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First Time Cat Owner

post #1 of 7
8/3/10 at 9:23pm
Thread Starter 
Hi there,

I recently adopted a 4 month old cat from a lady who said the cat had never been to the vet before. I am getting him neutered as well as vaccinated soon.
I've been receiving wonderful advice from someone in a different forum, but I would like to double check and see what other people think.

The lady was feeding him Friskies dry food, so I am still giving Moses (my cat) this food, but I am gradually transitioning to Taste of Wild. I really just want to throw the Friskies out because it looks so horrible. He is also getting Blue Buffalo wet food. I am trying to feed limited seafood and more poultry. I am also giving him probiotics for the transition. I am actually adding water to the mix of dry and wet food that I give him so it looks like he is getting a bowl of cereal (with water instead of milk), and he gobbles all of the food and water up. I am wondering whether I should do this every time?

I am planning on brushing his teeth as well. How often do you think I should do this?

He is going to be an indoor cat, do you think I will ever have to worry about fleas? He has short hair too. Actually, let me post a picture. Teehee...

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post #2 of 7
8/3/10 at 9:38pm
your boy is very handsome!
personally, i wouldn't mix dry/wet, mainly because eventually he'll be a 'snacker' [most adults are] & the dry will go bad if moistened. if you want to feed both types of food, then feed kibble [dry] in one dish & wet in another. that way you can discard any leftover wet when it's icky, but the kibble will still be ok.
welcome to TCS!
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post #3 of 7
8/3/10 at 10:39pm
Cute kitty!

I feed my babies Blue Buffalo wet food when we are sitting down for dinner because it distracts them and makes me feel like it is becoming a schedule. Since my kitties are so young, they still graze overall the kibble. In addition, I also add water to the wet food and they eat it up but I live in the desert and find this important to aid in the intake of water.
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post #4 of 7
8/4/10 at 8:28am
I agree with laureen227, it's best not to mix wet and dry together.
I do add water to my girl's wet food though, every time. Instead of cereal, it looks like soup. She laps it right up.

As far as throwing out the Friskies, you might want to hang on to it and add just a little bit to the TOTW to switch up the flavors so your boy doesn't get bored. It'll last awhile and when it's gone, you can select a better food to mix, if you so choose. I also like to rotate foods to avoid boredom/allergies, every 3 months or so.

As far as teeth brushing, my vet says my girl's teeth look great, so I don't so it. My friend brushes his cat's teeth every other day.

As for fleas, if he will be an indoor only cat, it's not critical to treat him. I would do it in summer just to be safe if there are any other animals in the house. I used to use a Hartz product, purchased at Wal Mart, that was just methoprene, one of the ingredients in Frontline. I haven't seen it on the shelves for a while, and I now use Advantage.

Money saving tip--Advantage for dogs and cats is exactly the same. A tube of Advantage for dogs 55 lbs and up has 10 times the amount of product as a tube for cats under 9 lbs, for only a couple dollars more per six pack. A pipette syringe (minus the needle of course) will allow you to extract the correct amount from a small storage jar.

You sound like a dedicated pet owner intent on giving your boy the best. I wish you luck.
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post #5 of 7
8/4/10 at 8:47am
Oh my, that's one gorgeous cat.

Your question about brushing teeth caught my eye. I try to do it daily, because my cats (and one in particular) seem to be predisposed toward gingivitis. Your vet is the best person to advise you about this, obviously, but it's good to be thinking about it now, while he's young and probably more likely to accept the brushing. Getting him used to claw trimming is a good idea as well.
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post #6 of 7
8/4/10 at 4:26pm
Thread Starter 
I trimmed his claws for the first time in the evening a few days ago. He was so sleepy he let me do anything at that point.

Do you guys think Taste of the Wild is a good kibble? What other kibble should I use to help with the boredom avoidance? Royal Canin? Blue Buffalo?

Thanks for the tip on not mixing wet and dry food. I had no idea.
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post #7 of 7
8/4/10 at 7:42pm
TOTW is one of the better ones. i can't use it - too fishy-smelling [i have fish allergies]. i use Royal Canin Special 33, because it's the one my senior does best on.
basically, read the ingredients. you want something that has a named meat meal [chicken, lamb, etc.] as the 1st ingredient. doesn't hurt to have additional meat meals or even just meat. but w/kibble, meat [not meat meal] doesn't mean as much, because so much of meat is moisture, which is removed during processing.
i think Sharky [TCS food pro] said that menhaden fish meal isn't a good one - but there's several threads where you can find info. here's one of them: what food do you use and WHY
warning: this thread is 24 pages long!
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