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Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 7:35 pm
by LindaKat
Hi
I'm a newbie to this forum and forums in general.
I've had my present cat since September, he's a rescue from RSPCA. He came to me eating both wet and dried food, but now will only grudgingly lick the gravy off some food. Vet seemed to think okay to just give him dried food, presently on Science Plan as recommended by him.

I worry because my previous cat developed a urinary blockage and was diagnosed with FLUTD. He did eat both wet and dried but maybe with hindsight not the best quality dried but I was a new cat owner. Anyway he was on prescription diet for over 8 years
Harry does seem to drink a fair bit of water, and slosh it all over the floor, little devil. He will only eat the tiniest bits of cooked chicken or tuna in spring water.

I am thinking of switching to James Wellboved grain free. I've tried all the commercial supermarket wet foods with no joy. Any thoughts on remaining on just dried food.

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 8:14 pm
by ThorpeDave
Hi

I have 2 kittens, now 10 weeks old and they will eat nothing but dry food. I have tried all kinds of wet food but no joy. One will eat chicken both cooked and freeze dried but that is it.

My vet also recommends dry Hill's prescription diet but I am using something else

My preference is for grain and potato free so feeding Turkey and Salmon Carnilove kitten food. They also have Wainrights Grain free kitten food from PAH

As long as they are drinking plenty and gaining weight I see no problem

Regards

Dave

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 9:36 pm
by Mollycat
One of the risks highlighted by opponents of dry is kidney problems.

It's only one case but my cat years ago was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure at the age of 8. At that time there was only Hills dry or Whiskas wet, and my cat having good taste would not touch Whiskas. So she ate dry. And she ate dry for another 8 years, until her kidneys finally failed, and she was a healthy happy cat until that happened.

On the other hand wet food may be linked with hyperthyroidism, especially the fish flavoured ones.

The best food for your cat is the food your cat will eat. As long as it's a nutritionally complete and balanced food, of course.

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 10:14 pm
by ThorpeDave
Mollycat wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 9:36 pm
The best food for your cat is the food your cat will eat. As long as it's a nutritionally complete and balanced food, of course.
Yes I totally agree with that.

I am personally a believer in "as natural as possible" with protein derived from meat rather than plant extracts.

A simple test to ensure you cats are drinking enough is squeeze the poo!. We use poo bags so easy to feel what goes in there. Poo should be well formed and on the soft side. If it is rock hard, not enough water is being drank.

No problems in that direction here!

When Hendrix - now 11 month old - arrived when he was 8 weeks old he was being fed on Whiskas dry. He was having a lot of problems going and producing tiny rock hard lumps so switched him to natural wet food - end of problem!

Regards

Dave

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 10:27 pm
by LindaKat
Not checked his poo... But will do next time he goes. Off to pets at home tomorrow to check out what's available there.

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sun May 26, 2019 1:15 pm
by Lilith
Hi, some cats just do. I had a feral tom who moved in, mainly through hunger I think, but would he eat wet? He would not. He lived on bog-standard brand dried (I'm afraid I wasn't that clued-up about decent brands at the time) and liked the odd snack of cooked chicken which I fed him by hand so as to socialise him (he was pretty wild despite neutering.) He became a magnificent cat; he must have been middleaged when he joined me, and improved in every way with regular feeding and care - but he never would eat wet food. There was no sign of kidney disease but I can understand your concern; I've had cats with this and it's heartbreaking.

All the best to you and your boy. :)

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sun May 26, 2019 4:26 pm
by LindaKat
Thanks.
I figure if I buy a decent quality food that he likes and he is drinking enough water then he should be okay. :D

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Sun May 26, 2019 6:55 pm
by booktigger
LindaKat wrote: Sun May 26, 2019 4:26 pm Thanks.
I figure if I buy a decent quality food that he likes and he is drinking enough water then he should be okay. :D
I agree, if they only like dry, make sure it is the best quality that he will eat.

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 9:07 am
by Kay
I took in a rescued 11 year old girl a month ago, and she won't eat any wet food either - but she will lap up the liquid from canned chicken and fish, so I am steeping it in extra water and giving her that to increase her drinking

I buy a range of good quality dry food from Zooplus, and go for the ones with lower phosphorus, as that helps the kidneys

I might try some of the cat soups now widely available too

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 9:23 am
by Mollycat
Just one word of caution - although of course we're concerned about enough fluid when they are on dry food, too much fluids can also cause issues. Cat urine needs to be at the right pH and concentration to kill off bacteria in the urinary tract. Too dilute it can't do that job properly. Too concentrated and we know the potential issues. It is possible to worry too much about our feline friends, they are more resilient than we sometimes give them credit for.

Anyone know if there is such a thing as soft dry foods like there is for dogs? Moist chunks or something?

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 9:40 am
by LindaKat
I've tried the cat soups. Very hit and miss and quite expensive for what they are. He won't touch any of the meat or fish that's in them. He's a funny little chap but I love him whatever. 8-)

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 10:01 am
by Kay
Mollycat wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 9:23 am

Anyone know if there is such a thing as soft dry foods like there is for dogs? Moist chunks or something?
I've seen this in Tesco but not tried it https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /291900262

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 11:19 am
by Catotum
It's very good for his teeth! My senior female, very sickly as a kitten, would not eat wet food at all. Now, she will eat (occasionally) the cat pate sold by Purina Gourmet, providing it is made into a soup with a bit of water. There can be a problem with males but I think it is mostly young males - check with your vet.

If you have room for a water fountain, this is likely to encourage him to drink. He might ignore it totally for a month or so (they often do) but then thoroughly enjoy it. Otherwise, keep water bowls in several places, including outdoors, if you have an outdoors.

I agree that avoiding cheap foods of any kind is the ideal situation - you can usually distinguish these, not just on price, but on the phenomenal amounts they recommend feeding. I think they do that to keep up the levels of necessary nutrients, amidst all the junk.

I have 3 cats now & a great variety of cat foods to suit their quite rapidly changing preferences. Hill's is good but there are many varieties & other makes, to stimulate the feline appetite when it becomes jaded. You could try a variety of the cat food packets sold singly in big supermarkets to test the effects on him. Rejected food will be eaten up by birds & Hedgehogs :)



Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 11:27 am
by Mollycat
Kay wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 10:01 am I've seen this in Tesco but not tried it https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /291900262
Garlic powder??? Garlic is toxic to cats. They must mean some safe extract of garlic to give the benefits without poisoning them surely.

Thanks Kay :)

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 12:34 pm
by Catotum
Re garlic: one would hope so but I've just realised ASDA have brought out a low sugar ice-cream, sweetened with XYLITOL of all things. Xylitol is lethal to dogs, even in small quantities. The situation with cats is not clear - some say it is dangerous, some say it is OK. I don't know why Xylitol when Erythritol has the same sweetening effect, is not toxic & is much less prone to cause digestive upsets in humans. Cheaper? Obviously, they couldn't care less about pets.

Re: Dried food.... Won't eat wet..

Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 4:44 pm
by ThorpeDave
Mollycat wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 11:27 am
Kay wrote: Mon May 27, 2019 10:01 am I've seen this in Tesco but not tried it https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... /291900262
Garlic powder??? Garlic is toxic to cats. They must mean some safe extract of garlic to give the benefits without poisoning them surely.

Thanks Kay :)
Just checked their web site and it defiantly says "Garlic Powder" !!!!

Been trying for ages to find a cat food that tastes like roast Chicken! might give in a look.

Regards

Dave