# My Cats needing behavior



## AlexPR214 (Dec 18, 2013)

Hey Guys,

Had some concerns with my cats behavior the last few weeks and tonight it just seemed to get worse. Make a long story short, if I don't play with him when I come how from work he will cry up a storm until I show him some attention for at least an hour or two. Its understandable as I'm not home for 8 hours a day and hes wants to play but its getting to the point where if I don't/cant entertain him, he will make him self sick (throw up) to gain my attention like he did tonight. I'm not sure if this is consider very needy behavior but its getting to the point where if I'm not in the same room that he wants me to be in, he gets very upset. 

I would like to know if this is normal behavior for a 1 1/2 year old cat to be doing this or if I should or should not try and fix this and just give in to his demands. I don't think its normal for him to throw up to gain my attention if I'm ignoring him. I don't have any background history as I got it from a friend of a friend who didn't have much if any information about where he came from.

Hes a great cat the loves to be loved, his very affectionate and right now hes sleeping in my bed lol

OH also I cant really train him or show him positive reinforcement on his better behaviors as he doesn't like treat of any kind. He does however LOVE blue cheese dressing from some reason. Let me know if any one has any ideas.

Alex


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

hi alex,

my cat would die for blue cheese dressing too , he loves it , but oh my i wouldn't give him too much , just a lick off a fingertip really , dairy not too good for them also lots of other things in there too , 

is your cat long haired? ,

might be a good idea to treat for furrball , 

i suppose it could be stress induced but i would look at other things first as they could potentially be more damaging, 

worms covered?

allergy to food ?

im thinking you are feeding when you get back from work ,and then lots of activity, this could just be a case of bolting food too quickly and then its coming back up after over exertion,

also i like to warm my cats food slightly in the winter as it settles better on tum.

what foods are you feeding ?

is cat neutered or spayed?

if cat is bringing up clear liquid or foam this will be because tummy has beeen empty for too long and this can in turn damage the liver/kidneys , you may need to get a timer feeder to dispense a meal during the day while you are out .

if you think it stressed related and you have ruled out everything else then would you consider a companion cat?

i hope something ,anything i've mentioned helps with a diagonis but you may be very wise to have a vet give him a once over for cats sake and your own peace of mind.

best wishes to you both please keep us updated as it dose sound very odd and not at all natural that he/she would do this purley for attention , sorry


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi Alex, welcome to Pet Forum

I would think either possibly something in his environment has changed within the past few weeks to upset your cat, or he may be unwell. Have you had him fully health-checked by the vet to see if he is in any pain or discomfort?

The vomiting may be more indirectly related to his anxiety, rather than a direct response to being upset. If the food comes up right after he eats then it's likely he's eating too quickly. Try raising his dish a little (e.g. on an upturned saucer) as this may make him eat more slowly.

On the other hand if he is vomiting on an empty tummy then this would suggest he is getting an over production of stomach acid from going too long without food. So feed him more frequently - e.g. 4 good meals a day of a good quality canned high protein food. You don't necessarily need feed more, just the same amount but more frequently. At his age, he could be needing anything from 250 grams a day to 400 grams a day depending on build and activity levels. Let him eat as much wet food as he wants - he will ration himself.

If you are feeding him dry food he could be vomiting because he is not drinking enough water to hydrate the food fully. This is the risk with dry food, one reason why it is so bad for cats. Cats are designed to get all or most of their fluids in their food. (prey)

As for the clinginess, I would look back and see what might have changed in the past few weeks.

e.g. 
Is the cat being left alone for longer than before? 
Have there been any new additions to the household, either human or animal?
Have you recently been away and left him in the care of someone else, e.g. a pet sitter?

But he is a young cat, not fully grown. At 1.5 yrs old he has a lot of maturing to do. I would not leave a young cat alone for long hours every day and expect them not to be lonely. Especially if they are an indoor cat and cannot even go outdoors for stimulus. A cat who is bored will become stressed and will start exhibiting stress-related behaviour.

