While I tend to share your view on wet food/protein (I just wish my dry-food addicted, wet-food hating cat would agree with us!), you should note that the cat **T2BC **mentioned had kidney disease. Avoiding foods (Fancy Feast?) with high levels of protein would typically be necessary with such a diagnosis. For healthy cats, the notion of “too much protein” might be nonsense, but with CKD it’s a tough, but necessary, balancing act in order to preserve kidney function.
So, it’s possible that the GF is remembering Fancy Feast as a food to avoid for the previous sick cat, and unnecessarily avoiding it now for the healthy cat.
As far as canned food goes, I usually tell people to aim for the “pate” style of any brand, as it’s less likely to contain too much extra grain filler. As opposed to the chunky stuff that’s called all variations of fillets, shreds, diced, cubed, and whatever else I can’t think of right now, those are all formed shapes, and made from wheat gluten. I don’t tell people their cat will die if they feed the cheap stuff, but do be mindful and choose pate whenever possible. I feed mine the cheap stuff, and also add water to it. Some of the Fancy Feast seafood selections are good, because they are mostly real fish and sometimes shellfish. So those are good for treats and hiding meds.
The thing about feeding dry food (kibble) is that it doesn’t make a lick of difference on their teeth. If you ever really watch a cat eat kibble they either break it into a couple of pieces, or swallow it whole. Neither of these things does anything for the teeth. The only kibble that does clean the teeth is the prescription veterinary kibble. There’s a big difference between the veterinary diet and the stuff from the store. The veterinary kibble is much bigger in size, to start. It forces the cat to try to chew it, as just swallowing whole is uncomfortable. (I had one toothless cat who loved her kibble, she ate it just fine until I tried some Hill’s t/d that was for another cat. She licked the coating off, but could not eat it. At all. And she tried valiantly.) The second difference is in how the kibble is extruded. Regular store stuff is packed together like a meatball. It crumbles when tooth pressure is applied. That makes it easier to eat and therefore more palatable to cats. The veterinary kibble is pushed through a shaping mechanism and then cut, making the fibers line up. This makes the kibble keep its form through the bite and makes the kibble scrape the length of the tooth before breaking apart, therefore helping keep the teeth cleaner.
As far as the veterinary circles I run in, we feed mostly canned and recommend canned to people who ask. Our shelter even has a “fat camp” room for obese cats (and a couple with urinary issues), where they are fed all the canned they want, but no kibble at all. The fatties lose and maintain weight, and the urinary kitties remain issue-free. The rest of the shelter gets kibble free-fed in communal bowls, and meal-fed canned food twice a day.
I see. The new kitty is a fatty. Apparently she got stressed out living in the shelter and overate. I’ve wondered how to get her to slim down, thanks.
My gf is telling me the kibble is grain-free. Blue Wilderness High Protein - Grain Free. Duck recipe. I’m not selling the stuff, but how does this stuff rate against the canned?
Eh, kinda six of one, half a dozen of the other. Sure, the Blue Buffalo is “grain” free, but it’s not carbohydrate-free. It’s a bit of a buzz phrase that keeps people from delving too far into the ingredients list or what ingredients their cat’s really should be eating. To me, it’s just as silly and counter to a cat’s digestive system to feed sweet potatoes, carrots, and berries to an obligate carnivore as it is to feed rice and barley that’s found in some cheaper canned products.
Read labels. Many of the Fancy Feast selections don’t have any grain in them, nor to they have any other carbohydrates, save for guar gum which is a binder used to keep the pate looking like a pate. Yep, it’s a bit of a pain at first, but soon you’ll settle on just a few “flavors” you know she likes and stick with them, so not so bad in the long run.
If you want to go ahead with the Blue Buffalo, there’s a recommended feeding guideline at the bottom of their page. There is mention of adding water. You could certainly try that and see if your kitty finds it palatable that way. Depending on her current vs. ideal weight, she may need anywhere from 200 to 400 calories a day. A cup of that kibble is 391 calories, and their chart looks right for that calorie count. Don’t restrict any calories at first, and you want her weight loss to be very slow. Fat cats are at high risk of fatty liver syndrome if they are too calorie restricted/lose weight too quickly. If you’ve taken her to a vet yet, he/she can calculate calorie requirements based on current weight, age, and activity, and recommend a weight loss schedule you can follow at home, gradually restricting calories based on 391/cup. If the shelter you adopted her from has a vet on staff, you may be able to get that information from him/her, but be patient, they’re very busy and it may take a few days for that doc to get back to you.
Think about the fast, little furry animals cats have evolved to eat almost exclusively. Really. Think about them. Mice, rats, squirrels, voles, and even birds. Cat digestive systems have adapted nicely around processing them efficiently.
The last mouse I stomped on was all wet and gooey. That little guy had nothing in common with kibble made in a cereal factory.
Remember, cats are not omnivores. They are carnivores and they do not have the same nutritional flexibility an omnivore has. They eat cute animals. Wet, juicy animals that are made out of meat. SeaDragonTattoo described the urinary kitties remaining trouble free after switching to wet food. Wet food gets you much closer to providing food that is a proper match to feline digestive and nutritional needs.
Well, it all seems so obvious when you guys say it that you’d think I’d have thought this through properly in the first place. Thanks for all the advice.
No worries, it seems it should be obvious, but it’s really not. I’m constantly educating people on feline diets, and helping with overweight, diabetic felines and their owners to get on track after diagnosis. I was in the business, and wasn’t much educated on feline dietary needs until one of my own cats ended up diabetic. It’s a process, and asking the question in the first place is a step further than most people take.
I feed my cats Medley (a Fancy Feast), which is more expensive than the regular Fancy Feast, twice a day. (I have two cats and each gets half a can morning and evening.) The first few ingredients are meat, chicken, or fish product. It does contain some grains, but they need that both for tartar control and fiber. I free feed them a dry cat food. I use several varieties, but I find that Purina Smart Blend, Salmon & Tuna flavor, is the one they like the best. I also give them Whiskas’ Temptations, which has meat products as first ingredients, and helps with tartar control.
I hadn’t realized there was a separate ‘classic’ style of Fancy Feast at all. I was at the store so I picked some up. 3 seafood flavors (chicken may or may not agree with her)… She takes one pill on an empty stomach, so I will have to wait another half hour before I put the question to the ultimate test and feed her the rest of her meds in some Fancy Feast pate.
