Dry Food Addicting

Hello Cat Lovers,
First time posting, as I never have the time, but, now I feel I must. After the recall, my home now does not contain any commercial pet food-I threw it all out. My cats always ate tuna and dry-I never had the guts to feed them canned cat food. After I threw out the dry, my older cat was having WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS--she was always going near the cabinet looking for it-like a drug addict looking for it's fix. Then I started researching and found that a cat's stomach is only the size of a quarter-if it lived in the wild a mouse for food would keep the cat satisfied for 3 days. Why in the world would she be craving this dry food?

Why was I brainwashed into thinking that dry food had to be kept out 24/7? A cat in the wild does not hunt down corn meal, by-product meal, wheat, or whatever garbage that dry cat food contains. Why, so it could become fat and then so the consumer would have to buy a special blend for overweight cats, and then when the cat gets tumors or whatever disease it gets from eating commercial pet food the consumer would have to spend money on vet bills and then purchase the prescription food, meanwhile the poor cat is being filled to the gills with pure garbage.

After 9 years of dry food and then no more, my cat seems to be doing alright now, her purr seems louder and her whiskers seem to be getting thicker. She seems to be happier, her eyes are brighter.

I wonder if there is something in that dry food that is not listed on the label that makes cats want to eat it?

DDCATS

PS I find there is nothing wrong with tuna or chicken. A cat in the wild would be eating mouse, rabbit, snake or fish. If I had the time I would post a pic of my healthy 9 year old. ------Thank God she is healthy after feeding her 9 years of garbage. So glad for this recall-----What a wake-up call. Also, I do not find that dry food cleans the teeth on a cat, I find the opposite to be true. After all, when a human eats ceral like Raisin Bran for instance, don't we feel the need to brush with all that corn meal, bran meal and whatever meal is floating around our mouths?

Well, the problem with just providing tuna and chicken is that your kitty is going to miss a lot of the vitamins and minerals that it needs. Dry, though most of them are not that great, generally have a balanced mixture of this. There are other ways to provide it and people on this forum who feed their cats raw, maybe one of them will be willing to discuss how to supplement your cat's diet properly.

They do put stuff on dry cat and dog food to get the animals to eat it. It's usually a tallow or animal digest (fats) along with the preservatives. Some dog foods even get a powder coating. The spray is what makes the food smelly, and animals do use their noses to tell them what they can eat. For the lower quality foods that do not contain meat or much meat the fat coating is relied on, this is also why some cheaper brands are very greasy.

I've noticed with my cat Sho, that he does like crunching on his food. So maybe it's a bit like us, some people love crunching on chips even though they're not that healthy of a snack.

this was one thing I was afraid of...people hearing about the recall and deciding to homecook for their pets without researching first. You cannot just give the cat a plate of tuna, or some chicken and rice, and expect them to survive. Vitamins need added, especially tourine with is imperative for them to have for their hearts and eyes. There are plenty of wet commercial foods that were not affected by the recall in any way. Please do the right thing for your cat.

Well, we'll see how it goes, I will be, of course, monitoring them daily, I have two cats, one was a stray that came last year, someone dropped her off and she was declawed out in the woods and found her way here.

I can add clams and juice for the tourine to their diet. I, tho, refuse to feed a raw diet even tho I have a good meat grinder. If anything, I will have to get Newman's Own Organic. I have seen some healthy beautiful barn cats that don't eat any commercial food because the owners want them to do their jobs with the mice.

Thank you for thinking about my cats.

DDCATS

PS My cats hate commercial cat food! I have tried all brands from lower to higher end and they do not like it. I guess they know something that I don't know. Also, my dog did not like the high-end commercial dog food. He would put his ears back when I fed it to him. He likes his eggs and toast which I sometimes get too lazy to cook. He also likes milk and meat. He is healthy and good thing he is shy because everyone wants him when they see him-a beautiful dog indeed.

First, hello and welcome

I do not care for dry food. It has been eliminated from our household...just a few kibbles as a treat, that's it. So I do agree with you about dry food.

However, my cats do eat premium "commercial" canned cat food, and a premade "complete" raw diet.

For long term health, it's important to provide a well researched, nutritionally complete diet...whether it be canned, raw, home made, or dry.

Strange Wings is right...there's smelly stuff sprayed on the dry to make it appealing.

What about calcium? Cats in the wild eat the bones of prey, as well as internal organs. As others have said, you need to supplement with proper vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. If you must feed homemade, some folks here can help you with recipes, but you should consult your vet as well. The food recall is scary and I sympathize. But please don't feed your kitty human chicken and tuna alone; it's not enough.

Originally Posted by ddcats

I have seen some healthy beautiful barn cats that don't eat any commercial food because the owners want them to do their jobs with the mice.

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Fair enough, and true...however it's important to remember that a whole mouse is a much more "complete" meal than tuna or chicken. If they eat the WHOLE chicken that's a slightly different story (not in one sitting...I think you know what I mean )....but still requires some careful research/planning ...to be nutritionally sound.

And there are plenty of safe dry foods also... so far only one has been recalled, and it's available only by prescription. Whatever the cause of this incident, it seems to be related to wheat gluten, so if you pick a dry food without wheat gluten in its ingredient list, you should be fine.

I think the reason your cat is craving dry is that it feels more filling than wet in the stomach. And agreed, you should start feeding the cat some food formulated for cats right away. The risks of going without essential vitamins and nutrients is far greater than the risks from the recall... for instance, without taurine a cat will develop heart disease, retinal lesions and blindness.

Check out the cruelty to pets going on at Iams. I do not trust the commercial pet food companies. They have been around not too long and what did pets eat before them? Seems that the pets today have more health problems than they did before the commercial pet food companies came into existence.

DDCATS

Originally Posted by ddcats

Check out the cruelty to pets going on at Iams.

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That is an unfounded claim made by the folks at PETA, and it has been circling the net for quite a while now. Please don't believe everything you read.

Originally Posted by ddcats

Check out the cruelty to pets going on at Iams. I do not trust the commercial pet food companies. They have been around not too long and what did pets eat before them? Seems that the pets today have more health problems than they did before the commercial pet food companies came into existence.

DDCATS

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I understand your feelings. I have heard some things about IAMS but have not researched them, because I am not impressed with their food so I don't feed it.

There are positives and negatives to how our pets are doing compared to many years ago...Negatives, there is more obesity, and along with that comes diabetes, etc. Yes, a lot of the problems w/obesity can be blamed on dry food. I tossed out the dry food BEFORE the recall, my decisions don't have much to do with it. Positives, they are living longer on average ...for which I believe we can thank improvements in medicine and yes - nutrition. There is quality pet food available...

Again I understand your feelings, but at the moment I personally feel more comfortable feeding a *premium* commercial food (not IAMS!!...I said premium ). Home made food, whether it be cooked or raw can be complete and balanced, but some research is needed to make sure kitty is getting all the vitamins, nutrients, etc that he/she needs. I may go that route some day, but I don't have the knowledge nor the motivation to do so right now.

well this is a post on a different forum about feeding raw to dogs. You said you feed your dog eggs and toast so I just have to post this:

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32322

The statement that animals are unhealthier today is the opposite of the truth. Just like that of humans, the health and longevity of house pets has improved greatly over the last 100 years.

And it is a fact that if a cat isn't fed the correct diet for a cat, its health is going to suffer serious harm. What's the risk of a pet being poisoned by this incident? Less than 1 percent, I would guess. Even if it were 10 percent, I'd choose that over a 100 percent risk of blindness and heart damage.

Even the cheapest cat food is better for a cat than a diet of tuna fish.

That was a reasonable Raw for a dog ... NOT a CAT.... I actually feed my dog like a cat

Dry food is not a favorite of mine but I have a non wet or raw eater and she eats quality dry that my vet , the cat and I agree on....


I do know one of our Members who stated... lifespans have doubled since commercial food was allowed in her country so NO pets are living longer...

Yes I feel raw and homemade done RIGHT are better BUTmany cats and dogs do fine on PREMIUM and some on grocery commercial foods/// I would recommend a wet diet with dry as a snack( it is healthier than most OTC treats

CONSULT a NUTRITION minded VET PRIOR to switching to a homemade or raw diet

He's craving the food because he's probably not getting all the nutrition he needs from being fed tuna or home made recipes.

Ok, ok, I am finding it to be a little bit of work, balancing the chicken, tuna, dry milk, clams, etc. They will continue to eat the wet chicken and tuna and I will go to the organic pet food store and get them their really high end crunchie food.

My cats thank you wonderful people for all your input. I did fail to mention I did buy a good dry food that the first ingredient on the lable was meat and before the recall one of them started to always vomit it up with a foamy substance. I thought I was over-feeding her, then the recall came.

It's time to go to a specialized store. I heard Newman's Own was good.

DDCATS

I'll say it again...your cat cannot survive on tuna and homecooked food, without the proper nutrients and vitamins added. Barn catsn get taurine because it is naturally occring in thge mice that they kill and eat. It is in clams and oysters as well, but seafood is not the greatest for cats, because of its affect on their kidneys/urinary system. They need more than it looks like you are giving them. They need a raw diet, or canned, with kibble as a treat. There are premade raw diets available that will provide your cat with everything they need.

Fosterkitty, I used to buy all kinds of can food, all kinds of brands, all flavors, and they would not eat it, or they would eat some and leave the rest to rot and I only gave them a couple of teaspoons because I learned that they would waste it. I was wondering, why won't they eat this, it's the GOOD stuff! I said well they know better than I, there must be a reason. My dog is a happy dog indeed. He gets all the leftovers that his kitties don't eat. He used to put his ears back whenever I gave him his dry food. He ate the dry but did not like it, but ate it anyway because it was his feeding time. This dry food had LAMB as the first ingredient.

One cat is 9 years old and has been eating tuna with dry for 9 years, of course, I tried to give her something different, but, she never liked any can food. I knew the tuna all the time was not good, I know about mercury, I know there aren't enough vitamins in it, I figured she would get her vitamins from the dry food. She would eat the canned food and the next day would not. I bought the good stuff too, Fancy Feast all flavors, a certified organic brand that they both shunned. I gave up.

She does not have any health problems. She also loves milk every two days. My pets are healthy without any problems. Thank Godness.

I will look around the feed store that specializes in pet food and see what I come up with.

DDCATS

I bought the good stuff too, Fancy Feast all flavors, a certified organic brand that they both shunned. I gave up.

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Fancy Feast is not a good brand. Anything that you can buy at a grocery store or Wal-Mart, with very FEW exceptions, is garbage food. Maybe you should try some decent brands of wet food and they'll like that. Milk is also not good for cats, by the way. And is your dog eating something other than leftover cat food? Please go to the store and look for brands like Innova, California Natural, Felidae, Natural Balance, Nature's Variety. Nature's Variety makes a really good premade raw diet, all you have to do it thaw it out and serve. It may take a little convincing to your cats, but eventually they will eat it.

Up until three months ago when she received radioiodine therapy for hyperthyroidism, my cat would ONLY eat Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish. After the therapy she wouldn't touch it, and now will eat ONLY Fancy Feast GRILLED Chicken Feast. She has about 5 or 6 different dry kibble laid out, including Innova, but only eats a small amount of the cheap stuff. Every week I buy various premium foods - I would say I have tried about 80% of those that are available, have been doing it for a couple of years - but they all, without exception, go in the garbage. I can't get over the number of people on this site who are able to get their cats to eat quality food - beats me!!