Is this cat food okay?

Hi,

Have two cats. One is way overweight, the other fine.

They've been free-feeding their whole lives--in recent years, dry
weight-management kibble.

Decided to feed less.. feed only a couple times a day and use canned wet
food.

Picked up an assortment of the high-end cans from PetSmart.

Problem. Buck, the fat cat who is always hungry won't eat any of it.
Curly, the skinny kitty loves it all.

Kept trying new types.

Bingo! Just found one that Buck loves, too!

It's Purina's Pro Plan, which I expected to be less healthy than Science
Diet, Nutro, etc. Opened the can expecting to find not-so-healthy mush
highly prefumed to appeal to cats. Wrong. I liked what I saw. Lots of
chunks of small fish, very much like chopped sardines in a geletine. Talk
about giving them the long-chain Omega-3 that's missing in their diet!

Okay, it's obvious I'm pleased to find a food Buck digs, and it's obvious
that I'm impressed with the food so far.

My questions are..

Is feeding just this particular cat food any worse than feeding solely the
same dry kibble they were eating (dry Purina One weight-management)?

Has there been any negative info on Purina Pro Plan canned food?

How much should I feed these cats?

Any tips on how to switch them over and how to structure their feeding
schedule?

Thanks very much for you insights and suggestions!

Jeff

Jeff Harper
Tampa, FL

It's better than a lot of them while not the highest quality and I firmly
believe that wet food is a HUGELY better weight loss tool for cats than low
cal dry (I know many others believe this too). Trying to lose weight on a
dry food diet is probably like us trying to loose weight by only eating
sandwiches. There are better out there but there are certainly worse.

Karen

"Jeff Harper" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Have two cats. One is way overweight, the other fine.

They've been free-feeding their whole lives--in recent years, dry
weight-management kibble.

Decided to feed less.. feed only a couple times a day and use canned wet
food.

Picked up an assortment of the high-end cans from PetSmart.

Problem. Buck, the fat cat who is always hungry won't eat any of it.
Curly, the skinny kitty loves it all.

Kept trying new types.

Bingo! Just found one that Buck loves, too!

It's Purina's Pro Plan, which I expected to be less healthy than Science
Diet, Nutro, etc. Opened the can expecting to find not-so-healthy mush
highly prefumed to appeal to cats. Wrong. I liked what I saw. Lots of
chunks of small fish, very much like chopped sardines in a geletine. Talk
about giving them the long-chain Omega-3 that's missing in their diet!

Okay, it's obvious I'm pleased to find a food Buck digs, and it's obvious
that I'm impressed with the food so far.

My questions are..

Is feeding just this particular cat food any worse than feeding solely the
same dry kibble they were eating (dry Purina One weight-management)?

Has there been any negative info on Purina Pro Plan canned food?

How much should I feed these cats?

Any tips on how to switch them over and how to structure their feeding
schedule?

Thanks very much for you insights and suggestions!

Jeff

Jeff Harper
Tampa, FL

It's better than a lot of them while not the highest quality and I firmly
believe that wet food is a HUGELY better weight loss tool for cats than low
cal dry (I know many others believe this too). Trying to lose weight on a
dry food diet is probably like us trying to loose weight by only eating
sandwiches. There are better out there but there are certainly worse.

Karen

"Jeff Harper" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Have two cats. One is way overweight, the other fine.

They've been free-feeding their whole lives--in recent years, dry
weight-management kibble.

Decided to feed less.. feed only a couple times a day and use canned wet
food.

Picked up an assortment of the high-end cans from PetSmart.

Problem. Buck, the fat cat who is always hungry won't eat any of it.
Curly, the skinny kitty loves it all.

Kept trying new types.

Bingo! Just found one that Buck loves, too!

It's Purina's Pro Plan, which I expected to be less healthy than Science
Diet, Nutro, etc. Opened the can expecting to find not-so-healthy mush
highly prefumed to appeal to cats. Wrong. I liked what I saw. Lots of
chunks of small fish, very much like chopped sardines in a geletine. Talk
about giving them the long-chain Omega-3 that's missing in their diet!

Okay, it's obvious I'm pleased to find a food Buck digs, and it's obvious
that I'm impressed with the food so far.

My questions are..

Is feeding just this particular cat food any worse than feeding solely the
same dry kibble they were eating (dry Purina One weight-management)?