With many more people these days keeping their cats as indoor-only pets, it has become essential to start thinking about ways in which to enrich the indoor environment for them to stop them getting bored and self-destructive, or destructive of their home.

Have a look at this link and see how a house was made more interesting for the resident cats:

The Cats' House: Bob Walker and Frances Mooney's world-famous jungle gym for cats.

or look at this link to find other ideas for enriching your cat's daily life.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cat+environmental+enrichment

I think also you have to accept that every evening when you come home your cat needs your undivided attention for at least an hour, whilst you play interactively with him, using feather wands, fishing rod toys like Da Bird, Laser Light, and ping pong balls for him to chase. He is not going to amuse himself. Then some more one-to-one time with you, before bedtime.

Invent as many new games as you can - it is a matter of thinking outside the box and being imaginative, just as you would if you had to entertain a child. He won't be a young cat forever, in a few more years he will be less interested in playing, but it is important he has a positive outlet now for his energy.

It may seem like a bit of a chore when you come home tired and hungry to have to give 100% attention to your cat, but it is part of the *deal* we humans make when we adopt a cat, especially a young cat or kitten.

I would also give some thought to maybe getting your cat a young feline companion. You will have to choose carefully, try and pick one whose personality will fit in with your cat's (if you go to a Rescue they will be able to advise you on the personalities of the cats, and how they get along with other cats). You don't want your cat feeling threatened by a bombastic over confident newcomer, as it would make him feel even stressed and anxious.

We have a product in the UK called Zylkene, a supplement which is good at helping calm stressed cats. I get the impression from your post you are not in the UK, so it may not be available where you are, though you may be able to order it online from the UK.

Zylkene Capsules - Priced Per Tablet - 75mg - Animed Direct

You'd need to give 75 mg a day for a month to see any benefit. Open the capsule and add the powder to his food. Cats find it palatable.


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## AlexPR214 (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks for responding. Ill try and answer most of your questions to see if we can try and pin point the issue. 

Logi is a short haired orange tabby. 

As for food: I feed him Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe dry food. He does not like any kind of wet food. He did like one flavor but it was discontinued. I do sometimes wet his food. Food is really another issue. He sometimes wont eat. He'll act like he wants to eat but he'll just walk away. This will lead him to some times throw up but I know force feeding him is not a good idea. Eventually he will eat. This happens when we buy a new bag of the same food. He always seems to do this. After he realizes its his food he loves it. I do feed him 4 times a day, Once in the morning, I leave food down when I go to work of the same amount, once when I get home, and once late at night (between 11pm-12am). If I don't give him a midnight snack, he will throw up the next morning. And yes I only give him barley a drop of human food of any kind and when I do its maybe once a month and its like very VERY small amount just for a taste. He doesn't seem to have any allergies to food. He also doesn't throw up after he eats and I try and not make him run around after.

Health: I take him to the vet as suggested and I'm always watching for abnormal behavior. He does have acute feline asthma and takes medicine for it (steroids half a pill every other day) but other than that, very healthy. As for pain, he lets me touch him almost anywhere with out any sign of distress or anger or violence. No worms of any kind. He also is of a healthy weight as well. Hes only had one hair ball incident since Ive had him and he just threw it up and went about his normal behavior so I don't know if he should be doing this more or not. He is neutered. 

Environment: Hes only been in 2 homes, my friends home when he was very little and didn't stay there very long and my home. We got hardwood floors put in on the lower level of our 3 level town home. That is really the only thing that has changed. Hes never had a sitter, myself or my mom are home. He also has every toy in the word to play with. We have them in a little basket that he sometimes goes in and pulls stuff out to play with. He also knows how to open doors lol. I do work 8 hours a day, Monday-Friday. 

He does show some sign of anxiety as if I make fast movements or even just walk behind him, he does jump as if he thinks he about to be attacked or something. And before anyone jumps to conclusions, I have NEVER beat or have done any harm to him or any animal. I really never thought that boredom could lead to very high anxiety/stressed cats.

