Ah, ok. I just have known some folks that limit younger kittens' calorie intake even at 3 months! My boys are about 8 months also
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Is dry food really that bad?
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- #22
I have a lot of kitties too (24! Yikes!). Most of them are currently eating primarily dry food, due to convenience. But I try to get as much canned food as possible in their diet. I have some of the older cats in a separate area and they get all canned food. Friskies pate is fine, Special Kitty is OK too (except the tuna flavor, try to avoid that one). If you buy the big cans it costs less per ounce. Friskies comes in a 13-ounce can and Special Kitty comes in 13-oz and 22-oz, though not all Walmarts carry the 22-oz size.
I don't think feeding all canned food will cost as much as you think---if each cat ate 6 ounces a day, that would be around 5 13-oz cans a day, we'll say $1.25 a can each for Friskies (usually they cost less but it depends where you shop), so that would be $6.25 a day, which would be $187.50 a month. If you wanted something higher-quality, you can find 13-oz cans of Dave's, Triumph, or Wellness on www.chewy.com for less than $2 a can, so that would be $10 a day---around $300 a month. Not cheap, but not $1000 a month either.
I will say that the more canned food I feed them, the better the results I see. So I do think canned food is better than dry. But feeding all canned food isn't always an option, you just have to do the best you can!
Oh, about how many times a day to feed---I've found that my cats don't like being fed only twice a day. 3 times a day is better, in their opinions! Before work, after work, bedtime works for me.[/quote)
$187.50 per month is the average quality wet food price for only one cat. I have 11 cats with one needs to be one prescription Urinary health diet. So if putting everyone on wet food it will be $1,875+ per month!!!! A lot of money just for cat food.
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- #23
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- #24
I agree with KittyCort about dry food. My Purry cay lived over 19 years and was on dry food only - Purina and IAMS until he was 18 when my vet told me it's better to put him on wet K/D since his kidneys started to deteriorate..... I didn't know anything about dry food or wet food issues after my dry food only cat turned 18. Purry was born in 1992, there was no internet back then and I bet no one was researching cat food either.
Purry was a healthy cat until he turned 15 diagnized with some treatable liver inflammatory disease. I took him to the vet for a senior check up and that's how I found out. He was on expensive medication but still eating dry food until kidney failure occurred when he turned 18, then started to get on wet food Hill's K/D. My point is I had a healthy long life cat who was on dry food almost his entire life.
What triggered me about cat food research was when one of my cats has UTI crystals. He is only 3, almost 4. Because of that I started to go nuts researching cat foods. When you have multiple cats with one needs to be on special diet it really makes you lost on what and how to feed them. Seriouly it takes me more than an hour in the morning feeding them and clean litter boxes and I'm late to work every day.
Purry was a healthy cat until he turned 15 diagnized with some treatable liver inflammatory disease. I took him to the vet for a senior check up and that's how I found out. He was on expensive medication but still eating dry food until kidney failure occurred when he turned 18, then started to get on wet food Hill's K/D. My point is I had a healthy long life cat who was on dry food almost his entire life.
What triggered me about cat food research was when one of my cats has UTI crystals. He is only 3, almost 4. Because of that I started to go nuts researching cat foods. When you have multiple cats with one needs to be on special diet it really makes you lost on what and how to feed them. Seriouly it takes me more than an hour in the morning feeding them and clean litter boxes and I'm late to work every day.
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- #25
Just FYI- I adopted my UTI cat from the shelter when he was 8 months old. I'm sure he was on dry food only at the shelter. I fed him Orijen and Fromm dry. After 3 years of eating these dry food, he developed UTI crystals. I've also noticed that he barely drinks water!!! I have fountains, water running freely from the faucet or filter water in my house. But my other cats who were on the same Orijen and Fromm dry are all healthy, except for one is fat, almost obese.
I really have to say genetics and environment play a big portion on their health issues, not just dry or wet foods.
I really have to say genetics and environment play a big portion on their health issues, not just dry or wet foods.
187.00 per month is more than double what I spend to feed myself. And I buy healthy, fresh food. If I fed four cats and my dog canned, well, I wouldn't have a house to live in or money to pay for their other expenses.I have a lot of kitties too (24! Yikes!). Most of them are currently eating primarily dry food, due to convenience. But I try to get as much canned food as possible in their diet. I have some of the older cats in a separate area and they get all canned food. Friskies pate is fine, Special Kitty is OK too (except the tuna flavor, try to avoid that one). If you buy the big cans it costs less per ounce. Friskies comes in a 13-ounce can and Special Kitty comes in 13-oz and 22-oz, though not all Walmarts carry the 22-oz size.
