Do you mix your dry foods?

I was just reading the thread about the Diamond recall (or withdrawl, whichever) and came across a comment about how the problem only arises when it is the only food fed. I've run across this argument during other pet food recalls as well.

Right now, I feed my cats Orijen dry and they get half a can of Friskies to share twice a day. I consider that a pretty small amount of wet, so I figure they are fed predominantly a single dry.

My question is...do you mix or rotate your dry food so that your cat are getting multiple food sources? Or do you just feed one kind of dry, all the time?

I mix dry due to multiple cats with different needs (like one needs certain shapes due to no teeth - one hairball - one allergy sensitive - one UTI friendly - etc). I also use a variety of canned to get different textures to appease everyone. Margo with her overbite can only eat pate - yet I have others that only like gravy canned!

I mix Orijen and the Hills T/D for Bijou. I premix them in a container so they are ready to just scoop for each meal. He only likes 2 wet foods although I'm going to introduce a few more - one at a time maybe once per week.

Three of my girls live together (in a bedroom) and their ages are 2.5, 1.5 and 10 months so I mix RC Persian & Persian Kitten together.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=205812

I feed multiple types of dry (their bowls have a mixture of 3 foods in it), multiple types of canned, and some raw/cooked.

I don't mix dry. It would defeat the purpose of using a limited ingredient formula if I just mixed the problem ingredients back in...

I can get away with a little chicken wet... but usually avoid it so I'm stuck with only a couple brands of wet I use since I don't want to use a lot of fish.

They get one kind of dry, but we feed (and vary) the canned food daily. In addition, they get raw (beef or chicken) twice a week now.

I don't agree with mixing dry foods. Many times that causes more problems with digestion. But if your guys are fine with it, then I guess that's ok.

Kody eats primarily raw with alittle dry kibble everyday. The only one he would for the last year was Taste of the Wild, but now he also likes Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit. Rather than switch them out, I do mix them approximately 1/2 and 1/2.

I was so happy when he decided to eat both, so if a problem should arise, then I have an alternative.

Anne

I rotate brands ( ie manufacturers ) ....there is a main brand and then I add in another to the mix about 10 days of every month

Huh... I always thought it was bad to mix brands b/c of possible tummy troubles, unless you are engaged in the slow process of switching from one to the other.

My boys get Authority dry Sensitive Solutions, but I have been mixing in a little of the regular Authority Chicken and Rice simply as a taste thing. They get a variety of wet from Meow Mix cups to Wellness - which they do like a lot. And occasionally some canned wild Alaskan salmon or sardines.

I have also tried to shift the feeding more toward wet and cut back on the dry free-feed as I have a couple of kitties who have plumped up quite a bit eventhough they are active cats.

Since I'm one of the mixers, I thought I'd explain what I do....

The majority of my food is TOTW.... but TOTW on its own is too rich for one of my kitties, so I added a second food with grain to the mix. If I happen to get a coupon for Wellness, that is also added into the mix.

Basically 15lbs TOTW + 5lbs "other" brands which varies from time to time. Sometimes it is only TOTW + a food with grain....

75% of their food stays the same I've not had a problem doing it this way for 10mos now.....

I don't want my kitties to be dependant on one food....especially if they become finicky, and that food is withdrawn.... I know people say cats will eat if they are hungry enough... I've found some cats will starve before eating something other than what they are used to.

Just my experience.

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=205812

Click to expand...

This thread here was first, Chris!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

This thread here was first, Chris!

Click to expand...

I didn't want to say it! That's ok though....I was going to add a poll, but I was too lazy. sharky had the same thought!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

This thread here was first, Chris!

Click to expand...

yah but I didn't see it first, and my answer was typed out in the other one, so it saves me the typing of my whole answer you see

I use 2 brands of dry here and several different formulas made by these 2 companies for a total of 5 different dry foods, these are out for them to choose from daily.

I mix about 5lbs of Purina Indoor (what my cats had always been fed for the past year and a half) and then switched them into TOTW and on the advice from here and some snooping on the web decided that I wanted to mix the two together and I also use Chris' measurements 5lbs of Purina and 15lbs of TOTW.

my mom mixes the dry and wet food.