After reading some of your guy's thoughts on the issues, I think that getting a little furry friend for him would be good. I think that due to not having anyone home for a long time would make sense that he would want my full attention when I home. Also I was just thinking that my aunt has had only one cat for years and she never ran into this problem but she also lets her cat outside for stimulation. I cant let him out as I live in a city with cars everywhere. I still find it weird how he wants me to go to the very low end of the home as we can play anywhere but it seems as if he always wants to have me and him down there. Its also where his toys are but sometimes he wont play with them. 

My only concerns now if we do get another cat is since hes so attached to me, would bringing in another cat make him more depressed or even be more stressed out? I know it would have to be a female as I think if we get a male then they might have a battle over dominance and hes kinda a push over. I think a very playful but laid back female would be good. Should I also go for a cat of the same age or younger or older? They way he plays is pretty high energy then he takes breaks when he gets tired but then is right back into the action. Any thoughts on what kind of cat would be good?

I greatly appreciate the help! Let me know if you have any other ideas!


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

hi Alex , i would defo choose a cat with the same energy levels as him , don't worry about getting a male as long as it has been neutered for more than two mths its ok as it takes this length of time for hormones to disappear and sometimes the opinion is that boys are more loving than girls ,

going back to the food issues i would experiment with different kinds of wet foods as i m not sure the dry is doing him any favours , given his asthma is it wise to feed a dry as the powdery particles could be irritating him ,dust mites , fungus bacteria are all known to be found in some batches of dried food also triggering allergies,also plasticides and chemicals coating the inside of large bags. i would try to wean him off this to something else , are you in the uk ?, just i haven't heard of the food you mentioned, others can advise on different foods available on the net 

do you think he might want to be at the far end of the home because of ; 

say -noise/traffic?
maybe other cats looking in windows when you are not there? 
is it were you relax /sleep 
any problems with mice
toxins /cooking smells /cleaning products/air fresheners?
does he like the shower room?cool as opposed to being too warm?

also when he has high energy play sessions does it trigger his asthma and he is trying to tell you he's not feeling well after the exertion -then becomes clingy but wants to be with you quietly?

i would say most cats will jump or flinch when surprised , it dosen't necessarily mean that said cat has been abused or traumatised.

have you thought about getting him a feeder timer bowl?

does he have accesss to fresh water , fountains are good and they seem to like them too,

i leave my tap dripping as my boy won't use other
my boy dosent drink a lot at all as his moisture comes from his raw meat and wet food .

have you checked mouth /throat for signs of soreness/

dry food constantly has been known to cause gum problems even in young cats , it not really as good s they say for cleaning teeth , natural meat on a bone is much better.

i would defo advise expermenting more with his food and enjoy it , it is a rewarding experience for you and him.

i think a youngish neutered boy playmate 
with the same energy levels is a safe bet.

there is a very good section on how to do introductions safely and we are always happy to advise further.

he does sound like a lovely boy and i hope to see him soon , pic's pleaseee

let us know what you think of suggestions , best wishes


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I must agree completely with a point made by the previous poster - I would never feed a cat with asthma a dry food diet! Your cat ideally needs to be on a diet that contains as little highly processed food as possible, e.g. a raw food diet. 

But if you are not keen on that idea, please get him on to a wet food diet a.s.a.p. You may have to do it very gradually, weaning him slowly off the dry, but it is achievable I promise. 

Once you have him eating a wet food diet, then you should put him on proper elimination diet where you feed him nothing but a novel protein + water for 6 weeks (a protein he has never eaten before such as venison, kangaroo, reindeer, horsemeat), which is available in cans in Europe. (I don't know about the USA). After 6 weeks, if there is an improvement in symptoms, you then reintroduce foods, ONE single protein (grain free food) at a time every 2 weeks, keeping a log as you go. 

This way you should be able to identify which meat proteins your cat cannot tolerate (if any, as it may turn out to be just be grains that are the problem).

With regard to a feline companion - yes, there is a risk your cat might not like a newcomer, might even hate one, particularly as he is very possessive of you. That will always be the risk. 

