[Criosphynx]

I decided to lower her dry kibble and give her a little bit of wet every day for moisture. Does the quantity of wet = the quantity of dry? We were feeding her 1/3 cup kibble a day, and now we're feeding her still 1/3 cup of food, but it's split into wet and dry, and I don't want to underfeed her. Do you have any resources/articles about wet food and moisture? I'm a little concerned about the amount of water she (doesn't) drinks. We had this fountain filter for her that we got for fun, and she loved it. Well, it broke a few weeks ago. Now I never see her drink water (although she must at some point).

Not much help on portions, since my cats are all free fed their dry food since they have never gotten fat or anything. Portions on canned will depend on brand...when I buy good canned food, its like half a can per meal...when I buy the cheap-o stuff, its like a can and a half per meal (recommended) but they never eat the whole thing

you can actually add quite a bit of water to it. I find the cats actually like it better when its got more water added...they can lick it up, vs having to bite it to get to it.

I just got one of the water fountains . A thrift store had a new one for $9. I was shocked. Never had even been opened.



Little Big Cat

Long-term feeding of an all-dry-food diet is also suspected as a factor in CRF(Chronic Renal Failure). Cats' kidneys are highly efficient and adapted to life in the desert, where they would get most or all of their water from eating their prey. Cats eating dry cat food take in only half the water that cats on a canned or homemade diet get; this chronic dehydration can cause stress on the kidneys over time. Dry diets also predispose cats to lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD, LUTD, FUS, crystals, stones, cystitis) because they force such a high degree of urine concentration. Chronic or recurrent bladder disease may also be a factor in the development of CRF.

heres one, but there are many. Also, just to be antedotal, my friend growing up had 20+ cats, all fed the cheapest canned food with almost no dry, and they never developed any health problems.

 

[seebrown]

Oh, that's a great idea. I think I'll start adding water to it. I got her the BB canned food. I figured why switch brands since that's the kind of kibble she eats, and it has really high protein.

It's so funny, since the fountain has been broken, she paws at the hole that the water comes out of, like "Why isn't the water coming out??? I can't drink it if it's just sitting here!"

 

[Criosphynx]

is the pump just acting up? Can you open the pump and clean the impeller?

Also, if you feel brave, just smack the pump on the floor, the impeller is just likely stuck.

 

[seebrown]

I'll try that before we go buy another one. I think we burned it out. The water will usually dry up after a week (in which case we'll clean and fill it), but I was too busy and just left it. I thought my SO had turned it off, she thought I had turned it off, and it was on w/no water in the unit for a solid week. When I finally unplugged it yesterday, cleaned it and set it up back up, it's not working at all. No sound like it's even trying to work or anything.

 

[Criosphynx]

!!!!!!!!! oh man...may be fried then.

But yeah, when I sold fish stuff (the pump is the same) I would always tell people to smack it on som'thing at least once before tossing it, and buying som'thing new. I'd say about 60% of the time it worked and they didn't need a new pump. Minerals or goo can make the moving pieces stick

mine makes a ton of noise if it even gets a tiny bit low...so it hasn't run dry yet. I also unplug it at night

 

[Bentfish]

I've tried to feed my cats quality kibble, but unfortunately the only thing the my younger cat can keep down is either standard supermarket stuff or Purina Pro Plan sensitive stomach, so both my cats get that.

Sadly, I never thought to look much into cat food until I got a dog (except when my younger cat developed allergies), so they've had junk food for most of their lives.

This for me too. My cat has been eating the junk stuff all of her life. I want to try TOTW, but I dont want to upset her stomach or possible give her crystals. I'm still debating. If it is healthier for it, it might be worth a try!

 

[fawkese1]

i dunno, i just switched to TOTW for my cat, normally, even when i am very careful with the ratios when switching foods, we have about a week or so of upset tummy. i was very pleasantly surprised that he had little to no upset (that i could tell) with this switch, AND seems so much more satiated on it.

 

[Bentfish]

I think I will definitely try it now, thanks Fawkese!