Has there been any negative info on Purina Pro Plan canned food?

How much should I feed these cats?

Any tips on how to switch them over and how to structure their feeding
schedule?

Thanks very much for you insights and suggestions!

Jeff

Jeff Harper
Tampa, FL

"Jeff Harper" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Have two cats. One is way overweight, the other fine.

Me too!

They've been free-feeding their whole lives--in recent years, dry
weight-management kibble.


My fat cat was on this.

Decided to feed less.. feed only a couple times a day and use canned wet
food.

This is what I decided to do with my fat cat. But I put down
half a cup of dry, and then give her only half a three-oz can
in the morning and half at night. Here is what happened: whereas
she used to gobble all the dry and beg for more, now she kind
of rations the dry out over the day so it never runs out. She hangs
out in the kitchen because she loves the canned food so much,
as does the skinny girl, and it has created a better bond between
them. AND: she lost 3.5 lbs over about a year. She was 16.5 lbs, and
then 13.5. Also, both cats' coats are healthier and they just look
better and act like they feel better.


Picked up an assortment of the high-end cans from PetSmart.

Me too, just the other day! Here is the funny thing: All of the above
results were achieved by feeding the stinkiest, grossest kitty
junk food ever: Fancy Feast Chopped Grill! It was the only
kind they would both eat every bit of.

At PetSmart I got MaxCat, Science Diet, and Nutro. The fat
cat will eat them all as long as I mash up the little chunks with
a fork. She doesn't want any steeeenking chunks in her food!
The skinny one will now NOT eat anything but the FF. Since she
has allergies that happened to clear up while I was giving her
the FF, I am leaving her on it, for now.


Problem. Buck, the fat cat who is always hungry won't eat any of it.
Curly, the skinny kitty loves it all.

I think this is less of a problem than if Buck loved it all and Curly
would not eat it! Albeit it is always bad for a cat to stop eating
for even a few days. I feed mine on different floors--fatty downstairs
and skinny upstairs. (I fix it in the kitchen and carry skinny's on up.)


Kept trying new types.

Bingo! Just found one that Buck loves, too!

It's Purina's Pro Plan, which I expected to be less healthy than Science
Diet, Nutro, etc. Opened the can expecting to find not-so-healthy mush
highly prefumed to appeal to cats. Wrong. I liked what I saw. Lots of
chunks of small fish, very much like chopped sardines in a geletine. Talk
about giving them the long-chain Omega-3 that's missing in their diet!

Okay, it's obvious I'm pleased to find a food Buck digs, and it's obvious
that I'm impressed with the food so far.

People have lots of different opinions about the quality of different
brands. If Buck loves it and it looks good to you, it's fine! If you
want to reassure yourself, there areweb sites where you can look at
the nutritional values--hopefully someone will post them here as
I have not bookmarked them.




My questions are..

Is feeding just this particular cat food any worse than feeding solely the
same dry kibble they were eating (dry Purina One weight-management)?

No, and there is evidence that canned food is actually better for them,
for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it gets more water into
them and it usually contains less carbohydrates, which most carnivores
do not need. I was told not to feed wet food because it tends to cause
more dental problems years ago. I don;t know if it is true. Do you
get Buck regular dental exams? If so, there goes the only negative
I have heard about feeding canned food. Also: dry Purina One
weight management food is EXACTLY what I was feeding my fat
girl that she ate and ate and ate and GAINED weight on. One theory is
that they will eat and eat and eat trying to get satisfied on that carby
stuff, when if you give them just a bit of canned food, that satisfies.
It is working for my fat cat.


Has there been any negative info on Purina Pro Plan canned food?

Haven't heard any.

How much should I feed these cats?

How big are they, and how old? How active?


Any tips on how to switch them over and how to structure their feeding
schedule?

Most people say mix in the new food gradually; most also say to
feed them every twelve hours.

"Jeff Harper" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Have two cats. One is way overweight, the other fine.

Me too!

They've been free-feeding their whole lives--in recent years, dry
weight-management kibble.


My fat cat was on this.

Decided to feed less.. feed only a couple times a day and use canned wet
food.

