Dry-Food amounts help needed---NO CYBERCAT COMMENTS WANTED OR NEEDED!

"Phil P." wrote
"cshenk" wrote

I didn't have to make assumptions, you were crystal clear about pouring
fresh dry food on top contaminated food for several days. Why should I
think you don't do the same with the waterer?

No, I said she eats about that much.

On water:
1.5 days worth

For which animal, a dog? A day and a half capacity waterer for a cat
would
only be about 12-16 oz.. If the cat ate only canned food, 16 oz would last
about 5 days to almost a week or even longer. You must be using a bird
waterer!

You are again antagonistic. I am trying to figure out why the others here
like you. There must be something there that you fail to show when you talk
with me.

I have a large dog and a normal cat. I have 2 water feeders and swap them
out. What part of this is unclear to you?

What the heck is your problem in talking with others?

but emptied and cleaned every day

Sure it is.... You dump and wash a waterer every day but not the food
bowls? I don't think so.

The wet ones daily, the dry one granted tends to every 3 days now that it's
a low-use thing since Daisy-cat is mostly on wet.

More clear now?

The only thing that's clear is that you now know exactly what you're
supposed to say. I just hope you'll be doing it from now on.

Why are you so nasty? I do these things and have been for depending on your
age, longer than you may have been alive. Dunno your age but are you 50?
Nearabouts it? I know these things because I have experience though I do not
claim to know all.

"cshenk" wrote in message
...
"Phil P." wrote
"cshenk" wrote

I didn't have to make assumptions, you were crystal clear about pouring
fresh dry food on top contaminated food for several days. Why should I
think you don't do the same with the waterer?

No, I said she eats about that much.


No, you said you *add* food every 2-3 days. Lemme refresh your memory:: :"I
check daily now and add every 2-3 days about 1/8 cup? Seems she eats about
1/4 cup every 4 days or so." and "She and it's 1/4 or so cup dry added
every 4 days." You distinctly said you *add* food.... *twice* - no
ambiguity there. No need to make assumptions. You were crystal clear.


more whining snipped

The wet ones daily, the dry one granted tends to every 3 days now that
it's
a low-use thing since Daisy-cat is mostly on wet.


But there's *still* food in the bowl for 4 days and the bowl isn't washed
for at least 4 days! If you keep adding food when it gets low- the way you
described, the food bowl probably doesn't get washed for weeks or even
months- you just keep adding food. It amazes me that you still you're
arguing about this!


More clear now?

The only thing that's clear is that you now know exactly what you're
supposed to say. I just hope you'll be doing it from now on.

Why are you so nasty?

I think I've been rather polite.


I do these things and have been for depending on your
age, longer than you may have been alive.

And you think that makes it right?


Dunno your age but are you 50?
Nearabouts it?

Age has nothing to do with keeping your cat's food bowl clean-- unless
you're 5 years old.


I know these things because I have experience

What kind of experience could you possibly have if you don't even know
enough to keep your cat's food bowl clean?


though I do not
claim to know all.

That's for sure! This is about basic hygiene and respect for you cat.

jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, cshenk exclaimed (8/6/2008 7:07 PM):
"jmc" wrote
cshenk exclaimed

Try an experiment. Divide that 1/4 cup. Put 1/8 cup out. After 24
hours, measure what's left, then dump it and put out the other 1/8
cup. I bet you'll find they'll eat more of that fresher 1/4 cup in
two days than they did the progressively staler stuff in 4.

Perhaps but the idea is to have her go for the wet food which is
better for her, but have a side provision of 'munchies' or somethng to
cover if she decides the wet food of the day didnt suit.


If you're having as much trouble switching your cat to wet food as I am,
you might try giving the kibble in a treat ball, rather than in her
bowl. Not sure how that would work with her "starving kitty" mentality.
My experience is, you will likely never be able to get your cat to
100% wet as long as you're putting out any dry food at all.

Daisy was raised as far as we can tell, totally on dry food. She gets
upset then will overeat immediately on next filling if the bowl gets
totally empty. (fear of loss of food from when she was abandoned we
think).


You need to retrain her to understand that just because the bowl is
empty, does not mean she'll never see food again. It wouldn't be easy,
but is possible.

She knows the munchie bowl always has a little bit in it this way and
self moderates her eating. She is a little overweight and losing slowly.

I'll expand a little. I never totally wet fed a cat before. I've
also had few that were overweight and never one who was totally dry
fed. From the last several years (I was overseas) the advice shifted
a bit and wet seems best. I took to swapping Daisy slowly and asked
her vet for advice on how it might best be done (I have a really Great
vet). Anyways, she matched up fairly closely to what people here say
on how to go about it.


I had never wet fed a cat before either. Meep was on dry up until she
was 7 and had her first cystitis attack. She does *not* want to eat wet
food. Yea, methods differ depending on the kitty. What worked for Meep
is that I stopped ALL dry food, except the kibble in the ball. If I put
out any dry food in a bowl, no matter how small an amount, she'll stop
eating the wet food, hoping I'll relent and give her more dry. She's
had some hungry days trying this, but understands (again) that this
method won't work. She get her dry kibble *only* in her treat ball.

