Advice on how to add wet food

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the site. We just adopted a 2yr old male cat named Boomer. We'll be picking him up Sunday and are very excited to have this new addition to our family.

I've been reading the site about food & nutrition and have some question about how to transition him from what he's eating now to a more nutritious diet.

He is not on any wet food right now - they are feeding him Iams Lamb and rice. Just some background - the rescue org rescued him from the spca - he was very sick with what they believed to be food allergies. He also sounded like he might have had some respiratory issues. They had him thoroughly checked out (he even had exploratory surgery) & found that he had some scar tissue, no polyps, and after changing his food & being in the foster home, his condition greatly improved. The vet gave him a clean bill of health in January & he looks wonderful. He's a very sweet & affectionate cat who took to us immediately. He actually found us! LOL!

Anyway, I have not seen his medical reports yet but will Sunday. So after all that, here's my question: I want to feed him the best I can & want to add wet food to his diet. Given his background, should I first transition him from IAMs to a good quality dry food like Nature's Balance or Nutro & then once he's doing okay with that, start adding the wet or, should I just start transitioning him right from the IAMs to the wet. I do want to have some dry food in his bowl during the day but would like the bulk of what he eats to be wet.

Just wondering what your opinions are. Since he's doing so well on the IAMS, I'm a little afraid to shock his system, especially with the fact that he's coming into a new family. I don't know if I should wait & let him adjust to being with us first & then start changing his diet, but I'm thinking if he can handle the iams then he should be okay with a better quality food without all the byproducts & grains in what he's eating today.

Okay, so sorry this got so long. Just want to do what's best for this guy. BTW, he's about 11lbs but doesn't look overweight at all.

Thanks so much!

Laura

For me, transitioning to wet would be the priority over changing the dry. Whatever you do, do it very gradually (but you probably already know that).

Do you know what he is allergic to?

Congrats on your new kitty!

My kittens just switched to Chicken Soup food, the dry food has meat as the first three ingredient's and it doesn't have any corn in it. They really like it
Adding wet food to your kitties diet can be a little tough if they haven't been exposed to it before. My cat Diesel wouldn't touch his wet food for a long time. I kept trying different type's and finally found that he REALLY liked Fancy Feast w/gravy. They have been eating that for a few months now and will eat other kinds as well. I'm going to switch him to Chicken Soup wet food next week, hopefully he likes it Good luck finding the purfect food for your new kitty

gradually add some wet to his dry food.

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not sure what he's allergic too. They said that the problem cleared up after switching to the IAMS so maybe something in the food he was eating previously. I'm assuming he must have been turned in already sick but I'm not sure.
So, to add the wet food, how much should I start with. I was thinking maybe I'd wait a week or so to get an idea of what he eats & how often he uses the litter etc, and then start. How small an amount should I start with? Maybe a 1/4 of the can? I planning on buying the Natural balance canned food in the 3oz cans. They suggest 2 cans for his weight. Does this sound right?

I hadn't thought about what to do if he doesn't like the wet. I don't remember worrying as much with our dog. We followed our trainers advice on the Nutro. It's amazing what you can learn on the internet. Hopefully it will all go smoothly. If not, I know I'll be scouring these pages for more information! LOL!

Thanks again for all your advice. My kids are so excited. I am too but just a little nervous but that's just me!

Laura

Welcome to TCS! I think you've made a wise decission to move toward feeding a wet (or wetter) diet to Boomer. I've been switching my cats and it has been a challenge. Not because they won't eat it but because one of them is so sensitive and had a bit of a crisis back in the fall. I'm now feeding Innova Evo and they are doing great! 11 lb isn't fat for a cat in my book! I've been working hard to get my cat, Jake to at least 12 lb. He's there and looking great!

I don't know about the 2 cans a day thing. I'm sure there are others that can better answer that. But my 3 cats don't seem to eat that much. But maybe that's because the Evo is almost pure meat with no grains and just a bit of veggies. You made a great choice with the nutro as well! It's a very good food!

