Shadow's Story: How an 18-Year-Old Cat Got His Appetite Back on Venison.

Watch Shadow's story on our Instagram or read on.

Slater was 13 when Shadow came into his life. Shadow is 18 now, and he's still the one waking Slater up every morning.

But there was a stretch when mornings looked very different.

The slump

Shadow started having stomach trouble, and soon he was in and out of the vet's office. The diagnosis was IBD. The plan was prednisolone, a second medication to calm his gut, and a hydrolyzed protein diet.

Slater did his homework on those medications and didn't love what he found. In his words, it seemed like you solve one problem and pick up a whole plethora of others. And Shadow had already weighed in on the diet: he wanted nothing to do with it. He was down, and he wasn't eating.

The search

So Slater started reading about novelty diets and novel proteins. That research led him to Country Pet Naturals, and to our venison cat food.

Why venison?

Craig, the owner of Country Pet Naturals, explains the thinking. Venison is a wild, lean meat, and cats are obligate carnivores, so lean wild protein is close to what they evolved to eat. It's also a novel protein, which means most cats have never been exposed to it. That's why owners and vets often look at novel proteins when a cat has been eating the same protein for years. Craig also points out that cats love lean meat.

The comeback

Slater says the shift came fast. Within about a week, he started seeing improvement. Shadow went from skipping meals to licking the bowl clean, and he's been back to normal ever since.

That was almost a year ago. Shadow is still on venison, still not sick of it, and still the first one up in the morning, meowing to let Slater know it's breakfast time.

The part we love most

When pets start on our products, we watch for the same thing: they develop an appetite, and they begin to look forward to mealtime. Appetite is the first thing owners notice, and Shadow is proof of it.

Got a picky one at home?

Tell us about your cat or dog in the comments on our Instagram post, or send us a message. We read every one.

Shadow's story is his own. Every pet is different, so if yours has a health condition, talk with your veterinarian before changing their diet