This is what I decided to do with my fat cat. But I put down
half a cup of dry, and then give her only half a three-oz can
in the morning and half at night. Here is what happened: whereas
she used to gobble all the dry and beg for more, now she kind
of rations the dry out over the day so it never runs out. She hangs
out in the kitchen because she loves the canned food so much,
as does the skinny girl, and it has created a better bond between
them. AND: she lost 3.5 lbs over about a year. She was 16.5 lbs, and
then 13.5. Also, both cats' coats are healthier and they just look
better and act like they feel better.


Picked up an assortment of the high-end cans from PetSmart.

Me too, just the other day! Here is the funny thing: All of the above
results were achieved by feeding the stinkiest, grossest kitty
junk food ever: Fancy Feast Chopped Grill! It was the only
kind they would both eat every bit of.

At PetSmart I got MaxCat, Science Diet, and Nutro. The fat
cat will eat them all as long as I mash up the little chunks with
a fork. She doesn't want any steeeenking chunks in her food!
The skinny one will now NOT eat anything but the FF. Since she
has allergies that happened to clear up while I was giving her
the FF, I am leaving her on it, for now.


Problem. Buck, the fat cat who is always hungry won't eat any of it.
Curly, the skinny kitty loves it all.

I think this is less of a problem than if Buck loved it all and Curly
would not eat it! Albeit it is always bad for a cat to stop eating
for even a few days. I feed mine on different floors--fatty downstairs
and skinny upstairs. (I fix it in the kitchen and carry skinny's on up.)


Kept trying new types.

Bingo! Just found one that Buck loves, too!

It's Purina's Pro Plan, which I expected to be less healthy than Science
Diet, Nutro, etc. Opened the can expecting to find not-so-healthy mush
highly prefumed to appeal to cats. Wrong. I liked what I saw. Lots of
chunks of small fish, very much like chopped sardines in a geletine. Talk
about giving them the long-chain Omega-3 that's missing in their diet!

Okay, it's obvious I'm pleased to find a food Buck digs, and it's obvious
that I'm impressed with the food so far.

People have lots of different opinions about the quality of different
brands. If Buck loves it and it looks good to you, it's fine! If you
want to reassure yourself, there areweb sites where you can look at
the nutritional values--hopefully someone will post them here as
I have not bookmarked them.




My questions are..

Is feeding just this particular cat food any worse than feeding solely the
same dry kibble they were eating (dry Purina One weight-management)?

No, and there is evidence that canned food is actually better for them,
for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it gets more water into
them and it usually contains less carbohydrates, which most carnivores
do not need. I was told not to feed wet food because it tends to cause
more dental problems years ago. I don;t know if it is true. Do you
get Buck regular dental exams? If so, there goes the only negative
I have heard about feeding canned food. Also: dry Purina One
weight management food is EXACTLY what I was feeding my fat
girl that she ate and ate and ate and GAINED weight on. One theory is
that they will eat and eat and eat trying to get satisfied on that carby
stuff, when if you give them just a bit of canned food, that satisfies.
It is working for my fat cat.


Has there been any negative info on Purina Pro Plan canned food?

Haven't heard any.

How much should I feed these cats?

How big are they, and how old? How active?


Any tips on how to switch them over and how to structure their feeding
schedule?

Most people say mix in the new food gradually; most also say to
feed them every twelve hours.

In article , enlightened us
with...

Have two cats. One is way overweight, the other fine.


*g*
Sounds like mine.


Problem. Buck, the fat cat who is always hungry won't eat any of it.\

Well, that's only a little bit of a problem.
j/k

[pro plan canned]
My questions are..

Is feeding just this particular cat food any worse than feeding solely the
same dry kibble they were eating (dry Purina One weight-management)?


It's better. Wet food is better than dry for cats because of their unique
moisture needs. Cats often don't drink as much as they should, so when on a
dry diet, they miss out on the much needed water. Wet food has almost all the
water they need. They will drink much less water from a bowl as they eat more
wet food. They should pee more, too, which is good, because boy kitties are
prone to urinary problems if they don't pee enough.

Has there been any negative info on Purina Pro Plan canned food?


Not that I know of. I feed it, among other things. I like to switch foods so
my cats don't get either too bored or too picky (only eat one flavor of one
brand type of thing that screws you if it gets discontinued). I always hear
about not switching foods, but it seems to me that since I sure wouldn't like
the exact same thing every day, my cats might not like that either. So I
switch between various medium and high quality dry and wet foods. Possibly of
note - my cats never get "sick" from new foods. Nor does my dog. They don't
always love what I give them, but they get a good variety.
Chicken Soup For The Cat Lover's Soul is a *huge* hit in my house. In fact,
too much so. They overeat it, so they don't get it more than twice a week.
Aaaaanyway...

