am i crazy to add dry food to cat's diet?

Our cats used to have dry (limited ingredients) available to them 24/7 but their main source is wet food. During a trial of elimination diet to see what may be causing hot spots in one of our cats, we only served them the wet... and stuck with wet food only for the past several months. My kitty that just passed, would wake me for a wet food feeding in the middle of the night (yeah, that'd be a whole nuther post, ha) but it got our SURVIVING kitty used to getting up in the night as well, although she never "initiates" it. I was wondering if I should put dry food out before I go to bed, just so the surviving kitty has a "go to bowl" during the night, as of course she gets up and howls since she's in the habit of eating in the middle of the night, but I am stopping that.

MnM said:

Our cats used to have dry (limited ingredients) available to them 24/7 but their main source is wet food. During a trial of elimination diet to see what may be causing hot spots in one of our cats, we only served them the wet... and stuck with wet food only for the past several months. My kitty that just passed, would wake me for a wet food feeding in the middle of the night (yeah, that'd be a whole nuther post, ha) but it got our SURVIVING kitty used to getting up in the night as well, although she never "initiates" it. I was wondering if I should put dry food out before I go to bed, just so the surviving kitty has a "go to bowl" during the night, as of course she gets up and howls since she's in the habit of eating in the middle of the night, but I am stopping that.

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I like to feed my cats  as much wet as they will eat but they do also get a little dry kibble . I see nothing wrong with that .

 If your cat likes a little kibble and has no issues with it then do it .

I agree, a little kibble over night should not do harm, and if you get a good night's sleep as a result and feel healthier and more relaxed then the benefits will off set the kibble crunching a bit. 

While we've never had a problem with this particular cat waking us at night, I always give our younger cat - a kibble addict - a Kong with about 0.5oz of kibble in it so she gets about 50 of her 160 calories in dry food in the evening for her to bat around and get in small increments that require a bit of work on her part. It can take as little as 20 minutes, or as long as the entire night for her to get it all out and it keeps her busy.

Our older cat will howl and paw at and lick us during the night if we haven't left enough food out for him, but he receives a bowl of wet food that he eats throughout the night.

aha! So I'm not the only one that has been a servant all these years lol

MnM said:

aha! So I'm not the only one that has been a servant all these years lol

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Certainly not - going my my user name.     

haha, omg didn't see that!

A lot of cat lovers claim that kibble is 100% evil, but as long as it is not the sole basis of your cat(s) diet and the cat has no problems with it, things should be fine. I personally feed my cat one 3oz. can of wet a day and 1/4th a cup of dry food and no more than that.

Thehistorian said:

A lot of cat lovers claim that kibble is 100% evil, but as long as it is not the sole basis of your cat(s) diet and the cat has no problems with it, things should be fine. I personally feed my cat one 3oz. can of wet a day and 1/4th a cup of dry food and no more than that.

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Your cat doesn't bother you for more food? 

Mine eats 5.5 oz of wet a day and often even more than that.    But he's still under 1 yr old so I feed him all he wants but I'm curious how is appetite is going to be as he gets older. 

well, both cats would get 6oz of wet a day, (fed over 4 feedings) however, Mikki would sit and wait til Min was finished with her dish...as Min sometimes left a little bit...and then Mik would eat it. Now that Min is gone, Mik gets the strict 6 oz a day...so she "probably" has the appetite for a little bit more. We feed her half a can morning and afternoon, then a whole can at 10pm to last thru the night.

Lokhismom said:

 
Your cat doesn't bother you for more food? 

Mine eats 5.5 oz of wet a day and often even more than that.    But he's still under 1 yr old so I feed him all he wants but I'm curious how is appetite is going to be as he gets older. 

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Nope. For a big cat she has a pretty regular appetite. She is five years old and will be six next year. I cannot really tell you how your cat's appetite will be when he is older because cats like humans are all different. I know the amount I feed her sounds small, but trust me - I count the calories. She gets about 215 to 216 calories a day. The suggested calories for a normal sized cat is about 240. Enya is naturally a larger cat though, so I cut back her calories as much as I can without dropping below 200 calories - which would make me uncomfortable. The absolute minimum I would go is 200 to 205. For a fourteen to fifteen pound cat who needs to watch her weight that is about normal.

On the subject of bothering - not too much. She has gotten quite used to the schedule and amount I feed her. The quality - or rather meat content of her food is what helps. Her wet foods have little to no vegetables or carbohydrates. Only one in her current rotation has veggies - Natural Balance L.I.D. Venison and all it has is pea flour. The kibble I feed her is also decent quality - a lot of meat product (although there are potatoes and peas in it but that will be changing soon as I am switching her to Epigen 90) and I plan to switch her to an even better grain AND carbohydrate free kibble soon - so both kibbles are quite filling. Her wet food and dry food fill her little tummy pretty well.