On the other hand he may take to another cat immediately. A lot will depend on how slowly and carefully you introduce them, and you would need to make clear to your present cat he is always No 1 in the pecking order and in your affections, so he does not feel pushed out. Not easy, especially as you are out all day.

Personality of a new cat is going to be much more important than gender. I would not get a kitten that's for sure. I'd probably go for a friendly, sociable laid back female of maybe about 14 to 18 mths old. A cat who has a history of getting along well with other cats and humans. (This is why Rescues are so good, as they can give you an honest assessment). Spend time on several visits with the cat before you adopt her/him, to see for yourself what he/she is like. Try and see the cat through the eyes of your present cat - remember you are choosing a companion for him. 

In the Rescue where I volunteer we always have a number of black cats. Whilst I do not usually agree with generalisations about cats, I can honestly say most of the black cats we rescue are consistent in their good nature and friendly character. I could not say this of any other colour cat (moggie i.e.) Sadly black cats are often the last to be re-homed, as many potential adopters overlook them.


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## AlexPR214 (Dec 18, 2013)

Heres the thing, by the way I am from the states, we have experimented with all different types of wet food available and he hated all of them but the one that got discontinued. He puts on this like gag face and stick out his tongue when he smells it. I also use regular little which I HATE using because of his asthma but ive tried other litters, and i trade doing it as directed on the back of the box when switch litters and he didn't like it. I would try different foods, dry and wet but hes so picky that i don't know if its going to be worth the time and effort as he sometimes doesn't eat the food he loves now. I do sometimes yet his food with warm water but that's about it. I don't mind doing the raw food diet but here in the states, only special chefs can prepare the raw meals for the animals, and it can be VERY expensive. Ive only seen people with loads of money do that kind of diet. His gums are not bright read and his teeth look ok so I don't think the food is an issue other than being dry which could be bad for his asthma. I would mind getting a timer feeder but the other issues I would have to put food though the house as if hes not in the same room as his food or is not already near his food, he wont eat it... I just cant win with him haha.  We leave food out before we leave in case he gets hungry and feed right first thing when we get home. Hes also already 5.5kg (12.5lbs) I heard leaving food out can cause him to over eat and become overweight. He does drink a lot of water from the tap when I get home, I did have a water fountain but it gave him diarrhea but he was also a kitten so i might pull it back out and see if he gets the runs again .

We do/did have mice downstairs but that would cause him to want me to come down and just be in the same room? its also much quieter upstairs than down as its further away from the cars and other noises from the street. He loves to sleep upstairs and on top of me at night. OH that another thing, he doesn't have normal cat night/day cycle, hes up during the day (so I think) and sleeps with me during the night. In other words, he doesn't run around like an animal at night. We don't use air fresheners or cook nasty smelling foods. When we do clean with products with a bad smell, we lock him up with me in my room to keep him away from the smell. I do think he likes it cold but he has no issues sleeping in my room which is a little warmer than downstairs but I also run 2 fans when I sleep as I also like it cold, even during the winter. After he plays and runs around, he either wants me to keep playing or he will just follow me upstairs with me and sleep on my bed. If I don't go upstairs he will just stay down there with me as he always wants to be with me. Another thing if I go away for a weekend and leave him home with my mom, he does not do the whole crying thing downstairs, he only does it with me. I don't know if that is some kind of separating anxiety or if hes just sad that I'm not there and just doesn't want to play.

His high energy playing can leave to a small asthma attacks but he hasn't done that since we put him on the medication which I also hate doing.

I might experiment with more wet food its just, that last time we did it didn't cost us a lot of money but we did waste food. I don't want to mix it with his dry as I;m afraid he wont eat is dry after words. I will look into the raw food but I'm worried it will be to expensive and he wont like it.

I have started leaving a light on and a radio on when were gone so ill see if that helps his crying and if it doesn't then ill see about doing different things. We are differently getting another cat soon no matter what as I really want him to have a friend.

