dried food

Hi

The history is below, but here is my question. Do cat owners who
feed their cats all or a majority of dried foods notice that the
stools are a lighter colour or passed less easily on tyhe dried
food than on wet food. ? Any advice or opinions most welcomed.

Now in full health again it was about 6 weeks back my female 4 year
old cat had a bout of digestive trouibles which appeared to start
acutely, within hours of bringing in a bird that was so cold I
thought it could not have been a fresh kill. By the following
morning she had quite runny poo and and just wanted to rest but
picked up a good bit during the day but the next day as I wanted
reassurance I went to a vet who (inappropriately I thought) gave a
vitamin injection intramuscularly .(which caused serious problems for
the cat for a couple of hours, falling off places, trembling and so
on) I say inappropropriate because she had not been sick and had
not stopped eating, and indeed it was a very early stage of what was
(and proved to be) a transient upset. However, the next day she
passed some mucus with the slighest streak of blood, and maybe a
little within her stool the next time too.

I decided on a different strategy. It seemed to me that my cat was
eating dried food all the time (and ignoring mostly the wet food I
put out ) and so I tried a strict wet food only approach and even
after only one day on this new regime I noticed that this caused her
stools to more brown than the lighter color with no evidence of mucus
or blood and a good improvement in her normal behaviour of playing
and grooming which had been absent for a coiuple of days. and that
if she went in her litter box (both my cats have access to outdoors
and will use the tray occasionally or at night) she passed her
stools more easily, in the same way as other cat. Hence, I decided
that the dry food which she so likes is actually not the best option
for her. I

But this wet meat business has now become an obsession for me. I
still leave a tiny amount of dried food out (not enough for even half
a days food for both cats_ but enough for a nibble and she
continues to be healthy and full of vitality. But I had never noticed
problems before that bird incident. The lady cat always managed
dried food without incident. The wet vs dried food debate seems to
me simple. dried is lower qaulity protien, high in carbohydrates, a
lot of grain in there and so on, and despite extra drinking by the
cat who relies on dried food, it does not match the optimal hydration
which the animal gets from wet food. All in all,. the evidence is
favor of wet meat but many owners swear that they have fed their
animals dried food their whole lives without problems.

I dont know why she always prefers the dried food. I think its like a
blood sugar high they get or something from nibbling that stuff,.
It surely cannot be as nice as the meat in the tin.

"dragon" wrote in message
...


Hi

The history is below, but here is my question. Do cat owners who
feed their cats all or a majority of dried foods notice that the
stools are a lighter colour or passed less easily on tyhe dried
food than on wet food. ? Any advice or opinions most welcomed.

Now in full health again it was about 6 weeks back my female 4 year
old cat had a bout of digestive trouibles which appeared to start
acutely, within hours of bringing in a bird

Why are you endangering your cat to anything that birds and other creatures
might have by allowing her to roam?? Especially since she had been sick.

"cybercat" wrote

Dang! We meet again! hehehe

"dragon" wrote

Now in full health again it was about 6 weeks back my female 4 year
old cat had a bout of digestive trouibles which appeared to start
acutely, within hours of bringing in a bird

Why are you endangering your cat to anything that birds and other
creatures
might have by allowing her to roam?? Especially since she had been sick.

Some folks, especially out in the country, feel it is almost abusive to make
a cat live indoors all their lives. Once you accept that, you have to
accept the other.

While you can start a cat as indoor totally, I've not seem many happy cats
if they were allowed outdoors past true kittenhood, if shifted to indoor.
Perhaps another here might know more? I've had both types but prefer given
a chance with their age, to keep them indoor totally. I also have a huge
screened patio for them to romp in. (12x42 ft).

"cshenk" wrote in message
...
"cybercat" wrote

Dang! We meet again! hehehe

hahaha!


