Can we talk about food?

[VenusClapTrap]

I have just adopted two young cats. 1.5yo and 9 months. Having lived with dear departed old lady cat for nigh on two decades, I’m accustomed to the eating habits of a fussy old lady who ate like a sparrow and was on a renal diet. I’m completely out of practise at feeding boisterous young ‘uns.

There’s so much choice out there now! It’s extra important they don’t get overweight as one has probable Scottish fold in his genetic mix, as he’s got funny bent ears, I know their joints can be a problem if overweight.

What’s the verdict on these raw, frozen subscription diets like Katkin? Facebook is spamming me with their adverts since I googled cat trees last week.

So far I’ve been giving them high meat content stuff like Canagan, Lily’s Kitchen and Carnilove. Youngest is on kitten stuff, but he dives into the adult stuff I’ve given the other one given half a chance.

Old Lady cat used to have biscuits for breakfast and wet food for dinner. But should I give these two babies wet food twice a day? Three pouches or two? Amounts given on food relate to feeding only that food - how to work it out if you’re giving both wet and dry?

I’m probably overthinking it. But would be helpful to know what others feed.

Just to add - they are rescues - I didn’t go out to purchase a Scottish Fold! I’d seen from photos from the rescue that the cat he was found with (probably sibling) had slightly folded ears, which made me wonder, but once he arrived I realised he has quite bent ears too.

I give my 2 adult cats 2 pouches a day between them, then they have dry down ad lib & just adjust which dry I'm giving depending on how fat Tobias is looking. Tobias prefers the wet, Girlcat is more into the dry (though both eat both). They seem to be grazers, in that they lick the best bits off their wet & leave some of the chunks for later (usually polished of by Tobias), and both have nibbles at the dry off & on all through the day - and the night going by the levels in the bowl.

One thing about feeding dry as well as wet, especially if you have boys, is making sure they have plenty of fresh water at all times.

I think your problem is that you have one that is still really a kitten and needs slightly more calories than the other - is the possible Scottish Fold the older one? If so, that could just compound things for you...

If it helps, Tobias is the more - lets say stocky to be nice - one of the pair, so I was feeding a "diet" style dry and he was losing some of his podge while Girlcat stayed the same weight & didn't lose any. Currently on a gastrointestinal wet due to Tobias's runny poo, and neither seem to be changing weight & it hasn't affected Girlcat in any way. So you can probably feed to suit one without it badly affecting the other.

We have three adult cats and they're fed four times a day.

They get a pouch of wet food each (split over two meals) and then a handful of dry biscuits twice a day as well.

We can't free feed as our oldest is on a diet and would hoover up the lot 😂

They also go out so probably supplement with whatever they can hunt outside.

Possible fold is the youngest. He is more of a hooverer than the older one. I think she’d prefer to graze, but I don’t think she’ll get the opportunity with him around. But it could be because I’m not feeding him enough because I’m worrying about obesity! He’s very energetic so probably needs the calories.

One of mine eats wet food (will only touch Gourmet), the other only eats dry (and it has to be Purina One)

I have a 7kg boy which is a big change from my elderly 2.5kg who could eat and eat and eat and never gain weight!

He is picky with wet, I want him to eat raw, he wants to eat dry crap food with 1% meat

We compromised and he eats a sachet of Sheba first thing then James wellbeloved light dry food. I go off the bag and just knock a bit off for the sachet so he gets 55g dry

If you're worried about the younger one eating all the food, why not get some microchip feeders?

How can we comment without the cat tax being paid OP?

Sorry! Tax as requested! White one is the baby.

A microchip cat feeder is a good idea. I’ll try upping the amount I’m feeding them a bit, and if he’s still hoovering all hers too then I’ll look into getting those.

A friend who uses Katkin has given me a couple of trays to try. I think that might fill him up more.

Do make sure you insure them (as moggies, which they are - no need to mention possible breeds). If he does have a drop of Scottish Fold in him, he may end up with painful arthritis regardless of weight.

At 9 months he's still growing so needs a bit more food especially if he's very energetic.

There's no benefit to feeding dry (not even the popular myth of teeth cleaning) so keep it as a treat and feed mostly wet as you're doing. My cat never got on with the frozen foods but eats Untamed, Thrive and Lily's Kitchen for the most part. 2 tins a day.

