My new vet shocked me

abacat

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I went to a new vet yesterday, it's a catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s only clinic and I thought I'd give it a try. I took Abby in because even though we've cut down on her food and started feeding her better quality food she hasn't lost any weight. She has not gained any weight in a year so the vet said that was a good thing.
I was thinking that she might have hypothyroidism.
Well the vet checked her out and said that she is very healthy! She seems to think that she may just have a slow metabolism and/or she's just lazy.
She did say one thing that shocked me (in a good way) she suggested that I try an all wet diet! That is the first time I've heard a vet say that all wet is better - I know it is but it's nice to have a vet that's not pushing dry.

So now I get to try to wean her off dry (she likes it more than wet).
All in all I like the place it's clean and the staff is friendly. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a little more expensive than my vet in New England but not too bad.
They also have some cats for adoption so I looked at the males they had. I will post more about that in the lounge.
 

whuckleberry

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That's wonderful about your kitty being healthy!


Kudos to your vet. My regular vet (who is feline only) is of the "dry is better for the teeth" school. But I did have an ER vet recently tell me that wet is better.
 
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abacat

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I hadn't even thought of declawing.

It seems like a nice place and I will be comfortable taking Abby there, plus I may get a new kitty from them as well.
 

karebearcasey

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about a year ago we got a new vet because ours died unexpectedly of a heart condition, he was only in his 40's. the vet that replaced him i am not all that thrilled about, doesn't really listen to me or seem to take the time to know us. but then again, our old vet was a friend. anyway, the new vet is very insistent on wet is better, expecially since my 8 year old boy needed surgery for a complete blockage due to crystals. damian will have nothing to do with prescription wet, but will eat the c/d dry just fine. he will only eat a half a can of wet a day, if even that.
 

momofmany

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There are a number of threads about the merit of wet over dry food. It might be counter intuitive, but if you want to get your cat to lose weight, switching to a high quality wet food is the way to go. Avoid Kitty Crack (Fancy Feast) and other cheap foods as the fillers in them are no better than dry.

I've had to switch one of my cats to wet when he had his teeth extracted. I have a very long Word document on how to do this. If you want a copy, send me a PM with your e-mail address. It's too long to post out here.
 

moggiegirl

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Congratulations on finding a good vet! There used to be a cats only clinic in my area, but they moved, and they understood that dry food was responsible for weight gain in a lot of cats and understood that wet is better for weight control.

I didn't think I could switch my cats to all wet but I did accomplish it. Just put them through kitty rehab. Dry food is very addicting. Get the dry food out of the house so they don't smell it. Don't buy any more dry. If your cat needs something to crunch you can give them freeze dried all meat treats.

According to Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins, a vet who is dedicated to treating and preventing feline diabetis, as long as your cat is eating a minimum of 3 to 4 ounces of wet food a day you can continue with the all wet food diet. Offer more than 3 ounces of wet of course. But you don't need to fall back on the dry as long as your cat is eating at least this amount.

And if you have a cat that won't eat anything other than Fancy Feast for wet that's ok, just get the loaf style wet foods, not the chunks in gravy. Wheat gluten is not a healthy ingredient.

Also keep this in mind. Dry food is not really palatable to cats. The only reason cats love it is because the pet food manufacturers spray a fatty meat digest liquid spray on it which cats find highly irresistable and addicting. In the absense of this your cat would turn up his nose at this breakfast cereal for cats and that's the truth. Any cat with enough patience and persistence can learn to love wet food.
 
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abacat

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Originally Posted by moggiegirl

Congratulations on finding a good vet! There used to be a cats only clinic in my area, but they moved, and they understood that dry food was responsible for weight gain in a lot of cats and understood that wet is better for weight control.

I didn't think I could switch my cats to all wet but I did accomplish it. Just put them through kitty rehab. Dry food is very addicting. Get the dry food out of the house so they don't smell it. Don't buy any more dry. If your cat needs something to crunch you can give them freeze dried all meat treats.

According to Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins, a vet who is dedicated to treating and preventing feline diabetis, as long as your cat is eating a minimum of 3 to 4 ounces of wet food a day you can continue with the all wet food diet. Offer more than 3 ounces of wet of course. But you don't need to fall back on the dry as long as your cat is eating at least this amount.

And if you have a cat that won't eat anything other than Fancy Feast for wet that's ok, just get the loaf style wet foods, not the chunks in gravy. Wheat gluten is not a healthy ingredient.

