I’ve recently read a few things that got me thinking the dry commercial stuff doesn’t make much sense as cat food. So, I’ve started feeding mine canned food (with great attention to ingredients), which she gobbles up greedily in about two seconds. She’s also lost a little weight, her coat is shinier, and she even seems to be producing less waste.
I’d really like to try feeding her raw meat, but right now it’s just too expensive. So, I’m interested in knowing what other people feed their cats, how expensive it is relatively, and why you picked it, even if it’s dry food.
And while we’re here, does alternating food types and/or brands harm the cat at all? I don’t wanna keep experimenting if it’s going to hurt her worse than feeding her crappy food will.
Iams Indoor Hairball Weight Control, dry, and once a week Iams from a can, which they love. Rick is 14 and Mick is 10 – healthy, indoor cats, with shiny coats.
From what I’ve heard, feeding them a good-quality food is more important than whether it’s dry or wet food. A good-quality food should have chicken or another meat as the first ingredient- not cornmeal or some other filler. A food that’s heavy on fillers will probably mean more waste.
The Neville kitties get Eukanuba Weight Control dry food (because Luna is a chubby kitty). They were getting that in the morning and Iams canned food at night, but we stopped giving them wet food when we had an infestation of little flies (some people also have problems with ants). Wet food can cause bug problems if your kitties like to graze instead of eating all their food at one sitting, and ours are grazers. Maybe now that the flies seem to be gone, we can go back to giving them wet food- they love it so. I just hope the bugs don’t come back- I don’t like bugs.
[proud kitty mom]They both have beautiful, silky, shiny coats- the cat sitter we hired to look after them when we were in Australia told me so [/pkm]
Ours get a mixture of dry kibble: Iams Weight and Hairball Control mixed with Purina One. If they have been good, they get a pouch of soft food for Sunday dinner. No table scraps, lots of water.
I have read some convincing articles that wet food is much better for cats, as it is closer to their natural diet. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where and when I read this. I feed dry, and it is always out (Science Diet) and canned (usually Sophisticat from Petsmart) twice a day.
My main concern with dry is all the grains/carbs it has, as I have seen my cats get overweight while eating dry food exclusively while free feeding.
I have four indoor cats. One is elderly (16 yrs.) and a good weight. I’d like to keep him that way. He has been chubby in the past, but he lost weight when he was diagnosed hyperthyroid. He gained some back after undergoing radioiodine. He eats dry and canned.
My 11 year old cat is round, but that is her body type - roundish. She refuses to eat anything but dry.
I am concerned about my 4 year old cat. She is overweight. She eats canned and dry. I’d like to eliminate the dry from her diet - I don’t think she needs all the carbs.
My youngest is still a baby ( months), and she also eats dry and canned.
We actually do feed a raw diet, and it’s not very expensive at all. They eat about four ounces of meat a day. We spend less than a dollar a pound for food, meaning it actually works out to be cheaper than premium dry cat foods which, as you mentioned, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as far as feeding cats goes ;).
Our cats get chicken, turkey, various kinds of fish, pork, beef, venison, lamb, goat, raw eggs, various organ meats. We’ll feed canned sardines or mackerel in a pinch.
I am a fan of Purina One, which keeps our 2 kitties happy (Salmon & Tuna flavor). I have always read that dry food is better, especially to prevent kidney stones, which are especially serious in male cats.
I can’t think of any harm you do by switching, assuming it’s a consistently high quality diet of something. Most cats seem to find something they like and stay with it though.
I feed Iams Multiple Cat formula. They only get dry food, with a can or two of something stinky on special occasions. They also get the water drained off the tuna going for sandwiches.
According to my vet, cats (or dogs) fed only canned food tend to get bad teeth and really bad breath. The higher quality dry food you feed, the less waste in the litter box and the smell of the waste isn’t nearly as bad.
I used to think I was supposed to feed my cats only dry food because it was better for their teeth. However, a recent vet visit indicated that an all-dry diet wasn’t good for male cats with a history of crystals in the urine, and also had a bad effect on the cats’ glycemic index (couldn’t really explain why, though). Mine get dry in the morning and wet at night. I feed Science Diet to the ones who don’t need prescription food. None of my cats are overweight and they seem happy with their diets.
