Mixing dry food with water?

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heidinyny

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Hi!

Since the Natura recall, I've had to introduce a new dry food to my cat.

She currently eats wet food as well, but I leave dry out for her to snack on.

She is finicky, and she seems to enjoy her new dry food a lot more if I add some water to it, making it 'soupy'.

Is this okay to do?? How long can I leave a bowl of 'moistened' dry food out for?

Can I leave it out overnight for her?

Thanks!!

Edit: I'm not sure how to delete this post, but I have just been doing some reading about this, and it seems like it is NOT okay to moisten dry food because of bacteria growth. So, I won't moisten the dry food again! 

Thanks anyway!!
 
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I float my cat's dry food. I don't usually leave it out overnight if he's acting like he's not gonna eat it. But I'll let it sit for a few hours, sure. After that it goes in the fridge. I don't worry about bacteria. Cats and dogs are pretty well adept at handling that. Lord only knows what sort of nasty junk he eats when he's out in the backyard lol. I think some moistened dry food is a heck of a lot safer than a bird or a mouse.

 
 
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smitten4kittens

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Southpaw said:
I float my cat's dry food. I don't usually leave it out overnight if he's acting like he's not gonna eat it. But I'll let it sit for a few hours, sure. After that it goes in the fridge. I don't worry about bacteria. Cats and dogs are pretty well adept at handling that. Lord only knows what sort of nasty junk he eats when he's out in the backyard lol. I think some moistened dry food is a heck of a lot safer than a bird or a mouse.

 
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 I have to disagree (politely
). Cats systems are designed specifically to eat birds and mice...not the kind of bacteria moistened kibble will grow, or kibble at all for that matter.
 
raintyger

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There is concern about the bacterial load if you wet dry food. I wouldn't do it.

Better yet, feed your cat wet food. There are numerous health issues linked to dry food (IBD, UTI/kidney disease) . Although dry is inexpensive, you end up paying more in the end because of medical bills. Plus you pay more in terms of the worry factor and the inconvenience.
 
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heidinyny

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Thank you everyone! 


Here's the thing..

Prior to the recall, she ate mostly kibble (a bowl of which I left out all the time for her to free feed), and I supplemented that with 2 cans of Wellness (am and pm), which she kind of 'picked at' and almost never finished.

Since the recall, it has reversed and my cat has now mostly been eating Wellness canned food, and barely any dry food.

I'm wondering if I should use this opportunity to just completely cut out dry food??

Since she has now been eating mainly canned food, some strange things have happened . . . 

1. Her stomach used to gurgle occasionally... it does not gurgle at all when she eats mostly canned food.

2. No more vomiting (she would vomit occasionally when she ate mostly dry, but since she has been eating mostly canned, she doesn't vomit at all.)

3. She barely drinks water anymore (I think because she is getting most of her moisture now from the canned food.)

4. No constipation issues.. Her stools have been great and regular lol.

My questions are..

 - Is it okay just to feed Wellness canned food and no dry food whatsoever??

- She is a small cat and she is older (at least 12.. she's been my companion for 12 years but she was an adult when I adopted her, so I really have no idea exactly how old she is.) I don't want her to lose anymore weight because she is already small. Would feeding just the Wellness canned food be ok??

Would you recommend completely cutting out the dry food?

Is just feeding Wellness canned food okay to do with no dry whatsoever??

Thanks so much!! 
 
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mani

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I'm not a nutrition expert at all, but cutting out dry food is an excellent idea if you can do it.

I don't know the ingredients in Wellness, but a bit of variation/additional food would be good.  I'm hoping our very nutrition savvy people will come along and help you with that. 

For what it's worth, my cats' diet include some chicken necks (very cheap.. great for cleaning teeth), uncooked, of course!
 
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heidinyny

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Thank you!! 
 Chicken necks.. wow, that interesting! I am going to look into that, thanks!

