My cats eating habits help... (Advice)

[Primo Brady]

I feed my cats Rachel Ray Nutrish Turkey with Chickpeas and Salmon. I give them a cup in the morning and In the afternoon I mix the same dry food 1 cup with one portion of the Sheba Gravy Cuts for dinner. My adult cat is addicted to the Sheba Gravy Cuts. It’s now getting to a point where she is not even trying to eat the dry food anymore and begs for the Sheba (Crack) wet good I call it now lol. My other cat is only 7 months old she eats the dry food still since her mom the adult cat eats all of the Sheba Wet food first than her doesn’t share. I don’t know what to do now because now the adult cat waits to eat the Sheba wet food I give at dinner. Doesn’t eat much during the day.... every time I walk by the wet food she goes crazy for it. I try not to give in and make her wait for dinner. I’m I doing the right thing?

Can you guys give me advice on how to fix it or recommend me to do for there feeding habits. Any feedback I would appreciate. Thanks

 

[daftcat75]

Wet food is sooo much better for cats. Dry food just isn’t species appropriate. Too many nonsense starch, fruit, vegetable, and grain ingredients for an obligate carnivore (must eat meat!) Chickpeas don’t belong in cat food. Additionally, cats have a low thirst drive. They are meant to get their daily water not from a bowl but from their food. Even your most eager drinker won’t be drinking enough from a bowl or fountain to make up for the lack of moisture in dry food. While I won’t speak of prevention because cats are living longer and thus will eventually get sick with something given enough years of life, I will say that three of the most common illnesses in older cats—IBD, tooth issues, and kidney disease—can all be greatly improved with more moisture/more wet food in their diet. Finally, your cats will more easily maintain a healthy weight on wet food than dry. The only argument for dry food that I accept is convenience. And even that gap can be closed with timed feeders. Now if cost is an issue, your worst wet food is still better than your best dry food. You can mix the Sheba with something cheap like Friskies or Fancy Feast and still come out better than even your most gourmet dry food.

My advice is listen to your cats and feed more wet food. Or all wet food if you can.

 

[Kieka]

If it is economical, I'd switch to just the wet food. Wet food is generally better for your cat and if they like it more then it is easier to go with the better food.

 

[Primo Brady]

What you guys think of the Sheba Cat Food? Is that a good brand? My cat is addicted to it so far.
Thank you for the quick response also! I’ll transition them into more wet food going forward

 

[daftcat75]

They’re all better than dry food. Since they are already eating Sheba, keep feeding them that. Then look through the aisles for something better once they’re eating mostly or all wet food. You can keep feeding the Sheba if you want. Mixing brands (in rotation) helps you balance out the quality of one vs the other. Cats can be picky though. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they only want Sheba. Personally, I like to keep the choices to a minimum just so my cat doesn’t think she can hold out for something different. Feeding cats is not an exact science.

 

[daftcat75]

When looking for a good brand, be careful of foods that sound good to you. You’re not a cat. Vegetable medleys, starches, grains, fruits (with the exception of pumpkin for digestive health) are all unnecessary in cat food. The more unnecessary ingredients, the more likely you’ll find one or more that doesn’t agree with your cats. The ideal recipe will be meat, moisture, some kind of organ meat (also called byproducts which simply means it is not only one kind of organ meat like liver), and supplements. Hopefully in that order on the ingredients. Supplements are necessary because the food is cooked and canned which both lose nutrients. They’re necessary and don’t let another food try to fool you into thinking cats can get those nutrients from plant sources. They can’t.

Fancy Feast Classic pates and Tiki Cat After Dark are two clean recipes. Few to no unnecessary ingredients.