Cat Food - Wet/Dry

[KateKat]

I don’t think anyone here is preaching one way is the only way. And I would hope that anyone who reads this can do their own research and make decisions for themselves.

That said…in my experience, I grew up with cats who lived on a dry food diet and they were all in their late teens. Happy and healthy for the most part, although one had a couple of bladder issues which could more than likely be from the strict dry food diet. However, the difference between my childhood cats and my current cats are the childhood ones were outdoor/indoor. Their dry food diet was supplemented with mice and squirrels, which in the wild, is where cats do get some of their liquid.

Of my current, strictly indoor cats, one had HORRIBLE bladder issues before I finally started doing some research and switched him over to 100% high quality wet food (or when he gets dry, its like a 1:4 ratio of dry food to water). Turns out as I watched him over the years that this cat doesn’t ever seem to drink water. I’ve seen him at the water bowl once in the five years I’ve owned him. So obviously the majority of the liquid he’s getting is from his food so its SO crucial that his diet has enough water in it.

As for addressing the puking, I’ve noticed that the wet definitely does help. Although really, if you’re living in a house with animals there is going to be puke, its just a given!

[Ghazzu]

The cat is God’s own carnivore.
They have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates.
Wet food is closer to what they should be eating than dry.
If it weren’t for the utter impossibility of marketing it, I’d create a line of canned cat food based on ground whole mice.

[Bacardi1]

[QUOTE=Ghazzu;6049884]
The cat is God’s own carnivore.
They have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates.
Wet food is closer to what they should be eating than dry.
If it weren’t for the utter impossibility of marketing it, I’d create a line of canned cat food based on ground whole mice.:D[/QUOTE]

Well, actually, if you’re feeding a high-quality canned food,
there isn’t much difference between that & “ground whole mice”. High-quality canned (& some dry) foods contain high protein, along with grains & vegetables (which would be in the stomach contents of mice), & calcium (which would be in mouse bones). Very little difference EXCEPT that the canned diet won’t have the worms & other parasites all too prevalent in mice.

[Wayside]

[QUOTE=Simkie;6049563]
I imagine your experience would be different if you tried a meat-only wet food.[/QUOTE]

FWIW, my cat got his worst ever raging UTI with crystals and horrible constipation eating nothing but Evo’s 95% canned food. Go figure. So I’m going to have to go with the posters saying there’s no one food/feeding method that will work for all cats.

[Simkie]

@Wayside;6049907

FWIW, my cat got his worst ever raging UTI with crystals and horrible constipation eating nothing but Evo’s 95% canned food. Go figure. So I’m going to have to go with the posters saying there’s no one food/feeding method that will work for all cats.

Absolutely–I agree. But saying that cats need dry food because one particular cat did poorly on a crappy wet food, but does better on a crappy wet food + a crappy dry food is like saying that milkshakes are good for me because I get the runs on McDonalds Cheeseburgers, but get better on cheeseburgers + milkshakes.

I’d be curious to know when you used the EVO, though, too…before or after the P&G purchase? I really don’t think it’s been the same food since the purchase…

[Bacardi1]

I’ll still vote that the “correct” diet will always depend on the individual animal. You can’t just say across the board that one particular wet or dry diet will work.

Like I posted before, I’ve owned dozens of cats (all adopted) that arrived with all sorts of health issues, but free-choice dry & once-a-day wet served all of them well into their late teens/low 20’s. No UTI’s or other diseases normally attributed to diet. One adult cat arrived as a diabetic, & survived into his late teens on the same diet (with vet’s blessing) along with his daily insulin shot.

What more would one ask for unless one wanted to be really anal about it?

Do what works for your particular cats & don’t lose sleep over it!

[Simkie]

@Bacardi1;6049933

No UTI’s or other diseases normally attributed to diet.

No kidney disease? No obesity? No excessive plaque and tarter in the mouth?

Do what works for your particular cats & don’t lose sleep over it!
The difficulty is that the consequences of an improper diet are often not immediate–most owners won’t know the diet doesn’t work for the cat until years later, when the critter is dying from chronic renal failure. Hard to say “do what works” when you may not know for years that the diet is harmful, and then the damage is done and the cat is dying.

[Wayside]

[QUOTE=Simkie;6049928]
I’d be curious to know when you used the EVO, though, too…before or after the P&G purchase? I really don’t think it’s been the same food since the purchase…[/QUOTE]

It was 2 or 3 years ago, so before the P&G purchase.

Fluffers is abnormal, though. It appears from his x-rays that at some point prior to me owning him he was probably hit by a car, and his pelvis is full of plates and screws. His pelvis is somewhat crooked and narrow as a result, and that makes it easy for him to get backed up, and when that happens he has trouble voiding both urine and feces completely, according to the vet. So far it seems like he’s actually better off with a little bit of fiber in his diet.

Though I agree, it might be worthwhile for the OP in this thread to try a high-quality wet cat food and see if that helps.

[HenryisBlaisin]

[QUOTE=Simkie;6049944]
No kidney disease? No obesity? No excessive plaque and tarter in the mouth?

