Vet said the "cats need all canned food" is bologna....

chloe16

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I was talking to my vet today and just asked her opinion on cats and moisture. She told me as long as the cat is eating a good kibble (Science Diet according to her) and drinking water its fine. That feeding all canned food is horrible for their teeth etc. 

Is this true? Could someone explain why cats need more moisture in their diet compared to lets say a dog?
 

southpaw

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The issue is that cats have a low thirst drive. So it's not really that they need more water compared to other animals.... it's just that cats don't really drink. They are made to get their moisture from the food they are eating. Which is why canned foods are recommended because they will have (for example) 80% moisture while a dry kibble will only have like 12% moisture. Dogs know that they are thirsty, and they will go drink water. Cats... don't really do that.

I'm not against kibble for cats; my cat mainly eats kibble. But it is important for them to be getting moisture added to their diet if they don't drink a lot of water. As far as the teeth go, in my opinion that's kind of the bologna part.... eating something dry and crunchy is hardly going to be enough to keep teeth clean for any period of time.
 
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ldg

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The other problem with kibble is that so often - not always - it has a lot of carbs. But to hold it together as kibble, it requires some carbs or starches at a minimum. Cats have no nutritional requirement for either. And Science Diet does NOT have quality ingredients. ANY formula.
 

sevenwonders

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Years ago before I did any research on Cat Nutrition, I used to feed almost no wet food. I had one cat who died from Kidney problems and another from cancer, so I started researching. I won't go into a lot of details here, but suffice it to say that after we switched from Science Diet and Royal Canin to Blue Buffalo (Wilderness and Finicky Feast) our other kitties' skin, fur, breath, stools, and vomiting all improved dramatically. They seemed much healthier overall.

Later, I learned that more moisture in their diet not only improves their skin & fur, but it helps to prevent kidney problems (function, stones and crystals.) So, I started feeding them one meal of wet food each day (Blue Spa Select and Innova Cat & Kitten.) The improvement was dramatic once again.

Now we are taking the next step - I'm switching them to Grain Free. I just ordered Wellness cans (Turkey & Salmon, and Chicken) and Core dry. Also EVO Cat & Kitten. Additionally, I'll continue giving them a little Buffalo Wilderness to snack on occasionally.

Oh, Blue Buffalo has some very good basic info about Dry foods on their site, along with a comparison tool. The tool only compares against common brands rather than other high quality brands like Innova and Wellness, but it is still very informative.

Bottom line IMO, I would definitely not let them eat Science Diet,


and I'd give them at least one meal of wet food each day.

Your kitties will thank you!
 

Willowy

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Most vets (who aren't cat specialists) know very little about cats. Most of their education is focused on dogs.
 
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chloe16

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Right now mine only gets little kibble a day. He is mostly on a dehydrated raw food
 

goingpostal

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I'd have tuned that vet out as soon as they suggested SD was a good kibble. 
 
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chloe16

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I really never listen to the vets advice when it involved nutrition haha. I was just thrown away by this vets reply about cats not needing all that moisture
 

redvelvetone

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My old beloved cat, who died this past November of Cancer, used to eat mostly dry kibble. When I first had him, and for many years afterwards, I did not know about proper nutrition for cats. I thought if I bought a good kibble that would be fine. He had allergies, dandruff, constipation, and was overweight. After his second enema, I started researching some more and realized he needed to be on wet food. I switched over to a can of wet per day and this helped dramatically with his constipation. Unfortunately he got an aggressive cancer and died last year. I now have a 9 month old kitten and I have been doing lots of research on nutrition to avoid making the same mistakes I made with my previous cat due to ignorance. My current cat gets all wet food plus some raw and a very very small about of Blue Buffalo wilderness formula (dry, as a snack) each day. His coat is glossy and feels like silk. His bathroom habits are great. He's healthy looking and the perfect weight. Knock on wood, things seem to be working so far. I can only speak for myself, but I would never ever do an all kibble diet again. I feel really guilty about my last cat and wish I had known, or my vet had told me, some nutritional advice (he basically had me put him on diet kibble, and made no mention of wet).
 

resqchick

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Kairi gets free feed Blue Buffalo Kitten kibble. He eats alot of it, I guess. He also get one can of Merrick cat food a day (in the late morning). He eats mostly dry, but he also almost empties a full glass (6-8 oz)  of water every day. (He won't drink from a bowl, so he has his own glass next to the sink. No. He's not at all spoiled. )

Before I gave him the glass, he rarely drank.(He did play in it though) I don't know why, but with the glass he seems eager to drink, and he also tends to drink out of the kitchen sink if there's a puddle or pot filled with water. 

My vet (who is a cat specialist) told me his kibble was enough, since I was feeding I high end dry, but he likes the can, so he gets it. I wonder if many of the cats that don't drink enough, may just want a different thing to drink out of. It worked for me.
 

rad65

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(Science Diet according to her)

Most vets are sponsored by Hills, makers of Science Diet. They will always recommend you buy the food that they keep in stock themselves (at a much higher rate than normal, of course)

BTW, it's good to see you back on the site. How is Riot doing? How have you been since Chloe passed? I remember you were very broken up over her.
 
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feralvr

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Most vets are sponsored by Hills, makers of Science Diet. They will always recommend you buy the food that they keep in stock themselves (at a much higher rate than normal, of course)
YEP - and unfortunately, even well-meaning vets who know better have a conflict of interest in having to supply Hill's products. It is one way for vet clinic's to make more money in their practices. :(
 

catwoman707

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Very informative, eye opening link found through my rescue group site.

catalesrescue.org. Click the cat nutrition link in the center, then on the left it says visit this great site.

View the ratings, ingredients words and their real meaning, amazing and educational!
 

sevenwonders

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Very informative, eye opening link found through my rescue group site.

catalesrescue.org. Click the cat nutrition link in the center, then on the left it says visit this great site.

View the ratings, ingredients words and their real meaning, amazing and educational!
Thanks - I could not find the "Nutrition link" you mentioned, or the "Visit this Great Site" link,

but once I figured out the article you wanted us to see (I think anyway), it is a very good, detailed article that gets referenced occasionally on these forums.

Gotta be honest, if I didn't know better, I'd have thought that was a clever way to get people to search all through your site looking for the article.  


http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1
 

rad65

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This (http://www.petfoodratings.net/cats.html) is the page those links lead to. Rather than "nutrition", the link on the catalerescue page was under the Health Care dropdown, listed as "Cat Food." I have to agree this smells like a thinly veiled plot to get people to visit the rescue site. petfoodratings.net/cats.html seems like an easy enough link to post otherwise.
 
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