Food for cat with UTI tendencies?

[Muffin]

Well, now the search is on to find a wet food The Boys find palatable.

EVO was met with absolute disdain. I even bought turkey broth and tried adding it…both turned pink noses up and stared at me like I was thick. So I went and got a couple cans of Wild Calling rotational diet (not really sure what that means) in duck (I couldn’t bring myself to get the rabbit), and that sits uneaten.

I guess at this point I just have to buy single cans of multiple brands until I hit on something that makes them happy. I’ll donate the ‘unacceptable’ ones to the rescue, but I hope they hurry up and decide. Next step will be adding the Cosequin to whatever Atti decides meets his approval…

[Simkie]

Awesome info about transitioning dry food kitties to wet:

http://catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

They often have to be talked into it

[Muffin]

Simkie, thank you for all the information! The transitioning article will be extremely helpful.

Atticus is curled up on my leg, snoring away, but I know he sends his thanks, too!

[Jhein12]

Do wet food only and I suggest getting the good stuff without a lot of filler like Nature’s Variety Instinct. I do prey model raw with my cats right now with great results but I think canned is the next best thing. When I fed canned I would give each cat a small can in the morning and a small can at night. They would finish the can right away so I never had to put the food away or leave it out.

Here is a feeding guide for their food:

http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-grain-free-canned-cat-food-chicken

[Muffin]

Success! For the first time this morning, both cats ate their wet food! Omar finally agreed to eat the 4Health brand. He wanted nothing to do with EVO, Natures Instinct, and Wild Calling, even with turkey broth, a tuna water dressing, or a scoop of tuna placed on top (he’d eat that, and leave the rest).

I’ll continue the transition off the dry food to a wet food diet.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!

[alto]

Hurrah for your kitties :yes:

I know many cats that hate the EVO, I’d never suggest it for transitioning or cats that are food particular (and they’ve had their share of recalls too … there are several alternate brands that provide similar model diets).

[ravenclaw]

For those of you who feed only canned food, do you feed some of the can and put the leftovers in the refrigerator until the next feeding? Or is it OK to leave the can out (with a cover on it) if you will feed the whole can over the course of 1 day?

My cat definitely prefers room temperature food over food that has been refrigerated and warmed in the microwave. But I don’t know if it’s OK to leave a can out for a whole day.

[Simkie]

We put the open cans in the fridge. All food is mixed with hot water before fed, so it’s warmed a bit with that.

My husband has left open cans out on the counter with a cover on them overnight (forgot to put them away) and feeds them without issue the next morning, but I wouldn’t make a habit out of it. Too risky.

[french_fry]

The article Simkie posted had a genius idea for feeding wet food that I may implement.

Vacations and jobs that demand long working hours are often used as reasons for free-feeding dry food to cats. However, these situations have a very simple remedy.

With regard to vacations and pet-sitters, cats need to be checked on at least once each day to clean their litter box and to make sure that all is well.

Let’s say that you are going to be gone for 1 week. Freeze 7 meals and have your once-a-day pet-sitter put out two meals at each visit – one meal that is at ‘mouse body’ temperature and one that is frozen. The freshness of the frozen meal will be prolonged and your cat will be fine until your pet-sitter returns.

The same trick can be used if you are working long hours or if you live in a particularly hot climate and want to leave food out for many hours.

I feel like this is going to be life-changing.