Wet or Dry?

bluebo said:

No I wouldn't microwave a can! :lol3:
I'm trying to do what's best for my cat. I've never been a "cat person" but one day we went into the SPCA looking for a puppy and came back with a shaved (he was so matted) older (about 6-7 yrs old at the time) grumpy looking cat. He's the sweetest boy ever though.... doesn't act much like a cat though

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Aww.. That's very sweet of you. I wish more people would adopt cats that are a bit 'down trodden' so to speak. They are much more rewarding pets in the end. :-)

Yikes, I must be the worst cat pet ever!!!  I feed my cat 2 sachets of Felix, and half a bowl of dry food daily.  I have always fed cats this way, and I have to say, vets always say how well they look, glossy coats, bright eyes, clean teeth, muscle tone good.  

Denise Mackie said:

Yikes, I must be the worst cat pet ever!!!  I feed my cat 2 sachets of Felix, and half a bowl of dry food daily.  I have always fed cats this way, and I have to say, vets always say how well they look, glossy coats, bright eyes, clean teeth, muscle tone good.  :catguy:

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Feeding dry does Not make you the worst pet parent ever. However, if you think they look healthy now, switch them to an all wet diet and see what happens. :catguy:

Minka said:

Feeding dry does Not make you the worst pet parent ever. However, if you think they look healthy now, switch them to an all wet diet and see what happens. :catguy:

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:nod:

Denise Mackie said:

Yikes, I must be the worst cat pet ever!!!  I feed my cat 2 sachets of Felix, and half a bowl of dry food daily.  I have always fed cats this way, and I have to say, vets always say how well they look, glossy coats, bright eyes, clean teeth, muscle tone good.  

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Yeah, don't think you're a bad parent because you feed dry, because that's not true at all. The fact you're willing to look into and join a site like this shows the opposite. Good parents are always looking to improve things for their kids, and that's what you're doing.

I also agree that although your cat may seem to be in good health right now, you'd be amazed at what a better food could do for him/her. I hear it all the time at my store, and owners are always surprised to find out that while they thought they're pet was in good health before, they are even better after making the change.

Hmmmm, I kinda have mixed views on this, as, in my experience, any cat I have put on a moist food only diet started having tummy problems.  I think the dry food is good for their teeth, and of course it can sit all day while I am at work and not do the purdy any harm if she eats it.  I love my baby, she is sooooo loving, and is coming round to my 'clock', she didn't wake me until 9 a.m yesterday and today!  Hurrah!   I think for everyone, getting back to the feeding subject, I guess a lot of it comes down to what you can afford, and I buy the best I can afford for my baby.  Just like I did for my daughter when I was bringing her up alone, and she survived.  Lady is just now having a nap after munching her way through a rather large handful of Dreamies!  She only gets them in the evening now if she has eaten all her proper food, like kids with sweets.  I really am quite potty about this cat.  If only her brother would come back/be found!  That would make my home complete.  

Oh, and she has had some fresh chicken today too.  she looooooved that, she practically drove me mad while she was waiting for it to cool!!!!  I've never seen a cat go so potty for a bit of steamed chicken before!  She also likes corned beef and tinned tuna................ obv!

Your cats getting tummy problems from wet could be caused by a couple reasons. if you don't scrutinize the label, it could contain animal digest, Propylene Glycol, dyes and who knows what other things that could upset kitties tummy. Also, if you switched her over too fast or if the percentage of ingredients were vastly different from her dry, that could also cause tummy upset.

If your cat loves fresh chicken, why don't you give that to her as a treat instead? It'll be healthier for her, but she won't know it. Kind of like if you could make broccolli taste like candy to children.

Dry food isn't good for a cat's teeth. Not at all. Dry food, if the cat crunches it at all, makes crumbs, and the crumbs stick to the teeth and between the teeth and get under the gum line, where they breed bacteria, which turns into plaque and then tartar. Dry food does not clean teeth.

I agree with a slow transition so the cat's body gets used to the better diet, you can give a daily probiotic to help the digestive system adjust, also.

fun you should mention bout dry food causing plaque.....my boy's got some bad plaque, and i'm pretty sure it's from the way his dry sticks to his teeth. he has a sensitive tummy so i put him on Wholesome blend easy to digest...but it seems to stick in his mouth sIim considering either a switch to all wet(he's about 60/40 right now...or a different grain free. He doesn't go long between meals though so I like having the dry on hand the leave a little out in his bowl

Hmmm, well I just think that dry food is good in that, i'm out at work all day, if Lady isn't keen on the flavour of moist food that i put down for her, she will nibble on the dry til i come home and give her a fresh sachet, plus, i don't want her eating stale moist food, dodgy!  So I will stick to 2 sachets of moist food per day and a half bowl of dry always on hand so she can nibble if she needs to.  I tend to agree with some of what is said about potential for plaque though and have often wondered about that, but, touch wood, so far never had a cat with that problem so maybe I am getting the proportion right, 2/3 moist, 1/6 dry and the rest raw!  maybe?

I like having matt on part dry too.......it's less stressful for him to be able to nibble a little between meals, rather than having to go hungry. I'm waiting on a sample from a different company who offer a grain free food, since Matt has a sensitive tummy..if he tolerates it I may switch him, and let him still have his nibble between meals. This food hes on is somewhat greasy though, and i think that's why he's getting it stuck to his teeth. i also noticed Matt will shun the wet in favor of dry if I put down a flavor he doesn't like..it's a  good way to find out what he likes

Denise and Matt, if you would like a solution to giving your cats wet while you are gone, you can put down two meals before you leave for work. One room temperature and the other frozen for your cat to eat later when it defrosts.

