Cat food - dry/wet (this has probably been discussed a thousand times already)

In ,
PawsForThought being of bellicose mind
posted:
There is much debate about the efficacy of dry food for cleaning
teeth. In my experience, many cats just swallow kibble without
chewing enough to get any benefit from the dry food. I give my
cats chicken gizzards for their teeth. I feed them raw but if you
don't want to, you can just braise them in some butter. As far as
drinking more, again in my experience some cats will drink more
when fed dry food, but many don't, and then they can get urinary
tract problems.

I'm sure you'll got lots of opinions here as food is a much debate
topic

Meanwhile, here is an excellent article on feline nutrition:
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/feedingyourcat.html

Lauren

I take a proctologist's view. If whatever the cat eats produces a
smooth turd in the litter box, that's the diet he/she gets. If the
feces looks forced, hard, evidence of constipation, I experiment
until the "evidence" looks normal. Pretty simple, eh?
--

~~Philip

"Never let school interfere
with your education - Mark Twain"


________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

In ,
PawsForThought being of bellicose mind
posted:
There is much debate about the efficacy of dry food for cleaning
teeth. In my experience, many cats just swallow kibble without
chewing enough to get any benefit from the dry food. I give my
cats chicken gizzards for their teeth. I feed them raw but if you
don't want to, you can just braise them in some butter. As far as
drinking more, again in my experience some cats will drink more
when fed dry food, but many don't, and then they can get urinary
tract problems.

I'm sure you'll got lots of opinions here as food is a much debate
topic

Meanwhile, here is an excellent article on feline nutrition:
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/feedingyourcat.html

Lauren

I take a proctologist's view. If whatever the cat eats produces a
smooth turd in the litter box, that's the diet he/she gets. If the
feces looks forced, hard, evidence of constipation, I experiment
until the "evidence" looks normal. Pretty simple, eh?
--

~~Philip

"Never let school interfere
with your education - Mark Twain"


________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: "Philip ®" lid

PawsForThought being of bellicose mind
posted:
There is much debate about the efficacy of dry food for cleaning
teeth. In my experience, many cats just swallow kibble without
chewing enough to get any benefit from the dry food. I give my
cats chicken gizzards for their teeth. I feed them raw but if you
don't want to, you can just braise them in some butter. As far as
drinking more, again in my experience some cats will drink more
when fed dry food, but many don't, and then they can get urinary
tract problems.

I'm sure you'll got lots of opinions here as food is a much debate
topic

Meanwhile, here is an excellent article on feline nutrition:
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/feedingyourcat.html

Lauren

I take a proctologist's view. If whatever the cat eats produces a
smooth turd in the litter box, that's the diet he/she gets. If the
feces looks forced, hard, evidence of constipation, I experiment
until the "evidence" looks normal. Pretty simple, eh?

LOL! Yes, let's hear it for smooth turds

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: "Philip ®" lid

PawsForThought being of bellicose mind
posted:
There is much debate about the efficacy of dry food for cleaning
teeth. In my experience, many cats just swallow kibble without
chewing enough to get any benefit from the dry food. I give my
cats chicken gizzards for their teeth. I feed them raw but if you
don't want to, you can just braise them in some butter. As far as
drinking more, again in my experience some cats will drink more
when fed dry food, but many don't, and then they can get urinary
tract problems.

I'm sure you'll got lots of opinions here as food is a much debate
topic

Meanwhile, here is an excellent article on feline nutrition:
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/feedingyourcat.html

Lauren

I take a proctologist's view. If whatever the cat eats produces a
smooth turd in the litter box, that's the diet he/she gets. If the
feces looks forced, hard, evidence of constipation, I experiment
until the "evidence" looks normal. Pretty simple, eh?

LOL! Yes, let's hear it for smooth turds

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: "Philip ®" lid

PawsForThought being of bellicose mind
posted:
There is much debate about the efficacy of dry food for cleaning
teeth. In my experience, many cats just swallow kibble without
chewing enough to get any benefit from the dry food. I give my
cats chicken gizzards for their teeth. I feed them raw but if you
don't want to, you can just braise them in some butter. As far as
drinking more, again in my experience some cats will drink more
when fed dry food, but many don't, and then they can get urinary
tract problems.