I don't think feeding all canned food will cost as much as you think---if each cat ate 6 ounces a day, that would be around 5 13-oz cans a day, we'll say $1.25 a can each for Friskies (usually they cost less but it depends where you shop), so that would be $6.25 a day, which would be $187.50 a month. If you wanted something higher-quality, you can find 13-oz cans of Dave's, Triumph, or Wellness on www.chewy.com for less than $2 a can, so that would be $10 a day---around $300 a month. Not cheap, but not $1000 a month either
I will say that the more canned food I feed them, the better the results I see. So I do think canned food is better than dry. But feeding all canned food isn't always an option, you just have to do the best you can!
Oh, about how many times a day to feed---I've found that my cats don't like being fed only twice a day. 3 times a day is better, in their opinions! Before work, after work, bedtime works for me.[/quote)
$187.50 per month is the average quality wet food price for only one cat. I have 11 cats with one needs to be one prescription Urinary health diet. So if putting everyone on wet food it will be $1,875+ per month!!!! A lot of money just for cat food.
How do you figure 187 for one cat, Friskies is 50 cents a 5.5 oz can x 2 max x 30 = 30 dollars a mo?
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That was a quote for 11 cats
. And well, it's just always going to cost a lot to feed that many mouths. And you must be very good at shopping if you can keep your own food bill below $100! If you fed 4 cats and 1 dog all canned food. . .it depends on the size of the dog. I have an elderly Rottweiler who is currently on all canned food and it's over $120 a month just for him :/. But that's still only about $1 a pound, he's just bigger than most dogs! And usually dogs drink enough water so they don't need to get all canned food until they're so old or sick as to be unable or unwilling to eat dry food. So for 4 cats, if you fed Friskies, that would be just under 2 13-oz cans a day, less than $60 a month for all 4 cats. For the higher-quality brands I mentioned that come in larger cans, $120 a month for all 4.
Can size is really the crucial part---if you feed 3-oz cans of any brand, it's just always going to cost more! And if your cat is very picky (won't eat the brands that come in larger cans) it can throw a wrench in the works too.
I am very good at math. I dont need others to calculate it for me. I've done the math and for my cats (I dont feed Friskies) it would be just under $300 per month for a canned food diet.
Yes, I am a very good at budgeting. I spend far less than $100 a month on food for myself. I cook from scratch and eat a mostly vegan diet. Both of those save a lot of money and leave me with delucious, nutritious meals. Snacks included.
Yes, I am a very good at budgeting. I spend far less than $100 a month on food for myself. I cook from scratch and eat a mostly vegan diet. Both of those save a lot of money and leave me with delucious, nutritious meals. Snacks included.
I wish I could get away with that. Having to take the multiple needs into account makes it way too difficult. I have some that I use as "community foods" (that all five can eat) but then others that only Sara can eat, and then others that Sara can't eat. Good times.
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Okay now I'm really curious and amazed. How do you keep your food budget less than $100/month? I spend more than that in a week. But I'm not vegan and do eat "products." Can you give us details??? And how many calories do you consume in a day???
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How many calories? I dont count..but enough!
Well, like I said, not buying things like meat, cheese, and processed stuff saves money and healthier food fills you up quicker. I cook a lot...I love to. During the winter, I make a lot of soup, chili, stews, and pastas and a lot of grilling during the summer. I honestly dont use coupons but I do follow sales some. A market near me (Luckys) has double-ad Wednesdays so thats a good day to buy fresh food and have a big variety while stocking up. I freeze most vegetables, including herbs, and some fruits if I cant eat them up in time which I found is super handy and saves money. No throwing out food!
Frozen vegs are great for veggie burgers, soups, dips, anything cooked, really. Frozen fruit are great for smoothies or popsicles. I make my own snacks too rather than buying chips, processed cookies, and such. Tonight I made homemade peppermint patties.
More recently I made veggie rice, white bean chili, corn chowder, broccoli fritters, sweet potato bites, stroganoff sandwiches, french toast, sun-dried tomato pasta, goulash, tacos, green bean casserole, oh the list goes on.
I used to spend a TON on groceries but then I started making a budget and I realized how much I spent on food. I couldnt believe it. So I started cooking, making my own recipes, playing with spices and new ingredients, and shopping around. Ok, part of that was because I found that I LOVE to cook (who knew!?) but also realized that a healthier diet can actually cost less.
Well, like I said, not buying things like meat, cheese, and processed stuff saves money and healthier food fills you up quicker. I cook a lot...I love to. During the winter, I make a lot of soup, chili, stews, and pastas and a lot of grilling during the summer. I honestly dont use coupons but I do follow sales some. A market near me (Luckys) has double-ad Wednesdays so thats a good day to buy fresh food and have a big variety while stocking up. I freeze most vegetables, including herbs, and some fruits if I cant eat them up in time which I found is super handy and saves money. No throwing out food!
