Spinoff of cat thread: canned vs. dry food...?

[Kiwi Stoker]

I once meet an Australian vet of a book called "Raw Meaty Bones". He advocated a raw meat diet for cats and dogs after seeing the rotting and diseased teeth and mouths of pet food feed animals.

Interesting, a lot of vets (unlike doctors) get kick backs from pet food companies. And of course pet food companies are very protective of their brands. This vet was actually KICKED out of the OZ vet society because of his stance, and pet food companies tried to undermine his findings and bad mouth his name.

It was interesting when he came on book tour here in NZ that after the media how the pet food companies came out swinging.

Cats and dogs are supposed to chew on uncooked bones to clean their teeth properly. Cooking bones makes them brittle and therefore prone to splinter.

The most lasting thing this vet said and rang so true was about a certain pet food company supplying cat milk to the tigers at a zoo. He said where on earth would a tiger go and drink milk from in Africa? "Excuse me Mrs Wildebeast, but can I have some of your milk?".

[trista]

I recently had a cat die of kidney disease, and maybe that could have been prevented by feeding him canned food.... I'll never know, but I do wish I'd have fed him canned.

My current cat I got when he was an adult, and I don't know what he was fed before, but I'm sure it was dry food because he is now diabetic. I have to give him insulin injections twice a day.

We now feed him only canned. My only problem with canned is his poop stinks really bad, and I mean seriously, heinous. Would a different food help that? He has to have potassium supplements b/c of the diabetes though, so I don't know if that is what makes his poop stink.

[Marquise]

My adult male totally ignored the water fountain we bought for him. The only thing he likes to drink from is the four-cup measuring cup we use to make coffee. We finally got him his own. He especially likes for me to hold it from him. Yes, he's spoiled, but I'd stand on my head each day if it got him to drink more.

Love this. Aren't cats crazy and great? Mine likes to drink from our glasses (water or milk). When I get milk out of the refrigerator for dinner, he often comes to the kitchen expecting a taste. So far he doesn't require a special glass or cup. Sometimes we let him try to get his head in when the liquid is too low in the glass for him to reach - just for our amusement.

[zoom-zoom]

Love this. Aren't cats crazy and great? Mine likes to drink from our glasses (water or milk). When I get milk out of the refrigerator for dinner, he often comes to the kitchen expecting a taste. So far he doesn't require a special glass or cup. Sometimes we let him try to get his head in when the liquid is too low in the glass for him to reach - just for our amusement.

We have one who will dip his paw in a glass, then lick his paw, if he can't reach a liquid with his mouth. He's a pretty smart one.

[Possegal]

I bought my two the very expensive water fountain. I spent 6 yrs giving fluids to a CRF cat and so I want to be sure these guys stay hydrated. So far, they seem to be ignoring it. I bet if it was free, they would be loving it.

I was walking through Petsmart over the weekend with three cases of canned food for my cats and some guy goes by me, with cat food in his cart, and just says - you treat your cats way too well. I'm not sure if he was joking or making a serious statement. But my cats love their food and I'm not going to try something new.

[Eden]

My boy had a brush with FUS - he did not require surgery thankfully but was quite sick and was put on a prescription diet for a while, which is what prompted me to look very carefully at what I was feeding my cats (well, that and the asian pet food poison scare...).

I decided the stuff my vet had me giving him was essentially acidified garbage... I looked at the ingredients it had all of the nasty byproducts, glutens and carbs that probably caused his problem in the first place with acidifiers thrown in to counter act it all.... So I did lot of research, a lot of searching and decided, against the advice of the vet to take him off of the prescription diet.

I switched my two to a 100% meat based canned diet and have had no problems at all since then (and yes they both now have beautiful, very soft, very shiny coats and no bad breath - which was not true on the prescription diet...). I tried a water fountain, but both mine totally ignore it - well at least they didn't drink from it..... The girl used to get big kicks out of taking it apart and pulling the charcoal filter out to play with.... The boy gets a splash of extra water in his food at each meal to force him to get a bit of extra hydration.

[Becky]

It took a few weeks, but our two cats and the dog eventually came around to the water fountain.

Our male cat is on prescription food for urinary issues, and my opinion of it is similar to Eden's: it's expensive junk food. That said, I haven't quite worked up the nerve to switch his food, nor would I know what to switch him to. Any suggestions for reading material on this specific topic?

[indysteel]

It took a few weeks, but our two cats and the dog eventually came around to the water fountain.

Our male cat is on prescription food for urinary issues, and my opinion of it is similar to Eden's: it's expensive junk food. That said, I haven't quite worked up the nerve to switch his food, nor would I know what to switch him to. Any suggestions for reading material on this specific topic?

What food is he on and for what specific condition? The link I provided earlier may have some information about how to change his diet for the better with his medical issues in mind.

[bmccasland]

I learned a lot about cat food from FelineDiabetes.com
http://www.felinediabetes.com/diet.htm
On the above page is a link to Janet & Binky food charts. Although USA based, they have some international information. I swear my kitty's French Friskies pouch food is different from what I buy here (they only get it when I see my French friend or from her at Christmas).

[indysteel]

I learned a lot about cat food from FelineDiabetes.com
http://www.felinediabetes.com/diet.htm
On the above page is a link to Janet & Binky food charts. Although USA based, they have some international information. I swear my kitty's French Friskies pouch food is different from what I buy here (they only get it when I see my French friend or from her at Christmas).

Those charts--one of which is linked to in the link I provided--are awesome. I keep a print out in the car so that I have it when I go pet food shopping.

[Becky]

What food is he on and for what specific condition? The link I provided earlier may have some information about how to change his diet for the better with his medical issues in mind.

Hills Prescription Diet C/D for chronic urinary tract issues. I don't recall what his original urinalysis showed. I need to find it, and go from there.

The C/D does seem to help most of his "outside the box" moments, but I'm not thrilled with the ingredients list.

I will definitely look at those links- thanks!

[Biciclista]

My only problem with canned is his poop stinks really bad, and I mean seriously, heinous. Would a different food help that? He has to have potassium supplements b/c of the diabetes though, so I don't know if that is what makes his poop stink.

Cats fed raw meat don't have stinky feces

[indysteel]

Trista,

I've fed my cats both wet and dry food and neither has caused foul smelling poo. The only cat I've had with that problem had a variety of health issues, including IBS and thyroid disease. I would make sure nothing else was going on in your cat's gut or endocrine system before assuming it was just a matter of diet.

[Koronin]

Becky, you could also look at the Royal Canin prescription foods. When Ariel had her stones we looked at both Science Diet (Hills) and Royal Canin and choose to go with Royal Canin because the ingredient are a bit better. Not great, but better than Science Diet. Of course our vet had to special order the food since the office carried Science Diet. However my vet actually uses Royal Canin prescription over Science Diet for her cats as well. Our new vet (after moving across the state) carries Royal Canin prescription and Innova in her office.

[trista]

Cats fed raw meat don't have stinky feces

Yes, I think his food is the problem. There was no stink till we switched to dry from canned. He's been recently tested for everything under the sun when he was super sick from untreated diabetes and he's otherwise healthy. And I admit to getting the cheap cans, only because I didn't know better. I keep the Janet & Binky food charts in my purse to help me decide on low-carb foods, but I don't think the ones I'm choosing are good for his intestines (he seems to have a sensitive gut).

I don't have the time or energy for a raw-meat diet though, so I'm trying some different canned & frozen brands to see if a change will help. Any favorite brands? I am trial-ing Nature's Variety, Evo and ZiwiPeak so far and am open to suggestions.