Vet Recommends Dry (bagged) Food for Cats

optionken

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I am in the wet food camp. As far as I am concerned,m ry food for cats should not exist for any reason. My cat got diabetes from eating dry foods and from there I have seen through many cats the dangers of it. Yes, cats can live a long life on dry just like a human can on mcdonalds and scotch whilesmoking a cigarette. o I have proof no but I attribute crf obesity food allergies, blockages, crystals, ibd an of course diabetes to mostly the feeding of dry foods. The system needs water and doersn't need carbohydrates
Here is something publised in javma about nutrtion
http://www.catinfo.org/zorans_article.pdf
Google elizabeth hodgkins dvm for what she writes. She is the vet that sopke in front of congress about the recalled foods.
This is a link from another vet who has seen the light
http://www.catinfo.org/
 

maxiecat03

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It is an never ending debate..we all know cats that ate the 'inferior' foods for many years and lived long lives...seemingly healthy, too. Then, we know the pampered kitty who died an early death for no reason while getting all the benefits of shots, food, indoor-ness, neutering, etc.

I look at the ingrediants and see if they are what I believe to be the best for my cat. They need meat, they need taurine, they need vitamins, minerals and moisture. Then it's deciding what the cat likes, and how it fits my budget...in choosing between differently priced premium, quality food.....if the cat likes the lower in price quality food..then that's what I'll buy.

My conscience will be my guide. I love my cats too much to cheat them out of what is best for them. Doesn't mean that they get $$$ in toys and treats...it means that they get the best food for them, quality Vet care, and lots of my time and energy. I've had my kitties pass away as young as 5 yrs old, and as old as 17 yrs...and beyond missing them, especially the 5 yr old...I can't blame myself or my actions for their early demise....just like people..not all cats are destined to live a long time.

You have to make up your own mind, after listening to advice, and doing research...and looking at your own lifestyle.

Personally, my cats get wet food, Wellness, Merricks, and that kind, and there's always dry kibble (Wellness) out because I work away from home and can't always be home precisely at the same time each evening.

Good Luck!!
 
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dale001

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Those are some valuable and informative links; thank you.
I give them even more strength than Dr. Jean's (similar) viewpoint.

I'm assuming it's normal for a cat to be lethargic and not very hungry after coming home from the vets after getting those first shots. Chaplin (yes, named after Charlie) is acting like that this afternoon.

--Dale
 

wingss2fly

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I think cats are kinda like people, we all like our foods we like. What's good for us is not always what we like. We as people eat all kinds of foods. Cats are meat eaters, untill they eat grass. Anyway, the vet may have felt that he was telling you to use the best supermarket food he knows of. I know when my vet asked me what I fed the heard, he was suprised to hear EVO. He asked me if I had used a supermarket food. I told him I had, but had not liked what it had done to the tummys, or the litter box. ANYWAY..bottom line.. Feed your cats what works best for them and your budget, do the best you can. Some foods I don't care how "good" they are, may not work for your cat. I use dry because thats what works for my heard. I give wet 4 times a week because more offten gives them really bad gas. So that's my 25 cents worth.
Take what you want & leave the rest.

K.
 

wingss2fly

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Originally Posted by dale001

Those are some valuable and informative links; thank you.
I give them even more strength than Dr. Jean's (similar) viewpoint.

I'm assuming it's normal for a cat to be lethargic and not very hungry after coming home from the vets after getting those first shots. Chaplin (yes, named after Charlie) is acting like that this afternoon.

--Dale
2 of mine are all and all sick, 2 of mine the shots don't bother. Vet says it's pretty normal. Kinda like people with shots.
K.
 

emeraldsongbird

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I'm just blindly replying before reading others' replies, so I'm sorry if I repeat.

My dad is a vet professor, and from the very beginning he told me to not let Bella get addicted to wet food. The outside cat, Tiger, eats dry and wet food, a pretty good mixture of both. But my dad constantly says that dry food is SO much better for their gums and teeth. So, I only give Bella wet food on very special occasions, like her birthday or mine, or a celebration night or such.

Now, to get this kitten to eat dry food, perhaps mix a little bit of wet food with it?

Oh, and Purina is really the best. Not only are they great at their products, but they have EXCELLENT customer service. The vet school uses Purina for everything, and Bella has benefited so well from eating their kitten chow.
 
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dale001

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Well, the question I asked him was quite direct and I didn't even mention what I was feeding the cat: dry or wet? And that's when he championed the whole "dry is better" thing and gave me the reasons.

