Suggestions for Dry Food?

[jessica marsh]

Hi. My cat was on science diet perfect weight for a few months. Her coat got shiner and healthier, then we moved away for 2 months and she stayed with my dad. Maybe its stress, maybe its the food, but she started losing her hair. Her big fluffy tail is now like a rat tail. Poor thing. She seems itchy too. Dad switched her to Purina naturals 2 weeks ago. Im not a fan of Purina, so I want to switch her to something more hypoallergenic. Shes been to the vet recently too, and had a clean bill of health.

What food does your cat love? There are so many choices!

 

[Kat0121]

 
Hi. My cat was on science diet perfect weight for a few months. Her coat got shiner and healthier, then we moved away for 2 months and she stayed with my dad. Maybe its stress, maybe its the food, but she started losing her hair. Her big fluffy tail is now like a rat tail. Poor thing. She seems itchy too. Dad switched her to Purina naturals 2 weeks ago. Im not a fan of Purina, so I want to switch her to something more hypoallergenic. Shes been to the vet recently too, and had a clean bill of health.

What food does your cat love? There are so many choices!

Hi and welcome!! The majority of people here do not feed or recommend an all dry diet. It's just not good for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores and require a high protein, low carb diet. Most dry foods do not provide this. Cats also do not drink a lot of water on their own as they are descendents of desert animals and therefore get the majority of their water intake from the food they eat. This is another area where dry food does not fit their needs. You can get a lot of really good information on cats' dietary needs and recommendations here http://www.catinfo.org . Dr Lisa Pierson is a very highly respected expert on feline nutrition. In a perfect world, all cats would be on a raw diet but we don't live in a perfect world. For a lot of us, it's not really doable so many of us feed an all wet food diet. If dry is the way that you choose to go, please read the ingredients and make sure that meat is the #1 ingredient and it is as high in protein and low in carbs as possible. Some people here do feed some dry along with wet food and Orijen is one that is often recommended. If you do choose to feed dry, your cat will need to be encouraged to drink more water and a good way to do that is with a fountain. I have a fountain for my cats. I use the Pioneer Pet ceramic raindrop and love it. It's quiet, easy to clean and the filters are inexpensive. The dry vs wet food is a very popular topic on this site and there are a lot of articles and discussions about it. If you would like recommendations about canned foods, let me know. I can provide a list of tried and true foods that have gotten the seal of approval from 2 very finicky eaters. I transitioned them from an all dry diet (Science Diet) not long after I got them from the shelter and would never go back to dry.

 

[emandjee]

Alas, I am not a fond of SD, unfortunately. Vets will usually push on either SD, RC, or Purina products for whatever reason, (had it done to me) but I tend to think cats need a diet of high protein, moderate fats, and zero carb diet. Because the above brands do not fit the shoe, I don't look at those anymore.

What I feed: a mix of canned food and a raw diet. 

Canned faves: Nature's Variety Instinct, TikiCat in chicken flavors only, TikiCat sardines (once a week), Wild Calling nearly all flavors.

Raw faves: any chewy chunks of meat, but mostly rabbit, venison, duck, and beef. My cats don't like raw chicken or turkey much, go figure! They've got expensive taste!  

 

When my two were kittens, I fed them a 1/8 cup/day of either: Orijen kitten/cat, Acana, Wellness Core, or Nature's Variety Instinct with the rest of their meals being wet food exclusively. At about 4 months, I started transitioning them to raw/canned and haven't looked back. They hardly shed much and their fur is always so soft. I think I had a total of 3 hairballs since I've had them, but that was mainly in late summer. I rarely furminate them these days, lol.

 

[pinkdagger]

I love Petcurean's line of foods, particularly their Go! line, and I feed the Free + Fit food. Grain, soy, and gluten free, byproduct free, high protein (48%) and very low carb (13.8%). It's a bit expensive so I supplement it with Simply Nourish Source. Our cats receive dry food as a treat at the end of the day.

If you want a better diet in general, something with moisture like canned or pouched foods (or raw, if you see it fit and can spare the time, money, and effort for the research and preparation - though finding commercial raw diets isn't too difficult now) are better, specifically pate style foods. Most canned foods (with the exception of some brands like Special Kitty and Science Diet) are low grain, and even some inexpensive brands like Fancy Feast Classics are grain-free and they pack hydration and higher protein, as well as being lower carb.

 

[LTS3]

I agree with what the other 3 posters said about dry food. Definitely read Catinfo.org to understand what proper cat nutrition is and diet choices

  Food is a touchy subject here on TCS with many members advocating canned or raw foods. But there are some cats who do eat only dry food for a variety of reasons whether it be health, limited choice of foods in the area, won't eat anything else despite trying every trick in the book for months, or a myriad of other reasons.

