# Duck, Chicken, or Salmon Natural Balance LID ?



## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

What would you recommend me trying? Maxie is a 16 month old female with feline herpes and sometimes throws up. Not every day, but maybe once every couple weeks? Not even that sometimes. Lexie is about 10 weeks old and healthy as a horse.

I'm looking at the either the Duck, Chicken or Salmon for the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets? (LID). I'm seeing very positive reviews on the board for it, and want to change my kitten/cats food for sensitive stomach, as my Maxie threw up (she has only a couple times before) but even so, this cat food looks really good. 



> DUCK - YELLOW BAG -- Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Green Pea & Duck Formula for Cats is made with:
> Green Peas A premium quality carbohydrate, rich in potassium and a highly digestible energy source
> Fresh Duck A premium quality protein source not commonly used in pet foods
> Taurine Fortified Natural Balance® adds additional taurine to help in maintaining normal heart function and retinal structure (good vision)
> ...


 
With Maxie's condition with Feline herpes, and occasionally throwing up...do any of the above stick out as the "best" ingredients? I heard that fish isnt good for cats, so I'm not sure why they make Salmon? And it looks like the Chicken is the only one w/o Canola oil. Is that better for cats with herpes?

Thank you again!


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## MissBoots (Apr 28, 2011)

I feed these to my kitty. She loves the Venison LID. She has an extremely sensitive stomach (Pukes after every meal if it's not "bland" enough for her), and she puked from the dry food. In fact every dry food makes her puke- Wellness, CORE, Innova, LID, etc. She was on LID canned food (and loves it, one of the few she actually eats). I mix 1/2 5.5oz can with 1/4 cup of warm water to make it like a soup, if I don't she can't eat it for some reason, she'll lick at it but not bite it- silly kitty, when it's soupy she inhales it in one sitting like a good girl. On top of the wet I've started her on a raw diet (fed at night before bed) and she doesn't get sick from that, either. 

I would suggest putting her on an all wet food diet, just because of the sensitive tummy and it's significantly healthier. Or you can try a raw diet.


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## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

Oh wow, your kitty loves soup! Haha.. thats funny. Wow, so many personalities. Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mention that I _do_ have them on a mostly wet food diet. I just leave some kibble out during the day Im at work. Think I need to leave "less" out though. Kitten Lexie is eating Wellness for kittens which is great, but 15 month old Maxie is stuck on FF, but thats it, she' switching, it's just gonna happen (after I a saw the throwup today.) I can maybe pretend like I'm eating it when I sit down, then she'll want it. I want that Llysine back in her ASAP.

I need a better brand for Maxie now..she can't be throwing up to get over this outbreak of herpes... and it looks like this will be good for kitten too. Cats of all ages. Would be nice to be able to feed them both the same, because they've been switching plates sometimes after their canned, little sillies, lol.

I didn't even see the _Venison_ formula! Jeepers, so much to choose from, I don't know what is best for the circumstances above. I'm more looking for the best for Maxie's herpes and tummy. I know kitten will eat it, as she's gobbling down anything.

Thank you very much!


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## MissBoots (Apr 28, 2011)

LID will be fine for both of them. Kittens main requirement is higher protein- wet food is higher protein. 

Don't forget because it's wet food you can use different brands without transitioning. Wellness makes grain free wet foods (says "grain free" in a little yellow star thing on the front), and many other brands do, too. 

If you want her to immediately eat, at the rescue I volunteer with the kitties who don't eat anything other than "junk" food and refuse healthy wet food, we mix a little Solid Gold wet food into the new wet food. SG is pretty good food, a little expensive (hence mixing it in instead of feeding full on) but they all love it. Boots does, too.


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## MissBoots (Apr 28, 2011)

Shamu said:


> I didn't even see the _Venison_ formula! Jeepers, so much to choose from, I don't know what is best for the circumstances above. I'm more looking for the best for Maxie's herpes and tummy. I know kitten will eat it, as she's gobbling down anything.
> 
> Thank you very much!


The PETCO by me offers samples of the three dry food flavors (the three you listed in your OP). Wet food is 4 flavors.