Thanks; all the replies are quite helpful---

---Dale
 

darlili

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A little lethargy and being off their feed is pretty normal in a lot of cases, after shots, just like us at times - my vet's invoice actually addresses that, and says to contact them the next day if it persists. Kind of nice diversion when you're looking at that darn total charged to Mastercard!
 
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dale001

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My online research suggests that yes, there is a debate among vets on this dry vs. wet issue.

I guess that mirrors and reflects the differing
posts by non-vets on this controversial issue. Oh, my. . .

I am leaning to the wet or canned at this point, with only occasional dry, perhaps the occasional Science dry for healthy UTI---if he will eat it!

Thanks for the help everyone. It was appreciated and even in just two hours I discovered how much of a debate there is.

After reading other posts/threads about this on the Web,
I have noticed that there even tends to be almost a snobbery (thankfully, with only a few people) about this whole debatable issue, and thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s unfortunate, if not understandable, because another or different viewpoint can threaten the pet owner (OMG, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m placing my cat in danger by not doing things that way, so I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be wrong; Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m right; youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re wrong).

Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s silly. Again, if a cat can live to be 20 on Fancy Feast canned….
I guess itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s sort of like the vegetarian dropping dead jogging, while the heavy smoker lives to be 95. Whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the moral of the story? Do your own research, feed them well with what you think is best for your cat, and then you play the odds in life. That works with humans and pets alike.

Hopefully, with good nutrition and more importantly, love, pets and humans live a long, happy life.
‘nuff said.
 

maxcat08

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Originally Posted by dale001

Those are some valuable and informative links; thank you.
I give them even more strength than Dr. Jean's (similar) viewpoint.

I'm assuming it's normal for a cat to be lethargic and not very hungry after coming home from the vets after getting those first shots. Chaplin (yes, named after Charlie) is acting like that this afternoon.

--Dale
Yes, it is normal...he should be back to his normal activity in the morning, or before. Just keep an eye on him....he should be fine...
 

maxcat08

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Originally Posted by dale001

Whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the moral of the story? Do your own research, feed them well with what you think is best for your cat, and then you play the odds in life. That works with humans and pets alike.

Hopefully, with good nutrition and more importantly, love, pets and humans live a long, happy life.
‘nuff said.
Couldn't say it better myself....that's a good attitude...er...should I say...cat-titude.....
 

Asteria

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When my vet talks about nutrition for either my cats or dogs, I take it with a grain of salt. While they have a plethora of information on many amazing and complicated subjects, their feline/canine nutrition education is usually minimal.
My own research and the results of different foods for my animals have taught me to find out what I can and do what works best for us.
I'm very particular about what my cats eat, and I don't feed any grocery store cat food. I'm not someone who has much extra money, but I pay to get the best food I can afford, through what I've learned.
I can always give opinions and facts about pet food, but I totally agree that what matters is what works best for every individual situation.
Good luck with everything, and I hope you find what you're looking for.
 

booktigger

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My vet still recommends some dry daily for their teeth, but you get told off for feeding a cat with a UTI any dry food, and she doesn't even push the prescription stuff for UTI's, her theory is wet food only, extra water and minimise stress - has always worked well for my cats, the first cat actually got cystitis while on Hills C/D dry (his first lot was while on R/D dry), and he lost more weight on that 'diet' than the prescription weight reducing food. I wouldnt feed the diet my vet gives her cats though. I have an 18 yo who came back end of last year on purely dry food - her bloods showed her to be healthy, I get as much wet into her as possible, but she does generally favour dry than wet. I always have dry down, but it takes me a while to get through a bag, so I know they dont get a lot of it, and it is a premium brand, as is their wet food.
 

babywukong

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When I used to have my cats, I fed them Royal Canin for indoor cats (can't remember what number that is). They loved it.. It was their main food. Wet food was for occasional treats only.

When I have a chance in the future, I'd definitely wanna own cats again, so am taking the opportunity to read up as much as I can now. Not many people here seem to take to a raw diet (by this I mean fillets, definitely no bones). Is there any reason for not recommending raw feeding?
 

cc12

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Originally Posted by BabyWukong

When I used to have my cats, I fed them Royal Canin for indoor cats (can't remember what number that is). They loved it.. It was their main food. Wet food was for occasional treats only.

