feeding 2 spoiled cats

My 2 cats have been with me since they were kittens.. one now weighs 18 lbs.
and the other 15 lbs. The vet said they were healthy and not to worry about
their weights. I have 2 himmies and they tend to gain weight over time.

My problem is that I am used to feeding some canned cat food at night for
them both. I go to Petsmart and purchase about 21 cans of cat food for them
for the month. I get Iams, Nutro and Whiskas. That is what they always
liked. They used to fight over the food but now..... don't want the canned
food.

They don't eat the canned anymore other than a couple bites. I continue to
put it out each night as they are into the routine of being fed and beg for
it if I don't give them the canned food. They don't eat it however. I
throw it all in the garbage disposal the next morning.

I feel badly if I don't give the canned food to them but again, I just throw
it out the next morning. Is it possible to completely give up canned food
and is that okay?

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:20:17 -0500, "LynC" wrote:

My 2 cats have been with me since they were kittens.. one now weighs 18 lbs.
and the other 15 lbs. The vet said they were healthy and not to worry about
their weights. I have 2 himmies and they tend to gain weight over time.

My problem is that I am used to feeding some canned cat food at night for
them both. I go to Petsmart and purchase about 21 cans of cat food for them
for the month. I get Iams, Nutro and Whiskas. That is what they always
liked. They used to fight over the food but now..... don't want the canned
food.

They don't eat the canned anymore other than a couple bites. I continue to
put it out each night as they are into the routine of being fed and beg for
it if I don't give them the canned food. They don't eat it however. I
throw it all in the garbage disposal the next morning.

I feel badly if I don't give the canned food to them but again, I just throw
it out the next morning. Is it possible to completely give up canned food
and is that okay?

I have a dozen very healthy cats that are given one can for all of
them once or twice a week as a treat. They eat Special Kitty dry food
from Walmart and love it. Two are obese, but were that way when I got
them. One that I got as a kitten is chubby. Two are skinny - they
were skinny when I got them, but the vet says they are healthy.

I must add that some of them partially feed themselves with what they
catch, but they are no healthier then the others.

If you feed only dry food, you need to make sure they are getting
enough water, and you need to watch out for problems due to specific
formulas and for things like urinary problems that need special
formulas.

If they are overweight and not eating something, it could be because
they are overfed.


T.E.D. - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body)

"Ted Davis" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:20:17 -0500, "LynC" wrote:

My 2 cats have been with me since they were kittens.. one now weighs 18
lbs.
and the other 15 lbs. The vet said they were healthy and not to worry
about
their weights. I have 2 himmies and they tend to gain weight over time.

My problem is that I am used to feeding some canned cat food at night for
them both. I go to Petsmart and purchase about 21 cans of cat food for
them
for the month. I get Iams, Nutro and Whiskas. That is what they always
liked. They used to fight over the food but now..... don't want the
canned
food.

They don't eat the canned anymore other than a couple bites. I continue
to
put it out each night as they are into the routine of being fed and beg
for
it if I don't give them the canned food. They don't eat it however. I
throw it all in the garbage disposal the next morning.

I feel badly if I don't give the canned food to them but again, I just
throw
it out the next morning. Is it possible to completely give up canned
food
and is that okay?

I have a dozen very healthy cats that are given one can for all of
them once or twice a week as a treat. They eat Special Kitty dry food
from Walmart and love it. Two are obese, but were that way when I got
them. One that I got as a kitten is chubby. Two are skinny - they
were skinny when I got them, but the vet says they are healthy.

I must add that some of them partially feed themselves with what they
catch, but they are no healthier then the others.

If you feed only dry food, you need to make sure they are getting
enough water, and you need to watch out for problems due to specific
formulas and for things like urinary problems that need special
formulas.

If they are overweight and not eating something, it could be because
they are overfed.


T.E.D. - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my
..sig in the body)

I do take them to the vets each year for a check up and the vet says they
are healthy. I am worried because they are males and I guess I read
sometime back that males can develop some kind of urinary tract problem
related to diet and now for the life of me I can't remember what that was.
I am concerned because they have stopped eating the canned food. That was
their favorite.

in article , LynC at
wrote on 2/25/04 7:58 PM:

"Ted Davis" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:20:17 -0500, "LynC" wrote:

My 2 cats have been with me since they were kittens.. one now weighs 18
lbs.
and the other 15 lbs. The vet said they were healthy and not to worry
about
their weights. I have 2 himmies and they tend to gain weight over time.

My problem is that I am used to feeding some canned cat food at night for
them both. I go to Petsmart and purchase about 21 cans of cat food for
them
for the month. I get Iams, Nutro and Whiskas. That is what they always
liked. They used to fight over the food but now..... don't want the
canned
food.

They don't eat the canned anymore other than a couple bites. I continue
to
put it out each night as they are into the routine of being fed and beg
for
it if I don't give them the canned food. They don't eat it however. I
throw it all in the garbage disposal the next morning.

