Feeding help

[bettybiggestballs]

On our last trip to the vets for check ups I was told off for giving them wet food (apparently terrible for teeth) and told that they should only be on dry (royal canin shorthair) They love their wet food (encore) so cut wet down to half a pouch per day. I read a thread yesterday saying how bad dry food was and that wet was best.

The other issue is that the vet said they were overweight. They are massive but they are a chunky breed (British blue) and their Dad was 9kg so I’m not sure they’ll ever be slight. (They are around 8kg at 2 years old)

We currently feed them half a pouch of encore each per day and a fist full of dry.

Does anyone have any advice on this, there is so much contradictory advice out there. Thank you!

[dementedpixie]

Doesnt sound like they eat much tbh. My two are around 4/4.5kg and have half a pouch each 3 times a day plus dry available all the time. What are the ingredients on the dry food as you ideally want high meat and no cereals?

[dementedpixie]

Royal canin seems to be expensive for what you get:
Poultry protein (dried), vegetable protein isolate, rice, maize, animal fats, maize gluten, vegetable fibers, animal protein (hydrolysed), chicory fiber, minerals, soya oil, fish oil, fructo-oligo-saccharides, yeast hydrolyzate (source of mannan-oligo-saccharides), borage oil, hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin).

Not sure cats need rice or maize or vegetable protein tbh

[bettybiggestballs]

Thanks for your help, sounds like I’ve fallen for the marketing of royal canin. Shall I just drop the dry? I tried them on some Lily’s kitchen dry and the fussy little beggars weren’t having any of it!

[dementedpixie]

I'm in the process of swapping to thrive dry that is 90% meat. I mix it with the other dry food so they get used to it.

[viccat]

Vets recommend Royal Canin because that's the food they sell and get a commission...

Encore is a complementary, not a complete, food though so you should add something else that's complete to make sure your kitties get enough taurine and other minerals.

[Vinorosso74]

It's the wet food in jelly or gravy which is bad for the teeth (and waistline). We got a rather large Zooplus order of Thrive wet for our lad. He has one tin of that a day alongside dry food.

[Allergictoironing]

Like most things, it's a matter of balance. Some people feed dry only, some feed wet only, many feed a combination. Dry only can cause urinary issues especially in males, and if they don't drink enough that makes it worse. As your vet said, wet only can lead to dental problems. Overall a mix does seem the best of both worlds to me.

You don't seem to be feeding yours lots especially compared to their size. My 2 get 1.5 pouches a day between them but all the (indoor formula as they are indoor cats) dry they want, they are I suppose medium sized with Boycat heading to the large size. They aren't fat at all, narrow & slinky from above and behind and their ribs feelable when you stroke firmly. They do both have a bit of a saggy tummy but that's loose skin which I put down to their comparatively sedentary lifestyle.

Are you sure they aren't supplementing their food somewhere else, either a friendly neighbour or the local rat/mouse population?

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Vets do not get commission from Royal Canin, practices make a very small amount of profit just in same way as pet shops or supermarkets do.
8kg for a British Blue is obese most correct body weight make British blues are 5.5 to6 kg. 'Show condition' for pedigree animals is usually obese.
Look at what the pack says for feeding a 6kg cat and use that as your daily allowance.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Fistful of dry is probably double or treble their daily amount and that is where the calories are.

[dementedpixie]

I just scientifically tested that theory and a large fistful was 50g which is what's recommended for a 3.5kg cat according to the bag of thrive I have. How big is your fist?!

[bettybiggestballs]

Thank you for all the advice, @lonecatwithkitten - thank you that’s really helpful. I’ve just weighed the fistful and it’s 40g (packet says 35g per day per cat plus half a pouch) - so if I cut down the dry to half and keep the half pouch of encore do you think this would work?

Thank you! Really appreciate you sharing your expertise

[bettybiggestballs]

We cross posted there pixie! We have similar fists!

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Bettybiggestballs just to check that is the recommended feeding amount for a 6kg cat? One of the biggest mistakes made in dieting is not feeding for the cat we want them too be.

[bettybiggestballs]

Yes, it’s said 5 /6kg - do you think I need to go down a notch?

[dementedpixie]

I think she is saying that's the amount you should feed rather than the amount given for an 8kg cat.

[bettybiggestballs]

Arhhh, gotcha, thanks demented. I’m not on the ball this morning!

[CatchingBabies]

They do sound overweight but the dry food won't be helping that. Royal canin is full of sugar and is a pretty awful food.

Sadly vets get very little in the way of nutrition training and most is sponsored by Hills and Royal Canin so is biased.

Dry food also isn't better for their teeth, that's a myth. Do you think your teeth get clean by eating dry biscuits?

A high meat and grain free wet food is the best you can feed them with dry additionally if you prefer to do that, again grain free and high meat content.

Feed them the recommended amount for the weight they should be and they will slowly get to a healthy weight.