I probably spend most of my income on my cats, trying to give them the best quality ingredients and trying to avoid a gazillion things that they are not supposed to have. Even on expensive food, I have always managed to have at least one sickly cat. I currently have an IBD kitty. Some people, like my brother for example, can give their cats any crap and have perfectly healthy cats. His cat can literally eat a whole bag of Temptations treats in a day (horrible ingredients) and suffer no ill effects. He also feeds her Cat Chow, I think. I'm curious--does anyone feed their cat the cheap stuff, like Meow Mix, Nine Lives, etc., and have no problems?
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Surviving on cheap junk food?
- Thread starter tabbysia
- Start Date
My boyfriend fed his cat Friskies and Whiskas dry food for a good 10 years before we moved in together and he's always been an active, happy cat (though in that time, he had only seen a vet for an emergency for an abscess - a general health assessment and bloodwork were overlooked at that time, and he had not seen a vet until I moved in). He appeared healthy in all respects with the exception of the nerve damage from the abscess, and even the bloodwork we got done this April didn't reveal terrible results: small kidneys due to an all dry diet, protein in urine, low protein in blood, slightly anemic, skinny.
It depends how deep you're willing to dig into your cat's health. Has your brother's cat been to the vet for a check up or blood work recently? It's not always the sickly (or obese) puking machines dropping balls of fur left and right, with leaky or drooly faces that are the cats that won't survive on that kind of lifestyle. A cat can appear outwardly perfect, but internally they are only surviving. This may be a sweeping generalization and I may be shoving my foot pretty far down my throat, but I think generally people who won't invest the money into higher end foods (even mid-grade) are the ones who won't invest the money to see a vet regularly (only when something goes horribly wrong) or to pursue specific testing.
I have a friend whose cats lived on Science Diet dry for a good decade. They had never been to the vet other than to be declawed and spayed, so bloodwork from spaying (if they did initial bloodwork) to death is a complete mystery. One lived until she was around 10, when she suddenly grew very skinny and went deaf, and then it was a rapid downhill spiral. Another, around 10 as well, seemed perfectly fine until one day she didn't get up as much anymore and suddenly got very skinny as well and went downhill quickly. Neither went to the vet to try and find the issue, just to be put down.
The last is the one that showed she wasn't doing well with her health right from the get-go, and yet they did nothing about it. She developed a greasy coat early in "adulthood" and became so obese that she couldn't groom herself anyway, so she instead groomed obsessively in one spot until it was bald. Her stools are messy and stick to her fur. She's only about 8 years old now, but the damage is very obviously done.
Just because it "works" and cats are seemingly healthy and haven't dropped dead from a junky diet (ie. surviving), it doesn't mean they're thriving - which is what a lot of us on TCS strive for.
It depends how deep you're willing to dig into your cat's health. Has your brother's cat been to the vet for a check up or blood work recently? It's not always the sickly (or obese) puking machines dropping balls of fur left and right, with leaky or drooly faces that are the cats that won't survive on that kind of lifestyle. A cat can appear outwardly perfect, but internally they are only surviving. This may be a sweeping generalization and I may be shoving my foot pretty far down my throat, but I think generally people who won't invest the money into higher end foods (even mid-grade) are the ones who won't invest the money to see a vet regularly (only when something goes horribly wrong) or to pursue specific testing.
I have a friend whose cats lived on Science Diet dry for a good decade. They had never been to the vet other than to be declawed and spayed, so bloodwork from spaying (if they did initial bloodwork) to death is a complete mystery. One lived until she was around 10, when she suddenly grew very skinny and went deaf, and then it was a rapid downhill spiral. Another, around 10 as well, seemed perfectly fine until one day she didn't get up as much anymore and suddenly got very skinny as well and went downhill quickly. Neither went to the vet to try and find the issue, just to be put down.
The last is the one that showed she wasn't doing well with her health right from the get-go, and yet they did nothing about it. She developed a greasy coat early in "adulthood" and became so obese that she couldn't groom herself anyway, so she instead groomed obsessively in one spot until it was bald. Her stools are messy and stick to her fur. She's only about 8 years old now, but the damage is very obviously done.
Just because it "works" and cats are seemingly healthy and haven't dropped dead from a junky diet (ie. surviving), it doesn't mean they're thriving - which is what a lot of us on TCS strive for.
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Yep, my parents feed their 3 cats friskies canned & dry food for years & no problems. Chase never had any problems ever. She's about 16 now and still going. Shizu lived to about 13 and never went to the vet other than her initial shots & when we had to put her down in Jan due to rapid progression of cancer. I loved her so much. Sunshine is the only one who had problems with cystitis & is now on Hill's c/d. She's been fine since.