If you must feed dry food, feed a grain-free brand. Your itchy cat might benefit from Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredients. Sometimes a cat has an allergy to an ingredient and a limited ingredient food can help.

Will your cat eat canned food? If yes, could you feed some canned food daily?

 

[jessica marsh]

Ive tried canned and freeze dried and she wont touch it. I got her some Blue brand dry food today, mixed in half, and she wont touch it either. I really want to get her off the purina and to stop itching...

 

[ankitty]

Have you tried Tiki Cat puka puka luau or Weruva Paw Licking Chicken? My cats went nuts with those. 

 

[lokhismom]

You really have to be persistent and patient in getting them to switch from dry to wet.   There's quite a few links around here with recommendations. 

 

[nora1]

I personally really like Orijen and my cat loved it! However she gained weight while on it so be careful with how much you feed! Honestly, I recently switched to 100% wet/canned diet. She was a kibble addict so it took time to slowly switch her over but we did it and now she loves her wet food! She really loves the Weruva pouches

Good luck!

 

[fhicat]

 
Hi and welcome!! The majority of people here do not feed or recommend an all dry diet. 

That is a presumptuous statement. Many people do, in fact, feed dry food. While wet food is generally preferable to dry food, it is not a one-size-fit-all statement that applies to every single cat. 

@Jessica Marsh, what does your vet recommend? Since you said she wouldn't touch canned or freeze dried, you may have to experiment quite a bit. Keep feeding her the food that she WILL eat in the meantime. Have you tried toppers such as bonito flakes or Fortiflora? Here is an article about transitioning your cat to a different food, perhaps there's an idea or two in there you may use:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade

 

[Kat0121]

 
That is a presumptuous statement. Many people do, in fact, feed dry food. While wet food is generally preferable to dry food, it is not a one-size-fit-all statement that applies to every single cat. 

@Jessica Marsh, what does your vet recommend? Since you said she wouldn't touch canned or freeze dried, you may have to experiment quite a bit. Keep feeding her the food that she WILL eat in the meantime. Have you tried toppers such as bonito flakes or Fortiflora? Here is an article about transitioning your cat to a different food, perhaps there's an idea or two in there you may use:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade

It is not a presumptuous statement at all. I said an ALL dry diet. I also said that some people here do feed dry and many recommend Orijen. I also said that if the OP chooses to feed dry to look for one that uses meat as the first ingredient and is as high in protein and low in carbs as possible. It is also true that you will not find many people here who would recommend an all dry diet.

 

[zoneout]

It is also true that you will not find many people here who would recommend an all dry diet.

There is no good reason to feed only kibble other than maybe convenience. And plenty of health reasons not to. Feeding it to a male cat is playing Russian roulette with his life and/or mega-vet bills should he get a urinary blockage. We have come a long way in understanding what constitutes a healthy diet for cats. Basically we have just gone around in a big circle only to find that their natural food is best and the stuff that comes out of a laboratory not so much so. Unfortunately, the veterinary field has a lot of catching up to do in this regard and in many cases cannot be trusted due to the conflict of interest that they refuse to properly address.

 

[fhicat]

 
It is not a presumptuous statement at all. I said an ALL dry diet. I also said that some people here do feed dry and many recommend Orijen. I also said that if the OP chooses to feed dry to look for one that uses meat as the first ingredient and is as high in protein and low in carbs as possible. It is also true that you will not find many people here who would recommend an all dry diet.

My apologies for my hasty reply, I stand corrected. It's just that this board tends to attract the overzealous anti-dry crusaders who believe that one method fits every cat. 

I feed homemade raw, and given the choice, I would feed wet over dry. However, I do have that choice, because my cat is not picky. Many people don't have the luxury or choice, and can only feed what their cats would and could eat. I would not recommend that everybody feed their cats homemade raw, because I am not an animal nutritionist, and I have zero knowledge on their cats' biological makeups. The problem with the anti-dry crowd is that they drive out the quieter folks who do feed their cats dry. These folks stay in the shadows because any time they mention that they feed dry, they get bullied or crucified and made out to be evil cat owners. This is contrary to TCS's mission statement of fostering a friendly atmosphere, where everyone who loves cats are welcomed.

Contrary to what some posters believe, some cats do well on dry, some don't, some cannot handle wet food, some thrive on those. The genetics and biological makeups of cats are as diverse as us human beings. It is erroneous to assume that what works for my cat, works for everyone else, primarily because none of us are animal nutritionists. The best we can do is offer our experiences, but our experiences are just that, not ironclad fact.

