Does anyone’s cat eat only dry food?

[Judystilldreamsofhorses]

Our boy just turned two this week, and we adopted him in April last year. He was in foster care and eating Whiskas wet and dry, but never really bothered with the wet.

We transitioned him off the dry to Royal Canin biscuits, and have tried every wet food going, from cheap (Felix, Sheba, the aforementioned Whiskas) to raw (Katkin) and more expensive not-raw (Blink, Untamed) and he’s just not a wet food guy. He licks the jelly or gravy off, and sometimes will eat a whole pouch, but mainly it gets chucked in the food waste caddy.

He drinks plenty. Our previous cat didn’t drink much but ate all her wet food. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his appetite, he’s a happy boy with a shiny coat and loads of energy, so I am not concerned there is anything amiss medically right now, but I guess I worry about his kidneys in the future…? He is mad for “chicken yoghurt” (Lick-e-Lix) and gets one of those most days.

Cat tax attached from earlier today.

Mine eats Hills dry. My partner spoils him with chicken, tuna, tinned and fresh, he gets the occasional stick of cat crack and for Christmas and birthday a pouch of Seriously Good. He drinks from a dog bowl, firstly he splashes it all over the floor and enjoys a drink. He's fine. I also knows he has stolen cat biscuits from the cat across the road. He gets grassed up by my neighbour quite regularly.

You could maybe try him with some broth based foods and see if he likes those? He's lovely, has such a sweet face!

One of mine is the same but she’s getting a bit constipated so I’m concerned, otherwise I wouldn’t be I don’t think. He’s so beautiful 😍 have you tried Applaws or Encore (very similar to each other)? They’re the only ones my dry food lover will touch. But only chicken and only a bit!

@TroysMammy he goes wild for tinned tuna if I am having that, but that’s rare as my partner doesn’t eat fish. He will eat fresh chicken if he can steal it but is less keen if you put it in his dish.

@Cara808 cat soup is probably the one thing we haven’t tried actually, good idea. I picked up some pate type stuff today and he wolfed half of it but wouldn’t look at the second half (his meals are split into breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper) when I gave him that which is what prompted this post. He’s a handsome boy! 🐈

They’re such fussy things, aren’t they! Ours changed brands a lot over time. But now they’re 13 one has been diagnosed with diabetes and we’ve had to really look into feeds. Most dry cat foods are full of sugar and carbs, neither of which a cat needs…. And tinned tuna is very salty. (not meaning to rain on your parade! It’s just I’m realising how animal feeds are so processed and bad for them!)

We’ve not tried those - add to list. He always eats a bit, but it just seems so wasteful. We have a cupboard full of food that I really need to give to CP or the food bank. I’m happy to throw money at the problem, it isn’t that, more wondering if it is actually a problem or if he can happily just eat dry food. Our previous cat was a greedy wee fatty and would hoover the dishes clean immediately, whereas he’s more of a grazer which I find odd in comparison.

He’s due jabs in April so will definitely ask the vet then, but I don’t want to bring him in there for no real reason. He tried to swipe my bacon sandwich earlier today so I am not concerned about his appetite!

I buy the tins in the black box (Encore), it's basically tuna + something else and add some water. DMalecat is prone to crystals though so getting him extra liquid is useful and saves ££££ vet bill. He gets a can every few days, more often in summer and always the spring water from my tuna tins.

Oh don’t worry, he gets a wee bit of tinned tuna once in a blue moon - I’m a fishy person but we don’t tend to have it in the house often as it’s only me that eats it. I think the RC dry is pretty decent (our vet put our previous cat on it when she was vomiting a lot, which actually turned out to be intestinal lymphoma) but it’s so hard to know and I really want him to have the best possible diet!

@HPandthelastwish are you able to share which brand that is? That sounds promising! He did like the Untamed tuna tins but wouldn’t touch any of the others.

Dry food tends to be harder on their digestive systems. Soups sounds like a great opportunity to add liquid.

