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wet and dry food



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 13th 03, 08:28 PM
turn man
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Default wet and dry food

my cat is around 3 and I just adopted her, she loves wet food but will not
eat dry food. We have been mixing both in the cat's dish, wil she ever eat
dry food?


  #2  
Old July 25th 03, 06:21 PM
bewtifulfreak
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"Bob Brenchley." wrote in message
...
On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 19:28:12 GMT, "turn man"
wrote:

my cat is around 3 and I just adopted her, she loves wet food but will

not
eat dry food. We have been mixing both in the cat's dish, wil she ever

eat
dry food?

Cats are much better on a proper diet of tinned cat food.

Feeding a little dry will not hurt, but never let it exceed 30% of
their diet.


I was told by my vet (and someone on another group said they were told the
same by theirs) that a dry diet of a complete cat food like Science Diet was
the best diet to feed my cats. Not to say that they *must* have dry, or
that wet is not healthy, but they won't necessarily have urinary or other
problems if their main diet is a complete dry food and they're supplied with
fresh water. My cats free feed on a complete dry food, with an ocassional
sachet of wet as a treat, and when they got their last booster a couple
months ago, they checked out as being completely healthy.

As for a cat that won't eat dry, unless your vet indicates otherwise, I
would just suggest you make sure you're getting a complete brand of wet food
(one containing all the necessary nutrients for a healthy diet), and
continue giving her what she wants!

Ann


  #3  
Old July 26th 03, 03:00 PM
Bob Brenchley.
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Default

On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 18:21:45 +0100, "bewtifulfreak"
wrote:

"Bob Brenchley." wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 19:28:12 GMT, "turn man"
wrote:

my cat is around 3 and I just adopted her, she loves wet food but will

not
eat dry food. We have been mixing both in the cat's dish, wil she ever

eat
dry food?

Cats are much better on a proper diet of tinned cat food.

Feeding a little dry will not hurt, but never let it exceed 30% of
their diet.


I was told by my vet (and someone on another group said they were told the
same by theirs) that a dry diet of a complete cat food like Science Diet was
the best diet to feed my cats.


Wrong. Totally 101% the wrong way round.

Not to say that they *must* have dry, or
that wet is not healthy, but they won't necessarily have urinary or other
problems if their main diet is a complete dry food and they're supplied with
fresh water.


Cats fed on a dry food only diet cannot drink enough water to meet
their needs, their bodies are just not designed for it.

A cat fed on a proper tinned food diet needs very little extra water.

My cats free feed on a complete dry food,


Free feeding is also very bad for cats and causes a lot of problems
with their health. Any food not eaten in 15-30 minutes should always
be removed.

with an ocassional
sachet of wet as a treat, and when they got their last booster a couple
months ago, they checked out as being completely healthy.


My father has smoked 40+ cigarettes a day for over 60 years - he is
still healthy. But that does not remove the proven dangers of
cigarettes.

As for a cat that won't eat dry, unless your vet indicates otherwise, I
would just suggest you make sure you're getting a complete brand of wet food
(one containing all the necessary nutrients for a healthy diet), and
continue giving her what she wants!


Tinned foods are complete, unlike dry which lacks the most important
ingredient of all - WATER.

Ann

--
Bob.

You have not been charged for this lesson. Please pass it to all your
friends so they may learn as well.
  #4  
Old July 27th 03, 02:05 PM
bewtifulfreak
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Well, I've been told by more than one vet that a complete dry food was the
best thing to feed my cats, and I'm not the only one who's been told this by
their vet. I've always thought it was safe to trust a vet, but perhaps not.
And I will reconsider the free feeding, as I do worry about their food
getting stale, and they do take from the back where the freshest food is.
Interesting how we can get such conflicting information, even from the best
sources (you would assume you could trust a vet).

Ann


  #5  
Old July 27th 03, 07:39 PM
Bob Brenchley.
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On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 14:05:15 +0100, "bewtifulfreak"
wrote:

Well, I've been told by more than one vet that a complete dry food was the
best thing to feed my cats, and I'm not the only one who's been told this by
their vet.


