Bryon
Im ashamed to admit but in the last few months (due to a combination of human illness, time, and budget constraints) weve been feeding our sweet feline friends only dry food (Science Diet). I know this is terrible so you dont have to remind me of that. All the press on the cat food recall has now got me thinking again about their nutritional needs. So, we are planning to return to an exclusively wet food diet (weve tried raw, which I know is best, but they wont go for it and honestly, as a 2 x full-time student household with an infant, its not sustainable.) So, I have a two-part question for introducing a fully wet diet: 1) How should we transition from dry kibbles to canned foods? 2) What brands are best? Im trying to strike a balance between quality and cost. Here is a list of recommended wet foods: http://cats. about. com/cs/catfood/tp/tpca… Anyone have any thoughts on these brands? Thanks.
Filiberto
Good for you! Its good to see more and more people doing right foodwise for their cats. I personally feed Natural Balance, but I have tried most of those from this list - all were rejected by Miss Thang here, but they are good brands for sure! As for the transition, it took me about 2 weeks. I started out looking for the ones on this list, but I also tried some others that met the ingredient requirements. I continued to offer dry food although I might have cut it back just a little. I offered the canned and if Poppy (Miss Picky) went for anything, I noted it down as to brand and type of meat. She turned up her nose at just about everything! It was very frustrating, but I just kept at it. Again, I still offered her regular food, but it had been cut down by about a 1/4 or 1/3.I eventually stumbled across the ONE type that she would eat, so I just kept presenting that, and gradually phased out the dry food. My other cat ate anything I put down, so she wasnt a problem. Most of those from your list are on mine as well. I wouldnt have any compunctions about feeding any of them, although one was rather heavy on the veggies! Id have loved to feed Wysongs Au Jus varieties, but again, only Sophie would eat them. They would require supplementation, of course, since theyre just meat and organs. But they very handily make one - Call of the Wild.
Arnulfo
It is not a bad thing. cats need dry food it cleans their teeth and strengthens gums. i would suggest letting your cat eat both! i usually feed my cat dry food all day and canned food 3 - 4 times a day. to make the transistion may i suggest mixing friskies canned food about 1/4 of a can with some of your dry cat food. your cat should start to eat the can food in about a week or two.
Boyd
Actually a dry food diet is better for the cats in the long run. They have fewer problems with their teeth. And their weight is more easily retained. If you are feeling bad about the all dry food you can give wet food as a treat. But if you are determined to give the poor little ones bad teeth and urine tract problems in their old age then start mixing the wet food in with the dry and slowly put less dry food in the mixture each day. That should keep the diareah away while you are making the switch. but please provide your cats with plenty of hard treats if you are going with the wet food so their theeth dont get to bad.
Claire
We did the IAMS thing until the recall, NEVER again....I dont trust them anymore.....now I give her Fancy Feast Wet Food....and SHE LOVES IT.. There are so many choices and she like it a lot better than Iams.
Fleta
Whats wrong with dry food? Ive fed all my cats dry almost exclusively. Right now the vet has put my fat cat is on wet food to see if he will lose because he has been on a perpetual diet of measured and controlled feedings and didnt lose weight. I get Natural Balance found conveniently at Petco and at a relatively reasonable cost. None of their products have been on recall and they dont use corn fillers or byproducts.
Branden
Just be careful that the brand you go to doesnt have wheat gluten in it. They are still finding pet foods that need to be recalled. And, Ive been feeding my cats exclusively dry food for years. 2 of them will turn 20 next month, and are in excellent health. When people come over, they think that they might be 9 or 10, not nearly 20! (These are the furry friends I grew up with) If youre going to all wet, just make sure the foods arent on the recall list!
Brinda
What ios so wrong with fedding your cats dry cat food not all of it has been contaminated. Try Purins cat chow dry there is no need to switch but if you do mix dry and wet food together.
Doria
What is wrong with dry food? I have cats and they have dry food out all the time so when they want a snack they can have it. I also buy small fresh fish twice a week and steam them so they can have a fish each morning and evening. They are very healthy and active. Two are seven and one is three. I buy Purina dry cat food and also dog food for the poodle. Purina has been in the animal food business for a very long time and are good at it.
Chery
Theres nothing wrong with dry food, in fact many vets say not to feed canned food because its bad for their teeth, if you want to go back to caned then get some cans of nutro brand cat food, and mix a small amount with your cats normal dry food, over the course of about 2 weeks introduce mroe canned and less dry till you illiminate thedry food.
Caryn
Our cat hates wet food and avoids it whenever she can. mostly successfully. We feed her Science Diet, you dont have to move the cat to wet food, some cats do fine, as long as its a complete food. Nothing terrible about it at all, our cat, according to the vet is in stunning health. No diabetes, kidney failure, bladder problems, IBD, obesity, fatty liver disease, and dental disease. But do feel free to see the complete list and total amounts of everything in these foods at the link:http://webpages. charter. net/katkarma/dry…
Brigid
My daughter feeds her cat dry food and it is as healthy as any cat on the planet. She is a veterinary nurse so would def. not feed anything suspect. She makes sure Mimi always has access to fresh water--although the cat prefers a puddle!
Alysha
I use a mix of dry and wet food. I dont think one or the other exclusively can provide enough nutrition for a cat. I dont have scientific research to back this though, just a cat who lived to be 20 years old and acted like a kitten until the day she died.
Herman
My cats get both the wet and the dry. It gives them a combination of solf and crunchy. I feed my cat friskie wet, fancy feast, and 9-live. They are happy healthy cats. I have some large cats, my oldest is 15 and going strong. I do foster for kittens and all have eaten both and are healthy happy cats. The above mention wet foods were not on the recall list. Good Luck.
Bertie
We had been feeding our dogs commercial dog foods for some time until one of them got real sick to the point where we though we would have to have him put to sleep. A friend of ours told us about this company that makes only holistic products. They make the batchs of food as they are ordered and then shipped to the customer fresh. No wheat, cor or bi-products ever used. Our sickley boy got better after only 2 weeks of being on this new diet. At 1st look it appears to be expensive but considering how fortified the food is, You ultimately feed your pet less. ONE TIP I CAN GIVE YOU : I you go to the web site you can order free samples and once you see if your pet likes it you can go onto "Auto Ship" and save Lots. Here is the web site and good luck with your cat. http://nancyshealthnet. comAlso if you are interested in making some extra money on the side you can become a rep as well and investment is very little.
Aleshia
I WOULD MIX DRY AND WET TOGETHER. A CONSTANT SUPPLY OF WET FOOD CAUSES THE RUNS IN CATS IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. YOU WILL END UP SPENDING ALL THE EXTRA MONEY ON CARPET CLEANING AGENTS.
Porfirio
I see you have so many good answers...And you seem to know a lot about everything...Science diet dry isnt on the list...Eagle pack is good and not on the list and have wet food.. and organic...too...Since the recall I dont take chances and i cook food for my kitten... but I still give her wet tin food and dry food.. mix with my cooking...Cook a lot and freeze them and take one small portion everyday...Hope this can help..Good luck...!!!