Dry only

My indoor boy, Sasha, eats only dry food. A mixture of 60% PetGuard Super Premium and 40% PetPromise Daily Health. He is 3yrs old. Has never had a health issue (he was feral when we found him at about 8wks old). He does drink a lot of water.
He refuses to eat any canned food. He has been offered 30 or 40 different kinds from cheapo to high end.

When I told my vet that we could not get him to eat any canned food he said,"you're lucky, feed him dry, he'll be fine". He didn't ask what dry I was feeding him. So far the vet was not wrong.

Sasha weighs eleven pounds but has a small frame. He eats less than the recommended amount suggested on the bags but still looks like he could stand to lose a few ounces.

Many vets were taught dry = cleaner teeth and a healthier cat ... More recent studies have proved the opposite.. Cat nutrition is newer in clinical studies and learning than even human and you know that seems to change day to day....

Did you try different textures of wet? make sure you tried different flavors ? Sorry to ask but it can help some of us with giving you ideas ... I actually found out my I hate wet loves hers with extra water

I went through the same thing trying to find a wet food Mikey would eat. After going through lots of wet food trying to find one Mr. Pickypants he settled on Fancy Feast Gourmet Chicken. No other fancy feast, just that one flavor. Since then he has finally broadened his horizons and is working on figuring out how to chew raw.

Fancy Feast tends to work for picky cats. Other people say Weruva(?) works the best.

Keep trying Wet food is the best and I wish vets would figure that out.

We tried many different brands, textures and flavors early on before we gave up. Since this summer we have had a new resident. A now semi feral named Marlow. Marlow eats wet food all the time and likes it way better than the dry mixture. Though Marlow has a bowl of fresh water, he prefers to drink from the stagnant water on our swimming pool cover. I did not even take the cover off the pool this summer so Marlow would drink. I was afraid eliminating this water source would drive him away. We are trying to get Marlow to move into the house (many posts about Marlow in "Srays and Ferals"). We hope Sasha will emulate Marlows lust for canned food when he does move in.

Originally Posted by sharky

Many vets were taught dry = cleaner teeth and a healthier cat ...

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My vet said this.
I am open to all opinions here. This site has improved our relationship with our pets greatly.

Im very new here but I just wanted to mention that Neko would not eat can foods at all before this week. When I served it, she smelled it and walked away. I dabbed my finger in the wet food and put some IN her mouth. She tasted it and then became more interested. She went straight back to the bowl and started eating. We've been doing this finger feeding method for a few days now and this morning she ate from the bowl the moment I set it down. I did a lot of praising for eating her wet food

Hope this helps.

Ps. my little one doesn't like the chunky, she prefers to lick up the wet food.

You can try getting him adjusted to wet food in many "creative" ways as I've found over the years.

First, try warming it for about 8 seconds in the microwave. Sometimes the intense smell and warmth will attract him.

Another would be to hand feed it to him, see if he takes to it.

See if he'll take to chunky pouch foods. Perhaps mix in a little with dry.

silva_unt,
Your idea is a good one. I will try it. Results to follow.

This is a good example of the innovation that can be found on this site.

Mine wont eat wet food at all but the once in a blue moon they want to try some I have to the pate` style food they wont eat anything chunky!

While many cats survive on all dry, its been found that it can lead to problems up the road. Many males will have problems with UTI's on all dry (tho your boy is drinking water and that's a good thing). He could also end up with kidney/liver problems on all dry.

If he winds up with UTI problems then you will have some issues as he will have to eat some kind of canned/wet foods. I would continue to try and get him to eat non-dry foods. Have you considered maybe some raw feedings (chicken or beef)?

If you can introduce some wet, that's a good thing, certainly - but just FYI, Hills does make a prescription dry (CD) for cats with urinary issues, if push were able to come to shove and your cat absolutely totally refused all wet foods. I believe the other companies that make prescription food also have dry varieties.

Originally Posted by darlili

If you can introduce some wet, that's a good thing, certainly - but just FYI, Hills does make a prescription dry (CD) for cats with urinary issues, if push were able to come to shove and your cat absolutely totally refused all wet foods. I believe the other companies that make prescription food also have dry varieties.

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Purina , Waltham/ Royal Canin, Iams/Eukanuba

Originally Posted by sharky

Many vets were taught dry = cleaner teeth and a healthier cat ... More recent studies have proved the opposite.. Cat nutrition is newer in clinical studies and learning than even human and you know that seems to change day to day....

Did you try different textures of wet? make sure you tried different flavors ? Sorry to ask but it can help some of us with giving you ideas ... I actually found out my I hate wet loves hers with extra water

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

While many cats survive on all dry, its been found that it can lead to problems up the road. Many males will have problems with UTI's on all dry (tho your boy is drinking water and that's a good thing). He could also end up with kidney/liver problems on all dry.

If he winds up with UTI problems then you will have some issues as he will have to eat some kind of canned/wet foods. I would continue to try and get him to eat non-dry foods. Have you considered maybe some raw feedings (chicken or beef)?

Click to expand...

Sharky and GoldenKitty are spot on. (And as an aside, I am delighted beyond words to see this issue becoming more widely recognized.)

Once a cat gets a UTI, it's prone to getting them for life. In addition, UTI "safe" dry foods are not really safe at all - while they may change the ingredients in an attempt to modify PH, dry food is inherently not good for cats (see Feline Cystitis and Diabetes and Obesity for more info), so it's just best to get your kitty on a wet or raw diet.

Good luck and let us know how you do!