Here is a Pic of the little man!!: imgur: the simple image sharer


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

aww i think you answered all my questions , i can tell from your posting how much you love this fella , and i think a lot of his behaviour is because he loves you right back

interesting about the mice as he might be just trying to tell you mum?/dad? they are still in there, he sounds ok to me and as you say his asthma is under control,he defo looks like he is getting enough to eat from his pic , handsome devil , and just a though could he be eating mice when you are away , the mice only comes out when a house is quite this could explain the lack of hunger/fussiness????
my cat is indoor and he certainly helps with my mouse population catches and eats them in front of me,

i would maybe give the fountain another go but clean thoroughly with milton sterilizer or similar product 

i would give some raw a go i have a feeling he is already getting it for himself 

best wishes


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## AlexPR214 (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks moggiemum! I do love him to death, to bad there no way animals could talk so he can tell me all the things he wants!! 

As far as eating mice, I would think if he was that I would be seeing blood on him somewhere but he also just might be a good cleaner upper after his fresh meal because I see no trace of any animal being killed in my house haha. 

He still is crying for me, even as i type this and I been home for a few hours now and played with him for a good hour or to. But I can only guess that he just really want my attention.

Someone did tell me that since I had him at such a young age that he might see me as a littler mate which might be possible. I hope getting a new cat will solve his boredom. 

Thanks for the information and tips guys!!

Alex


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

It is most unlikely that giving him a fountain in itself could have caused him diarrhoea. If it was the cause at all then it would be because the water was not changed often enough, especially if you are in a hot part of the USA. 

The pet fountains often come with filters, but I find the water still needs changing every 24 hours to keep the bacteria levels down. Also the fountain needs scrubbing out with detergent every few days to prevent build up of limescale as limescale traps bacteria. (unless you live in a soft water area)

If your cat likes mice, he will almost certainly like raw food. (some cats eat every scrap of a mouse and certainly wouldn't have blood on themselves after such a meal!\0 They are far too fastidious for that. 

There are a number of online raw feeding groups based in the USA. I belong to the Yahoo Group myself. (sorry we are not allowed to post links to other forums, but if you google it you will find it). 

As far as I know most raw feeders in the USA make up their own recipes (which is better for the cat anyway, as you know what's going in to it). They use a basic 80/10/5/5 ratio of meat, offal, bone, and I don't think it is hugely expensive as they buy cheap cuts from the butcher. Also, I believe there is far more wild caught (reasonably priced) meat available in the USA than there is in the UK. 

Btw, when feeding dry food don't add water to it. Dry food is full of bacteria, and adding water to it causes the bacteria to multiply faster.


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## AlexPR214 (Dec 18, 2013)

When we first got him the fountain, that was the very first thing that happened was he got a very watery stool. When we took it away, it went back to solid. This was when he was a kitten so I'm thinking that he was because his stomach didn't like the charcoal filters that was filtering the water but your right it could have been anything but we did nothing different but take away the fountain and it stops.

Idk how the food in the UK is made but here in the states I would say maybe 80% feed their cats and most if not all (at least all the cats ive have known) have lived to be in their very high teens (15-17). There are many different brands some of which are very bad (purina cat chow, eukanuba cat food are to name some) This is want I'm feeding him and please take a look at the ingredients and let me know if there is something bad in there:Blue Buffalo - All Natural High Protein Healthy Cat Food

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little scared to do the raw food diet. Here where I leave (Washington,DC area) there are a few butchers I could go to but they are very out of the way (30mins-1hr drive). I would go to a grocery store but I was reading that is not recommend. We also don't have a lot wild small animal meat that I would buy and I check out rabbit meat and its also $15USD a pound (453g) I'm not sure how many meals I could get out of a pound but if that comes out to be about $15 a week (if a pound last a week), that is $60 a month. That's just the meat and not including some of the other ingredients.

I'm also not sure if hes ever eaten a mouse. I would assume there would be some sort of sign that he has eaten one right?


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## Jannor (Oct 26, 2013)

I'm by no means an expert but doesn't look that great to me .. Salt?

if you don't get an answer on here, post ingredients on health & nutrition thread and someone with more knowledge will help 

I know some of the grain free brands they recommend on here (and that my cats have) are Feringa and Grau which are to be found on the Zooplus.co.uk website if you want to compare ingredients yourself.