Start slow ... if only doing wet it may be 2 cans a day ... I am unsure why they dont make the instructions clearer on cans for those feeding wet and dry ... Two 3oz cans for 11lbs?? that seems a bit low ... THIS is VERY gerneral but one oz per lb and I halved that when feeding wet and dry.. PS I hope you are using the venison and pea to clear up possible allergys as the others I beleive have fish which is often an allergen

Originally Posted by sharky

Start slow ... if only doing wet it may be 2 cans a day

... I am unsure why they dont make the instructions clearer on cans for those feeding wet and dry ... Two 3oz cans for 11lbs?? that seems a bit low ... THIS is VERY gerneral but one oz per lb and I halved that when feeding wet and dry.. PS I hope you are using the venison and pea to clear up possible allergys as the others I beleive have fish which is often an allergen

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, 3 0z cans. I was thinking the 6 oz cans

Thanks for the welcome!

Yes, I am planning on using the venison & pea from everything I've read here. I just hope he likes it. I'd much rather play it safe though. They have him on lamb & rice now & have said he hasn't exhibited any symptoms. I thought that was kind of weird because of all the stuff in the food so maybe he was suffering from something other than food allergies. I can't wait to sit down and read his medical records to see what this poor guy has gone through. I just worry that I may inadvertantly mess up his system trying to change for the good, you know?

1 oz per 1lb seems to make more sense. I was up last night reading & researching so I may have confused the amounts. It didn't seem like much.

Thanks again for the advice. I don't know why I'm so worried about feeding him but it is the one thing that has me a little preoccupied.

Laura

Originally Posted by mxwife

Yes, I am planning on using the venison & pea from everything I've read here. I just hope he likes it. They have him on lamb & rice now & have said he hasn't exhibited any symptoms. I thought that was kind of weird because of all the stuff in the food so maybe he was suffering from something other than food allergies. I'd much rather play it safe though.

1 oz per 1lb seems to make more sense. I was up last night reading & researching so I may have confused the amounts. It didn't seem like much.

Thanks again!
Laura

Click to expand...

He may have a food intolerence over an actual allergy ...I personally have many intolerences and few allergies ( doesnt make eating easy thou).... see with an intolerance occationally a small amount wont trigger any symtoms

So I should definately avoid any of those trigger foods, especially the ones you mentioned. Do you think in the future I could vary from the venison to basic chicken. Would there be any other meats that I could experiment with the aren't too prone to causing intolerances or allergies?

I don't know about the allergy stuff but when I got Mosi he had been fed dry food but was happy to eat wet. I started him off on the same dry he had at the breeder then switched to the dry I wanted to feed, then started adding some wet food. I just took a bit out of Jaffa's bowl (sorry Jaffa!) and put it on top of the dry food and he liked it. He soon preferred wet to dry.

It might not be as easy as that with your cat if he's older and used to dry, and with the allergy problems too, but if he's resistant to any wet food there are some tips here for getting cats who like dry to eat wet.

http://www.catinfo.org/#Transitionin...o_Canned_Food_

I would use just venision for about6 weeks then you can add in chicken and see

i would just keep him on the iams as far as dry goes. if hes doing so well on it why switch? adding canned is a good idea tho.

Thanks so much. I'll check out the link. I'm glad your transition went well. We pick him up in a few hours. I am so excited. But I do think it will be wise for me to get a feeling what he's eating schedule is like so I'm going to stock up on some of what he's eating now & then buy some of the other foods to try. Then I can always donate the stuff he doesn't like especially the wet if he decides he won't have any of it.

Laura

Thanks Sharky & Jaycee. He comes home is a few hours so I will be able to get to know him and see what his feeding is like. As I posted, I'm definately going to stock up on some wet. And hopefully he will take to it & love it.

I just wanted to thank everyone again & say that I really appreciate your advice along with your experiences. It has been so helpful and I'm sure I'll have a host of other questions as we get to know him. We pick him up in a few hours. I'll have to figure out how to post pics so I can introduce him to you all! LOL! I guess I'm a little more excited than my kids. I definately feel as if I'm bringing home a new baby!

Take care everyone,
Laura

Originally Posted by mxwife

I guess I'm a little more excited than my kids. I definately feel as if I'm bringing home a new baby!
Laura

Click to expand...

I KNOW exactly how you feel!!!!! i just cant understand why the kids dont always get as excited as i do about newcomers im happy for you