That’s interesting about teeth cleaning - that’s why I use dry food. Is it not true then? Good to know! It’s so hard to get to the truth with cat nutrition, which is very frustrating. Different messages from different vets.

It's been entirely debunked. Dry food as a tooth cleaner is like saying we eat biscuits to clean our teeth. I don't know why vets continue to push it. There are some specific "treats" and supplements that do help with tooth cleaning, but the only real way to clean your cat's teeth is to brush them with cat toothpaste, or have dental treatment at the vet.

Don't worry, my cat won't let me brush his teeth either...

My vet once sent me a dental check reminder for my old boy
Me "you've got one TOOF, you want it checked?"

There's so little research into cat nutrition that it's really hard to know what's best. Some things are clear, like the lower the grain content the better, but when it comes to comparing brands or raw vs fresh vs tinned, it's much harder.

Even wet vs dry isn't clear cut. IMO the evidence is that the disadvantages of dry outweigh the benefits (mostly dental) because cats do fine without teeth but not with kidney failure. But then I can afford the bloody expensive dentals.

I feed KatKin because all mine like it and the small packets help reduce waste. But the company doesn't back up their bold claims with evidence and I don't like their heavy-handed marketing messages.

And then you get into grain-free foods being linked with dilated cardiomyopathy...

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy

(this WILL come up in certain groups, but has not been linked to cats in any meaningful way, and has only been linked to dogs who eat a high proportion of grain-free food featuring legumes as a replacement for those grains.)

It's still worth consideration - my cat for example regularly eats a food that contains peas and I worry about it every day. But fish cat food contains mercury, and chicken cat food is not ethically sourced... we really can't win. My cat is well fed at least.

And then you get into grain-free foods being linked with dilated cardiomyopathy...

Or in my case, I fret over calculating ash content and searching vet journals to work out the optimum diet and then my hunter chows down on a scabby field mouse and leaves me just a head to dispose of. And my ginger is slowly eating a paper bag that he's taken a shine to.

We definitely can't win!

And of course you need to think about it being better for the cat to eat something at all, when they turn their cute little noses up at anything that is supposed to be good for them & refuse to touch the expensive stuff and will only eat the cheaper brands.

Then you get cats who will just eat dry, or just eat wet, and ignore the other. Or the grazers who prefer something down 24/7 so they can have a nibble when they fancy it. And if you have more than 1 cat, and they all have slightly different eating preferences or needs.

Then you get one person on here saying "X brand is great" while another poster says "X brand is crap". Some posters who say their way of feeding is the ONLY good way and every other way is A Bad Thing To Do.

Thanks all. This is all really helpful. There was little consensus and a lot of confusion the last time I tried to look into this, years ago, and I see not much has changed!

There does seem to have been an explosion in online subscription food in the meantime though; it’s hard to know if these are worth signing up for. I’m naturally suspicious of anything that’s a pain in the neck to cancel once you start.

I remind myself that these cats were scraped up off the street in a state of semi starvation, and that just getting two square meals a day is a huge improvement on that!

As you've found, lots of different advice out there but my sister is a vet and recommends only dry food, which is what our cat has had for 13 years and is doing well on it! Always has James Wellbeloved and now on the senior version. He drinks plenty of water (thanks to making me turn on the tap in the bath every night 😂) and has never had wet food. Does eat the occasional rodent...

Would you mind asking your sister the reasons for that? Why does she recommend dry over wet?

She does feel that it's better for oral health - as others have mentioned, it's not that it can completely replace teeth brushing, but it doesn't stick to the teeth and gums in quite the same way as wet food, so plaque and tartar build up tends to be less. Dry food works well for our cat in that he's a grazer so food is always available for him (tricky if you have cats prone to overeating) and we can set a food timer if we go away for a night. Wet food can't be left for too long as it can become contaminated and lead to gastrointestinal problems. Have to say, I love not having smelly cat food too! The advice is mixed because there are pros and cons to both types of food. It also doesn't need to be a permanent decision - try what you think works best for your situation and then you can always make adjustments accordingly 🙂