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## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

MissBoots said:


> LID will be fine for both of them. Kittens main requirement is higher protein- wet food is higher protein.
> 
> Don't forget because it's wet food you can use different brands without transitioning. Wellness makes grain free wet foods (says "grain free" in a little yellow star thing on the front), and many other brands do, too.
> 
> If you want her to immediately eat, at the rescue I volunteer with the kitties who don't eat anything other than "junk" food and refuse healthy wet food, we mix a little Solid Gold wet food into the new wet food. SG is pretty good food, a little expensive (hence mixing it in instead of feeding full on) but they all love it. Boots does, too.


Oh awesome then, I didn't know with the canned I didn't have to transition!! That'll make things alot easier tonight. I did try the Wellness canned with Maxie, she didn't take. So I may have to spike the NB with the FF or even 1/2 and 1/2 it. It also seems to help as kitten eats next to her, as she goes to the kittens food, which is good but not good since its kitten food and Maxie doesn't need to gain any more weight, lol. I may also take away the kibble though tonight and leave only a little bit tomorrow mixed with some newer NBLID kibble. Don't know what kind yet of that I should try. I just can't stand thinking they dont have something at least to munch on while I'm at work, especially if I get home later.
Thank you tons! :catmilk


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## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

MissBoots said:


> The PETCO by me offers samples of the three dry food flavors (the three you listed in your OP). Wet food is 4 flavors.


 
Yes, thank you! I called around at Petco and Chuck and Dawns and Pet Supplies Plus and they have the canned 5.5ox on sale for only $.68 at Pet Supplies plus!!!! Great deal there. And plus if for some reason it doesn't work out, I can return them, they guarantee it. It was cheaper than Chuck and Dawns even there with the sale.


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## MissBoots (Apr 28, 2011)

Kitties don't need to graze. I had a hard time with this myself. 
Now that I have her on a set 3 meal schedule a day (three meals kind of random, never the exact same times, when I wake up, get home from school around 5-6pm, then before bed) she eats when I put it down, I give her 30 minutes, then I pick it up. It took her about 4 days to catch on. You might have to do that with Maxie since she NEEDS her Lysine, in turn doing it for the kitten since you can't do it for one and not the other. 

I hope she takes to the food.  Definitely try mixing the Solid Gold and the Venison LID.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Cats with herpes don't need a limited ingredient diet and vomiting once every few weeks isn't an indicator of any digestive issues...it's quite normal for a cat. So...I don't recommend using a LID diet. Natural Balance LID is a good food for cats with issues, but compared with so many other foods out there, you can do a lot better. You want to save the LID diet for a time when you may really need it....cats can develop allergies over time and if they become allergic to the LID foods, what does that leave you?

The Natural Balance LID food carb content is extremely high...note that the name is pea & chicken, not chicken and pea...that means there are more peas than chicken...much of the protein is coming from plant source (peas are high in protein) rather than animal. 

So, all in all, it's an OK but not great food. Much better than any of the prescription LID foods, but not nearly as good as CORE, EVO, Instinct, Earthborn GF, Orijen and a variety of other foods. (My comments apply to both the wet and dry).


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

I don't know that I would agree throwing up every couple weeks is normal, (unless there is a bit of hair or grass in it), but I agree with there being no reason for LID right now.
Some other brands to add to that list are Merrick/Before Grain and Blue Buffalo.


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## Minami Kaori (May 24, 2009)

I've been giving our kitties Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea LID wet food only for approx. a year now.

Hans had a bad tummy for months, the vet found giardia at first, then treated him for it, but he still kept having bad diarrhea and super stinky too (even after the doc could see no giardia in several more tests). We switched both kitties over to the NB LID food, and they've been eating it ever since.

You write here that normal kitties shouldn't be on LID food? Should we risk changing their diet? We don't want Hans's tummy to freak out again. They're 1 year and 3 months old now.

Also you say that NB LID food has a lot of carbs in them. Is that what would make kitties fat? The other kitty, Benji, is a pretty thin little guy, not an ounce of excess fat on him, just lean muscle. He eats perfectly.

But yeah so any insights?


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