Well Phil perhaps its a mix of a few things.....one of them human
related I admit but I don't want to mess with the cans and smell and
mess of dealing with canned food.......


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.
Which in turn is backed up by gas I can here them pass from across the room.
You know that wet sound that we all make when our stomach lets us know we
ate something we should not have.

Don't forget the buildup on there teeth. Canned cat food leaves residue,
yeah and some would and should advise what to do about that. Wingtips and
other things. My cats won't touch raw meat. They like their dry and the
occasional canned.

but also I am convinced that the
dry food is best for them.


That's hardy the case. In fact, its the complete opposite. Here's why:


http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutritio...i ch_is_reall


Btw, take a look a your cats' teeth. Do you see any first premolars or
lower first or second premolars or broad and fisured crowns for grinding?
No, right? Their teeth are pointed - designed for tearing and cutting -
not
mastication.

"Max's House is produced in the interest of improving the health of cats
everywhere. While every attempt has been made to assure the accuracy and
completeness of the information contained herein, Max's House cannot
guarantee the accuracy of the original sources of information. Max's
House's cannot serve as a substitute for regular professional veterinary
care and is provided for reference only and not for treatment of any kind .
Max's House cannot be responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of
individual cats. We are confident that you will find Max's House's to be an
outstanding and informative addition to your cat's health care program."

Also, gently try to move your cats' jaws laterally or in a rotary motion.
Can't do it, can you? Do you know why? Cats don't masticate! They can't
because their jaw hinge (condyloid process) is shaped like a bar - like a
door hinge - and only moves up and down (for holding struggling prey and
cutting)
http://maxshouse.com/anatomy/Dentary...edial_view.jpg

So unless the dry food nuggets are very large - large enough for the teeth
to sink all the way down to the gum line - and don't shatter when the cat
bites into them, what good is dry food?


"Max's House is produced in the interest of improving the health of cats
everywhere. While every attempt has been made to assure the accuracy and
completeness of the information contained herein, Max's House cannot
guarantee the accuracy of the original sources of information. Max's
House's cannot serve as a substitute for regular professional veterinary
care and is provided for reference only and not for treatment of any kind .
Max's House cannot be responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of
individual cats. We are confident that you will find Max's House's to be an
outstanding and informative addition to your cat's health care program."

Nuff said.


I have no quarrel with those that want to
use canned food I just prefer not to,

Its not as simple as that. Your cats' health should take precedence over
your convenience.

What she or he said is that simple. Again pet care is not an exact science.
You can fight all day about what is better for the cat but I'll say this
much God didn't serve it in a can anymore than he served it in a bag.

also my breeder says his cats
have much better and less odorous stools with dry food.


Most breeders are hardly credible sources of information - look how much
damage their "wisdom" has caused for many breeds - *especially* the
brachycephalic breeds and the Siamese! Most breeders know even less about
feline nutrition than they do about breeding!

The cost of those 'better' stools is less water in the urine and lower
urine
volume - which increases the concentration of solutes in the urine
which
increases the risk of urinary tract obstructions in male cats. Most of
the
water dry-fed cats drink is lost to fecal moisture. So, even though they
drink about 6x more water than cats fed canned food, they have a *lower*
total water intake and turnover and *lower* urine volume. This isn't
opinion - this is fact backed up by peer-reviewed controlled clinical
studies.

Dry food also exacerbates interstitial cystitis and diabetes in cats that
are predisposed to it.

Yes and bones get lodged in cats throats. I don't see your point here.
Predisposed will carry any way and anywere.

I think alot of
you guys use canned foods because your cat seems to love it and its
maybe more of a treat to give them the canned food which makes you feel
better being good to your cat which certainly is good for you and your
cat.

You couldn't be more wrong! Most of us feed our cats canned food because
its *healthier for our cats*. Canned food is more is expensive, takes
more
effort, and is just a general pain in ass to deal with it - but its
*better*
and *healthier* for our cats - which takes precedence over our
convenience.
Don't you think we would love to just fill up a feeder once a week and
forget about it instead of worrying about rushing home to feed our cats on
time? The inconvenience and effort are offset by the satisfaction and
confidence that we are doing the best thing for our feline friends - who
enrich our lives so much. I think you might want to reevaluate your
priorities.

Ummmm....I feed canned as a treat and it's not more expensive if you buy it
right and not any more messy to me than dry. I have learned through
experience with the *vet* that canned is not as good as you claim. It's got
less of everything and more fat. It sticks to there teeth that requires
extra time at the vets to remove and that hurts a cats heart. It causes
stomach problems, gas, diarrhea and a number of other health concerns. Don't
forget that it is not a challenge for the cats stomach to digest. Cats use
to eat animals, hair, skin, insides (including grain) nails and all. Canned
is not stringy like meat so it doesn't offer their jaw exercise or the use
of their teeth that need to be used or they get loose in the jaw and fall
out.


As the owner of a male cat, you should be particularily concerned about
feeding dry food. Male cats are very susceptible to urinary tract
obstructions because their urethra narrows - like a funnel - where it
passes
over the pelvis - which can easily become blocked by small crystals and
debris and lead to oliguric acute renal failure and *death*. Females cats
aren't susceptible to UTOs because they have a wider and somewhat straight
urethra.

You seem like a caring owner whose just been misled and misinformed. I
really think you'll change your mind if you really think about it.

Phil

Female cats aren't susceptible to UTI's or UTO's that's not true, not true
at all. The words you are looking for is less likely. All cats can get a UTI
and or UTO. I think you are just as misinformed. I'm not stating I know
everything nor all the answers. But I have to work very closely with my vet
for all three of my cats. I have one male who is a UTI time bomb. I have 2
females 1 has a heart murmur and the other nurological problems. So I would
say, me and the vets have had some long talks.

Putting soapbox away.

Shadow Walker