Outdoor Males becoming Indoor Cats

Hello Everyone!

I have been on here before and received some amazing advice and am looking for more. My 2 indoor cats have now passed on [emoji]128532[/emoji] and I am now raising my moms two male cats (she moved in with me too). These male cats are father & son (Drake & Kayo) and have been outdoor cats with my mom since they were born; they are now 6 & 7 yrs old. She hated them being outdoor cats because we never knew when or if they were coming home. She moved in with me 2 months ago and we decided to keep the boys in for their safety. It hurts me to hear them cry, but they really are very happy inside.

My question is their type of food. My previous boys were on dry food and fed half a can of wet food each. They both maintained their weight with Domi going slightly overweight around the age of 15; slowing losing that weight before he passed away at the age of 17.5.

With Drake & Kayo becoming indoor cats who lived on Dry food in their dishes and whatever little rodents or birds they caught throughout the day, I believe they should be on a similar diet to my boys. (Wet & Dry). My mom disagrees and is afraid they will become overweight. I'm sure without the outdoor exercise, they will gain weight but I'm just not sure because their lifestyles have changed.

Please provide me with suggestions. I am looking at taking them to my vet in the next month or so, but they are in very good health right now.

Thanks so very much

Adrianna

This is Drake


This is Kayo

What does your mother think they should be eating?

If she thinks they should be on all dry food, try to convince her they should have at least some wet food. Most cats don't have a high thirst drive and may not drink enough to keep their urinary systems healthy (Especially important for males!), so wet food is a good way to get some moisture into them. Plus, kibble is more calorie-dense so cats who are free-fed all dry may tend to eat too many calories. And since they were accustomed to hunting, it's good to let them have something more meaty than just dry crunchy kibbles. You might cook up a little meat for them now and then, or let them have some raw meat if you're comfortable with that.

You can show her this site: www.catinfo.org

If they start to gain weight, measure their food out and feed it at set mealtimes. Some cats, if given free access to an all-they-can-eat kibble buffet, will eat too much and need it measured out.

Thank you Willowy!
Yes, she doesn't understand that they need the wet food in their diet for just the reason that you said. I also thought that the dry was higher in calories, but wanted to make sure. I have been giving them small teaspoon amounts of wet food in the morning only, but she seems to think it makes them sick; perhaps it's too rich for them or foreign right?

She knows that for the first 12 years of my other boys' lives I fed them only dry which I believed hurt their kidneys resulting in the kidney failure. [emoji]128542[/emoji] My vet recommended the dry only but the vets have since changed their minds on that. It only makes sense to feed them both wet and dry. I also recall my new vet telling me that to lose weight, her cat went on a wet food only diet and went right back to her normal size.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. [emoji]128570[/emoji]