Cat Has Lost Interest in Dry Food - wet only?

Allen has been on a good regiment of 1/4c. Science Diet adult indoor AM and PM, and a 1/2 can of wet food PM since his UTI in April.  Initially he had no problems, but for the past 1.5 months he has had no desire to eat the SD.

I thought I had maybe just bought a bad bag, so I went to Petco and exchanged it for another, and he still didn't want to eat it.  When he did, there'd be weird little crumbles in the bottom of the bowl like he was having trouble chewing it.  I just kept the dry food in his bowl and was hoping he'd come around.  He never lost interest in the canned food (usually Friskies).

Then this past Sunday morning I wake up and find SD colored vomit in 4 places in my apartment.  So as of then, he's been strictly eating his wet food, which he seems totally fine with.  My question is, can I just keep him on wet food solely if he's happy?  How much should I give him a day?  He's a good sized cat, probably 10-11 lbs.  Is one can in the morning and one at night too much?

Or should I try some different dry foods as well?

Thanks!

Glad Allen is on canned food; it's usually recommended for cats for UTIs because of the moisture issue.  Frankly, I'm surprised your vet recommened dry food.

Of course I'm going to say "check with your vet", but yeah, I'd keep him on wet food solely.  And I know you can get prescription wet food, if that's an issue.

I don't know about quantity.  Do keep in mind that dry food tends to be more calorically dense than wet.

AVOID seafood at all costs.  I think that's part of why Ritz (female, two years old) developed FLUTD/UTI.  That, and she's easily stressed.

I fed Ritz commercial raw now, in part because the only flavor of wet food she would eat was seafood.  With raw, she'll eat most any kind of meat/poultry.

Ritz said:

Glad Allen is on canned food; it's usually recommended for cats for UTIs because of the moisture issue.  Frankly, I'm surprised your vet recommened dry food.

Of course I'm going to say "check with your vet", but yeah, I'd keep him on wet food solely.  And I know you can get prescription wet food, if that's an issue.

I don't know about quantity.  Do keep in mind that dry food tends to be more calorically dense than wet.

AVOID seafood at all costs.  I think that's part of why Ritz (female, two years old) developed FLUTD/UTI.  That, and she's easily stressed.

I fed Ritz commercial raw now, in part because the only flavor of wet food she would eat was seafood.  With raw, she'll eat most any kind of meat/poultry.

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Seafood as in seafood flavored canned?  That might be a problem, because Allen loves his tuna and whitefish.  But he will eat the beef, chicken, liver, etc.
 

Yes, as in seafood flavored canned.  Simply put cause that's all I can understand:  fish used in canned foods tend to have a lot of bone in them, which makes it high in phosphorus and magnesium.  And depending upon where the fish comes from that is used in canned food, it may have heavy metals.  Fish flavored foods tend to be smelly, which is why I think Ritz was attracted to it.

And, read read read the ingredients.  Some seafood flavored food actually list seafood as the third or fourth ingredient.  Since Ritz would never eat the beef/chicken canned food, I haven't looked at those ingredients for a while, but again, read the ingredients.

As soon as Ritz developed a UTI, I quite giving her any kind of seafood canned food, and transitioned her to raw food.

Little Big Cat has a good article about why fish is dangerous for cats.

Two things I could think of:

1) Could just be flavor burnout; as we experienced that with Wellness Chicken canned wet.   While once their favorite, before I started rotating flavors every meal they got to the point they wouldn't even touch it.  

2) Thoroughly check the gums/teeth to ensure there isn't inflammation that could be causing issues chewing the hard food.   That wouldn't explain the vomiting though, unless they are big pieces of kibble.  

I agree, there are certain prescription dry foods that include acidifiers and are lightly salted to encourage lots of water intake, but IIRC that is not one of them so I don't see why it was suggested by the vet for a cat w/ a UTI.   You can certainly feed wet only, and in fact even mediocre wets should be better than SDiet as that one was high in carbs and fillers IIRC.    The only downside would be inconvenience, cost, and a little less dental benefit, but you can feed dental treats like Greenies or similar which are more purposefully designed for the part anyway.  

AllenBoy said:

Seafood as in seafood flavored canned?  That might be a problem, because Allen loves his tuna and whitefish.  But he will eat the beef, chicken, liver, etc.

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A little seafood is fine in my opinion, but just like with people it is ill advised to eat too much, particularly large predatory fish like tuna.   While they are great in that they are high in taurine and healthy omega fats, they are also high in mercury and magnesium and other minerals that can contribute to UTIs from what I've read.   I've read similar concerns about feeding too many red meats like beef though as well.   Chicken, duck, lamb, etc seems to be healthier primary protein sources.  For the time being, I'd avoid it entirely, and then for us we only feed fish flavored foods once a week and have been fine so far for a year and a half at least.  *knock on wood*

Smart kitty!
Ritz is right though, cats with urinary issues shouldn't be eating kibble or fish. Start him off on one can a day, and check his weight. If he gains, give him less, if he loses give him more.