Sorry I'm useless at links or I'd post you one!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Alex, as dry food goes Buffalo is not one of the worst. It compares fairly favourably (from the quick comparison I just made) with 2 of the *better quality* dry foods available in the UK : Orijen and Applaws.

Orijen Chicken Cat & Kitten | Free P&P on orders £25+ at zooplus!

Applaws Dry Chicken Cat Food - Great selection of natural cat food at zooplus

Orijen is made in Canada, I don't know if you can buy it in the USA?

As Jannor pointed out the Buffalo states it contains 'salt'. I wonder how much salt?

Salt is not included in the list of ingredients for either Orijen or Applaws, which is not to say there is NO salt in them, but maybe such a small amount the manufacturers do not feel they need to state it........possibly.

On a raw food diet, using the Franken Prey model you don't have to feed only foods cats would eat in the wild. You could use deer, beef, pork, lamb, game, chicken, turkey, duck, pigeon etc. The important thing is to feed the correct ratio of meat to offal to bone, and the ratio of 80/10/5/5/ is what has been generally agreed amongst raw feeding experts is appropriate for a cat's diet.

If you don't want to feed raw (because of expense say), then try weaning your cat on to a good quality wet food. Dry cat food is sprayed with a product called 'Animal Digest' to make it appeal to cats, so it smells very strong, and the cat gets used to eating very strong smelling food.

To compete with that you'd need to offer small amounts of strong smelling wet food each day alongside the dry, to get him used to wet food. Think of things like canned sardines in water (but NOT BRINE), to tempt him. There must surely be lots of wet foods (for cats) on the market in the USA which are strong smelling.


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## AlexPR214 (Dec 18, 2013)

Man, I wish we had cool/silly names for stuff. Applaws is just a great play on words. We get the boring mundane names like "Cat Chow" or "Wilderness" 

Salt from what I'm reading says its good for the animals health in that it "regulate water balance in the body, aid in muscle contraction and nerve transmission and regulate the body's acid-balance" but your right as it doesn't say the total amount of salt. Hopefully there is just a small amount.

I will go out, maybe tomorrow, and get some strong smelling wet food as I know its not to just feed him dry food I just wish he wasn't so picky!! :incazzato:

Should I put the wet and dry into two different bowls side by side and see if he start eating at both? I'm sure if he likes it he will go after the wet stuff altogether. There are tons of different brands and flavors of wet food. I will ask the store clerk which one they think has a strong smell. Hopefully his breath wont stink as he will have to sleep at the bottom of the bed! 

Again, thank you guys for your time, its been very helpful!. Let me know what you think!!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I'd put a heaped teaspoonful of dry kibble in a bowl and a bowl of wet food beside it. This is not enough kibble for him to fill up on, but enough to get him interested in food. Leave both bowls down a few hrs. If he doesn't touch the wet food then take it up and don't feed him any more kibble until the next meal. 

Don't starve him but give him the opportunity to get hungry between meals. 
Feed him at least 3 meals a day -- breakfast, tea and supper. If you add in a 4th meal, make it lunch. 

If you can find a wet food he will at least try, then put a few kibble on the top of the food each meal to get him started, and do away with the separate dish of kibble.


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## Flamingoes (Dec 8, 2012)

AlexPR214 said:


> *Man, I wish we had cool/silly names for stuff. Applaws is just a great play on words. We get the boring mundane names like "Cat Chow" or "Wilderness" *
> 
> Salt from what I'm reading says its good for the animals health in that it "regulate water balance in the body, aid in muscle contraction and nerve transmission and regulate the body's acid-balance" but your right as it doesn't say the total amount of salt. Hopefully there is just a small amount.
> 
> ...


:lol: really cheered me up *goes back to dog chat*


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## AlexPR214 (Dec 18, 2013)

Thanks chillminx and everyone else. 

I will definitely go out to get some wet food and give it another shot. I'll keep you guys updated!!


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