Best cat multivitamins according to redditors
We found 21 Reddit comments discussing the best cat multivitamins. We ranked the 10 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 21 Reddit comments discussing the best cat multivitamins. We ranked the 10 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
You're right that a human going vegan has a bigger impact than a cat, but why not both?
What about Taurine (and other essential nutrients)?
Many people are concerned vegan diets lack essential nutrients for cats and dogs that can only be found in meat, like Taurine. Without Taurine, cats will suffer from retinal degeneration, cardiomyopathy, birth defects, and eventually death. This fear is heightened by anecdotal reports of owners who naively and cruelly feed an incomplete plant-based diet to their pets. However, many nutritionally complete dog and cat foods exist.
Evolution is one such vegan dog & cat food brand, you can see their ingredients here. Both dog and cat food contain (ethical & sustainable) synthetic Taurine, Lysine, Carnitine, and more. This is not unique to Evolution. Any AAFCO compliant vegan pet food brand will have all essential nutrients and healthy carb/protein/fat macro-nutrient ratios as laid out by the guidelines.
Some people worry that synthetic nutrients are less healthy than "natural" meat, or cost prohibitive. A common saying in the pet food industry is that "pets need nutrients, not ingredients". Almost all meat-based pet foods are just supplemented as vegan foods. The low-quality rendered meat is heavily processed in order to become edible flavoring, which denatures most amino acids and destroys other nutrients. You can see synthetic Taurine, amino acids, vitamins, and other nutrients in the labels of almost any pet food.
Can cats be vegan?
Yes. Cats require many nutrients that typically come from meat. In regular kibble, many of these nutrients are stripped away during processing and added back in from synthetic sources. These same sources are used to fulfill missing nutrients in vegan diets. Studies and anecdotal evidence support vegan diets as a healthy diet for cats.
Vegan dog and cat food has the same amount of carbs, protein, and fat.
There is one point of concern though. Vegan diets are typically more alkaline/basic (high pH) than meat based diets. Basic diets can cause FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease), especially in male cats. To combat this their food must be acidified.
Most vegan and non-vegan cat kibble is acidified to prevent this condition. It's still a good idea to monitor your cat as it transitions foods to ensure its best health. On his website, Dr Andrew Knight says
> Based on his experiences with thousands of vegan cats Gillen (2003) states that 85-90% of vegetarian cats do not require attention to dietary content; however, for the remaining 10-15%, urinary pH and dietary magnesium concentrations (see following) require monitoring
The most relevant research has this to say on the matter
> The normal pH of a cat’s urine is 5.5–7, and the normal range for a dog’s urine is pH 5–7 [85]. A pH > 7 indicates alkalinity. A variety of dietary products (e.g., “Vegeyeast” from Harbingers of a New Age—see [26]) and additives can correct alkalinization, should it occur. Asparagus, peas, brown rice, oats, lentils, corn, brussel sprouts and yeast may be included in feline and canine diets, and are all urinary acidifiers [27]. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is also a urinary acidifier. The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Small Animal Formulary [86] recommends a dosage of 50–80 mg/kg every 24 h for cats and dogs. And for more serious cases, the amino acids methionine and cysteine may be used [13]. The BSAVA Small Animal Formulary [86] recommends a dosage of 200 mg/cat every 8 h. More detailed advice about urinary alkalinisation and corrective strategies is available via www.vegepets.info, or within veterinary medical texts.
> Increased urinary acidity, decreased urinary magnesium and increased water consumption all help to keep the urinary pH within a healthy acidic range, and help to prevent the formation of struvite crystals. However, acidifying nutrients, agents, or products should be used carefully, as excessive levels can lead to metabolic acidosis. Increased urinary acidity may also promote higher urinary excretion of calcium and lower excretion of magnesium, and magnesium is a natural inhibitor to the formation of urinary stones associated with calcium [87].
> "Urinary pH is the most important factor in determining the SAP [struvite activity product, which can lead to FLUTD]. Acidification of urine causes deprotonation of phosphates and increases the total proportion of urine phosphate existing as trivalent anions, reducing the SAP.6 Urinary pH and SAP have been reduced with both dietary modification and administration of urinary acidifiers.7 The solubility of struvite is maximized when the urinary pH is <6.4 ... acidification of the urine to <6.29 may increase the risk of calcium oxalate urolith formation...[Urinary acidifiers] should be considered only when the urine pH is >6.5 with ad libitum feeding conditions...A general recommendation for prevention of urolithiasis is to increase water consumption...Diets with reduced magnesium that maintain a urine pH between 6 and 6.3 are recommended despite lack of evidence of efficacy...Monitoring urine pH is recommended to assess dietary compliance and efficacy. Values between 6.0 and 6.5 may reduce the incidence of calcium oxalate and struvite crystal formation. "
So what should you do?
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).
I have a kitten who also had goopy eyes and dirty ears, no matter what I did. Vet recommended this lysine supplement and it made a huge difference in his health. That jar will last you a year, after which time he shouldn't need it.
Well bummer! My girls really liked the Tomlyn Lysine but it's getting harder to find. Since it also has chicken flavoring and they appear to be allergic to poultry (vet discussion coming soon, oh goody) I just switched them to the NOW Pet Health Lysine instead. It appears to be totally flavorless, and both girls finished their entire bowl of canned food today, including the one who usually leaves half her meal for her sister. If the canned food is a little dry sometimes I mix a little bit of water in so it doesn't taste too powdery, especially since I add probiotics and digestive enzymes for them as well.
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.❤❤❤
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
It's this stuff: http://www.amazon.com/Plaque-Off-Cats-40g-Formulation/dp/B004EA2OBK
I bought it somewhere else but this is the brand :)
It's a supplement I mix into his food once a day. I had to do some research, we are visiting my parent's place and I forgot to bring it with me.
Whatever you do, keep him on a wet food. There are ph strips you can buy to test at home. But if you've had urinary problems with your kitty before, you probably know the signs to watch out for, and know the cost involved with a blockage. So keep all that in mind. High moisture is important for all cats, not just ones who have had blockages in the past.
I personally have never given it to rats, but my rabbit's pellets have it in them, and it does definitely help with odor, so I'm assuming it would do the same for ratties. I was googling, and
I happened to find this. It says it is for horses as well, and both horses and rats are hind gut fermentors (digestive system type), so it would be reasonable to say rats can also have it if horses can. If you can find treats that have Yucca that are for cats or dogs, it is likely rats could also partake in them. I found these but I looked through the ingredients and found citric acid, so the paranoid part of me says no since citrus is bad in boys, unless they are two different things of course. I admit I'm not the best at ingredients deciphering lol Humans can also eat Yucca, so I would imagine you could potentially just cook the stuff as you would normally and give them a little of the root. Here is an explanation I found on how to prepare and cook it. Sorry I'm not the best help. Maybe someone else will comment that knows more!
This lysine is cheap while this one is more palatable. Each would be 1/4 tsp on food twice a day. And for a single cat either container would last a long time.
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.
Pet Naturals of Vermont makes a cat treat called Smelly Cat that is supposed to help with poo reek. It worked really well for my Abysinnian, but my MC is never interested in eating them.