Or, sometimes, I'll drop a couple of her kitty Crack (Greenies) on her
wet food, when she's being really stubborn. She'll eat the Greenies,
and then because she's so hungry, she can't stop herself from eating
some of the canned food. Sco Human 1, Cat 0

2 wet feedings a day in 12 hour intervals, both about 2.5-3oz for her
size. Watch carefully for what she 'likes' and expect her to not want
the same brand or type every day. (Go figure, yet another cat who
cant stand tuna!). Provide a smaller amount of a *quality* dry and
over time, trim that down as you note the bowl of dry gets left.


Meep's the same way. Very very fussy. Fortunately, now that I'm back
in the US with access to a larger choice of healthy wet foods, I've
finally got her off kitty junk food, she eats Wellness now.

In Daisy's case, she gets a tartar control dry just now. Slated for a
teeth cleaning as she's got some bad buildup at the back teeth.


Yea, that's the problem with a dry diet. Meep gets some Greenies in her
kibble ball as well. She's going to need some dental work, but later,
after everything is settled down from this latest overseas return.

I found out over time, if i let the dry food get empty for more than a
few hours, she gets almost feral in some aspects and then will gorge
when I fill it. If I keep it with a little bit in there at all times,
she doesnt do that.

She's got you well trained Yea, it'll be hard to retrain her, but if
you stick to your guns, eventually she'll realize an empty bowl doesn't
mean it'll be empty forever.

Because it's quite variable in how much she may use of it, I check
daily now and add every 2-3 days about 1/8 cup? Seems she eats about
1/4 cup every 4 days or so.

I'm with Phil in that if you are not, you need to dump the old stuff
before adding new. Yea, I know, it seems more expensive and wasteful,
but it's better for your cat's health.

This generally can also be tracked to when she ignores the wet food of
the day. I'm still finding out what she actually likes and some
things she just leaves behind. Tuna or anything with tuna of cat
grade, is untouchable ;-) . If Don feeds her that (Hubby can be
stubborn and insists on getting it at times), she will noshe dry til I
get home and throw out the tuna or take it back and exchange it for
something wet she will eat (and she eats almost anything else).

As long as you keep putting dry out, she's going to ignore the wet
whenever it suits her (that's the Voice of Experience again). One thing
I'd suggest is, when there is wet out, remove the dry food so she has no
choice but to eat the wet if she's hungry. Ignore her trying to tell
you she's starving and that's NOT real food in the bowl. Adding water
to it (Meep gets "stew" so she gets enuf water to keep cystitis at bay)
will keep it fresher longer.

If you stick to your guns, eventually your cat will be less fussy. When
I started on this road, she would eat ONLY tuna flavored dry cat food.
Gradually I convinced her to accept most dry foods (some she still won't
touch). She wouldn't touch canned at all in the beginning, I could get
her to eat only 1/2 a small can a day.

It was hard, and she lost some weight (she was slightly overweight to
start, and now is just a bit too thin), but she's finally eating only
canned food, with perhaps 1/8c kibble per day, that she has to work for.
She's starting to put on a bit of weight now that she's lost the war.

I think it's really important to retrain your kitty to understand that
an empty bowl starvation. Both for her sake and your own.

jmc

That's great progress, jmc. I still struggle with getting Ming to
eat mostly wet food. He likes it--licks at it--but doesn't seem
to get many calories out of it.

--
Jean B.

"Jean B." wrote

That's great progress, jmc. I still struggle with getting Ming to eat
mostly wet food. He likes it--licks at it--but doesn't seem to get many
calories out of it.

Agreed! Meantime, Daisy-cat and Cash-pup just got a mid-day snack. Chicken
stock with little bits of some leftover chicken from last night (deboned,
bones now making more stock). Both got a small lump of chicken fat added
for their coats.

Daisy will slurp up about 3 TB broth then fish out any meat scraps with her
paw. About 20 mins later she will come back and lap up the rest of the 1/2
TB or so of broth if her habits are as normal.

Getting her to drink lots is easy this way.

Suddenly, without warning, cshenk exclaimed (8/8/2008 2:04 PM):
"Jean B." wrote

That's great progress, jmc. I still struggle with getting Ming to eat
mostly wet food. He likes it--licks at it--but doesn't seem to get many
calories out of it.

Agreed! Meantime, Daisy-cat and Cash-pup just got a mid-day snack. Chicken
stock with little bits of some leftover chicken from last night (deboned,
bones now making more stock). Both got a small lump of chicken fat added
for their coats.

Daisy will slurp up about 3 TB broth then fish out any meat scraps with her
paw. About 20 mins later she will come back and lap up the rest of the 1/2
TB or so of broth if her habits are as normal.

Getting her to drink lots is easy this way.



Wish it had been that easy with Meep. Only "human food" she'll touch is
tuna water. Loves the stuff! I've tried pretty much everything else -
homemade chicken broth, tuna-flavored ice cubes in her water, all kinds
of things that were suggested here. The only way I can get extra water
in her is by turning her canned food into stew, or soup.

