I Have Not Found A Brand Or Flavor Of Dry Food My Savannah Will Eat Regularly...

[Cleo Savannah]

I'm trying to ween my cat off wet food so she can self feed dry from a feeder. I've tried all the best, high pried dry's (Origen six fish, Instinct with dry pellets, Origen chicken, Iams, Royal Canine Savor, Blue, Taste of the Wild).

She eats a little the first day out of curiosity whenI feed it to her like treats but when I put it in her self feeder all she does is paw around it for a day or two then begs me mercilessly for a can of her favorite wet (Fussie Cat). Is getting her to go from wet to dry a hopeless task at this point? When I bought her from the breeder she was on dry but I spoiled her onto wet because she loved it so much more. Is it too late now? Anyone found a brand and flavor that works for a finicky cat that hates just about all dry food? By the way she loves dry treats - Friskies Party being one of her favorites. She also loved the raw boost pellets inside certain Instinct foods that contain them.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[cheesycats]

First, I wouldn’t recommend free feeding. You will end up with an obese cat if you do find a food she likes. You should follow the recommendation on the back of the bag/can for her weight and activity level and feed in at least two meals a day.
Wet is more healthy anyway, it has more moisture which cats need as they have low thirst drives and canned is less prossessed then dry.
I would also avoid friskies treats and tempatations treats. I’ve heard way too many stories of cats becoming addicted and refusing any and all other foods.
What level is your sav? If it’s a high content a raw or raw/canned diet would really be the best.

 

[Furballsmom]

If you can, try and keep some wet food in your babies' diet. My boy gets both...try Merrick Backcountry, or Open Farm

 

[Cleo Savannah]

First, I wouldn’t recommend free feeding. You will end up with an obese cat if you do find a food she likes. You should follow the recommendation on the back of the bag/can for her weight and activity level and feed in at least two meals a day.
Wet is more healthy anyway, it has more moisture which cats need as they have low thirst drives and canned is less prossessed then dry.
I would also avoid friskies treats and tempatations treats. I’ve heard way too many stories of cats becoming addicted and refusing any and all other foods.
What level is your sav? If it’s a high content a raw or raw/canned diet would really be the best.

 

[Cleo Savannah]

First, I wouldn’t recommend free feeding. You will end up with an obese cat if you do find a food she likes. You should follow the recommendation on the back of the bag/can for her weight and activity level and feed in at least two meals a day.
Wet is more healthy anyway, it has more moisture which cats need as they have low thirst drives and canned is less prossessed then dry.
I would also avoid friskies treats and tempatations treats. I’ve heard way too many stories of cats becoming addicted and refusing any and all other foods.
What level is your sav? If it’s a high content a raw or raw/canned diet would really be the best.

She's 1/4 Serval. I don't have to even consider obesity because shell go three days boycotting her food hunger strike style.

 

[kittyluv387]

Well..she’s 25% wild so I don’t blame her for not wanting dry. Can you afford to continue giving her wet?

 

[Cleo Savannah]

It wasn't necessarily the cost, Its more the convenience of letting her feed herself, allowing me to travel for a few days at a time, and the smell of her litter. I figured if i found a good kibble she likes it would make life a bit easier. Expensive kibble is almost the same as wet in terms of cost when you're talking $6-7 a lb. Observing my cat over the last year, I dont think shell overfeed herself. She's the only pet in my household so she doesn't have to compete for food. She eats, walks away from a partially empty can and comes back to finish an hour later. She doesn't hoard food. All i need is a kibble she likes.

The canned I was giving her was costing $1.78 a day. 2 cans @ .89 per. I'd be curious to do the math on kibble that's $65 a bag @ 20 lbs. I have no idea how long a 20 lb bag lasts per average sized cat.

 

[kittyluv387]

Well the girl knows what’s good for her. In the long run feeding a moisture rich diet will keep your expensive kitty much healthier. Why would you want to buy a luxury car but put cheap gas in it? Although to be honest dry isn’t ideal for domestic kitties either.

Pet ownership and especially hybrid ownership isn’t convenient. If you need to be gone for a few days you can hire a sitter to feed her twice a day.

 

[lalagimp]

I understand convenience, but we had to make the switch to wet for the boys because one of them had a medical emergency. It's a pain, but it's what's best for him. If she's stuck on wet food, she is getting the optimal level of care, so don't get down on yourself because you can't get her to downgrade

you could consider something like the catzenpup https://www.catzenpup.com/

ps the kibble the girls get with their combination feeding is Dr Elsey's cleanprotein
high animal protein and very low carb

 

[Cleo Savannah]

Well the girl knows what’s good for her. In the long run feeding a moisture rich diet will keep your expensive kitty much healthier. Why would you want to buy a luxury car but put cheap gas in it? Although to be honest dry isn’t ideal for domestic kitties either.

Pet ownership and especially hybrid ownership isn’t convenient. If you need to be gone for a few days you can hire a sitter to feed her twice a day.

