Wet food for kitties

[Biciclista]

no, although boy kitties have more urinary problems, they do not have more problems with diet and obesity. We lost Grizz, a wonderful female cat from complications from a dry cat food diet. If i knew then what i knew now, she might have lived a lot longer. She /we struggled with her weight all of her life and then her kidneys gave out.

[tantrumbean]

Mine is on dry Iams and has been for most of his life (although he has had some other premium brands at various points), he is absolutely fine on it, but I keep an eye on him to make sure he drinks enough. Never had any problems and his teeth (even according to the vet) are a lot better than they would be if he was on wet food - he is 8 now, well, he will be on Wednesday . Fortunately he actually prefers dry and it is a lot more pleasant in warm weather...


Here is Eric guarding my good old mountain bike aka the commuter :

[short cut sally]

My cat is too fussy. He is a dry cat food only, he gets urinary blend from the vet. I've tried giving him canned food, of all brands, flavors, but not to his likeing. He tries to bury them like the contents in his litter pan. It's really kinda funny, he tries taking the throw rug, papers on the floor, or anything and pushing it over the food dish. He was originally a stray kitty, wouldn't think he would have such high tastes and standards, but apparently he does.
By the way V, beautiful cat....mines a tux kitty too.

[Aint Doody]

My kitty just likes to eat---period. He can be sound asleep in front of the television in the basement, but if I open the refrigerator door he magically appears. I have appreciated the info on the wet vs. dry food. Thanks, y'all.

[7rider]

Is this what happens when Kitty gets too much dry food?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Is this what happens when Kitty gets too much dry food?

If that's a dead kitten....then yes.

(just kidding!!!!!)

[rocknrollgirl]

Is this what happens when Kitty gets too much dry food?

That is the cutest thing ever!!!!

[RolliePollie]

OMG, that kitten picture is too cute!!!

Feeding is quite a dilemma at my house because my two cats are polar opposites when it comes to food. One is finicky and underweight while the other will eat anything and is overweight. I would be totally willing to make fresh food for them if I thought there was any chance the skinny cat would eat it! But she turns up her nose at wet food, meat, and fish!

The best solution I've come up with it to free-feed dry food because the skinny kitty will actually eat it. But then of course my fat kitty overeats. I tried having feeding times twice a day but my skinny cat wouldn't feel like eating at those times and I didn't want her to starve, so I felt like I had to put the dry food back out again.

My vet suggested adding canned pumpking to my fat cat's diet to fill her up and to prevent furballs. So she gets 2-3 Tbsp. a day (she loves it!) and she's lost about 2 pounds in the last year. And her furball problem is a lot better too. My skinny cat gets Nutrical (high calorie molasses-y stuff which for some reason she'll actually eat) several times a week and she's put on about 1/4 lb., which is quite a bit when you only weigh 6-1/2 pounds.

[IvonaDestroi]

Is kitty allowed outside? Mine are indoor/outdoor kitties and both are in good health, despite their horrible diets. They refuse to eat anything other then friskies cans (patte only of course) and either meow mix or cat chow. I've tried every food at the pet store. No interest in anything healthy at all, but they'll scarf down that stuff like nobody's bussiness.

The vet is always very impressed with molotov's general condition, he's got great muscle mass and is well toned and healthy. He loves going outside and will sit around the windows and doors and howl all day if you don't let him out for more then two days in a row.

Excersise is very important too, not just diet. I've seen him out and about, he's always on some fence or rooftop or abandoned building chasing bugs and taking cat naps in the sun.

The other kitty, Vader, didn't have the best kittenhood before I got him. He had grown up locked in a bedroom in a house over-run with multiple dogs, and he had very little coordination (couldn't even make it onto the windowsill) and was pretty jumpy. Now that he goes outside, his motor skills have improved immensly.

I live in an urban neighborhood, although we do have a big back yard, and both cats have been just fine running around outside all day. I call them every night at 8pm and they come running to the door to devour their nightly can of food. They have dry available all day.

He'll probably hang out near your door for a couple days before exploring, but I've never seen an indoor cat that was as happy and healthy as an outdoor one.

Maybe try letting him get a little fresh air. It's just a suggestion. If you do make sure you get the extra vaccinations-the FIV shot is not standard but it's important if they're out.

[Eden]

Too many cars, too many raccoons, and too many kitty eating coyotes around here.....(and way too many lost cat posters) mine are strictly indoor.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yep, lots of wide open country spaces around here, but regardless...our kitties would likely get a few weeks' worth of healthy country 'fresh air' followed by either getting killed by a loose dog or hit by a car. Lots of our neighbors let their cats out, but they never last more than a year or so before getting killed one way or another.

[bmccasland]

So last night I was doing a chicken & asparagus stir-fry for dinner and Bonnie was in her usual spot on the kitchen counter (the part she's allowed on left of the stove, food prep is on the right) complaining about all that is wrong with the world. So I thought I'd see what she'd do with a piece of raw chicken breast. She sniffed it, and proceed to eat her kibble, went back to the chicken, and ate more kibble. What can I say? A 16 yr old cat is set in her ways.


And I just crack up every time I see the photo of the kitten face planted into the plate of kibble!

[Veronica]

Kitties have been on their new food for just about two weeks now. They seem to really like it. Both of them are more playful and have more energy. They are urinating a lot, but don't seem to be drinking much straight water anymore.

Their box doesn't seem anymore stinky than before. Cassie's weight has stayed the same. Tucker is down 10 ounces.

I'm glad we switched.

Veronica

[tulip]

Great news on Tucker's slenderizing. I see alot of overweight cats, more than I used to, it seems. I don't have a cat anymore since I'm allergic to them. But my dear Fudge came into my live when I was 10 and left when I was 31. That's a long span!. She was an indoor/outdoor kitty who lived in very urban Cambridge Mass for her first two years, and then moved to the country with me, where she had a quiet dirt road to roll around in the dust. She got very basic dry food from Southern States, but supplemented it with her own hunting. Her last few years she got 9 Lives or something like that. It's been a while since she's been gone. I get happy every time I think of her. Thanks for the photos, everyone.

[Norse]

We have been making the switch with our cats too. One is younger, overweight and addicted to kitty kibble. Well, at least she was. The other is older and a lifelong runt and too skinny. We started the switch about 3 weeks ago. The older kitty is not taking to the raw very well and we just started over with her feeding her as much quality canned as she wants. At least she eats that. She has never been a big kibble eater.

With the younger, overweight cat, we are cautiously optimistic that we may have success on our hands. We started her at about 10% raw/90% canned and a very small amount of kibble 2X/day. She is now eating about 80-90% raw mixed with canned and she maybe eats about a tablespoon of kibble - still feeding her 2x/day. She has lost about 10 ounces. Hopefully in another week she will be on an all raw food diet.