It's working though: Vet called today with the results of her tests:
No crystals or blood in her urine sample. Completely normal. Hurrah!
I've finally found a management plan that has eradicated her cystitis
(at least for now)!

Her other tests (we just moved, so I had the full senior done, so the
new vet would have a baseline) are also normal. Yippeee!

jmc

Suddenly, without warning, Jean B. exclaimed (8/8/2008 12:27 PM):
jmc wrote:

It was hard, and she lost some weight (she was slightly overweight to
start, and now is just a bit too thin), but she's finally eating only
canned food, with perhaps 1/8c kibble per day, that she has to work
for. She's starting to put on a bit of weight now that she's lost the
war.

I think it's really important to retrain your kitty to understand that
an empty bowl starvation. Both for her sake and your own.

jmc

That's great progress, jmc. I still struggle with getting Ming to eat
mostly wet food. He likes it--licks at it--but doesn't seem to get many
calories out of it.


Have you tried adding water? Getting Meep to accept all canned food
started with her only slurping up the added water, and leaving the meat
behind. When I saw this, I'd just add more water. Gradually, she
started eating the meat too.

jmc

"jmc" wrote

Daisy will slurp up about 3 TB broth then fish out any meat scraps with
her paw. About 20 mins later she will come back and lap up the rest of
the 1/2 TB or so of broth if her habits are as normal.

Wish it had been that easy with Meep. Only "human food" she'll touch is
tuna water. Loves the stuff! I've tried pretty much everything else -
homemade chicken broth, tuna-flavored ice cubes in her water, all kinds of
things that were suggested here. The only way I can get extra water in her
is by turning her canned food into stew, or soup.

I have an idea for you to try out if that's what she likes? A bit easier
than tuna water yet in same vein. Call the vet first just to make sure
since Meep has had cystitis problems so might be differences there.

If you have a local asain style grocery, there is a powdered japanese fish
broth called 'dashi'. If you google for Hon-dashi you will see many places
to get it online. Below is one of many links.

http://www.amazon.com/Ajinomoto-Dash.../dp/B0002YB40O

I'd put the powder in a shaker bottle (old spice bottle will be fine). To
make it, just add to boiling water. It takes only a little (like 1/4-1/2 TS
per cup depending on how strong you want it) and of course you can vary it
to her (or your) tastes. It looks a little pricy but a little goes a very
long way. Dont make 3-6 cups at a time like the amazon add has, just make a
cup or so and let it go to room temp, try 2-3 TB dashi broth on Meep and the
rest can go in the fridge. You can start with 1/4 TS in 2 cups and then
make it stronger slowly til it hits where Meep likes it.

If Meep likes Tuna water, this box above is probably a 6 month supply for
her. It's basically Bonito and a little cuttelfish plus seaweed seasoning.
The seaweed seasoning is mild but you may want to run that one by your vet.
It would have trace amounts of iodine and sodium.

*My* vet says it's fine for use with Daisy-cat but she has no dicernable
health problems other than needing a teeth cleaning.

It's working though: Vet called today with the results of her tests: No
crystals or blood in her urine sample. Completely normal. Hurrah! I've
finally found a management plan that has eradicated her cystitis (at least
for now)!

Thats wonderful news!

Her other tests (we just moved, so I had the full senior done, so the new
vet would have a baseline) are also normal. Yippeee!

;-)

On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:27:17 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

That's great progress, jmc. I still struggle with getting Ming to
eat mostly wet food. He likes it--licks at it--but doesn't seem
to get many calories out of it.

With wet food try adding a little hot water, about a dessert spoon
full (to make food blood warm) This also makes food a healthier choice
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

jmc wrote:
Suddenly, without warning, Jean B. exclaimed (8/8/2008 12:27 PM):
jmc wrote:

It was hard, and she lost some weight (she was slightly overweight to
start, and now is just a bit too thin), but she's finally eating only
canned food, with perhaps 1/8c kibble per day, that she has to work
for. She's starting to put on a bit of weight now that she's lost
the war.

I think it's really important to retrain your kitty to understand
that an empty bowl starvation. Both for her sake and your own.

jmc

That's great progress, jmc. I still struggle with getting Ming to eat
mostly wet food. He likes it--licks at it--but doesn't seem to get
many calories out of it.


Have you tried adding water? Getting Meep to accept all canned food
started with her only slurping up the added water, and leaving the meat
behind. When I saw this, I'd just add more water. Gradually, she
started eating the meat too.

jmc

Mingy still mostly consumes the liquid. BUT he is drinking
more--and it sounds like Meep is too.

--
Jean B.

Petzl wrote:
On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:27:17 -0400, "Jean B." wrote:

That's great progress, jmc. I still struggle with getting Ming to
eat mostly wet food. He likes it--licks at it--but doesn't seem
to get many calories out of it.

With wet food try adding a little hot water, about a dessert spoon
full (to make food blood warm) This also makes food a healthier choice
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

I always add a bit of water.

--
Jean B.