How much should I feed these cats?


Start with the serving recommended on the can. Increase/decrease as necessary
over time to get the weight the cat should be.

Any tips on how to switch them over and how to structure their feeding
schedule?


Just do it has always been my motto, but my kids are used to change.
If yours rebel, start by giving the cans at the time you will give it to them
normally, but leave dry down. Decrease the dry you leave down over a couple
weeks until there isn't any.

My 5 cents...

--
--
~kaeli~
Murphy's Law #2000: If enough data is collected, anything
may be proven by statistical methods.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

In article , enlightened us
with...

Have two cats. One is way overweight, the other fine.


*g*
Sounds like mine.


Problem. Buck, the fat cat who is always hungry won't eat any of it.\

Well, that's only a little bit of a problem.
j/k

[pro plan canned]
My questions are..

Is feeding just this particular cat food any worse than feeding solely the
same dry kibble they were eating (dry Purina One weight-management)?


It's better. Wet food is better than dry for cats because of their unique
moisture needs. Cats often don't drink as much as they should, so when on a
dry diet, they miss out on the much needed water. Wet food has almost all the
water they need. They will drink much less water from a bowl as they eat more
wet food. They should pee more, too, which is good, because boy kitties are
prone to urinary problems if they don't pee enough.

Has there been any negative info on Purina Pro Plan canned food?


Not that I know of. I feed it, among other things. I like to switch foods so
my cats don't get either too bored or too picky (only eat one flavor of one
brand type of thing that screws you if it gets discontinued). I always hear
about not switching foods, but it seems to me that since I sure wouldn't like
the exact same thing every day, my cats might not like that either. So I
switch between various medium and high quality dry and wet foods. Possibly of
note - my cats never get "sick" from new foods. Nor does my dog. They don't
always love what I give them, but they get a good variety.
Chicken Soup For The Cat Lover's Soul is a *huge* hit in my house. In fact,
too much so. They overeat it, so they don't get it more than twice a week.
Aaaaanyway...

How much should I feed these cats?


Start with the serving recommended on the can. Increase/decrease as necessary
over time to get the weight the cat should be.

Any tips on how to switch them over and how to structure their feeding
schedule?


Just do it has always been my motto, but my kids are used to change.
If yours rebel, start by giving the cans at the time you will give it to them
normally, but leave dry down. Decrease the dry you leave down over a couple
weeks until there isn't any.

My 5 cents...

--
--
~kaeli~
Murphy's Law #2000: If enough data is collected, anything
may be proven by statistical methods.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

"Jeff Harper" wrote in message ...

One of the Purina Pro Plan products - Adult Fish & Crab entree
contains a whopping 2.72% calcium and 2.07% phosphorus. The Adult
Sardines & Tuna in Aspic contains 3.08% calcium and 2.18% phosphorus.
Maximum levels of these two nutrients should be 1.0% calcium and 0.9%
phosphorus. These products are nearly identical to the Purina Friskies
versions of the same.

"Jeff Harper" wrote in message ...

One of the Purina Pro Plan products - Adult Fish & Crab entree
contains a whopping 2.72% calcium and 2.07% phosphorus. The Adult
Sardines & Tuna in Aspic contains 3.08% calcium and 2.18% phosphorus.
Maximum levels of these two nutrients should be 1.0% calcium and 0.9%
phosphorus. These products are nearly identical to the Purina Friskies
versions of the same.

"Steve Crane" wrote in message
om...
"Jeff Harper" wrote in message
...

One of the Purina Pro Plan products - Adult Fish & Crab entree
contains a whopping 2.72% calcium and 2.07% phosphorus. The Adult
Sardines & Tuna in Aspic contains 3.08% calcium and 2.18% phosphorus.
Maximum levels of these two nutrients should be 1.0% calcium and 0.9%
phosphorus. These products are nearly identical to the Purina Friskies
versions of the same.

Steve, I don't know anything about calcium and phosphorus yet. The cans
they like are the Purina Pro Plan products - Adult Fish & Crab.

Can you provide more info and maybe a link?

Thanks for the input!

Jeff