Why is my vet giving me contradictory advice on wet and dry food?

urbantigers · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by DesignVHL

See now reading this makes me crazy...am i best to stop dry food? Should I increase the wet food more, so they eat LESS Dry food? Charlie barly eats the wet...i don't know why he just never has liked it...and when he was a kitten it used to upset his tummy. But I think I could get him to eat it more...if Vegas would stop stealing it from him! hee hee!

That's something only you can decide. I feed my 9 year old all wet with a few kibbles of dry per day and my baby (just turned 1) has about half and half at the moment. The reason for that is mainly cost but I intend to increase the amount of wet he has so that he's on all wet by the time he's 3. Some cats will do fine on dry food and live long and healthy lives, but for me personally I just wouldn't want to feed much dry.

whuckleberry · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by Sicycat

Because they all have different opinions. So do cat owners. None of them are 'right'. I've learned this over the years.

Feed what you think is best. I personally feed BOTH.

So true. My regular vet told me that all-dry was okay, and my kitty ate all-dry for several years. But another vet recently told me to try introducing at least some wet food. I did lots of my own research (which led me to this forum

) and I'm now in the process of incorporating canned food. There are so many differing views on brands and ingredients, it can be awfully confusing!

designvhl · Feb 8, 2007

Ok since it IS Cat Dental month, diet and nutrition kind of tie into dental care, and because of the reason I've come across this forum, I'd like some opinions on this dental treatment my vet suggested I go with this morning. Is it worth it? Does it really work? Are there other options that are better? I can create a new thread if preferred but anyways here goes:

http://www.oravet.us.merial.com/

Anyone know much about this? What do you guy's do for healthy teeth and gums?

javannalynn · Feb 8, 2007

BYPRODUCT-- This usually means the parts they wouldn't feed to humans. The chickens that were deformed or sick with something. I have also heard that some byproduct acutally contains cats and dogs that have been put to sleep BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TRUE THAT IS! I always look for those evil words on my food. I feel that as long as they are eathing, not overweight, and have no problems with what comes out

then keep feeding them what you feel they should eat.

laureen227 · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by bab-ush-niik

BTW, PetSmart and PetCo have pretty poor selection for good cat foods. I'd suggest checking petfooddirect.com. They have a wonderful selection of good foods, and the prices are good too. I get Eagle Pack from them.

another good online food source is premium foods online. they have ingredient lists of the foods they sell, which is something that is sometimes hard to find in online stores.
i feed a combination. my Pixel & Java eat dry [chicken soup brand] & Cable & Chip eat dry during the day & wet at night [mix of chicken soup wet & meow mix wet]. they also have a couple of water fountains to encourage them to drink.

pearla · Feb 8, 2007

Hmm what are by-products?

Okay so I feed my kitten MAX CATS which I was told to be nutritous for my kitten. As long as it is authorized by the ACHOC, or whatever its called. Look for that on your cat food and it should be fine...right??

pat · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by Pearla

Hmm what are by-products?

Okay so I feed my kitten MAX CATS which I was told to be nutritous for my kitten. As long as it is authorized by the ACHOC, or whatever its called. Look for that on your cat food and it should be fine...right??

AAFCO standards mean certain minimums are met, but nothing re the quality of the ingredients used, or how those minimums are met,

jen · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by Pearla

Hmm what are by-products?

Look for that on your cat food and it should be fine...right??

Nope... look for foods with no by-products, that aren't grain heavy and have low grade ingredients, and foods that don't contain red pieces. When you feed a cat low grade/low quality food it is like you eating McDonalds everyday, 3X per day for life. In other words, not healthy! Do a little surfing on here for lists of great foods for your cats.

strange_wings · Feb 8, 2007

There are human foods that contain meat by-products, hot dogs, potted meat, probably spam too. It's the not so nice parts of the meat, gristle, vessels, nerve tissue.

Certainly not my idea of food.