The difficulty is that the consequences of an improper diet are often not immediate–most owners won’t know the diet doesn’t work for the cat until years later, when the critter is dying from chronic renal failure. Hard to say “do what works” when you may not know for years that the diet is harmful, and then the damage is done and the cat is dying.[/QUOTE]

This. A lot of the “decline” often attributed to old age in cats is caused by things like chronic renal failure, diabetes, or other issues. Renal failure, in particular, is common in old cats and is much more likely to be caused by certain diets. Many people with old cats who are losing condition think it’s old age, when, in fact, it’s renal failure.

[JB]

I’m SO bummed to know that EVO is now owned by P&G :mad:

[Simkie]

@JB;6050203

I’m SO bummed to know that EVO is now owned by P&G :mad:

NO KIDDING.

I fed their stuff for YEARS–and Innova for years before that. I tried to stick through it, as they say nothing has changed, but earlier this year, the kitties stopped eating the food and it looked so different. I went through perhaps a dozen cases before throwing in the towel and calling it quits. The kitties are now on Before Grain 96% chicken and the dog is on Pinnacle Peak. My local pet food place said a LOT of loyal Natura Pet people felt the food had changed and found something different

[JB]

I have several months’ worth of canned food left, maybe 1/5-1/4 of that is EVO (I think I left out Innova this time), and when I’m done with that, I won’t get any more. I got several varieties, each for a case, and it’s mixed in with all the other brands/varieties I got. I don’t have any issues, so far, but really, each can only lasts about 3 feedings, so nobody is eating a great deal of it for any length of time.

[Ghazzu]

@Bacardi1;6049902

Well, actually, if you’re feeding a high-quality canned food,
there isn’t much difference between that & “ground whole mice”. High-quality canned (& some dry) foods contain high protein, along with grains & vegetables (which would be in the stomach contents of mice), & calcium (which would be in mouse bones). Very little difference EXCEPT that the canned diet won’t have the worms & other parasites all too prevalent in mice.

With canned mice, parasites wouldn’t be an issue.
Plus, mouse brains are high in taurine.

[Lori_B]

If anyone wants to find a good quality canned food that cats like and that is very affordable, I want to recommend Trader Joes canned cat food. I have 4 cats with different notions of what is tasty, and they all like this stuff, and from the ingredient list (and the crazy cat lady forums) it is reputed to be a high quality brand ‘relabelled’ for TJ’s stores.

The 6oz can is $0.69.

Every cat I’ve ever managed has lived to their late teens with no chronic health issues. (One had kidney failure when he was around 18, but none as young cats) My cats eat mainly canned, with occasional dry for convenience when I travel. But mainly canned. See Ghazzu above. There is no way that grain is a necessary or appropriate food for cats, who are obligate carnivores and who need to eat a food that contains a lot of water, because they are on the whole terrible at getting enough water when they eat dry food.

Some people live to be 90 smoking a pack a day. And some cats aren’t bothered by eating dry food. But it’s not what they should be eating, it’s mainly convenient for us.

[Wayside]

[QUOTE=Ghazzu;6050774]
With canned mice, parasites wouldn’t be an issue.
Plus, mouse brains are high in taurine.[/QUOTE]

That is an intruiging idea. I’d try it, though I suspect I’d still have to add a little bit of canned pumpkin for consti-pussy :lol:

[HenryisBlaisin]

I was actually pondering the other day on mouse cat food. It actually makes a lot of sense, and cats generally eat the whole mouse (or leave half for you as a gift!), so theoretically, they would not have to be cleaned or boned, just ground. If the mice were farm-raised, parasites, etc. could likely be reduced.

I think the main reason that this wouldn’t fly is that the humans feeding it would be grossed out…the cats would probably love it.

Maybe there could be squirrel, chipmunk, rat, and mole varieties, too…

[Bacardi1]

I don’t want to raise any hackles here, but years ago, my mother’s cat’s favorite canned food was “Goff’s Horsemeat for Cats”. They had an exclusive line of both beef and horsemeat that apparently had the innards/ofal & ground bones included. The cat LOVED the stuff. This was back in the 1960’s.

[Alagirl]

@HenryisBlaisin';6051222

I was actually pondering the other day on mouse cat food. It actually makes a lot of sense, and cats generally eat the whole mouse (or leave half for you as a gift!), so theoretically, they would not have to be cleaned or boned, just ground. If the mice were farm-raised, parasites, etc. could likely be reduced.

I think the main reason that this wouldn’t fly is that the humans feeding it would be grossed out…the cats would probably love it.

Maybe there could be squirrel, chipmunk, rat, and mole varieties, too…

been saying that for years…

Alagirls complete catfood, all natural, no additives…:lol::lol::lol:

It had a few people here go EEEEEWWWWWW

[DevilsAdvocate]

[QUOTE=Simkie;6044956]
Feeding only wet food is better for cats than feeding any portion of their diet as dry food.

Lots of info about feeding kitties here: www.catinfo.org[/QUOTE]

this

/thread

[Cammie]

They don’t offer canned, but you can certainly feed frozen mice- https://www.hare-today.com/index.php?cPath=23_47&osCsid=126827bc26e78a5cadc5d052aa1f627b

That would definitely gross me out too much. I know someone on here gives them to their cats as a treat, but I don’t remember what thread it was on. All sorts of different meats on the site- it’s actually a good source of different proteins if you need to try a novel diet. Although I would draw the line at the guinea pigs. :dead:

along with grains & vegetables (which would be in the stomach contents of mice)

Our outdoor cats used to eat everything except for the guts- I’m not sure they ever ate the stomach/contents.