I feel badly if I don't give the canned food to them but again, I just
throw
it out the next morning. Is it possible to completely give up canned
food
and is that okay?

I have a dozen very healthy cats that are given one can for all of
them once or twice a week as a treat. They eat Special Kitty dry food
from Walmart and love it. Two are obese, but were that way when I got
them. One that I got as a kitten is chubby. Two are skinny - they
were skinny when I got them, but the vet says they are healthy.

I must add that some of them partially feed themselves with what they
catch, but they are no healthier then the others.

If you feed only dry food, you need to make sure they are getting
enough water, and you need to watch out for problems due to specific
formulas and for things like urinary problems that need special
formulas.

If they are overweight and not eating something, it could be because
they are overfed.


T.E.D. - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my
.sig in the body)

I do take them to the vets each year for a check up and the vet says they
are healthy. I am worried because they are males and I guess I read
sometime back that males can develop some kind of urinary tract problem
related to diet and now for the life of me I can't remember what that was.
I am concerned because they have stopped eating the canned food. That was
their favorite.


It's true that males can develop problems (not will, but it's a lot more
possible). Cut back on the amount of dry available and keep tempting them
with canned.

Karen

Ted Davis wrote:

If they are overweight and not eating something, it could be because
they are overfed.

You know, this is a thought. Do your cats go outside? If so, I wonder
if they are getting food from someone else as well. They could be begging
for food at night because that ritual is part of their nightly habit.
But then when they get it, they're not hungry enough to eat it. Well,
that's my theory, which of course is worth nothing if they're indoor-only
cats!

Joyce

My girls are sisters, 8 1/2. They have always policed themselves quite
well. I leave a can of food out each day and a small bowl of dry food.
They just nibble little bit several times a day. Takes them about 3
days to finish the small bowl of dry food. I feed them Hill's Science
Diet, Oral care and Hairball formula. A 3 1/2 lb bag of each lasts them
two months. I would be leary of just feeding them just dry food. Maybe
too much ash for them. Maybe different brand of cat food. Serena
(Sis) and Sonscere' always ate Whiskas, wouldn't touch 9 lives now it
is just the opposite, they let Whiskas sit there and rot and love 9
lives, go figure. They eat what they want when they want and maintain
there weight very well. Sis always is about 9.8 lbs and Sonscere'
always 9.2 lbs. Just my 2=A2.
Brian

My photo albums
http://public.fotki.com/Sonscere/

"IIt's not love that causes the pain
Whenever a heart has been shattered,
It's the losing of love that's to blame." VG

LynC wrote:
it out the next morning. Is it possible to completely give up canned food
and is that okay?

Wet food is better than dry food, but they will survive on a dry diet.
However, you might want to try different foods, some cats get bored with
a particular flavor or texture. Our cats go bonkers for the new Proplan
cans, particularly the "and rice" flavors. Available at Petsmart.

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
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Our cats go bonkers for the new Proplan
cans, particularly the "and rice" flavors.

Ours also. They love the ProPlan "Salmon and Rice" and Chicken and
Rice".They don't care too much for the ones with liver. They eat about
half of it and pester me until I give them the Salmon or Chicken. I
wish it came in larger cans. Those little cans get expensive.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Our cats go bonkers for the new Proplan
cans, particularly the "and rice" flavors.

Ours also. They love the ProPlan "Salmon and Rice" and Chicken and
Rice".They don't care too much for the ones with liver. They eat about
half of it and pester me until I give them the Salmon or Chicken. I
wish it came in larger cans. Those little cans get expensive.

Hmm... I've always avoided buying the "...and rice" flavors because
I figure that if the actual *name* of the flavor has a grain in it,
it's going to have even more grain than flavors that are just called
"beef" "chicken" or some other meat. And I've always thought that too
much non-meat food in a cat's diet wasn't nourishing enough for them.

Am I wrong about this? I'd like to try some new flavors on them so
it would be nice if the ones with rice added are actually OK to give
them.

Joyce

wrote:
Am I wrong about this? I'd like to try some new flavors on them so
it would be nice if the ones with rice added are actually OK to give
them.

The key is to look at the first 5 ingredients listed in the label. If
most of those are meat (excluding of course the liquid that is the #1 or
2 ingredient in all canned foods), then I'm ok with it. For Proplan
chicken and rice they list: water, chicken, wheat gluten, liver, meat
by-products. Normally, I avoid by-products and any food with grains in
the top 3 ingredients, but they love it, so I gave in. We do feed them a
large can of Innova light (less phosphorous and about the same protein %
as the regular one) first and wait until they finish that before we
serve the "yummy" food. Kinda like with kids, who first have to eat
their veggies and after that they get dessert.
Also for dry food they get a mix of Innova, Felidae, and Science diet
oral health (large kibble that's supposed to be good for tartar
control), so we know they're getting a good nutrition.

--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
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