Another Quick Question

[tyleete]

Ok! Someone here pointed me a site that has a lot of info on what cats need for nutrition.
I've always feed my cats dry kibble. But after reading that site, thinking of changing. My question is this:
Is Friskies pate better than dry? I feed a few of my special needs fancy feast classic pate. But I honestly can't afford that for as many as I have. This Is what I currently feed 5 of mine.
AMERICAN JOURNEY Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food, 12-lb bag - Chewy.com
Can anyone tell me if Friskies pate would be better or worse than what they eat?
I currently feed a toothless one the Friskies poultry pates. I don't do seafood or raw foods.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Caspers Human]

I've always feed my cats dry kibble. But after reading that site, thinking of changing.

Our vet told us that our cat, "Casper," should eat at least 50% wet, canned food and no more than 50% dry kibble.

Casper has digestive issues do to a certain health problem but, still, our vet recommends a diet of at least 50-50 wet to dry for any cat. So, on those grounds alone, I feel confident to recommend adding more canned or wet food to your cats' diets.

As to which food to recommend, that's up in the air for me.

Casper gets various flavors of Friskies. We change up what flavor we offer him so that he doesn't get bored but Friskies is all we can get him to eat.

You see, Casper was a rescue cat and he's got some food-security issues. When he was on his own, he had to find his own food and it might have been difficult for him to find a consistent source of safe food to eat. When the cat rescue people brought him in, they used Friskies and Meow Mix. Because he got used to eating those things, it has been hard to get him to eat anything else.

We got Casper to change from Meow Mix (basically junk food for cats) to something better in the dry department but, for canned, Friskies is all he'll eat besides the occasional spoonful of real tuna.

If you are already feeding Fancy Feast to some of your cats, I don't see a problem with offering more of that.

While I'm sure that you can probably find some more wholesome foods, beside Fancy Feast, but it's a good start. Once you get your cats eating more of that, you can gradually switch them to something else that's better.

That's how we got Casper off of Meow mix, onto something better.

 

[tyleete]

I have my: Cancer kitty and my diabetic kitty on FF. Am trying to switch an IBD to it. But as expensive as they are, I cannot afford that for the other 5 not on urinary food (3 others on Diamond Care urinary). That's why I was asking if my dry food was better to leave them on, or just do the Friskies. I was looking at Friskies for the possible healthier choice. Definitely don't want to go backwards.
But I probably spend at least $400-500/mo on their food & litter. Not including all the visits. I couldn't afford more that the Friskies for the rest. My doc said they should all eat two 3oz meals a day. The ones I had to change already.

 

[LTS3]

Many 3 oz cans of food don't have a lot of calories. Two cans a day is not going to keep many adult cat tummies happy. It's ok to ignore the vet. Feed each cat enough calories daily to maintain their current weight.

Any canned food is better than dry. Friskies is fine if that's all you can afford. There's a Friskies variety or two that comes in large 13 oz cans. You could split one can up daily between the cats.

 

[tyleete]

How do you know how many calories a cat needs daily? I'm thinking Casper's human was definitely onto something about the half-half diet. I'm just so lost and confused on it. Having to think a new way now after all these years.
I have a 10lb & a 14lb kitty. She said (vet) 6oz a day for both was the healthier way to not get/keep him fat again. I've asked several times, and she consistently says Yes

 

[LTS3]

The general suggestion is 20 to 25 calories per pound of body weight daily. Adjust as needed. Some cats may need a little more or less calories for their needs.

Calorie content per can is listed on the label as kcal. If a 3 oz can has 70 calories and the cat needs 200 calories daily, two of those cans is just 140 calories and will not satisfy the cat's tummy.

 

[tyleete]

The general suggestion is 20 to 25 calories per pound of body weight daily. Adjust as needed. Some cats may need a little more or less calories for their needs.

Calorie content per can is listed on the label as kcal. If a 3 oz can has 70 calories and the cat needs 200 calories daily, two of those cans is just 140 calories and will not satisfy the cat's tummy.

Thank you very much for that! In truth, I've only 2 cats that would east non-stop if I let them. I never worried about calorie intake before, but have since learned dry kibble has a lot of excess crap in them that can add to things piling up. All my cats that are eating dry, only eat 1/3 a cup twice a day as is. And it's not me being mean. At the end of the night I still dump plenty back in the bin that's left over. So I guess that will be a good starting point and go from there! Thank you.