Designing a wet-dry mixed diet for transition

xisare · May 3, 2015

Hullo again,

Yes yes, i know... lots of thread from this newbie

But here's my next question.

When we adopted Akodo he was eating Science's at the shelter. I really don't trust that brand so we switched to Blue Buffalo Wilderness and at the beggining is that fine, but the last weeks he would not eat as much as before. For a long time I've been thinkng on moving to wet food so finally last week we decided to try a mixed diet for a month. We bought a some Friskies classic pate thanks to the recommendations of this site and a small bag of BB Wildernes.

Now the question is that we're not really sure how much of each to feed him. For now we've fed him 1.5 oz of wet food 2 times a day + 1/3 cup of dry food to snack on. That's actually half serving of each (he was eating 2/3 cup of dry daily, put each morning) He's not a gobbler and the dry food lasts all day. But is this correct?

Also, I know that Friskies is not the best brand, but our budget is quite tight (still have relocation expenses) and each 6 oz can of friskies is half a buck. Is ther eany other food that could be better at more or less that range? We were very careful with the ingredientes and bought only the flavors that have no corn/wheat/soy in any form, and the protein content seemed pretty good.

raintyger · May 3, 2015

I would find out how many calories you were previously feeding him and start off with roughly the same. There are less carbs in wet food, so you could go a little higher, especially if Akodo's a kitten. Also, a feeding schedule or 3x daily is better. Many go with morning, evening, and before going to bed if you are not at home during the day.

Fancy Feast (pate style) and Sheba are two brands which are inexpensive and not bad. If you belong to Sam's Club or Costco they carry bulk packs. The last time I looked, though, the bulk packs had a substantial ratio of fish flavors. Other options include mail order (after you establish Akodo will accept a particular brand long term) from someplace like Amazon or Chewy's.

If you have the time and inclination to learn, feeding raw is the biggest bang for the buck. There is a special subforum on the TCS for this.

Columbine · May 3, 2015

The friskies classic range is (I've heard..wrong country myself) pretty good so far as lower priced wet food goes. Basically, so long as meat is the first ingredient and it's grain free (or very low grain) and low - no carbs then you're ok. It's just a case of sorting out what your priorities and deal breakers are, then learning to read labels carefully.

Half wet and half dry (by energy) is a fairly typical mixed diet. It sounds like that's exactly what you're doing

Imo, continuing to reduce the dry and increase the wet (ending up on 100% wet) would be ideal, but I appreciate that that isn't always feasible. So long as you are feeding dry, it would be a good idea to add water to his wet food to boost hydration. The biggest problem with dry food is its lack of water. Cats evolved to get roughly 80% of their water intake from their food. When you feed dry, their thirst drive just isn't strong enough to compensate and they end up dehydrated. This can lead to uti disorders later in life, so it's a good idea to do what you can to keep fluids up for him.

These articles may help:-
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-makes-the-best-canned-cat-food
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/grain-free-cat-food-what-does-it-mean
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-feeding-my-cat
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat-part-2
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-nutrition-a-recap

xisare · May 3, 2015

it looks like, but being new to the country I wanted to ask anyway. There are a couple of other brands in that budget: Grrreat Choice, Sheba and Authority. Any comment on those?

I just notices that I was feeding half a can a day, but the complete can of Friskies is just above half the calories that Akodo should be eating in a day, so I either feed him more of find something that is denser, calorie wise.

Any recommendations?

raintyger · May 3, 2015

I was going to mention Authority, but since it's above the $.50/can that you mentioned for Friskies, I didn't. Authority is also a nice budget brand. I've already mentioned Sheba as another good supermarket choice. It can be higher in by products.

The only products I know of that are higher in calories are also higher in price. Wellness, Hound and Gatos, and Dave's are higher in calories. You can buy larger cans to cut price, but if you're only feeding one cat that might not work since it might go bad. You could try larger cans and freezing the unused portions, but then you'll have to coordinate thawing times.

xisare · May 5, 2015

Actually I did the search and Friskies is the denser in calories of the three, so I can't do much better than that for now.