I'm sure you'll got lots of opinions here as food is a much debate
topic

Meanwhile, here is an excellent article on feline nutrition:
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/feedingyourcat.html

Lauren

I take a proctologist's view. If whatever the cat eats produces a
smooth turd in the litter box, that's the diet he/she gets. If the
feces looks forced, hard, evidence of constipation, I experiment
until the "evidence" looks normal. Pretty simple, eh?

LOL! Yes, let's hear it for smooth turds

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

Dry food is strictly for OUR convenience, I don't think it can possibly be
better that wet, which is closer to what a cat would get in nature. As for
drinking more water, well, yeah, you HAVE to drink more water when you're
only getting dry food, if you have wet food you're getting water in the food
and I've been told some necessary oils as well.
Kirsten
"Yngver" wrote in message
...
I've got two 2 y/o ragdoll kittens - Karma and Cocoa - who I've fed with
dry
food in the morning and throughout the day (Hills Science) and wet food
for
dinner (Whiska's canned or pouches).. When I took my babies to the vet
recently to get their vaccinations updated, the vet advised that I take
them
off the wet food and give them just dry food. I always thought it was
good
to have variety because there are some things the cats get out of wet but
not dry food, and vice versa.. But the vet said that the dry would be
better
for their teeth and would get them drinking more water (my cats are big
fans
of water, I'm not sure they need much more!).
Cocoa has to go back and get his teeth cleaned, which he's being sedated
for
(which I'm also a bit concerned about).. but Karma's teeth are fine..

So what I'm wondering is, if I start giving the boys dry food constantly,
is
it going to upset their routine at all? Are they going to think I just
haven't fed them at night and not eat because they're waiting for their
wet
food? Or is the vet just crazy and should I stick to the routine that
has
worked so far.

Well, I hesitate to say your vet is crazy, but there are plenty of vets
who
recommend canned food over dry. My vet's opinion is the opposite of yours.
He
says that although some think that dry food helps clean the teeth, there
is no
evidence of that other than with some of the special dental diets. And in
fact,
cats that consume only dry food are less likely to get sufficient water
than
cats that eat canned food.

If it were me, yes, I'd ignore the vet and keep feeding canned food. You
may
want to feed a little dental diet dry food or treats, or try to start
brushing
their teeth, to improve dental health. Since one of your cats needs a
cleaning
at only two years of age, I'd suspect a genetic tendency toward dental
problems. If you can manage it, regular brushing might help considerably.

Dry food is strictly for OUR convenience, I don't think it can possibly be
better that wet, which is closer to what a cat would get in nature. As for
drinking more water, well, yeah, you HAVE to drink more water when you're
only getting dry food, if you have wet food you're getting water in the food
and I've been told some necessary oils as well.
Kirsten
"Yngver" wrote in message
...
I've got two 2 y/o ragdoll kittens - Karma and Cocoa - who I've fed with
dry
food in the morning and throughout the day (Hills Science) and wet food
for
dinner (Whiska's canned or pouches).. When I took my babies to the vet
recently to get their vaccinations updated, the vet advised that I take
them
off the wet food and give them just dry food. I always thought it was
good
to have variety because there are some things the cats get out of wet but
not dry food, and vice versa.. But the vet said that the dry would be
better
for their teeth and would get them drinking more water (my cats are big
fans
of water, I'm not sure they need much more!).
Cocoa has to go back and get his teeth cleaned, which he's being sedated
for
(which I'm also a bit concerned about).. but Karma's teeth are fine..

So what I'm wondering is, if I start giving the boys dry food constantly,
is
it going to upset their routine at all? Are they going to think I just
haven't fed them at night and not eat because they're waiting for their
wet
food? Or is the vet just crazy and should I stick to the routine that
has
worked so far.

Well, I hesitate to say your vet is crazy, but there are plenty of vets
who
recommend canned food over dry. My vet's opinion is the opposite of yours.
He
says that although some think that dry food helps clean the teeth, there
is no
evidence of that other than with some of the special dental diets. And in
fact,
cats that consume only dry food are less likely to get sufficient water
than
cats that eat canned food.

