How to convince my husband?

tx_kat

tx_kat

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How can I convince my husband that wet food is healthier for our cats, and will cost about the same as the dry we are feeding them?

My husband has started commenting on how overweight our one cat (Angel) is; and how the other two (Demon and Gidget) could stand to lose the little bellies they are starting to develop.  Demon and Gidget like to play and run around, but Angel doesn't like to play/exercise very often.  I would ask how to convince my husband that we should take Angel to the vet for testing, but the problem is that my husband doesn't believe in going to the doctor himself -- even when he injures his knee and can barely walk -- doesn't believe in taking any kind of medications, doesn't care about he eats, and doesn't like to workout. 

Are there any "reputable" websites I can direct him to that might help convince him? 

Thanks!
 
ldg

ldg

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This ought to do it! http://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedaily...Vet-how-water-helps-cats-lose-weight-for-good

Estimates of obesity in cats are as high as 50 percent of all cats. An often cited reason for this health problem is the increasing caloric density of food. Cat foods, especially the dry types, have become more and more calorie dense, often exceeding 375-400 calories per cup. The average cat only needs about 200-250 calories per day!

As most cats are fed "free-choice," it is no wonder there are so many fat cats. Recent studies in cats have shown that increasing the water content of food, wet and dry, has shown to be effective in weight loss and weight maintenance post dieting.


Weight Loss

In a 2011 University of California, Davis study, researchers alternately fed cats a canned diet with water added and a freeze dried version of the same canned diet with a low volume of water. Other than the moisture content the diets were nutritionally identical. The cats were fed free choice. Although cats ate significantly more of the high water diet, they consumed 86 fewer total calories per day than when fed the low water content diet. This means the cats voluntarily ate only 75 percent of their daily caloric needs. It is no surprise that the cats lost weight when eating the high water diet.
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As to cost, this article and the tables with it can help you make wet food choices. The cheapest is home made raw food, which is species-appropriate for cats, as they have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates as obligate carnivores. It's not as simple as just giving them meat, but it's not hard. :) http://catcentric.org/nutrition-and...y-cat-or-i-can-afford-to-feed-commercial-raw/ Links to the tables are at the end of the article.
 
melesine

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I don't get it. Just take them to the vet if you think they need to be checked out. Why would you need his permission?
 
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tx_kat

tx_kat

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Melesine said:
I don't get it. Just take them to the vet if you think they need to be checked out. Why would you need his permission?
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First, I don't need his permission, just his agreement. Second, vet bills and testing can end up being rather expensive, and we have a rule in our marriage that we don't spend over a certain amount of money without the other knowing about it (something about not bouncing checks), so he would need to know/agree with anything above the routine/annual visit.  Not to mention the fact that my former employer decided not to pay me for a month and money is a little tight right now, and the five feral kittens that we found are getting spayed/neutered and vaccinated tomorrow.  Not only that, but Angel still has trust issues and doesn't let me pick her up (so he would have to do it).
 
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catsallaround

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First find out your vet WOULD advise all wet/majority wet-I have run into quite a few who go on about the teeth issues and ONE who went on about the sealers in the can being bad and to avoid at all costs(...)

If you really want to go all wet skip the testing(he may say why mess with something that is "working") and just start on wet.  Don't have to be the most expensive.  To be honest I have alot of cats eating Friskies and all are healthy.
 
minka

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If the only problem is money, and you know of wet food that will cost the same, just go out and buy it. Say that you want the cats to have a healthy life, one free from trips to the vet, so you bought a better food. End of story. *shrug*


Oh, and taking her to the vet (if the only problem is weight gain from dry food) won't do too much good either, because most vets will just recommend expensive dry food as the solution.
 
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