Feeding all dry or all wet each lead to their own problems. Cats fed an all wet diet are going to have horrible teeth a couple years down the road. Cats fed an all dry diet can have urinary issues (mostly males). A good mixture of both wet and dry is what’s best for cats. As for a raw diet, please don’t start your cats on it without thoroughly researching it both online and off. I personally don’t think it’s good at all because of all the health problems it can cause (pancreatitis, gastroenteritis, parasites, etc). Plus cats have SUCH specific dietary needs, it can be tricky to make sure you’re fulfilling them completely when using a home made recipe/plan. Just choose a high quality kibble (Chicken Soup, Royal Canin, etc) and supplement an equally high quality wet food and it will be perfect for your cat’s wellbeing
While this is somewhat true, a well-planned raw diet is worlds beyond in terms of quality of nutrition. It does take a lot of homework and a lot of time and effort to accomplish, though. For us, it’s completely worth it. My cat was scrawny and listless on the premium dry foods we fed him. Switching to raw was like a light coming on for him, and he’s thrived. Our other pets are loving it too, and I don’t think I could ever switch back to dry except under extreme duress.
Well I’m sure it does work in some cases but the truth is that a person is hard pressed to find a reputible veterinarian who suggests and stands behind a raw diet. The complications that can come from a raw diet are more numerous than from feeding a high quality kibble diet. To each their own, I’m not going to get into a raw/kibble debate here. That’s for another forum
Purina for indoor kittes, and the fonziecat seems to like…
Though he still looks for roughage (sp? Ruffage? Whatever)
He will EAT a leaf if it gets inside. Eat it. But won’t eat grass, leaves or otherwise during his short ventures out of doors. :dubious:
Purina…when I joined yahoo, in the good old days, there was a link to purina. purinas site showed that purina is well tested. Their labs were open to everyone, the animals looked happy. I think their care about cat nutrition sold me on their product long before I got my cat Lydia… another story
Well, Lydia is happy with it.
A bowl of dry kibble sits out 24-7 for my kitties, (2 of them are 3 yrs old and I have 1 1 yr old)
The kibble is always Purina brand, sometimes the hairball control, sometimes indoor formula, I mix it up, since my youngest isn’t quite a year yet, I still mix kitten food in there occasisionally. The three also share one can per day of 9 lives wet food.
Their diet has been approved by their veterinarian.
My vet told me an all dry diet for male cats can cause kidney problems, so I feed mostly canned. My boys eat 3 cans a day, with a dry bedtime snack. I’m in the process of switching over to Hill’s Science Diet, on the advice of fellow Dopers who say it reduces the smell and amount of stuff in the litterbox.
A person is hard pressed to find a veterinarian that hasn’t had their entire small animal nutrition education funded by Hills and Nestle ;).
A veterinarian is hard pressed to find a responsible pet owner who does their homework and feeds a well-balanced raw diet. There are plenty of vets in my area who fully support a raw diet, as long as they are comfortable that you know what you’re doing and are willing to put the effort into it.
Your argument is a straw man. The complications that can come from an ill-researched, poorly structured, haphazard raw diet are numerous. The benefits of a high quality raw diet are enormous. I’m not in any way suggesting everyone should feed raw–it’s a PITA and takes a whole lot more thought and energy than scooping processed food from a bag–but don’t for one second believe that kibble is a better diet. It’s easier, it’s far more convenient, and you don’t have any responsibility, but it’s not better food.
I’ve never understood the concept of people believing that it’s so insanely difficult to meet the nutritional needs of small animals. Again, I’m not telling everyone that they should dump the kibble, all I’m doing is answering the question posted by the OP. I don’t mean to continue a debate on the topic, but I get very, very weary of the argument that humans are too stupid to feed their pets without Alpo’s assistance, and that it’s better to feed your obligate carnivore a processed diet comprised largely of grain and filler and flavoring than to put a little effort into feeding them real food. No, “raw” doesn’t automatically equal better. Yes, you’ll cause major problems if you don’t do it correctly. Can it be done? Yes. It’s not even very difficult, to tell you the truth.
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