If it were me, yes, I'd ignore the vet and keep feeding canned food. You
may
want to feed a little dental diet dry food or treats, or try to start
brushing
their teeth, to improve dental health. Since one of your cats needs a
cleaning
at only two years of age, I'd suspect a genetic tendency toward dental
problems. If you can manage it, regular brushing might help considerably.

Dry food is strictly for OUR convenience, I don't think it can possibly be
better that wet, which is closer to what a cat would get in nature. As for
drinking more water, well, yeah, you HAVE to drink more water when you're
only getting dry food, if you have wet food you're getting water in the food
and I've been told some necessary oils as well.
Kirsten
"Yngver" wrote in message
...
I've got two 2 y/o ragdoll kittens - Karma and Cocoa - who I've fed with
dry
food in the morning and throughout the day (Hills Science) and wet food
for
dinner (Whiska's canned or pouches).. When I took my babies to the vet
recently to get their vaccinations updated, the vet advised that I take
them
off the wet food and give them just dry food. I always thought it was
good
to have variety because there are some things the cats get out of wet but
not dry food, and vice versa.. But the vet said that the dry would be
better
for their teeth and would get them drinking more water (my cats are big
fans
of water, I'm not sure they need much more!).
Cocoa has to go back and get his teeth cleaned, which he's being sedated
for
(which I'm also a bit concerned about).. but Karma's teeth are fine..

So what I'm wondering is, if I start giving the boys dry food constantly,
is
it going to upset their routine at all? Are they going to think I just
haven't fed them at night and not eat because they're waiting for their
wet
food? Or is the vet just crazy and should I stick to the routine that
has
worked so far.

Well, I hesitate to say your vet is crazy, but there are plenty of vets
who
recommend canned food over dry. My vet's opinion is the opposite of yours.
He
says that although some think that dry food helps clean the teeth, there
is no
evidence of that other than with some of the special dental diets. And in
fact,
cats that consume only dry food are less likely to get sufficient water
than
cats that eat canned food.

If it were me, yes, I'd ignore the vet and keep feeding canned food. You
may
want to feed a little dental diet dry food or treats, or try to start
brushing
their teeth, to improve dental health. Since one of your cats needs a
cleaning
at only two years of age, I'd suspect a genetic tendency toward dental
problems. If you can manage it, regular brushing might help considerably.

In ,
k conover being of bellicose mind posted:
Dry food is strictly for OUR convenience, I don't think it can
possibly be better that wet, which is closer to what a cat would
get in nature. As for drinking more water, well, yeah, you HAVE
to drink more water when you're only getting dry food, if you have
wet food you're getting water in the food and I've been told some
necessary oils as well.
Kirsten

Oh nonsense, Kristen. Dry food is only for "OUR" convenience if you
are trying to get your adult children to leave home ... because you
won't cook for them anymore. ;-)

Over the years, my cats have had more dietary grief from prepared
canned pet foods than Purina cat chow. One other thing Kirsten, just
like dogs, indoor cats will find the toilet bowl or a dripping sink
faucet when there is not a reliable source of water elsewhere in the
house. So please... until you are sure your animals are not sipping
from the toilet bowl, do not use those self administering bowl
cleaning products that turn the water blue. The next thing your pet
licks may be your face!
--

~~Philip

"Never let school interfere
with your education - Mark Twain"

In ,
k conover being of bellicose mind posted:
Dry food is strictly for OUR convenience, I don't think it can
possibly be better that wet, which is closer to what a cat would
get in nature. As for drinking more water, well, yeah, you HAVE
to drink more water when you're only getting dry food, if you have
wet food you're getting water in the food and I've been told some
necessary oils as well.
Kirsten

Oh nonsense, Kristen. Dry food is only for "OUR" convenience if you
are trying to get your adult children to leave home ... because you
won't cook for them anymore. ;-)

Over the years, my cats have had more dietary grief from prepared
canned pet foods than Purina cat chow. One other thing Kirsten, just
like dogs, indoor cats will find the toilet bowl or a dripping sink
faucet when there is not a reliable source of water elsewhere in the
house. So please... until you are sure your animals are not sipping
from the toilet bowl, do not use those self administering bowl
cleaning products that turn the water blue. The next thing your pet
licks may be your face!
--

~~Philip

"Never let school interfere
with your education - Mark Twain"