"Diane L. Schirf" wrote in message
k.net...
In article ,
"Shadow Walker" wrote:

Actually, your cats' health should take precedence over your
convenience.

Mine does and I do not see my cats as being healthy when they cry in pain
because the canned food is too wet. Thus causing diarrhea.

You could do what I do, since Hodge has the same problem (constipation
from dry, diarrhea from wet) -- feed wet one meal and dry one meal a
day. He looks great, he got a clean bill of health a couple weeks ago,
and he seems to be doing well on this diet.

I agree. I was a proponent of dry only for a long while, and my cats did
just fine on it (no extra weight, great health, no tartar or cavities,
shining eyes, and coat, etc.), but after Bandit hit 15 my vet said her
creatinin and BUN levels were creeping up a bit and she suggested adding the
canned so Bandit would get more fluids into her system.

It was hard to get them to start eating the canned after all that time on
dry, but, with patience, they have now developed a taste for it. They still
get their dry crunchies too, so they're getting both as a compromise between
their favorite and what's good for them. I'm just trying to gradually
lessen the amount of dry and increase the amount of canned.

I know some feel that only canned is good for them, and I'm sure they're
correct, but you have to balance that with the disadvantages of an abrupt
change in diet and with whether or not your cat will eat it. Even a
starving cat can not immediately be given a good, high caloric food without
drastic effects to his/her system (vomiting, diahrrea, etc.). I think the
change must be gradual both for the cats likes/dislikes and to cause the
least short-term damage to their systems.

Hugs,

CatNipped

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