Well, we've been feeding all of our four cats wet food for a couple of weeks now, after giving them dry food all their lives (from 4 to 16 years). I've noticed two dramatic changes over this experimental period...
Change 1 - Jasmine (our 6YO girl, who had bladder stones last summer)
I keep a small fountain in my computer room, to make waterfall sounds. Jasmine has always *loved* to drink from this fountain; we had a morning ritual, as soon as I finished all my morning actions (get coffee, feed cats, etc), I go sit at my computer, and Jasmine immediately jumps up on the desk, rubs her face on the fountain and meows until I turn it on!! Once it starts flowing, she drinks enthusiastically from it for about five minutes.
However, this ritual has completely ceased since she started on soft food; she's no longer interested in the fountain anymore... obviously, she's getting the water she needs somewhere else now!
Change 2 - Rocket (our 16YO elderly babe, who almost passed away recently)
For all of Rocket's life, he's had this habit of licking and chewing on his sides, scraping away all the fur, and sometimes leaving sores. We've taken him to the vet several times over this; he had prescribed a medication (Megastrol, nee Megace) to calm his nerves; it would help to some extent, but I wasn't that regular with it (partially because he was an outdoor cat), and after awhile we would see bare places again.
Since we put him on soft food (and started giving him lactated Ringer's subcutaneously every other day), this licking appears to have completely stopped! Now I'm suspecting that the licking was because of itching, which can be caused by dehydration... it will be interesting to see what happens once we stop the Ringer's... I'm hoping the soft food will be sufficient.
Now, if only he'd put on some weight, he's still awfully thin...
Anyway, between the two, it's clear that all the arguments here and on catinfo.org were accurate; I just wish I'd started listening years sooner.
Change 1 - Jasmine (our 6YO girl, who had bladder stones last summer)
I keep a small fountain in my computer room, to make waterfall sounds. Jasmine has always *loved* to drink from this fountain; we had a morning ritual, as soon as I finished all my morning actions (get coffee, feed cats, etc), I go sit at my computer, and Jasmine immediately jumps up on the desk, rubs her face on the fountain and meows until I turn it on!! Once it starts flowing, she drinks enthusiastically from it for about five minutes.
However, this ritual has completely ceased since she started on soft food; she's no longer interested in the fountain anymore... obviously, she's getting the water she needs somewhere else now!
Change 2 - Rocket (our 16YO elderly babe, who almost passed away recently)
For all of Rocket's life, he's had this habit of licking and chewing on his sides, scraping away all the fur, and sometimes leaving sores. We've taken him to the vet several times over this; he had prescribed a medication (Megastrol, nee Megace) to calm his nerves; it would help to some extent, but I wasn't that regular with it (partially because he was an outdoor cat), and after awhile we would see bare places again.
Since we put him on soft food (and started giving him lactated Ringer's subcutaneously every other day), this licking appears to have completely stopped! Now I'm suspecting that the licking was because of itching, which can be caused by dehydration... it will be interesting to see what happens once we stop the Ringer's... I'm hoping the soft food will be sufficient.
Now, if only he'd put on some weight, he's still awfully thin...
Anyway, between the two, it's clear that all the arguments here and on catinfo.org were accurate; I just wish I'd started listening years sooner.
