Question for cat owners..

LikeAnOcean

Is it alright to feed a 10 month old cat/kitten hard food alone?

I've always given him both, Purina kitten chow and a small can of soft food every day.


He usually only eats about half of the can of soft stuff, but he pigs out on the kitten chow.


The real problem is I'm getting flies in my apartment, originating from leaving the soft stuff out. He grazes at it, so it sits for most of the day and reeks up the apartment.


Is it ok for him to only have the kitten chow? It's his favorite anyways.



Thanks.

81

yeah....

we never fed our cat anything by dry cat food until he got fat and constipated.

LikeAnOcean

81 wrote:

yeah....

we never fed our cat anything by dry cat food until he got fat and constipated.

Cool.. I always end up throwing most of the can away the next day.. and then it sits in my garbage until I change that. :? I don't know how much more I can take of smelling rotten tuna and white fish.. and now the little flies coming from it..

81

you could only give him half a can or 1/4 can or whatever, and put a lid on teh leftover, and put it in the fridge.

if he likes the dry stuff, just give him the dry stuff.

just don't do what we did and over feed him. you really do have to measure it. we would just fill up his bowl whenever it was empty. not a good idea. you end up with a 23lb cat.

Johnny Abruzzo

You can definitely just do dry food. But try to feed him some wet food because it's better for them. My cat got much healthier after switching to canned.

Loulou

Dry food is much better for their teeth. There is no problem feeding only dry food at all, my cat's a fussy bugger and is used to eating a combination though unfortunately. As long as you feed him a good, balanced dry food that has all his daily requirements.

The Waiting Trophy Man

We feed our cat mostly wet food now, but a little bit of hard food every day. Took her to the vet today and he couldn't be happier - and neither can she. We change it up for her everyday, so she's not eating the same thing day in, day out. We buy her Wellness - she LOVES the chicken & lobster recipe. They even have ones like chicken, salmon and duck - I would almost eat this stuff. But a little bit of hard food is good for them - keeps their teeth and gums strong and healthy. Anyway, this is the stuff we get for her:

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes. ... ft=2#cubed

Edit: Check out the snacks and pouches too, under "Cat Wellness."

GivenToLukinKP

I was actually told by my vet that dry food is NOT the best to feed to your cats exclusively. I thought it was better for thier teeth and digestion, but the vet said no, thats a myth, that its true for dogs that dry food is better for the teeth, but not cats.

He recommended feeding my cats wet food on a regular basis---doesnt have to be every day, but he said 2-3 times a week would be good. The wet foods are more protein based, whereas the dry foods are carb based. He says thats why so many cats get fat and have diabetes and kidney problems; thier diets are too carb based (just like humans).

and 81 is right; if you just put out a portion of the can, you can refridgerate the rest (the sell little rubber lids for cans for just this reason). You will save $$ and avoid the insect issues.


good luck!!

The Waiting Trophy Man

GivenToLukinKP wrote:

and 81 is right; if you just put out a portion of the can, you can refrigerate the rest (the sell little rubber lids for cans for just this reason). You will save $$ and avoid the insect issues.

Good call on the rubber lids - we have one. It can fit like 5 different sizes of cans.

LikeAnOcean

GivenToLukinKP wrote:

I was actually told by my vet that dry food is NOT the best to feed to your cats exclusively. I thought it was better for thier teeth and digestion, but the vet said no, thats a myth, that its true for dogs that dry food is better for the teeth, but not cats.

He recommended feeding my cats wet food on a regular basis---doesnt have to be every day, but he said 2-3 times a week would be good. The wet foods are more protein based, whereas the dry foods are carb based. He says thats why so many cats get fat and have diabetes and kidney problems; thier diets are too carb based (just like humans).

and 81 is right; if you just put out a portion of the can, you can refridgerate the rest (the sell little rubber lids for cans for just this reason). You will save $$ and avoid the insect issues.


good luck!!