When I have a chance in the future, I'd definitely wanna own cats again, so am taking the opportunity to read up as much as I can now. Not many people here seem to take to a raw diet (by this I mean fillets, definitely no bones). Is there any reason for not recommending raw feeding?
I do. The vet clinic I go to believes strongly in a raw diet. The vets are fantastic, well trained and cutting edge. They don't sell Hills or anything but things to support raw feeding. I have been feeding raw for well over a year with their full support and guidance. Before that quality canned only. The difference is in my cats. Their coats are like silk and shiny. No dental issues. The only health issues I have ever had with them has been things beyond my control like when Cleo swallowed a string and when Mary was exposed to a cat with feline distemper. Lucia my Queen who just had babies was suffering horrible diarrhea and had a red hiney. I switched her to raw and the very next day it was gone. I have attended seminars run by vets about raw food and here we even have petstores that specialize in it for cats and dogs. My litter boxes do not smell and they use the box less often because they absorb the food better. But they urinate plenty which is what I want.
One time I gave them some dry because I was out of town overnight and I wanted to see if there was a difference and there was. The boxes were horrible smelling.
I have a background in human nutrition and I know that what the traditional standards are and they differ from what is really best for people. I have a brother who eats junk food only but is slim and athletic and never sick. I eat healthy but I got cancer. However I got ovarian cancer and most women die from it. I think if I had not been in top health in other areas I would have died. Survivors of that type of cancer is extremely rare. So I think of it as the same with cats. A hearty genetically blessed cat would probably do ok for a long time on low quality food. A cat with some genetic problem areas would not fare as well and most likely develop illnesses. But if both cats got the best diet possible then the hearty cat could live a longer and even healthier life and the other cat could have the same fate.
Cats in nature don't eat from a wheat fields or ravage fields of corn. They eat meat. So I try to mimic what they would choose in the wild. I even look at their food and ask myself if I were them would I want to eat what I am serving them. I have had so many people try to change me and I have gotten lectures but I feel good about it and I am sticking to it.
I also know that pet food companies are very powerful like drug companies are for people. They have a vested interest in keeping cats on kibble but even the old stand bys are starting to change their ways.

Bottom line is you do the very best you can for your cats. I think animal nutrition is an area that is slowly developing and as more research is done we learn more too.
Let us know what you decide whatever it is. I hope we have helped.
 

babywukong

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CC12, thank you very much for your comprehensive answer. I was afraid I'd get told off since there are plenty of discussions about commercial/raw feeding.

I should have been clearer, but I asked because Singapore isn't a very pro-animal country, so while the selection of dry/canned food is decent, I have not seen prepared bags of raw foods for cats (although I have seen at least one place stock prepared raw food for dogs... the strangest thing is that this place wasnt a pet shop but a supermarket).

This may seem like a darned clueless question, but would raw fish fillets be the very best thing for cats seeing how they like fish? What about chicken/beef/turkey (all boneless) and so on. Well, more specifically, what types of meat are you feeding your cats, and is there anything cat owners should look out for when feeding raw besides bones, and that the meat is fresh? I heard of many dogs having allergies to chicken, and am wary of the same thing being true with cats. Wonder if you could shed some light on this.

Btw, I'm very glad to hear you have won the fight against your cancer
 

sharky

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NO raw fish is tied to parasitic and bacterial infections some fatel in cats...

IF doing RAW please read the threads and make sure to have the right percentages from meat bone and organ... meat fillets are a PART but NOT the whole to a raw diet

I have had a dog and a cat one allergic to raw but not cooked chicken and the other the opposite .. hence why I STRESS how it was prepared so much ...
 

mbrcpr

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Someone mentioned AAFCO...I want to say that just because a food is AAFCO doesn't mean much. It takes very little to pass certification...a small, rather short (I think 6 month) feeding trial, none of the animals involved can die from the food, and they can't gain or lose more than a certain (high) percentage of their body weight.

My vet is more progressive than a lot. He's actually asked for my opinion on certain foods. His clinic sells Science Diet and ProPlan, but as he told me "We know those aren't the only foods in the world." They also were pretty impressed with the difference in a dog they gave me. They had her for about 4 or 5 mos (her owners were going to dump her at AC because they didn't want to take the time to figure out what was wrong with her) and were feeding her Science Diet during that time. I brought her home and immediately (no mixing period) switched her to Canidae. She never had any sort of upset, and they are just amazed at how much better she looks. Nice and soft and shiny! Didn't take long, either.

I won't do raw. My vet isn't a big fan of it, and I just am not comfortable with the idea of my animals eating raw meat and then licking my kid. But they do great on high-quality dry food (Felidae) and a couple cans (also Felidae, usually, but if I get the job at the pet store I'll give them other high-quality stuff as well) a week. They are silky, don't shed that much, and don't make too much stink in the litter box.

I won't feed grocery brand foods, ever. I have yet to find one I like. If I couldn't afford to feed my cats well, I wouldn't have so many.
 
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