My indoor cat shredder 18yrs old has always been healthy. A few months ago started not eating much dry food. I swithed to meow mix seafood sensation and loved so much friskies salmon wet canned and tuna and egg. She died yesterday and now after reading all these posts about seafood being bad nowi im wondering if it was my fault.

cincyr said:

My indoor cat shredder 18yrs old has always been healthy. A few months ago started not eating much dry food. I swithed to meow mix seafood sensation and loved so much friskies salmon wet canned and tuna and egg. She died yesterday and now after reading all these posts about seafood being bad nowi im wondering if it was my fault.

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At 18?

I seriously doubt it was your fault.

Long life as a loved pet.

My oldest is 17, and when she goes off her food I feed her anything she wants to get her eating again, as most people would.

No, I really don't think it was your fault.

I am sorry you lost your friend.

cincyr said:

She died yesterday and now after reading all these posts about seafood being bad nowi im wondering if it was my fault.

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18 years old for a cat is about 90 years old for a human.  Seafood is thought to contribute to UTIs, but from the sound of it your kitty may have simply died from completely natural causes.  If my kitties both live to be 18 years old, I will be very happy and consider it a job well done on my part as few cats live much longer than that (average for indoor cats is 12-18yrs, although there are freak cases of cats living almost thirty just as there are people that live over 110 years).   Sorry for your loss.  

Thanks for the replies.

He seems to be fine on wet only, but he just seems so HUNGRY.  Right now I normally give him a whole can in the morning, and then a 1/2 can at night, sometimes a whole one if he's driving me batty.

His gums seem okay and I don't see any obvious tooth problems when I look at his mouth, like a sore or abcess or infection.  Granted, I'm not a vet.  I think I'm going to try to integrate a different brand of dry food back into his diet, and only in the evening with his 1/2 can of wet.  Probably only 1/4 cup or so.

He loved PurinaOne kitten, so I may try the adult variety.

My worst fear is realized - we had a round of stinky diarrhea a few minutes ago; no shape, pure goo, and a real dark brown color, almost blackish.  Ugh.

His wet food is currently the Friskies variety but in chicken and beefy bits in gravy - it was a 24 pack that I bought, so none of the regular pate style.

If he is eating 1 1/2 - 2 cans a day and is not either A: gaining weight or B: a large cat, then I would be worried. Especially now that he's had black diarrhea, get him in to a vet as soon as possible.

As far as addressing the original problem, adding dry won't help his teeth or his hunger problems. The only thing it might do is make him gain weight. There really is no need whatsoever to add dry unless saving money is a concern.

All of the different flavors have varying qualities of ingredients, so I can't give too much of an opinion without knowing the flavor. In general however, Friskies is a high protein food but the quality of the meat is low.

AllenBoy said:

Thanks for the replies.

He seems to be fine on wet only, but he just seems so HUNGRY.  Right now I normally give him a whole can in the morning, and then a 1/2 can at night, sometimes a whole one if he's driving me batty.

His gums seem okay and I don't see any obvious tooth problems when I look at his mouth, like a sore or abcess or infection.  Granted, I'm not a vet.  I think I'm going to try to integrate a different brand of dry food back into his diet, and only in the evening with his 1/2 can of wet.  Probably only 1/4 cup or so.

He loved PurinaOne kitten, so I may try the adult variety.

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Hmmm... Could be flavor burn out but the vomiting is an issue.  I would keep him on as much wet as I could.  Seafood has been know to be an issue with cat's and UTI's but like Ducman indicated the cat's age tells me this is probably not a major factor.  Keep us posted on how the dry integration goes.  I for one would be interested in knowing how it turns out. Good luck!!!

I thought that Smokie should get some canned food to go with the dry but--- several kinds later she still will only eat her dry food - won't tough any kind of people food - didn't want her to anyway but when she came around when I was eating I tried her on a few things - she won't touch meat, seafood, anything except a few licks of buttermilk, yogurt, scrambled eggs, and ice cream - and I mean a few licks, as in maybe 2 or 3.  She eats her main dry with 1st. ingredient beef - self feeding eating when she wants to - and has treats when she bugs us for them which is two different brands of dry cat food with the 1st. ingredient chicken and seafood.  She's a big cat -12 #'s - very healthy and VERY active.  Her vet says she couldn't be in better health so I don't worry.  Might not work for every cat, but works for her!

Thank you all so much for you replies. she lived a very long and good life. She is the first pet i have ever lost. 18 long years. I now have a kitten named sassafrass sassy for short.

I hope Allen got better.