Yeah, I just put some in a tupper wear container. He eats it right when I give it to him, but only 1/3 of it. I'll just store it in the fridge for a few days and heat it up and offer it to him once a day..

SPEEDY MCCREADY

Easy solution.....

Feed that fucker once a week.....

Guarantee you that cat wont leave any food in her dish.........

whispering hands

Gob wrote:

GivenToLukinKP wrote:

I was actually told by my vet that dry food is NOT the best to feed to your cats exclusively. I thought it was better for thier teeth and digestion, but the vet said no, thats a myth, that its true for dogs that dry food is better for the teeth, but not cats.

He recommended feeding my cats wet food on a regular basis---doesnt have to be every day, but he said 2-3 times a week would be good. The wet foods are more protein based, whereas the dry foods are carb based. He says thats why so many cats get fat and have diabetes and kidney problems; thier diets are too carb based (just like humans).

and 81 is right; if you just put out a portion of the can, you can refridgerate the rest (the sell little rubber lids for cans for just this reason). You will save $$ and avoid the insect issues.


good luck!!

Yeah, I just put some in a tupper wear container. He eats it right when I give it to him, but only 1/3 of it. I'll just store it in the fridge for a few days and heat it up and offer it to him once a day..

You really don't even have to heat it up.. and yes a balanced portion of both is healthy, but always remember to portion out the dry food versus the weight of the kitten, it should have this info on the back or side of the food bag/container. I always give 1/3 cup per four Lbs. so my cat being 8 Lbs gets one third cup at morning, one at night. And one the weekends he gets wet food spread out the same way..

redrock

I would say a bit of both, though I do get your point about wet food. There are moist pellets around too - sort of soft and chewey. There is no harm in giving just dry food though - just make sure it's right for your kitty and make sure he has plenty of water and ensure he does definitely drink.

When it comes to wet food, put a bit at a time in his dish (a bit, let him eat, add more if necessary). Once he leaves his dish, throw away the rest. After 15 minutes or so, not only does it smell bad for you, it smells bad for the cat.

polaris_x

just reduce the amount of wet food you give your kitten ... i give my cats probably a big spoonful each a day ... they rip thru it at dinner time - then they pick at the dry food throughout the day ...

loveontwolegs

I think what is most important is switching your pet from cheap store pet food to a more premium brand. Things like Purina and Fancy feast are mostly fillers and artificial junk. The stuff you wouldn't want to eat, don't feed to your pet.

Cats in the wild DO NOT eat grains, so their pet food really shouldn't contain that. And at the very least, it should be really far down the ingredient list. I prefer Blue Buffalo for my pets. It costs more, but the health benefits are apparent. Also, a little on the gross side, feeding quality food cuts down on the amount of shit you have to clean up.

GivenToLukinKP

loveontwolegs wrote:

Also, a little on the gross side, feeding quality food cuts down on the amount of shit you have to clean up.

This is ABSOLUTELY true, no doubt!!

I agree with you 100%--the "good stuff" is important. All the cats in my family have lived to at least 20 years old and we always fed them the premium stuff.

unlost dogs

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

loveontwolegs

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

I do! Two cats, two dogs!

PureandEasy

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

I'm sure i'll have an answer when I'm done pet sitting my sister's two dogs next week.

My cat eats only dry food, whenever I give her the canned stuff, she vomits it up.

AllNiteThing

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

Dogs are a lot of work/responsibility. And they eat their own poo.

polaris_x

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

i had a dog for 18.5 years ... the only reason why i don't have one now is because i don't have the time to properly care for one like they deserve to be ... cats are much easier ...

redrock

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

Where do I start????

81

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

my cat could kick your dogs ass. :P

Lizardjam

PureandEasy wrote:

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

I'm sure i'll have an answer when I'm done pet sitting my sister's two dogs next week.

My cat eats only dry food, whenever I give her the canned stuff, she vomits it up.

My cat vomited everything for a while. I eased him into eating it with the meat flavored baby food and a little taurine supplement mixed in. Eventually he could eat the canned wet food with no problem.