I have 3 cats, the children of Sunshine & they're more sensitive. So I try to give them better quality food when I can. It really seems like each cat is very different.
I have 3 cats, the children of Sunshine & they're more sensitive. So I try to give them better quality food when I can. It really seems like each cat is very different.
Everyone has anecdotal stories all over the place about a cat they know who did this or that. I've seen some cats live years on cheap food and others who were sickly/puking everywhere on higher priced can food. One cat expert says canned food only, another expert says they need a little dry for their anal glands. One expert says they benefit from a little carb energy, others say they don't. Cat parents are browbeaten that they must invest unlimited time and effort, turn meal time into a combat zone, deal with an angry self-starving cat for weeks at a time, until you break their will and force expensive food into them. All the while they're probably not cooking gourmet meals for their own human children.
I'm all about taking proper care of a cat, but if a parent is doing a decent job of caring for their cat, I see no benefit in jumping on them that it's not good enough. With so many cats being put down in shelters every day, IMO we ought not invalidate a loving home that offers affordable food.
I'm all about taking proper care of a cat, but if a parent is doing a decent job of caring for their cat, I see no benefit in jumping on them that it's not good enough. With so many cats being put down in shelters every day, IMO we ought not invalidate a loving home that offers affordable food.
I don't think anyone invalidated someone's ability to care for a pet, but just as we've all seen healthier children when fed a good diet vs unhealthy children living on McDonald's, the same holds true for cats. As Tabbysia is asking about, we've seen cats that get sick despite being fed whole foods and cats that live to 20 years fed pure garbage.
Yes Tabbysia, I've had cats live a long time when I lived with my parents on cheap dry kibble. Looking back though, they sometimes had the greasy coats, lackluster coats, vomited a lot, etc. But in years, they lived a long time. I've also lost some early to things like cancer. We do the best that we can, and of course if a cat won't eat it, then we've got to find something they'll eat.
Yes Tabbysia, I've had cats live a long time when I lived with my parents on cheap dry kibble. Looking back though, they sometimes had the greasy coats, lackluster coats, vomited a lot, etc. But in years, they lived a long time. I've also lost some early to things like cancer. We do the best that we can, and of course if a cat won't eat it, then we've got to find something they'll eat.
That was great! You should be a public speaker!
My childhood kitties and dogs for that matter lived long healthy lives. I grew up on a farm and were fed cheap kibble and table scaps. All animals stayed outside, that was my parents rules so I am sure there was also plenty of mice eaten which is the best diet for kitties. I don't feed my kitties mice, I am a little too squeamish for that, but all complete foods are trying to replicate natural prey. A lot of it is genetics. Some kitties can live long healthy lives on cheap kibble but I am sure they would feel better and have more energy if they were fed a high quality diet.
10 is not old either 20 is old
My first cat Mo lived on Purina One(I didn't know better) and was healthy until he developed diabetes at 15. We changed his diet to a low carb canned and he lived about another year. After Mo, I decided that I would feed the best I could. Mine eat a variety of canned food. One of mine is a dry addict and she eats dry Young Again Zero Carb (and occasionally will lick the juice from canned food but that's about it).
2 years ago we took in my Sister in law's elderly (16 at the time) cat who had developed diabetes and wasn't being cared for properly. He had lived his life on a diet of Deli Cat. He was on insulin for about 6 months and then we were able to maintain a good blood glucose through food. He died a week ago at 18.
Not that I have tons of experience, but the two cats I've had who ate a substandard diet both became diabetic. As a result of the diet? Probably. My current cats are still young (age range from 2-6) so time will tell if their diet helps them live longer and healthier.
2 years ago we took in my Sister in law's elderly (16 at the time) cat who had developed diabetes and wasn't being cared for properly. He had lived his life on a diet of Deli Cat. He was on insulin for about 6 months and then we were able to maintain a good blood glucose through food. He died a week ago at 18.
Not that I have tons of experience, but the two cats I've had who ate a substandard diet both became diabetic. As a result of the diet? Probably. My current cats are still young (age range from 2-6) so time will tell if their diet helps them live longer and healthier.
Eventually, your brother's cats will have problems, probably kidney failure or hyperthyroidism, perhaps even diabetes from the sugars in the foods he feeds. IBD can be easily controlled with novel meat sources like venison, rabbit, bison or buffalo and fish. Stay away from chicken and grains and that should help. Raw food is the easiest way to keep your cats healthy, but not all cats will easily switch to raw food, so do what you can with lots of canned food.
Get the addict onto wet so you don't have another problem. I took dry away from both my addicts.