Frozen vegs are great for veggie burgers, soups, dips, anything cooked, really. Frozen fruit are great for smoothies or popsicles. I make my own snacks too rather than buying chips, processed cookies, and such. Tonight I made homemade peppermint patties.
More recently I made veggie rice, white bean chili, corn chowder, broccoli fritters, sweet potato bites, stroganoff sandwiches, french toast, sun-dried tomato pasta, goulash, tacos, green bean casserole, oh the list goes on.
I used to spend a TON on groceries but then I started making a budget and I realized how much I spent on food. I couldnt believe it. So I started cooking, making my own recipes, playing with spices and new ingredients, and shopping around. Ok, part of that was because I found that I LOVE to cook (who knew!?) but also realized that a healthier diet can actually cost less.
The reason wet food is generally better is because it mimics a cat's "natural" diet more closely. An animal that a cat would catch and eat would contain about 70% water, and cats are built to get most of their water from their prey. Even if a cat drinks a lot of water during the day (which many don't), it still doesn't get as much as it would from eating canned over dry food, and over time this can take a toll on the kidneys. So any cat that has kidney or urinary issues should definitely be fed as much canned as possible, because hydration is key for those issues.
Also, dry food does not do anything to help clean teeth. That's like saying every time we eat something crunchy it cleans our teeth, which is clearly not true. Wet food might sometimes be better than dry food for teeth, just because it tends to have fewer sugary fillers that teeth bacteria love. Regular brushing, with or without toothpaste, is the best preventative dental care (other than feeding raw and chewing on bones).
Poorer quality wet vs. high quality dry is a judgement call. I guess the best compromise is feeding some of both. I suppose it would technically be fine to add water or no sodium broth to dry food, but only if the cat eats it all right away and you take the bowl away and clean it well before feeding again, because bacteria grow very easily.
Also, dry food does not do anything to help clean teeth. That's like saying every time we eat something crunchy it cleans our teeth, which is clearly not true. Wet food might sometimes be better than dry food for teeth, just because it tends to have fewer sugary fillers that teeth bacteria love. Regular brushing, with or without toothpaste, is the best preventative dental care (other than feeding raw and chewing on bones).
Poorer quality wet vs. high quality dry is a judgement call. I guess the best compromise is feeding some of both. I suppose it would technically be fine to add water or no sodium broth to dry food, but only if the cat eats it all right away and you take the bowl away and clean it well before feeding again, because bacteria grow very easily.
I use only dry for Comet. I can't afford wet food.
My vet approved it, saying he's been on this food since he was able to eat, so therefore Dry food is perfectly safe and Healthy. So Purina One it is.
My vet approved it, saying he's been on this food since he was able to eat, so therefore Dry food is perfectly safe and Healthy. So Purina One it is.
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Laura H,
Do you mind sharing why Paisley only lived 2 years?
I fostered a kitten ( Leo) when he was only 4 weeks from a shelter. I adopted him along with his 2 sisters in 8/2011 after my 19 years old Purry passed away. According to the shelter rule, in order to 'officially adopt' the kittens after fostering them they needed to be brought back to neuter/spay. I didn't know any better so I brought the 3 kittens back to the shelter ( it's run by the city) for neuter/spay.
A day later after coming home, Leo threw up and started to get sick, and sicker the 3rd day - was lingering in my faucet wanting water but not able to drink. I took him to the vet and found out he had kidney failure. Sadly we had to put him down at age of 2 months. The vet told me he must have congenital kidney disease and the anesthesia put him to the edge. I wish I had brought him to local vet and did the pre-op screening before the surgery. After Leo's sad story I took his sister for blood work every year and they are both normal and healthy. I would never imagine my poor Leo would suffer from kidney failure after being neutered from the shelter..... I still don't know why but can only guess it was bad luck.
Do you mind sharing why Paisley only lived 2 years?
I fostered a kitten ( Leo) when he was only 4 weeks from a shelter. I adopted him along with his 2 sisters in 8/2011 after my 19 years old Purry passed away. According to the shelter rule, in order to 'officially adopt' the kittens after fostering them they needed to be brought back to neuter/spay. I didn't know any better so I brought the 3 kittens back to the shelter ( it's run by the city) for neuter/spay.
A day later after coming home, Leo threw up and started to get sick, and sicker the 3rd day - was lingering in my faucet wanting water but not able to drink. I took him to the vet and found out he had kidney failure. Sadly we had to put him down at age of 2 months. The vet told me he must have congenital kidney disease and the anesthesia put him to the edge. I wish I had brought him to local vet and did the pre-op screening before the surgery. After Leo's sad story I took his sister for blood work every year and they are both normal and healthy. I would never imagine my poor Leo would suffer from kidney failure after being neutered from the shelter..... I still don't know why but can only guess it was bad luck.