With the wet food, whatever you do, don't buy 9 lives. That stuff has a couple ingredients(I can't remember them offhand) that cause bladder infections in some cats. I just stay away from it completely.

PureandEasy

Occassionally I'll give her a little tuna, which she DEVOURS, but that's about it for non-dry food.

and then she spends the next 15 minutes licking her mouth and paws. She rubs her paws on her mouth and licks them, just to get every last taste of the tuna.

she's so cute.

mca47

I've had three cats in my life.
The one would pretty much only eat dry food. On occasion for a treat, we'd give her a half a can, but that was it. She lived to be 20 without any health issues.
The other we adopted from a friend. She was only fed canned/wet food prior to getting her. A couple months after we got her, she had to have multiple teeth removed because the canned food more or less rotted them. She switched to dry the rest of her life, had perfect teeth from that point forward and lived to be 18.
My current cat only eats dry. I could put down a can and she'd walk away. Hell, I could put down an entire salmon and she'd walk away!

I've had multiple vets over the years, and they all have said dry is the best way to go. Premium dry food isn't what it used to be and has everything they need, plus it's much easier to digest than that shitty store brand.

The the other poster somewhere ^. Cats do actually eat other things than just meat in the wild. They often eat grass, and other edible plants. While they don't eat rice, or oats or whatever they stuff into food as a "filler", they do munch on plants.

mca47

PureandEasy wrote:

Occassionally I'll give her a little tuna, which she DEVOURS, but that's about it for non-dry food.

and then she spends the next 15 minutes licking her mouth and paws. She rubs her paws on her mouth and licks them, just to get every last taste of the tuna.

she's so cute.

It's actually not to get every last taste of tuna, but rather to get the tuna smell spread over her face. It sounds strange and kinda gross, but it's true.
In fact, cats have pretty bad senses of taste. The main factor for why they eat and prefer something is almost entirely olfactory.

Lizard

mca47 wrote:

PureandEasy wrote:

Occassionally I'll give her a little tuna, which she DEVOURS, but that's about it for non-dry food.

and then she spends the next 15 minutes licking her mouth and paws. She rubs her paws on her mouth and licks them, just to get every last taste of the tuna.

she's so cute.

It's actually not to get every last taste of tuna, but rather to get the tuna smell spread over her face. It sounds strange and kinda gross, but it's true.
In fact, cats have pretty bad senses of taste. The main factor for why they eat and prefer something is almost entirely olfactory.

Then those sparrows my cat catches must smell really good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but I thought cats really cleaned well the same as lions, etc. They want to get the smell OFF them so their prey does not smell it when they are hunting.??

Lizardjam

mca47 wrote:

The the other poster somewhere ^. Cats do actually eat other things than just meat in the wild. They often eat grass, and other edible plants. While they don't eat rice, or oats or whatever they stuff into food as a "filler", they do munch on plants.

Our cat is like a dog and will eat anything. He loves carbs and anything wheat(bread, cereal) we have to hide those things or they will be munched on by morning. My daughter put a little sprig of mustard greens on his wet food once so it looked like he was "fine dining" and he ate it. He isn't picky at all. If it's edible, he'll eat it.

mca47

Lizardjam wrote:

Our cat is like a dog and will eat anything. He loves carbs and anything wheat(bread, cereal) we have to hide those things or they will be munched on by morning. My daughter put a little sprig of mustard greens on his wet food once so it looked like he was "fine dining" and he ate it. He isn't picky at all. If it's edible, he'll eat it.

Yeah, my first cat was like that. She'd eat anything you put in front of her. When I was a kid, she jumped up on the chair next to me while having dinner. Turned my head for a second, and she grabbed the chicken breast that was on my plate and made a run for it! Damn cat!

guitar59

AllNiteThing wrote:

unlost dogs wrote:

My question for cat owners: Why don't you own a dog? Or three?

Dogs are a lot of work/responsibility. And they eat their own poo.

This is the exact answer I give my 8 year old everytime she asks for a dog.