 

[fawkese1]

no worries, i hope you have the same experience, let us know how it goes

 

[seebrown]

I looked on a cat forum, and it looks like wet is the way to go if you can afford it, but a lot of the members do a wet/dry mix. I think for now I'll just do the mix and stick with BB since it seems to be more commercially available. I may switch to TOTW at some point down the road, esp. when I get a dog...which is looking like it might be even longer away than I'd planned with a potential upcoming move next early next year.

 

[fawkese1]

yeah... i didn't realize how important wet food was at first, and my cat never used to like it, it literally took me a few months of putting little bits in his dish, when he was really hungry, to get him to eat it at all! now he will go for it tho...

 

[Bentfish]

no worries, i hope you have the same experience, let us know how it goes

Will do! I hope it solves her sensitive stomach problem. Poor old girl... lol

 

[Criosphynx]

I have a cat that would puke at any switch. I did a TOTW cold turkey once (ran out of food, and well, bad human bad) and there was no upset.

They also ate it like madness.

 

[seebrown]

Got the new fountain, and she stared at it for a solid hour. Cats are so funny. And the big difference between cats and dogs: I posted in a cat forum about my concern for Pineapple's light OCD (she chases lights for 3 hours every morning when the sun reflects on the carpet). Everyone's response: "My cat does that all day."

 

[seebrown]

I just bought 1 case each of Innova and EVO wet food because the site had free shipping and 10% off over a certain price. It basically equals out to 34¢ a 5.5 oz can (I got the big cans though), and will last 144 days since I'm still feeding partly dry. What a deal!

 

[SchnauzerLover]

Thankfully my black Tabby is a tank--unlike my dogs. No sensitive stomach on my kitty. I feed him dry Iams Kitty ProActive Health. He seems to love it, but he's getting a bit chubby on it and I think its time to switch to adult-ish cat food. He also occasionally gets treats for sitting, speaking, etc. My cat is a lot like a dog.

 

[Love4himies]

I'm really curious because I know more about dog food than I do cat food, and I don't even have a dog. We currently feed Blue Buffalo Spa Select because we can get it at the same store we would get (our imaginary) dog's food, so it's more convenient. I also figure if BB is so good for dogs, it's probably just as good for cats, no?

As a side note, our cat has now claimed the crate because it's been set up for 8 months with no dog.

yay another cat person!!! Little by little we could take over the dog forum

Just kidding.

I tried feeding my cats raw, as we feed our dogs, but I could not get them to switch. So they are back on "Evo" cat kibble. Its grain free and high in protein.

Cats should be on a raw diet and it is not impossible to change them, they just need a bit more patience than dogs.

I decided to lower her dry kibble and give her a little bit of wet every day for moisture. Does the quantity of wet = the quantity of dry? We were feeding her 1/3 cup kibble a day, and now we're feeding her still 1/3 cup of food, but it's split into wet and dry, and I don't want to underfeed her. Do you have any resources/articles about wet food and moisture? I'm a little concerned about the amount of water she (doesn't) drinks. We had this fountain filter for her that we got for fun, and she loved it. Well, it broke a few weeks ago. Now I never see her drink water (although she must at some point).

If your cat will eat canned, then I would nix the kibble, it is not doing your cat any good.

Here is a great website on cat nutrition.
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

I make my own homemade raw to mix with canned. I use the recipe in the link I provided and I can't tell you the difference in the health of my cats.

 

[seebrown]

Thanks for the resource. She's on high quality wet now and we give high quality kibble as treats since she seems to like it as much as expensive treats for training. I would switch to raw if I had the time and patience, but I don't even prepare my own meals if it doesn't take less than 5 minutes.

 

[Jessabel]

I feed my cats Meow Mix, but that's not to say they eat it. My one cat, Annabel, prefers potato chips, popcorn, and Cheezits. And my old one only likes to eat wet food, steak, or deli turkey.

 

[karaleigh]

I feed my cats Kirkland's (Costco brand) Adult Maintenance. It's a good food with limited ingredients (pretty much only chicken and rice) and is inexpensive. We are feeding our new puppies the same brand.