In the US we refer to the liquid in tuna cans as 'tuna juice' and most every cat loves it. I got my girl a electronic waterer that she doesn't have to bend over to access water. She was nearing constipation and I needed to make sure she increased intake. She gets one small can of wet food daily but she is only 5 pounds. Sixteen years, 80 in cat years, and she is going strong.

Yes ours has Royal Canin Fit32, they do tend to drink more water when on dried food.

Last few months, we give him 1 x tiny tin of Encore 70% chicken every morning then RC rest of day. Sundays he gets chicken from the roast

I went back and edited with the brand name after I posted and did a search. Very similar to Applaws, it's worth trying single cans they do do chicken ones too but my cats aren't a fan. Once you've trialedit look on Zooplus to see if they've got any offers

He is ABSOUTLEY beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

My cat Flo only ate dry food. I asked the Vet and he said that was ok so long as it was good quality. Flo lived to the grand old age of 19.

My old cats only ever ate wet food, Go Cat was the biscuit of choice! So long as he has plenty of fresh water, he'll be fine. My kittens share a pouch of wet morning and night, they love all the Felix ones! And I always have a dish of biscuits down morning and night too, along with the water. They have treats in between. No point wasting good money on wet food if they won't eat it, been there, done that in the past! He'll be fine on just biscuits! He's adorable, by the way! 😍

Aww he's a handsome terror. As long as he has a good appetite, eats well and is drinking plenty you don't have anything to worry about. The extra bonus tuna and chicken will help make sure he's getting enough protein. If you haven't already, try Hi Life or Encore tuna tins so he's not getting the salt from human tuna. Not an issue if it's rare though.

He's young so you may find he will change to eat more wet as he gets older.

I have one who eats nothing dry, not even kitty cocaine (yes I'm joking before anyone loses it) - dreamies. She is also immensely fussy about the wet food she will eat but she's healthy.

The Stray licks the gravy off wet food (ignores the jelly version) so also only really eats the dry. She does the same with the cat soup which she goes crazy for, drinks the soup and ignores the chunks 🙄

Just a heads up - the cat soup isn't a complete food.

This is all so helpful, thank you. I’ve ordered some of the Encore tuna tins, and also a bag of Amazon grain free biscuits which he will no doubt love - the only dry food he won’t eat is Scrumbles, I think he doesn’t like the shape of it!

He must have known we were talking about him as he got out of his bed by the radiator and shouted at me to let him out. He’s off for a wee patrol before bed.

Here are some more photos because he’s so cute. He dances!

thank You - the toe beans on last pic sooooooooo cute ❤️ he really is a little treasure

He's got such an expressive face! Is he a cuddly cat? ❤

He does, doesn’t he? Yes, he’s very cuddly, but we had to properly work for it - he’d been a stray kitten born in a woman’s shed and I think it took him a good six months to become “our cat”. He had about three months of mainly hanging out in the kitchen, often in an Amazon box I stupidly put on top of the fridge for him, and I spent a lot of time sitting on the kitchen floor with him.

My DP said he was never going to be a lap cat, but he totally is, loves being picked up for a cuddle, a good brush, and snuggling up in bed. We lost our lovely previous white girl cat very suddenly to cancer and adopted him obscenely quickly afterwards. I am sure she sent me him as a wee project to help heal my broken heart. 🧡🤍

Did he have any siblings ?

He has a brother who still lives with the lady whose shed they were born in as far as I know. She took both in and had them neutered, but our boy was the dominant cat and eating all of the food so he was getting fat/brother thin.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses Aww that's lovely! I didn't realise at the time, but our boy Bob was coming to the end of his life, when a kitten appeared and despite me asking round and putting posts up asking if anyone had lost a kitten, moved in. I truly do think they do send another cat to transfer your love onto and help you through the loss. He's an absolute beauty 💜

Mine has allergies so she's on hills z/d dry only. Occasionally a bit of tuna or applaws, usually if I need to get medication into her or she's been in the cattery, but otherwise perfectly fine on her diet. I check every 6 months when she has a vet check up and so far (5 years since i adopted her) they've told me to stick with it.