Cat food question help please.

[Dontgiveamonkeys1350]

Have just managed to get my cat off whiskers. He will now eat Lily’s kitchen dry food. Which is much much better.

But. I’m still struggling to get him eat wet food without throwing half of it away. And it’s becoming frustrated.

I know they have to have wet and dry food.

Would it be okay if I made my own wet food ie. cooked fish , tuna and chicken? Or does it have to be special as it has stuff in it for cats.

Am I making any sense.

Also giving him the dry food as well.

My cat will only eat that ridiculously priced cat soup, I know we shouldn’t pander to them but 🤷🏼‍♀️. It’s the liquid content isn’t it? As well as the meat, to help prevent UTIs.

I might be completely wrong on that, it’s what my vet told me.

So yes I guess you can make your own

What sort of wet food are you giving and how much?

I well DH actually only put down a quarter of a small tin as a portion and it gets inhaled in about 3 minutes. But he feeds on a schedule so they are really hungry when it's put down.

Tried various things but we banned anything with jelly as they just licked the jelly off and left the rest.

He takes a few bites and then stops. I have tried lots of different types and I’m wasting so much money on wet food options and then having to give them away.

You can give cooked chicken or fish but you will need to ensure you also give enough of a complete cat food (like the dry food) to make sure he gets all the right vitamins and minerals, especially taurine.

That’s what I was worried about

I’d put smaller portions down.

You can buy taurine and add it to the food you prepare at home.

You can keep opened pouches in the fridge for a couple of days, so you can try him on say 1/3 of a pouch at a time then another 1/3 at the next feed. But if he drinks well, I don't think you actually need wet food as such?

Wouldn’t the taurine be in the dried food though. If I then just gave him some chicken or fish. Would I still have to add it.

I really only put down a very small amount of food from the packet. And he still will not eat it. But eat chicken and fish fine

My cats are only on dry biscuits, royal canin indoor. I've never been told they have to have wet food too, they drink plenty of water now.

I wouldn’t feed just dry food. There is a supplement you can buy to sprinkle on food called Felini, when we fed our cat raw we used it because he’d only eat chicken and a tiny bit of kidney. If it’s a choice between feeding just dry food and just home made, I’d choose the latter.

My two best friends are vets. When I got my cat they advised me to move him onto Royal Canin dry food only. They said if he's on a good quality dry food there's no need to supplement with wet. They also feed their own cat just dry. As long as they are drinking water to avoid UTIs. We have a little cat water fountain which he loves so drinks plenty.

Mine is sick if I give her wet food, she just eats it too fast, doesn’t matter what kind or how tiny the amounts... so she’s on dry only. She drinks water though.

My cat's main food is dry. (Applaws) I have water in a spot well away from her food. I give her half a small can of wet kitten food (Applaws) as a treat first thing in the morning. She loves it but it is more for the routine and treat aspect rather than for proper food.
I put the second half in a Tupperware box for the next day. In warmer months I put the Tupperware box in the fridge during the day - if I remember I take it out at night to bring it to room temperature for the morning.

We've had some various vets recommend all wet food, all dry food or a mix, so it doesn't seem to be set in stone. We go for a mix and they both drink water as well. DH likes to give them the Whiskas cat milk sometimes too.

If your cat doesn't like it, I'd give up and just make sure there is lots of access to water.

I have 2 that have a bit of wet food a day and one old lady who has had dry food all her life and is perfectly happy. She's even on a vet diet of dry food so vet can't be that bothered about her needing wet.

I have tried the raw. He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t catch mice etc at all either. He will however eat cooked chicken cooked fish and tuna. Think I’m going to just leave him with the wet food and give chicken etc in the morning.

My vet is very much against dry food. He says that its phosphoric content is higher than in wet food and can cause kidney problems. Plus a cat would have to drink a lot more water if it only eats dry food because dry food has a moisture content of about 10% whereas wet food has about 75-80%.

They don't have to have dry food at all, in fact it is not great for them, it is just promoted by the manufacturers and vets who sell it. It is not natural for a cat to eat dry food regardless of the meat content, they don't naturally eat corn, maize, rice or potatoes, they eat meat, not gravy either.

Remove the dry, and do the tough love thing, you will have a healthier cat. I have had to do this for health reasons more than once.

consciouscat.net/2011/07/25/how-to-your-cat-off-dry-food/

Look at alternatives on Zooplus or find a site that sells the German foods in smaller quantities. Also remember that the worst quality wet food is much better than any dry, health wise, so Whiskas is better than even the higher meat content dry. They need moisture.

Have you tried the Sainsbury’s wet food? Very much like chicken in texture and has a decent meat content and price.

If he is eating mainly biscuits I wouldn’t worry too much about offering a complete wet food though. He will be getting all his nutrients from the biscuits, anything else is a nice treat.

I'm having a similar problem. The cat is 8 years old and has always had Felix wet food which I put down when told to twice a day and a bowl of dry food. He goes through phases of rejecting certain flavours but lately he just licks the jelly off if that. I've thrown tons away.
I don't feel he drinks enough to only offer dry, besides he says he wants the wet even if he turns his nose up.
I'm trying different brands but not much success. I won't be feeding him tuna which he would inhale.

I feed my cat dry food and wet in the morning then cooked fish in the evening. He much prefers the fish and dry food, mostly licks the jelly off the wet but occasionally scoffs the lot. Our vet also mentioned taurine and his advice was that as long as cat was having a certain amount of taurine from the dry food it should give him what he needs.

Our previous cat lived to the age of 18 on the same diet.

What bad thing actually happens if you feed standard cat food?
I adore my cats, but they have Whiskas dry, and which ever supermarket I've shopped in, tins.
They are happy, healthy and thriving.