 

[stewball]

I love Petcurean's line of foods, particularly their Go! line,
and I feed the Free + Fit food. Grain, soy, and gluten free, byproduct free, high protein (48%) and very low carb (13.8%). It's a bit expensive so I supplement it with Simply Nourish Source. Our cats
receive dry food as a treat at the end of the day.

If you want a better diet in general, something with moisture like canned or
pouched foods (or raw, if you see it fit and can spare the time, money, and effort for the research and preparation - though finding commercial raw diets isn't too difficult now) are better, specifically pate style foods. Most canned foods (with the exception of some brands like Special Kitty and Science Diet) are low grain, and even some inexpensive brands like Fancy Feast Classics are grain-free and they pack hydration and higher protein, as well as being lower carb.

I feed.my two GO dry food. This is the first time I've heard anybody here mention GO. The wet food I feed is Okay. Anybody heard of that? It's either french or Italian

 

[ankitty]

 
 The problem with the anti-dry crowd is that they drive out the quieter folks who do feed their cats dry. These folks stay in the shadows because any time they mention that they feed dry, they get bullied or crucified and made out to be evil cat owners. 

This is also a generalizing statement, isn't it? Sounds like you are saying that people who think wet food is better than dry food are all bullies, and dry feeding people are quiet people. I don't see anyone bullying in this thread. We are all just stating our own opinions, experiences and what we learned by reading researches and experts. I'm sure pro dry opinions will be welcome. I'd like to see owners experiences where dry food worked better than wet food also. For myself, I wish someone told me a long time ago that the general consensus from pet food companies and vets were not necessarily true. I had a vet who told me Iams dry was good for my cats and I foolishly believed it. My cats did very well until they entered their middle age years. Now my cats are having problems and I'm regretting I didn't do more research and listened to other opinions. A vet who hadn't said anything about dry vs wet foods suddenly told me when my cat was showing symptoms of IBD that "so many cats and dogs have IBD because we are feeding them crap", and then recommended a prescription dry food with brewers rice and cellulose in it. That was my wakeup call. So, maybe I get passionate about it sometimes because I really don't want others to go through the same heartache and suffering. It gives me great pain to see others posting here that their beloved cats are sick. I believe that we all want to learn what is best for our cats and if there are convincing studies or experiences that dry food is better than wet food, I'd like to hear about it too. So, don't be silent, please. And please don't think that just because some people bullied you that we are all bullies. 

 

[pinkdagger]

I feed.my two GO dry food. This is the first time I've heard anybody here mention GO. The wet food I feed is Okay. Anybody heard of that? It's either french or Italian

Sorry, I haven't heard of Okay myself - I find brands that don't put a lot into marketing (TV ads, radio ads) are generally more unheard of. We all know Fancy Feast, Whiskas, Meow Mix, and Blue Buffalo because they invest a lot of money into marketing. If you do a good amount of reading into nutrition, you can quickly find that while these are well recognized brands, their quality could certainly be better. Generally speaking, I would put more trust into those who devote their time into good nutrition than good airtime since airtime tends to cater to people who seek convenience, rather than doing lots of extra homework to look into lesser known companies.

 

[tuxedoontheloos]

I've been feeding a combo of Petcurean Go! and Friskies wet for over a month now with no issues. Kitty is looking a lot shinier than when I was feeding Purina.

 

[chromium blues]

Once again I'm having fantastic good luck with Solid Gold Katz'n'Flocken. We just rescued a cat from a neighbour. She was feeding her dollar store junk and it was difficult to get her to try anything else, but the Solid Gold worked yet again! Now that she's eating that, the next thing is to get her to eat wet food. She doesn't know what it is and so far won't touch it. I'm going to try and lay hands on Max Seafood and Tomato Bisque, as its usually good bribery - have you tried that?

 

[snugglecat]

I am one that stays out of the debate on dry and canned food. I felt some people made me feel so bad for feeding dry but anyway my cats are doing well on Merrick Bistro dry foods and for canned it's mostly Friskies but I do buy a better canned food as a Sunday treat. My kitty with IBS gets Wellness canned because that is all she will eat in canned foods plus she is allergic to most foods.

I think with most cats you just have to try different foods and find ones that work and that they will eat.

 

[stewball]

Sorry, I haven't heard of Okay myself - I find brands that don't put a lot into marketing (TV ads, radio ads) are generally more unheard of. We all know Fancy Feast, Whiskas, Meow Mix, and Blue Buffalo because they invest a lot of money into marketing. If you do a good amount of reading into nutrition, you can quickly find that while these are well recognized brands, their quality could certainly be better. Generally speaking, I would put more trust into those who devote their time into good nutrition than good airtime since airtime tends to cater to people who seek convenience, rather than doing lots of extra homework to look into lesser known companies. :bigwink: