My youngest will not eat any wet. I hope she grows in to it. Seb would live on wet (junk food, of course!) if he could
I think the wet food is more easily digestible plus it has the moisture content. A happy medium would make me happy!
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Wet food discovery
- Thread starter maree
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keep trying ... my ZOey will only take three bites a day but it took a few yrs ...Originally Posted by Bonnie1965
My youngest will not eat any wet. I hope she grows in to it. Seb would live on wet (junk food, of course!) if he couldI think the wet food is more easily digestible plus it has the moisture content. A happy medium would make me happy!
For me feeding wet is important not because I think they'd drop dead on a diet of good quality dry, but because I think getting water into them is an important preventative measure. They may not be prone to urinary problems, but I'd rather do everything I can to prevent them occurring than wait and see. And should they succumb to CRF at some point (and it's very common among cats) I think it's much better for them to eat wet rather than dry. The chances of successfully transitioning them from dry to wet if they'd eaten dry all their life up to that point would be slim imo.
Not criticising, just saying why I would not feed all dry.
Not criticising, just saying why I would not feed all dry.
Jamie was like that. He was given wet food as a young kitten, but preferred his mother's dry food, and once I brought him home, I had a horrible time getting him to eat wet food. I tried all kinds of wet food, and we finally found a compromise: He gets his beloved dry in the morning, and consents to eat wet (small cans only of meat and/or fish) in the evening.Originally Posted by Bonnie1965
My youngest will not eat any wet. I hope she grows in to it. Seb would live on wet (junk food, of course!) if he couldI think the wet food is more easily digestible plus it has the moisture content. A happy medium would make me happy!
I'd rather he just ate wet food, but 50:50 is better than nothing, I suppose. All of a sudden he's been showing an interest in our food (he ate a medium-sized stuffed pepper today, for example), so maybe I'll be able to get him completely off the dry by offering him home-cooked food in the morning.
MechanicalMan, don't invoke Murphy's law for your kitty. When you watch SIX CATS in a row waste away, on the pricey prescription food ... you start to think maybe there might be something wrong with the food.
Not lecturing. But we have total control over what goes into our kitties' bodies. They cannot tell us when something they need is not there. We had better just be careful with choosing their diet.
Some cats just won't eat wet and if you have one of those then a good quality dry is the best you can do and they may have urinary problems from time to time but if cared for and taken to the vet they probably won't die from eating only dry food.
But, if you can get the little boogers to eat some wet, it is certainly more healthy for them.
Some folks don't feed wet because they want to just be able to put down a huge bowl of dry food and be able to leave the cat alone for a few days or a weekend or whatever. That's their prerogative and a lot of single folks do this since they have nobody to look after their kitties if they are away so I am assuming this is where the "convenience" part comes in.
Some folks don't feed wet because they want to just be able to put down a huge bowl of dry food and be able to leave the cat alone for a few days or a weekend or whatever. That's their prerogative and a lot of single folks do this since they have nobody to look after their kitties if they are away so I am assuming this is where the "convenience" part comes in.
My 3 are those that hate wet... they will not eat any of it that we have found so far. We would like to get Chablis on wet because he is getting rather old, but I dont think it will happen. They are picky anyways, they will only eat certain kinds of dry. Its no fun!Originally Posted by Yosemite
Some cats just won't eat wet and if you have one of those then a good quality dry is the best you can do and they may have urinary problems from time to time but if cared for and taken to the vet they probably won't die from eating only dry food.But, if you can get the little boogers to eat some wet, it is certainly more healthy for them.
Some folks don't feed wet because they want to just be able to put down a huge bowl of dry food and be able to leave the cat alone for a few days or a weekend or whatever. That's their prerogative and a lot of single folks do this since they have nobody to look after their kitties if they are away so I am assuming this is where the "convenience" part comes in.
It would be really boring for me as a cat owner as well as boring for the cats (although a cat that's never had wet before may not know any better) to feed only dry food to my cats. House cats are supposed to be pampered and catered to. Cat owners should not refuse to feed wet on the basis of, "Well it's inconvenient for me to open a can, I don't like the smell, etc." Your cat has no choice in regards to what your cat gets to eat especially an indoor cat who cannot hunt it's dinner. I am in favor of keeping cats indoors and safe but in this case shouldn't they be allowed variety of food choices that include variety of flavor, texture and smell? Shouldn't they be encouraged to eat food that's more similar to the nutrition they would find in a mouse? Shouldn't they be encouraged to get moisture from their food as they would in the wild, especially if it benefits their kidneys, urinary tract, digestive system etc? What is the rationale for "I'm not going to feed my cat any wet." It's just too stubborn.
I want my cats to have all the variety they can enjoy at mealtime as well as opportunities for play, cuddling, petting, entertainment and all the comfort they should have as a house cat. Would you like to be fed from a box of dry human food exclusively and denied anything else to eat, even if it has all the vitamins and minerals you need? I think it's must more fun to plan my cats meal menu as if to say today they get chicken and liver for dinner, tomorrow it's salmon supreme, Wednesay Turkey in gravy surprise and so forth. Come one now part of loving your cats means you spoil them a little (or a lot). I can totally understand no jumping on the table, no scratching the couch but I don't understand, "Wet food restricted, wet food denied or wet food not allowed except as occasional treat." Too stubborn and not enough logical rationale behind it. Now if your cat won't eat wet food, that is another matter.
I want my cats to have all the variety they can enjoy at mealtime as well as opportunities for play, cuddling, petting, entertainment and all the comfort they should have as a house cat. Would you like to be fed from a box of dry human food exclusively and denied anything else to eat, even if it has all the vitamins and minerals you need? I think it's must more fun to plan my cats meal menu as if to say today they get chicken and liver for dinner, tomorrow it's salmon supreme, Wednesay Turkey in gravy surprise and so forth. Come one now part of loving your cats means you spoil them a little (or a lot). I can totally understand no jumping on the table, no scratching the couch but I don't understand, "Wet food restricted, wet food denied or wet food not allowed except as occasional treat." Too stubborn and not enough logical rationale behind it. Now if your cat won't eat wet food, that is another matter.
Nope....
don't feed dry
don't let my cats outside
don't use clay litter
Not that any of that is relevant anyway.
I think any comments you got regarding your diet of dry food were mainly due to the way you worded your previous post. Frankly, it sounds as if you didn't care about the health benefits and feeding canned food isn't worth your time or energy. And, most animal lovers would have a problem with someone taking that attitude towards their pets. That's all.
Dry food is there for our convenience - and is popular because people think it's been scientifically formulated in a laboratory, which must mean some thought has gone into it. No, it means some thought has gone into giving cat food a longer shelf life to increase profits and reduce waste for the companies making it, and freeze-drying gives a longer shelf life.
My 2 get about 2/3 wet and 1/3 dry - yes it is handy to leave that bit of dry out for them to snack on when I'm at work, but cleaning out their bowls and feeding only takes a couple of minutes longer when they're on wet food, it's not a problem for me. Why should it be a problem to spend 5 minutes caring for the creatures I have brought into my life, it was my choice to bring them home with me, they didn't have a say in the matter!!!
If I didn't make sure they got a good diet now, I could be looking at more vet visits and associated costs in 5-10 years time.
My 2 get about 2/3 wet and 1/3 dry - yes it is handy to leave that bit of dry out for them to snack on when I'm at work, but cleaning out their bowls and feeding only takes a couple of minutes longer when they're on wet food, it's not a problem for me. Why should it be a problem to spend 5 minutes caring for the creatures I have brought into my life, it was my choice to bring them home with me, they didn't have a say in the matter!!!
If I didn't make sure they got a good diet now, I could be looking at more vet visits and associated costs in 5-10 years time.
I don't get the "wet food is inconvenient". I actually find measuring dry food (I can't free feed pudgy Jamie dry food), putting it in an automatic feeder that has to be set to prevent being woken at dawn a lot more inconvenient than opening a pre-measured can and plopping it into a dish that will be popped into the dishwasher after use.
Maybe it's just me - all our previous cats ate canned food, and I find having a cat that wants dry a bit strange. Since he's allergic to most grains, the dry foods he gets are actually more expensive than wet food.
Maybe it's just me - all our previous cats ate canned food, and I find having a cat that wants dry a bit strange. Since he's allergic to most grains, the dry foods he gets are actually more expensive than wet food.
INCONVENIENCE?? How inconvenient is it?
You took the words right out of my mouth...
Wager me this, Batman... My sister had an indoor/outdoor cat that lived on dry AND wet food, and in an apartment which my sister smokes cigarettes and the cat lived to be 23 years old. Alot of it has to do with genes as well, so sometimes there's only so much we can do as far as food goes.
I've started feeding my kitties wet food and it's really not that bad. I have to wash the bowls because they're plastic and can't go in the dishwasher, but that's the worst thing. Well, actually the worst thing is Loki and Possum saying "What the @#$%, Mom?! We haven't eaten in days!!! HURRY UP!!!" every morning and night while I'm getting it ready and setting it down. That's obnoxious.
Also, what's wrong with clay cat litter?
Tricia
Also, what's wrong with clay cat litter?
Tricia
I adopted my cat last month and started feeding her wet food for the first time when she came home with me. I have never used wet food before only because I wasn't aware of how beneficial it is for them. Babee was never fed wet food but loved it immediately. It costs $15 a month for her wet food (Natural Balance). I use coupons and buy it in bulk which saves some $$. I also like to leave a bowl out with some dry food so she can nibble on during the day. That bag costs $10 and will last me 4 months. The money used to buy canned food is low compared to the costs you may have to spend on vet visits for illnesses that may have been prevented by proper nutrition. Plus it only takes a couple of minutes to open a can/heat up leftovers and put it on a plate.
It's not that expensive to buy good quality wet food (I'm definitely not rich and I manage it), and certainly no inconvience to pop open a can and spoon some in a dish. Or to pick it up when they're done and wash out the dish. It's less of an expense and inconvenience to cook for the human population in this house!
And if I felt any part of owning a cat was an inconvenience, I wouldn't own a cat!
My cats do not go outdoors and I don't use clay litter. Unless your cat is going to the bathroom outdoors, anything you use is taking from the earth in some way (as is most everything associated with our present-day lifestyle). And IMO, keeping your cat indoors is no guarantee they'll be living longer anyway. I've known indoor/outdoor cats who lived to be 19 and older.
This is so irrelevant to this thread, anyway.
I know wet is good but the reality is not every cat will go for it. I have Gizmo on a mostly dry diet. I'd love to give him more variety but he's just not interested. The only canned food he will touch is California natural and believe me when I say tried every canned food imaginable. It may not be very exciting but if he likes it and continues to eat it then so be it. At least he's eating some wet, which I figure is better than nothing.
The only wet food our cats will even touch is Merrick's. I go through 1 can per day at $1.69 per can plus 14% tax. That's what I pay per month to keep my kitties happy and healthy. I also buy them bottled spring water and Orijen dry food. So monthly they cost me a bit of $$, but they are part of our family and should eat as well as we do.