Also keep this in mind. Dry food is not really palatable to cats. The only reason cats love it is because the pet food manufacturers spray a fatty meat digest liquid spray on it which cats find highly irresistable and addicting. In the absense of this your cat would turn up his nose at this breakfast cereal for cats and that's the truth. Any cat with enough patience and persistence can learn to love wet food.
Thank you for the tips (and Momofmany) Abby gets California Natural wet. I had her on Max cat light but I couldn't find it when I moved. I have started giving her more wet when I feed her and we are making sure not to go over 1/4 cup of dry a day (plus the little bit that goes in her treat ball). I am going to wean her off dry food.
I tried to give her freeze dried fish and she hated it. I can't find any chicken in the stores, I may have to order some.
 

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you can use the freeze dried chicken rounds for dog s with a cat as treat ...

TRY a adult( not light or indoor) dry for "snacks" ... 1/4 cup for a ave cat is a good snack with a main line wet diet
 

brittany_nicole

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I take both of my cats to a Cat-Only Clinic. It is a 45 minute drive, but I wouldn't think of taking them anywhere else. It seems like normal vets focus more on the needs of dogs, especially the ones in my city. We have 3 vets where I live and every one of them are all about dogs. My dog's vet doesn't even have a small counter scale for cats.
 

kalikat

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I've read a few articles on the net about the benefits of a wet diet over dry. They say that eating dry does nothing to keep their teeth clean. There's something in wet that get the saliva doing its job to clean the teeth. There's a couple of articles (6&7) at www.felinefuture.com/nutrition
I'm of the opinion that a natural diet is best for dogs & cats, & I started to give Blossom chicken bones when she was young to get her used to eating them. She used to love it, but being lazy & going away a few times it was easier for my working sons to feed her wet & dry as she's always had.
When I get the chance to get to the pet warehouse that sells California Natural & Innova products.
 

moggiegirl

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Originally Posted by Abacat

Thank you for the tips (and Momofmany) Abby gets California Natural wet. I had her on Max cat light but I couldn't find it when I moved. I have started giving her more wet when I feed her and we are making sure not to go over 1/4 cup of dry a day (plus the little bit that goes in her treat ball). I am going to wean her off dry food.
I tried to give her freeze dried fish and she hated it. I can't find any chicken in the stores, I may have to order some.
My cats like freeze dried chicken the best. If you order it look for brands such as Live a Littles and Whole Life treats.
 

sheeba07

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Hi everyone,

I'm so glad to find a post of this issue since the same thing happened for us. Good thing you brought it up Abacat. I went to a new vet and he had some different opinions than the old one that's for sure!. First he explained the importance of an all wet diet, since dry food can cause all sorts of health problems. Second he told me that my boy might have an obsessive-compulsive behavior with his dry nursing
but that's another story.

It seems like some of the people that replied to this post have experience in shifting to wet food only. My cats like the wet food, but they also enjoy the dry food as a snack between meals. So do you just remove the dry food completely? I'm worried that they might be hungry during the night, since they are used to unlimited access to dry food. If you feed only wet does your kitties just get used to no food at night? Btw, mine are kittens, so they eat a LOT
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Sheeba07

Hi everyone,

I'm so glad to find a post of this issue since the same thing happened for us. Good thing you brought it up Abacat. I went to a new vet and he had some different opinions than the old one that's for sure!. First he explained the importance of an all wet diet, since dry food can cause all sorts of health problems. Second he told me that my boy might have an obsessive-compulsive behavior with his dry nursing
but that's another story.

It seems like some of the people that replied to this post have experience in shifting to wet food only. My cats like the wet food, but they also enjoy the dry food as a snack between meals. So do you just remove the dry food completely? I'm worried that they might be hungry during the night, since they are used to unlimited access to dry food. If you feed only wet does your kitties just get used to no food at night? Btw, mine are kittens, so they eat a LOT
Many of us ... MYSELF included leave out some dry for a mostly wet eater to eat overnight.... Kandie ate wet and dry for 13-14 years of her life... I made sure she had dry while I went to school and when we went to bed ... I prefer not to leave wet out for over 1 hour( my Zoey is a slow wet eater) but some do leave it out all night
 

glitch

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My Kitties could eat wet food all day! I always was told "You're not suppose to feed them that, its bad for them" SO Im kind of anxious to try and all wet diet!

Sheeba: Whats a Dry Nurser?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by glitch

My Kitties could eat wet food all day! I always was told "You're not suppose to feed them that, its bad for them" SO Im kind of anxious to try and all wet diet!

Sheeba: Whats a Dry Nurser?
a dry nurser is a weened kitten or puppy that sucks on either a cat or dog or a human
 
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