I appreciate you chiming in but why are you assuming all kibble is bad for your cat. You're also assuming my cat doesn't drink from her fountain as well. Just like wet food comes in both junk and great varieties, I can say that dry runs the gamut of quality levels. We can agree that the best kibble is far better than the worst wet. Lets talk about this in perspective. I wasn't planning to feed my cat Friskies @ $9 a 20 lb bag. The Orijen I just tried was $70 a bag. I wouldn't consider that cheap gas. I would consider nine-lives canned cheap gas. I'm looking for a quality kibble that she'll like, even if I throw in a can a day with it. If my lifestyle allowed it I would grind her fresh chicken thighs with all the additives. We have to do what works for our lifestyles. We all love our family member none the less if we aren't in a position to do whats ideal.

 

[Cleo Savannah]

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[kittyluv387]

I understand you weren't going to feed your cat friskies. I'm aware dry foods like Dr. Elsey's and Orijen exist. I've seen users state the worst wet food is better than best dry. But who really cares to debate about that? Not like you would feed your cat the junkiest canned foods anyway. Your cat may drink but cats are meant to get most of the moisture from their food. As a result they don't have a strong thirst drive and are continuously dehydrated even if you do see them drinking. Your cat is still 75% domestic so that's where my concern is. I really don't know what a serval's drinking habits are like so I won't comment on that. Also, dry foods are incredibly processed. Canned foods are processed but less so, so it might be very appealing to your savannah to eat the moisture rich and less processed food. Convenience is super nice, but is it really worth possibly sacrificing her long run health? Especially when your kitty already has such a strong desire to eat the healthier option?

 

[She's a witch]

ZiwiPeak air dried works great with auto feeder and it's better than regular dry food so I would consider that if I were you

 

[Cleo Savannah]

I understand you weren't going to feed your cat friskies. I'm aware dry foods like Dr. Elsey's and Orijen exist. I've seen users state the worst wet food is better than best dry. But who really cares to debate about that? Not like you would feed your cat the junkiest canned foods anyway. Your cat may drink but cats are meant to get most of the moisture from their food. As a result they don't have a strong thirst drive and are continuously dehydrated even if you do see them drinking. Your cat is still 75% domestic so that's where my concern is. I really don't know what a serval's drinking habits are like so I won't comment on that. Also, dry foods are incredibly processed. Canned foods are processed but less so, so it might be very appealing to your savannah to eat the moisture rich and less processed food. Convenience is super nice, but is it really worth possibly sacrificing her long run health? Especially when your kitty already has such a strong desire to eat the healthier option?

Good points. She's really finicky about wet too....She loves "Fussie Cat" tuna chicken. its packed in aspec so you can see the fish and chicken in the can. I try to stay away from any pates or cat-Spam types.

 

[kittyluv387]

Good points. She's really finicky about wet too....She loves "Fussie Cat" tuna chicken. its packed in aspec so you can see the fish and chicken in the can. I try to stay away from any pates or cat-Spam types.

Lol I like pates because they give more bang for your buck. Usually more calories in there. I just add water to it. But they do get homemade raw at dinner time. Has she tried Weruva? Calorie wise it’s low but you can see real pieces of meat in there. Pretty impressive. I rotate between 8 flavors so that they don’t get too attached to one because it would be horrible if they decided they don’t like it anymore. So I would say keep trying to find more foods that she likes until you can get a small rotation going.

 

[Furballsmom]

I have a rotation of wet, --as much as my Big Guy will let me, and also of dry

 

[Cleo Savannah]

Lol I like pates because they give more bang for your buck. Usually more calories in there. I just add water to it. But they do get homemade raw at dinner time. Has she tried Weruva? Calorie wise it’s low but you can see real pieces of meat in there. Pretty impressive. I rotate between 8 flavors so that they don’t get too attached to one because it would be horrible if they decided they don’t like it anymore. So I would say keep trying to find more foods that she likes until you can get a small rotation going.

Canned Cat food Spreadsheets

 

[maggie101]

I mix in wild frontier or canidae duck/chicken. She likes wf mostly because it has bigger pieces of meat

 

[kittyluv387]

Canned Cat food Spreadsheets

Oh you’re right that fussie cat looks quite appetizing! No wonder your kitty loves it. Haha.

 

[danteshuman]

OK ignoring the wet food vs dry food debate: I would suggest you always get your cat a sitter ..... especially a savannah cat because they need play/excerise/harness walks. I would also suggest you get one of those automatic feeders that use an ice pack so you only have to feed your cat once a day.

I’m on SSI and my spoiled kitten is fed wet food with about 10% of his diet being dry kitten food per day (because he is still growing, so he has food available 24/7.) I think you need to only look at what cats are (carnivores) and the ingredients in wet food/dry food to conclude that dry food is unhealthy for cats. (humans are omnivores.) However I’m not going to judge people for doing dry food. Heck if I fed dry I could afford a second cat If you are going to feed dry I would suggest something like Dr. elyse’s dry food. I have known cats to live 20 years on dry food.