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the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:15 am
by peewoddin
...yes, I have VERY finicky kitten who just doesn't seem to like wet food of any kind - madly expensive or even rather cheap stuff, doesn't matter. He happily eats his dry biscuits, is very healthy and clearly he eats enough to create healthy poops in his tray. But I don't like the idea of JUST dry food for him, so how bad would it be to just supplement his dry diet with cooked chicken/fish (which he WILL eat)? When I get desperate about his refusal to eat wet food I give him some of my protein, and he happily eats that. If the dry food is complete, surely this should be okay? I know there is a lot of panic around about how cats MUST eat the right balance (with taurine, etc.) in their food, but the truth is that the cat food industry isn't all that old and cats have been around for ages! Any informed advice much appreciated. If I asked my cat he would say 'carry on with the dry food and the human-grade chicken/fish please'....but am I harming him?

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 9:28 am
by fjm
There should be no problem at all with feeding meat and fish up to around 15-20% of the diet - more than that and I would think about adding a little ground eggshell to maintain the calcium balance (around 1 teaspoonful ground eggshell per kilo of meat), or feeding him half a raw chicken wing a couple of times a week, which would provide both calcium and natural tooth cleaning. Meat is naturally high in taurine, especially well used muscle meat (the problems arose when cats were fed highly processed food made mainly from cereals and vegetables...). If you are buying meat etc especially for him the cheaper, tougher cuts are therefore best - chicken thighs rather than breast, ox cheek, and heart (although that can be a tad rich for some tummies!). Oily fish - salmon (fresh, not tinned), mackerel, sprats, sardines - are very good for him a few times a week if he likes them. I would avoid giving him any cooked foods that are too salty, oily or fatty, and those containing onions, garlic or any of the other no-nos for cats, of course.

I would also try giving him unsalted broth - chicken or fish stock made from bones and trimmings, for example. One big problem with dried food, apart from the high carbohydrate content of many brands, is that cats have evolved to get most of their fluids from their prey and may not drink enough to stay fully hydrated. Flavouring water may help to encourage him to drink more.

I feed my cats and dogs a home made diet, using meats from Durham Animal Foods, but I do buy some cat kibble - because it is an occasional treat it works well for Pippin's Metacam, which needs to be given with food - he will always eat a scoop of posh kibble, even when he is not very hungry!

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:56 pm
by peewoddin
Thank you SO MUCH for that thoughtful and informed reply! Really helpful.

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:29 pm
by alanc
I had your problem with my Badger. I totally failed to find a solution.

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Thu May 24, 2018 5:02 pm
by vanilla
My cat is a little fussy. Some wet foods he won't eat. The only way I can get him to eat it is to mix it with his favourite dry food! That does the trick. It's a 50/50 mix of wet and dry. Maybe try mixing a tiny amount of wet food to his dry and gradually increase it. :)

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:54 am
by Boos Dad
Really interesting topic. Can I ask why is it that you are concerned about feeding dry food only? If you are using a high quality, complete dry food he will be getting all the nutrients he needs.

There is a lot of rubbish out there but that applies to both wet and dry food. If you are looking at a high quality food with a high meat content that's a good start.

If you are thoughtful about supplementing his food then you aren't likely to cause harm but like you said, it's important he gets a balanced diet and its hard to keep track of when you are adding in different foods.

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:59 am
by Ruth B
As long as he has a good quality 'complete' dry food, there shouldn't be any problem, as has been said the main problem with only feeding dry food is that cats often don't drink enough which can lead to problem with kidneys and bladder later in life, something that is worth being aware of, but not panicking about.

If he really won't eat wet food then i would suggest you stop wasting money on it, maybe try offering an odd pouch or tin as a treat, but don't bother putting it down regularly.

I would also suggest trying him with raw food rather than cooked. One of the dangers of cooked food is that any bones can splinter and cause major harm, raw bones on the other hand form a natural part of a feral or wild cats diet, when they catch a mouse they don't pick the tender meat off they eat the whole thing (and throw up any thing undigestable). You can get frozen raw food diets specially prepared where you just thaw out a portion when needed, or pick up the cheaper cuts from your supermarket or your local butchers.

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:11 am
by Kay
the tins of supplementary food, mostly chicken and tuna, I think make a useful addition to an all-dry diet, as they can be watered down a lot, and are easily frozen too

and no nasties lurking in them

Re: the ever popular food question....

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:00 pm
by AndyMac
I am the same with my cat. I adopted her from a shelter and she was an indoor cat with her previous owner - I feed her Purina One and Pro-Plan as per the advice of the shelter. I have tried her on all kinds of wet food and she has no interest in them. She will eat sliced chicken/turkey, I have tried her with tuna and corned beef but she was not interested but she is in good health and do witness her drinking water.