It is really surprising how few vets actually understand feline
nutrition. The cat is very different form the dog, and from other
small animals and their nutritional needs have been very neglected in
vet schools over the years.

I've always thought it was safe to trust a vet, but perhaps not.
And I will reconsider the free feeding, as I do worry about their food
getting stale, and they do take from the back where the freshest food is.
Interesting how we can get such conflicting information, even from the best
sources (you would assume you could trust a vet).

Ann


Take a look at http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4.php

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them.

--
Bob.

How to become immortal: Read this signature tomorrow and follow its
advice.
  #6  
Old July 28th 03, 05:53 PM
Bob Brenchley.
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Default

On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 21:06:40 +0100, "bewtifulfreak"
wrote:

"Bob Brenchley." wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 14:05:15 +0100, "bewtifulfreak"
wrote:

Well, I've been told by more than one vet that a complete dry food was

the
best thing to feed my cats, and I'm not the only one who's been told this

by
their vet.


It is really surprising how few vets actually understand feline
nutrition. The cat is very different form the dog, and from other
small animals and their nutritional needs have been very neglected in
vet schools over the years.


It *is* surprising, considering how many people own cats; you'd think they
would be properly educated on their well-being. And it does follow pretty
easily from what they eat in the wild that a moist, meaty diet would be the
best. I just always figured that the vets knew best, but then, I don't know
why I'd think that, considering how many ignorant doctors I've been to!


The problem is that cats have always been a "low maintenance" pet. You
don't need to take them out for walks, they usually require far less
vet care than dogs, and they are much cleaner. For many years little
work was done on feline nutrition, and a result was growing health
problems in cats.




Take a look at http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4.php


Well, this certainly makes sense, based on cats' feeding in the wild, and I
will take it to heart. I thought perhaps it was like humans and milk; many
still can't tolerate it (lactose intolerance), because it's made for baby
cows, not humans, but over time, some people's bodies have adapted to be
able to drink it without problems.


There are a few babies who cannot tolerate cows milk unless it is
reformulated, but most lactose intolerance in adults is simply down to
not having drunk milk for a long time.

Still, there is much evidence that dairy
still isn't the healthiest thing for humans, and I suppose it's the same
with cats; they can live off dry food, but won't be as healthy as they could
and should be with a proper wet diet. And being hypoglycemic, I know the
dangers of carbohydrates for myself; I can see how it would be more so for
an animal that wasn't naturally made to eat any at all.

Thank you for the education; while you may be a bit cocky about what you
know, the fact is, I consider what you've shared to be valuable and useful
to the well-being of my cats, and for that, I'm grateful.

Ann

The really difficult part for most people to understand seems to be
that just providing water for the cat to drink with dry food is not
enough. The water needs to be locked into the structure of the food in
order to ne absorbed into the cats system.

Let's say a cat eats a typical tin of cat food in a day. Between 70
and 80% of that is really just water - but of course that matches
quite well the water content of their natural prey animals.

With dry food the water content is usually less than 10%. So to get
the extra water needed you would think the cat need to drink about
enough water to equal two-thirds of a can of cat food - but it doesn't
work like that. In fact the cat would need to drink the equivalent of
nearly 4 cans of water. This is because the cat's digestive system is
not designed for drinking water - it get its water from its food.

Of course, no cat can drink enough water if it is fed a totally dry
diet, and the result is often urine crystals or kidney problems
(particularly in later life).

Keeping to a mainly tinned food diet keeps cats healthy. Some dry, to
help strengthen their jaws and teeth is not a bad idea, mine get a
small snack of dry food most days, but it is just a small snack. Oh,
and don't get mislead by people who claim dry food cleans their teeth
- cats cannot chew and without chewing there can be little (if any)
teeth cleaning going on.

--
Bob.

My cats are forbidden from walking on my computer keyboard on the desk
when I'm asdfjjhhkl;ljfd.;oier' puyykmm4hbdm9lo9j USING IT.
 




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