For dry pet food they usually get the by products already in meal form. I'm not sure how much different say chicken meal would be from chicken by product meal, probably just a small technicality in labeling.

mzjazz2u · Feb 8, 2007

I give both wet and dry food to my cats. I don't think vets intentionally give bad advice. I think they believe they are giving the best advice in their opinions. Some things are just a bit more subjective.

duchess15 · Feb 8, 2007

Hi

We usually take our cats about every year or so to have their teeth cleaned at the vet and occasionally use a little brush to clean them at home. They are just like us and have to get cleanings.
As far as the vet is concerned...yes, they should be more educated and keep up with continuing education, however, that is not always the case. So it is important that YOU as a pet owner (including me) do research and find out what the best options are for your kitties.
As far as diet, we usually only feed them dry food. Off and on we will give them wet, but not all that often because of horrible by products. I try to find one that doesn't have those in it. Our cats drink ALOT of water and drink it empty so keeping them hydrated is not an issue.
BTW, what is that blue spa catfood everyone keeps talking about?? What part of the country is everyone from? I don't know if I have ever seen that brand around down here!

beandip · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by Duchess15

BTW, what is that blue spa catfood everyone keeps talking about?? What part of the country is everyone from? I don't know if I have ever seen that brand around down here!

I've seen the Blue Spa at Petsmart here in Kansas. I haven't tried it, mainly because it only comes in 3oz cans (AFAIK)...too small for my big fur family

jean44 · Feb 8, 2007

I'm currently feeding a combination of dry and wet food. In the mornings they get a mix of Wellness Super 5 mix and Natural Balance Venison and Pea. There are no by-products and few grains in those foods. In the evening they get Natural Balance, Wellness or Merrick in various flavors. They do not free feed because two have weight issues. I'm hoping for a gradual weight loss by controlling portions and feeding a better quality food.

I was feeding them Science Diet based on my vet's recommendation until I started doing research and educating myself about cat nutritional requirements. I no longer listen to my vet regarding nutrition.

sharky · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by strange_wings

There are human foods that contain meat by-products, hot dogs, potted meat, probably spam too. It's the not so nice parts of the meat, gristle, vessels, nerve tissue.

Certainly not my idea of food.

For dry pet food they usually get the by products already in meal form. I'm not sure how much different say chicken meal would be from chicken by product meal, probably just a small technicality in labeling.

chicken meal = chicken flesh minus most fat and water .... with possibley some bone/// think chn jerky

chicken by product meal= head ft intestines undevelped eggs /// concetrated leftovers

see the difference???

MOst petsmarts carry blue spa

duchess15 · Feb 8, 2007

No wonder I never see it, we don't go to Petsmart to buy cat food. Too expensive. We feed them Purina natural or Purina one with oats in it. Our cats hate Iams and science diet anyway. Those two never did impress me and Purina seems to be pretty good for them.
I don't like the Petsmart in our town either. The people really don't seem to know what they are talking about and are very rude. It's not worth it for me to go there. I like Petco much better.

sharky · Feb 8, 2007

Originally Posted by Duchess15

No wonder I never see it, we don't go to Petsmart to buy cat food. Too expensive. We feed them Purina natural or Purina one with oats in it. Our cats hate Iams and science diet anyway. Those two never did impress me and Purina seems to be pretty good for them.
I don't like the Petsmart in our town either. The people really don't seem to know what they are talking about and are very rude. It's not worth it for me to go there. I like Petco much better.

Read your ingrediants.... One is not bad but there are far better at pet stores in the same price range... Naturals is likely the best in a grocery but still missing the mark in many ways

duchess15 · Feb 8, 2007

I might have to look into that sometime. I know quality of food will improve their quality of life. We stick to natural food as much as possible which is why we buy the Purina natural. So does Blue spa also have dry food?

sharky · Feb 8, 2007

Blue spa does.... it is good

duchess15 · Feb 8, 2007

I just looked online at petsmart and petco. Could not find blue spa anywhere!

Another thing, ours cats don't seem to like the fancy brands. We were fortunate they like Purina.

pat · Feb 8, 2007

http://www.petsmart.com/global/searc...N=2025543&Ne=2

Originally Posted by Duchess15

I just looked online at petsmart and petco. Could not find blue spa anywhere!

Another thing, ours cats don't seem to like the fancy brands. We were fortunate they like Purina.

Why is my vet giving me contradictory advice on wet and dry food?

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