and if the kidneys and constipation are addressed, your cat may begin to eat more again, though my cat just never really gained the weight back and was just bonier for a few years.