Transitioning from one wet food to another.

[beans_etc]

Wow I'm posting a lot in this forum lately. ^^;

So right now Iroh has some wet food every couple of days along with his Natural Balance. I want to start increasing the amount of wet food I give him, but also change the brand -- right now I'm using Iams wet food for kittens, simply because that was what he had at the shelter when I got him.

I successfully transitioned his dry food from Iams to Natural Balance over the course of a week, but do you just do the same thing for wet food...? Like mix a little bit from both different cans together? Or do you even have to worry about transitioning with wet food?

(I'm not sure at this point which wet food brand I'm going to go to. I like Iams because it's only 50 cents a can, but I know I should probably switch to a high quality food. I just don't want to be spending a fortune on wet food. Suggestions? The Petsmart near me carries the follow wet food brands for kittens: http://www.petsmart.com/family/index...e|Kitten&fbx=1)

[sharky]

Not normally ... about 90% of cats are okay with wet being switched with no transition... many ( myself included) feed numerous brands

[Auntie Crazy]

Cats don't usually have the same issues with wet as they do with dry (kibble is just no good for them, so this doesn't surprise me).

Before I transitioned my cats to raw, I was feeding over 25 varieties of canned foods, in rotation. Since I feed three meals a day, that was 21 different brands/flavors every day (in other words, they didn't eat any single product more than once a wee).

I did this for several reasons: variety is good in and of itself, it keeps the cats from becoming bored with any one flavor, kept them safe(r) if a company's QA let something slip through (like Nutro's problems with Zinc and Potassium levels and Diamond's Premium Edge thiamine deficiency) and gave them a better chance of receiving all the nutrients they needed (since we don't know everything they need and the pet food companies supplement differently).

I never had any issues, nor did I expect any. Several other folks on here do the same; I'm sure they'll pop in soon.

[Snake_Lady]

I try to rotate my wet foods as well, and have never had an issue with switching from brand to brand in the wet.

Like AC said, it is a good practice to offer more than one type of wet.... even if only to prevent dependancy on a specific brand (if theres a recall, and your cat will only eat one brand... uh oh).

But AC raised some very good points that I had not thought of. Offering different wet foods should help prevent any nutrient deficiences.

The petsmart brand of food isn't bad, it is better than the IAMS, and cheap too.

I feed a variety of foods, from Fancy Feast to NB to Wellness and Performatrin.

If you have a pet valu near you, they offer a lot of different foods too.

[SweetKara]

My cats are not picky and have no problems switching wet foods.

I usually feed them Wellness but sometimes stuff from the grocery store if I run out of Wellness and it's a few days til pay day.

I do notice a stinkier litter box with the cheap stuff, but the cats don't mind.

[GoldenKitty45]

We feed Max Cat dry - but in the canned foods, they get a different flavor and/or brand every day. They are not picky and they are fine. We do feed Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Iams, Max Cat and Nature's Choice and only feed chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, and venison - no fish based food (canned or dry).

[beans_etc]

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

...only feed chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, and venison - no fish based food (canned or dry).

Why no fish-based foods? Are they not healthy for cats?

[Auntie Crazy]

Not really, no.

Cats are descended from desert animals (which is one reason wet and raw foods are so much better for them; they evolved in an arid climate, have a very low thirst drive and need to get their moisture from their foods) and did not have access to fish.

Eating a lot of fish does something (I had an article that explained it well, but at the time, I didn't think to save it *shakes head at self*) to their digestive system and can lead to UTIs, especially in male cats.

In addition, fish are notorious for containing toxins.

If you're going to feed fish, do so minimally and offer small fishes packed in water with no salt added. Sardines are among the safest, since they are wild-caught, often in a sustainable manner, and not likely to contain antibiotics. They grow to adult size quickly, live only a half dozen or so years, and eat mostly plants, all of which limits their exposure to PCBs, mercury and other heavy metals and toxins. They are full of Omega 3 fatty acids, which can make them a valuable contribution to a frankenprey or whole prey diet. (Once a week, I give my five cats one 3.75 ounce can shared between them.)

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

Not really, no.

Cats are descended from desert animals (which is one reason wet and raw foods are so much better for them; they evolved in an arid climate, have a very low thirst drive and need to get their moisture from their foods) and did not have access to fish.

Eating a lot of fish does something (I had an article that explained it well, but at the time, I didn't think to save it *shakes head at self*) to their digestive system and can lead to UTIs, especially in male cats.

In addition, fish are notorious for containing toxins.

If you're going to feed fish, do so minimally and offer small fishes packed in water with no salt added. Sardines are among the safest, since they are wild-caught, often in a sustainable manner, and not likely to contain antibiotics. They grow to adult size quickly, live only a half dozen or so years, and eat mostly plants, all of which limits their exposure to PCBs, mercury and other heavy metals and toxins. They are full of Omega 3 fatty acids, which can make them a valuable contribution to a frankenprey or whole prey diet. (Once a week, I give my five cats one 3.75 ounce can shared between them.)

Fish is NOT inherently bad .. It is mostly the processing or the of whole fish that cause mineral issues that is PRONE cats can cause ... Also Fish for MOST wild cats is not a main prey source I say most as there are a great number that it is a portion of the natural diet and for at least two small cats a main staple of the diet .... It is a KNOWN allergen which can also aid in causing utis .... Feeding freshly cooked DEBONED fish would be best or adding a freeze dried or like Auntie said sardines are relatively safe... My vet suggests for NOT UTI prone cats one sardine a day...

[Snake_Lady]

Originally Posted by beans_etc

Why no fish-based foods? Are they not healthy for cats?

Pretty much backing up what AC already said, here is an article on feeding fish to kitties: http://catnutrition.wordpress.com/20...ding-for-cats/

and one specifically regarding tuna:

http://www.cat-world.com.au/steatiti...isease-in-cats

[Yosemite]

To simply answer your original question, no, it is not usually necessary to switch wet foods out slowly as you have to do with dry food.

[Auntie Crazy]

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

http://catnutrition.wordpress.com/20...ding-for-cats/

Good find, Snake_Lady. Thanks for posting the links!

The blog is written by Anne Jablonski, who is highlighted in an article here on TCS and is a member of the Feline Nutrition Education Society. I didn't know about her blog, but I'll be following it now.