"dragon" wrote

Now in full health again it was about 6 weeks back my female 4 year
old cat had a bout of digestive trouibles which appeared to start
acutely, within hours of bringing in a bird

Why are you endangering your cat to anything that birds and other
creatures
might have by allowing her to roam?? Especially since she had been sick.

Some folks, especially out in the country, feel it is almost abusive to
make a cat live indoors all their lives. Once you accept that, you have
to accept the other.


I understand this. But if a cat "owner" does this, then it makes no sense
to post in a cat group essentially saying, "I wonder how my cat got this
infection, she was sick then I allowed her out where she has contact
with anything out there, birds, rodents, whatever, she even brought
a dead bird in, whatever can be the problem with her now?

It's ridiculous, and it's irresponsible.


While you can start a cat as indoor totally, I've not seem many happy cats
if they were allowed outdoors past true kittenhood, if shifted to indoor.
Perhaps another here might know more? I've had both types but prefer
given a chance with their age, to keep them indoor totally. I also have a
huge screened patio for them to romp in. (12x42 ft).

"cybercat" wrote
"cshenk" wrote

Dang! We meet again! hehehe

hahaha!

Yup! I'm thinking you and I have many things in tandem. You seem good
people to me and happy to meet you.

Now in full health again it was about 6 weeks back my female 4 year
old cat had a bout of digestive trouibles which appeared to start
acutely, within hours of bringing in a bird

Why are you endangering your cat to anything that birds and other
creatures
might have by allowing her to roam?? Especially since she had been sick.

Some folks, especially out in the country, feel it is almost abusive to
make a cat live indoors all their lives. Once you accept that, you have
to accept the other.

I understand this. But if a cat "owner" does this, then it makes no sense
to post in a cat group essentially saying, "I wonder how my cat got this
infection, she was sick then I allowed her out where she has contact
with anything out there, birds, rodents, whatever, she even brought
a dead bird in, whatever can be the problem with her now?

Perhaps he (or she) doesnt know that much as of yet on such and is asking
for help? I can tell you that often enough, and embarrasing, I've had to
ask questions that in retrospect seemed pretty clueless. Heck, I *was*
clueless and I've been lucky that normally folks are pretty nice about it
when I ask something 'dumb'.

I'm not perfect, but I try to keep this in mind when replying. Like in one
of the dog echos, a fellow asked if he could add a cat to his lonely Rott, I
asked if the Rott might think the cat was lunch?

It's ridiculous, and it's irresponsible.

I'm thinking the OP doesnt know enough yet to have that perspective though.
That's easy to understand but takes a second of 'step back and let it melt
in' to make sense of at first.

While you can start a cat as indoor totally, I've not seem many happy
cats if they were allowed outdoors past true kittenhood, if shifted to
indoor. Perhaps another here might know more? I've had both types but
prefer given a chance with their age, to keep them indoor totally. I
also have a huge screened patio for them to romp in. (12x42 ft).

I have now 2 rescue pets. I have come under some 'fire' for adopting 2 in
rapid succession but so far no one can deal with (or respond to) the fact
that the dog was applied for second but came in much faster than
anticipated, and the cat was delayed by 3 weeks but if not taken now, might
have been euthanised as she's been looking for a home since summer 2006 and
we are the only family she reacts positively to.

Daisy was 'supposed' to hide for 2 weeks at least, especially with a new to
her dog here. As in fact is showing, we are having problems trapping her in
a safe room after 2 days. We have to do that til tomorrow night though as
when she does hide, she does an outstanding job at it (took us over an hour
and we knew what room she was in!). We have a new bathtub install that was
today and tomorrow and she has to be in a known place with a closed door for
the moment.

I am sure the 2 are compatible. Cash is sniffing the door and she's purring
on the other side. She's trying to get out already but is an 'alpha cat'
(maning gonna train the dog that she's BOSS) and we need to have that
delayed til the construction is done tomorrow g.

Daisy is and will remain an indoor cat. Cash, perforce of a dog's needs, is
on a leash but allowed outdoors as needed grin.