Yes, I agree that variation/additional food would be good. She is so used to the Wellness cans (been feeding that to her for years and years).. I've tried other brands of wet food in the past, but would always come back to the Wellness.

In fact, because she has recently been eating mainly wet, and because I don't want her to lose weight, I've added the Wellness 'Kitten' canned food into the rotation of flavors.. I guess because my thinking is that the Kitten wet food has a higher fat content than the other flavors. 
 
raintyger

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I'd jump at the opportunity to get her off dry food completely. All four "strange things" that you listed are improvements and have to do with the wet food. The previous stomach gurgling and vomitting--Your kitty probably has some allergic reaction to the corn/soy/wheat in dry food. You're right, the moisture in the canned food is providing for her hydration needs, she shouldn't drink from the bowl much (in fact, drinking a lot from the bowl when on wet food might be a health problem symptom). Constipation - the bowel is now receiving adequate water in order to soften up the stool, making it easier to pass.

Your kitty should do fine on Wellness canned without dry. Wellness is a good brand, just pick from the grain-free ones. Some variety is good, so ideally you want to rotate amongst brands and flavors. This deters pickiness. But for now your priority should be to at least move her to 100% canned, even if it is all Wellness
 
smitten4kittens

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heidinyny said:
Thank you everyone! 


Here's the thing..

Prior to the recall, she ate mostly kibble (a bowl of which I left out all the time for her to free feed), and I supplemented that with 2 cans of Wellness (am and pm), which she kind of 'picked at' and almost never finished.

Since the recall, it has reversed and my cat has now mostly been eating Wellness canned food, and barely any dry food.

I'm wondering if I should use this opportunity to just completely cut out dry food??

Since she has now been eating mainly canned food, some strange things have happened . . . 

1. Her stomach used to gurgle occasionally... it does not gurgle at all when she eats mostly canned food.

2. No more vomiting (she would vomit occasionally when she ate mostly dry, but since she has been eating mostly canned, she doesn't vomit at all.)

3. She barely drinks water anymore (I think because she is getting most of her moisture now from the canned food.)

4. No constipation issues.. Her stools have been great and regular lol.

My questions are..

 - Is it okay just to feed Wellness canned food and no dry food whatsoever??

- She is a small cat and she is older (at least 12.. she's been my companion for 12 years but she was an adult when I adopted her, so I really have no idea exactly how old she is.) I don't want her to lose anymore weight because she is already small. Would feeding just the Wellness canned food be ok??

Would you recommend completely cutting out the dry food?

Is just feeding Wellness canned food okay to do with no dry whatsoever??

Thanks so much!! 
Click to expand...
It's a great idea to switch her to all canned!! It's not only OKAY to feed all canned and no kibble, it's much healthier. Kibble is full of carbs that cats don't need. Kind of like feeding a meat eater cereal. Wet food is high protein/low carb, much closer to a cat's natural diet.

If you are looking for higher calorie foods there is a food chart by a vet that lists the fat, protein, calories and carbs of lots of popular brands. It's the Dr. Lisa Pierson food chart 2012. She has lots of good cat nutrition info at www.catinfo.org. Blue Buffalo Wilderness canned food is higher in calories than average.

If she is a little thin you can adjust the amount of canned to keep her at the weight she should be.
 
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peaches08

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Friskies pate canned and Fancy Feast classics are also good choices for canned foods.
 
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heidinyny

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Fantastic. I can't thank you all enough for the encouragement, advice and suggestions.

Yes, with the exception of the 'Chicken & Lobster' formula, the Wellness canned flavors I feed her are all 'grain free'.

I agree.. a rotation of brands would be great to deter pickiness... she is not as picky with wet food as she was with the dry food.

That website link is terrific (I have to spend more time reading through it), and I also really appreciate the suggestions of the Innova adult/kitten formula, Blue Wilderness and the Friskies pate canned and Fancy Feast classics. 

Thank you so much!! I am going to attempt feeding all canned food and see how it goes. 
 
 
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