Denise, regardless of what you decide to feed, I'd be careful about leaving an unknown amount of dry out for your kitty; that's how you end up with a mysteriously fat cat. :nod:
Measure out say half a cup of dry for her to eat while you are gone and then adjust depending on how her weight changes over the months.

Good advice except I think half a cup is way too much. When Mazy cat was on the c/d kibble, she ate half a cup a day. Total amount of food 1/2 cup of kibble. If a cat is eating canned food too, no more than 1/4 cup dry, if that, should be left out. Probably less, depending on how much canned kitty is getting.

Good advice on leaving a frozen meal though. If I had only one cat, I would probably do that. With three, all eating something different, they go 8 hours between meals. even if I am home, they go 7-8 hours between meals. They are fed 3 times a day and the longest fast is from last meal of the day to first morning meal- that is usually 9 hours.

otto said:

Good advice except I think half a cup is way too much. When Mazy cat was on the c/d kibble, she ate half a cup a day. Total amount of food 1/2 cup of kibble. If a cat is eating canned food too, no more than 1/4 cup dry, if that, should be left out. Probably less, depending on how much canned kitty is getting.
Good advice on leaving a frozen meal though. If I had only one cat, I would probably do that. With three, all eating something different, they go 8 hours between meals. even if I am home, they go 7-8 hours between meals. They are fed 3 times a day and the longest fast is from last meal of the day to first morning meal- that is usually 9 hours.

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Same here! Their PM meal to AM meal is the longest, but they're both sleeping anyway.

I also agree to put 1/4 cup dry at a time. I went down to 1/4 cup in AM and PM when they were on kibble and they were at a good weight, but once wet was incorporated, their kibbles got cut drastically. Ended up being more of a snack with their wet.

bluebo said:

No I wouldn't microwave a can!

I'm trying to do what's best for my cat. I've never been a "cat person" but one day we went into the SPCA looking for a puppy and came back with a shaved (he was so matted) older (about 6-7 yrs old at the time) grumpy looking cat. He's the sweetest boy ever though.... doesn't act much like a cat though

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The only cat I had as a child was an abandoned white kitten left in our yard.  My mother brought it in and they immediately bonded.  My mother's Schnauzer raised the kitten LOL At the time we had 2 other dogs besides the Schnauzer.  A Doberman named Sadie and my spaniel named Peanuts.  Neither of them would have anything to do with the kitten but *would* gently play with it under my mother's stern supervision.  To make it short,  the kitten did not know she was feline.  She thought she was canine!    She acted like a dog her entire life.  She lived until the age of 16 when she had a sudden stroke.  RIP Kitty!  You are loved and remembered 

Denise Mackie said:

Hmmm, well I just think that dry food is good in that, i'm out at work all day, if Lady isn't keen on the flavour of moist food that i put down for her, she will nibble on the dry til i come home and give her a fresh sachet, plus, i don't want her eating stale moist food, dodgy!  So I will stick to 2 sachets of moist food per day and a half bowl of dry always on hand so she can nibble if she needs to.  I tend to agree with some of what is said about potential for plaque though and have often wondered about that, but, touch wood, so far never had a cat with that problem so maybe I am getting the proportion right, 2/3 moist, 1/6 dry and the rest raw!  maybe?

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Your diet sounds good to me.  Mine are on a 10% dry to 90% wet ratio.  The dry is spaced 3 times throughout the day in between the major wet meals.  I use an automatic timed feeder for the kibble.  I measure the exact daily amount and it is dispensed 3x daily.  This works really well for me.  I don't feed any raw although I've tried to tempt them with chicken wings.  They won't touch 'em.  I use feline Greenies and Greenies "Smart Bites" for dental control.  So far I've had no dental problems and the oldest is 15 now. 

Denise Mackie said:

Hmmm, well I just think that dry food is good in that, i'm out at work all day, if Lady isn't keen on the flavour of moist food that i put down for her, she will nibble on the dry til i come home and give her a fresh sachet, plus, i don't want her eating stale moist food, dodgy!  So I will stick to 2 sachets of moist food per day and a half bowl of dry always on hand so she can nibble if she needs to.  I tend to agree with some of what is said about potential for plaque though and have often wondered about that, but, touch wood, so far never had a cat with that problem so maybe I am getting the proportion right, 2/3 moist, 1/6 dry and the rest raw!  maybe?

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That proportion sounds about right to me. I understand why you leave out dry food, I used to do that with my kitties when I was not home during the day to feed them 3x. But you could try to get them on a schedule, that could help. To do this, slowly decrease the amount of dry food you leave out and then dwindle it down to none. By this time, kitties will get used to their scheduled feedings and get more hungry at mealtime, therefore more food will be eaten. This is what I did with my cats that are none on 100% raw. Cookie gets a bit of kibble as a snack some times (Nature's Variety or Wellness) but other than that, the kitties are not hungry except at feeding times! Good luck!

Ha Ha!  Get her on a schedule????  I can barely keep myself to a schedule, and Lady has her own ideas about food!!!!  I have been quite firm on the Dreamies issue though.  If she doesn't eat her proper food she doesn't get dreamies............ a bit like children and sweets!  lolol xx

Denise Mackie said:

Ha Ha!  Get her on a schedule????  I can barely keep myself to a schedule, and Lady has her own ideas about food!!!!  I have been quite firm on the Dreamies issue though.  If she doesn't eat her proper food she doesn't get dreamies............ a bit like children and sweets!  lolol xx

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As long as you've got semi-regular work hours, then its no big deal. Feed her when you wake up/leave for work, feed her when you get home and feed her before bed. Simple. :-)