We tried putting the wet and dry food in separate bowls, and Akodo would lick the sauce, eat the dry and then eat the wet (which we left him around an hour before putting it back into the fridge). We then tried to put the wet first, change it to dry and then back to wet, but he would not eat much at all. Actually he does not each much each time, but he would snack along the day. Something we're trying to get him out of, but probably he was a grazer in his previous home (yes, he was returned to the shelter

)

Finally today we tried mixing the wet and dry he really liked it that way. It seems that he likes the wet food, but not SO wet, but a bit more drier, like true meat consistency. I know that letting the dry food get wet is not the best but we were super careful with the times.

Now the thing to figure is the schedule. I'm starting to work out of home and while my hubby right now is staying he hopes to go back to college in fall, so we need to get Akodo used to a schedule that is suitable. His hunger peaks up around noon so I wanted an opinion on this tentative schedule

7 AM, breakfast with us

4 PM as I get back to work

9-10 PM As dinner.

the 4 PM will need to be flexible, but I usually will get back from work around that time (no later than 5 PM).

I don't want to leave him dry food to snack, but maybe it will be neccessary given the amount of time between feedings?

Columbine · May 6, 2015

If he's hungriest when you're out, you could consider a timed feeder for when you both have to be out. That way, if you were late back you wouldn't be coming home to a hungry cat. Also, a timed feeder will help break the day up for him when you are both out.

Glad you've found a way that he really enjoys the wet

bonepicker · May 6, 2015

Xisare said:
Actually I did the search and Friskies is the denser in calories of the three, so I can't do much better than that for now.

We tried putting the wet and dry food in separate bowls, and Akodo would lick the sauce, eat the dry and then eat the wet (which we left him around an hour before putting it back into the fridge). We then tried to put the wet first, change it to dry and then back to wet, but he would not eat much at all. Actually he does not each much each time, but he would snack along the day. Something we're trying to get him out of, but probably he was a grazer in his previous home (yes, he was returned to the shelter )

Finally today we tried mixing the wet and dry he really liked it that way. It seems that he likes the wet food, but not SO wet, but a bit more drier, like true meat consistency. I know that letting the dry food get wet is not the best but we were super careful with the times.

Now the thing to figure is the schedule. I'm starting to work out of home and while my hubby right now is staying he hopes to go back to college in fall, so we need to get Akodo used to a schedule that is suitable. His hunger peaks up around noon so I wanted an opinion on this tentative schedule

7 AM, breakfast with us

4 PM as I get back to work

9-10 PM As dinner.

the 4 PM will need to be flexible, but I usually will get back from work around that time (no later than 5 PM).

I don't want to leave him dry food to snack, but maybe it will be neccessary given the amount of time between feedings?

I feed my cats at 6 and 6 and before bed snack. I feed wet only and Purebites freeze dried chicken treats at bed time. I buy large dog bag online, same stuff.

xisare · May 6, 2015

Well today I tried a 12 hour schedule...

7 AM and 7 PM, and he still has half of his dinner in the plate. I don't wan't to throw it away, but I don't want him either to get sick. Can i leave the mix of wet and dry food out until he eats them all?

nansiludie · May 6, 2015

You could refridgerate it? Then if he doesn't eat it tomorrow throw it away for sure.

xisare · May 6, 2015

Yes, definelty I can... I just cringe at the idea that he might get hungry in the night. Though then he would learn to eat when he's fed

Columbine · May 6, 2015

Leaving wet out for a while is fine if the room isn't too hot. Leaving dry out is fine. Leaving the two mixed together out is not fine. Kibble often has a bacterial load. Leaving it out after its been moistened by the wet could make your cat ill.

xisare · May 7, 2015

Quick update:

Today Akodo ate what he left form yesterday in the morning (I refrigerated it when I saw him no longer hungry) and he devoured a new half a can in the evening, so day 1 of 12 hour schedure is a success.

He seems to love the turkey and grill flavors... the fish ones... not so much, he eats them, but he looses interest sooner than with the others.

Designing a wet-dry mixed diet for transition

xisare

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raintyger

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Columbine

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xisare

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raintyger

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Columbine

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bonepicker

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xisare

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nansiludie

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xisare

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Columbine

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xisare

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