Here is an interesting selection to start the day and get us all thinking about what we feed our cats! What wins is an all natural and homemade diet. Some great advice on the dangers of dehydration and diabetes. Great to hear from fellow cat lovers.
CATS AND WEIGHT LOSS.
We were talking about food with our vet last week when we took our twenty-pounder in for his checkup. The vet said one of his other customers built a 3-4 foot tall staircase and put the dry cat food at the on the top step, and it worked. The cat went up the stairs several times a day to eat and lost a pound over six months.
THE ADVANTAGES OF WET FOOD.
Long day.
Question for you all. I’m thinking about moving Tunch to all wet food rather than the kibble, because even though we have been dieting for a year we have only lost 3/4 of a lb. Many of you said your cats were much leaner and more active on an all wet diet, so I think I might try it.
Today, I gave Tunch his morning kibble and then for dinner I gave him some wet food. I gave him 100% salmon, and he loved it. I thought he was going to choke to death because I have never heard him purr that loudly while eating, and afterward I got a rare look that didn’t seemed like he was sizing me up for a casket. I don’t want to go overboard, but he almost looked happy.
A RECCOMENDATION FOR SOME DRY AND WET FOOD FOR HEALTHY TEETH
asiangrrrl, must disagree. Eating some kibble every day absolutely does help retard tartar buildup on the teeth. The only cat we ever had that got a wet/soft food diet exclusively lost all her teeth. On the other hand, she did live to 18… but significantly, that was the only cat we ever had that lost any teeth…all of the others got kibble along with wet food, and two of them are now in their 17th and 15th years of life.
I would suggest supplementing the wet food with a small amount of kibble just for the teeth-cleaning benefits. If that means reducing the amount of wet food by a slight amount to maintain or reduce his weight, just feed a little less of the wet stuff and a small quantity of the dry.
DIABETES AND DRY FOOD
I absolutely recommend the change. One of my cats became diabetic, and after considerable research I’m convinced that dry food caused or at least triggered it. When I changed both cats to wet food, both slimmed considerably and just seemed more healthy. The diabetic one actually went into what seems to be permanent remission.
Please check out this article: http://www.catinfo.org/felinediabetes.htm and a few others on the site.
ORGANIC FOOD AND CLEAN TEETH.
I’ve been feeding multiple generations of cats wet food (5.5 oz can, split between 2 or 3 cats) for breakfast and dinner, with crunchies available at all times for snacks. I do watch the ash content in the wet, and avoid the poor quality stuff, but otherwise give them lots of variety.
In the 35 years I’ve had cats, have never had one be overweight or get a urinary blockage. All have lived to 16-18. They do get outside for some exercise though.
Teeth cleaning, yes—every 1-3 years, but that seems to depend on the individual cat—I have 3 from the same litter—one needs his teeth cleaned annually, his brother hardly ever, and the sister needs it every couple years.
The new favorite around here is Paul Newman’s organic chicken and brown rice. Pricey, but man, they love it.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MEAT & MOISTURE
Cats are obligate carnivores, and are supposed to ideally have a diet that is around 3% carbohydrate, the rest being protein, fat and water. Cats who eat a lot of dry food, especially high carb dry food made from grains and simple starches, will be more likely to be obese and develop diabetes, liver and kidney diseases. They are just not made to metabolize that much carbohydrate.
They can tolerate a little more than than 3%—even up to 10%—but it needs to be in the form of wet food as much as possible. This is because they are physiologically adapted to getting a large proportion of their H20 from their food/prey (think of how few carbs you find in a mouse, for instance, and just how much of it’s tissue is water) and tend to be chronically underhydrated on a dry diet. You may see your cat drinking, but they may not be getting enough to compensate. Also, some vets think that the upsurge of kidney, liver and urinary tract issues in cats is directly related to their low protein/low water diets.
The main thing with wet food – or any cat food, FTM, that’s going to be the sole food source – is to make sure it has the proper amount of taurine. That’s the one amino acid cats can’t manufacture and it’s only found naturally in meats.
Our cats all go outdoors, and their depradations on the local vole and squirrel population are legion, so we don’t worry about them. We supplement their diet of tasty rodent brains with kibble always available and a little wet food once a day. Keeping their teeth clean through diet is a big point. Cats have to be anesthetised to clean their teeth and anesthesia with animals that small can be rather dicey.
One of our cats had a horrible urinary problem. One day, he literally became a statue, because he had so many crystals in his track that he could not move from the pain.
The vet told us that cats need water, as they don’t always drink enough. I give both of our cats wet food in the morning—i add water to the wet food sort of a gravy thing—and dry food in the evenings for the teeth. This has been extremely helpful. No more urinary problems for Diesel. I will say that both of our cats are overweight, and as a result I have cut way down on any cat treats.
With tuna when I give it, I add water to the tuna, and they go crazy with happiness.
THE PERILS OF DRY FOOD AGAIN
@Annie: I was feeding my cat primarily dry food thinking it would prolong dental health. Eventually she started having kidney problems and my vet told me to do exactly what Annie says here and I think it bought her another year at least to make it to the cat milestone of 20.
ANOTHER FAN OF HOMEMADE FOOD AND RAW FEEDING FOR HEALTH.
I agree with Ella in NM, but even better would be to feed 100% raw.
Feed the lower part of the chicken breast, WITH BONE (for calcium), and with skin of course. Feed raw wild sockeye salmon with bone. Feed grassfed beef, with fat but not bone.
A raw diet should be based on raw prey ratios—roughly 5-10% bone (they crunch right through it like potato chips after their jaw muscles get used to it, as long as the bones are small—again, lower end of chicken breast, salmon bones, or quail or cornish hen), roughly 10% organs (heart, liver, tongue, kidneys—and half should be liver) and the rest raw meat.
See http://www.rawfedcats.org/index.htm for the details, including excellent advice on the transition to raw, and join the rawfeeding newsgroups for more advice. You can find links at the web site.
You should raw feed Lily too.
Don’t get hung up by the raw feeders who follow complicated recipes, with veggie mixes and the like. That’s not what they’re built to eat. Go simple. It’s very easy, and they not only thrive, they love it.
IF YOU EVER WONDERED WHERE THE WILDLIFE WENT!
My cat eats birds, squirrels and rabbits, although he seems to prefer birds to mammals. He is in excellent health as catching his own food requires plenty of physical effort. When he gets stuck in the house and cannot get outside to eat, he will often attack and eat a portion of a loaf of bread.
ANOTHER COMMENT ON THE ADVANTAGES OF A RAW FOOD DIET.
I’m with Ella in NM (27/28) and Moe Gamble (47) – raw is the best, and the link Moe gives is a good one. http://www.rawfedcats.org/index.htm
We have been feeding a raw diet to the kitten we found a few months ago. She loves it!! And it is so easy. You being a chef and a foodie will have no problem at all with it, and probably have a good butcher, too, which is a bonus, though not necessary. Our little kittie eats mostly raw chicken with the little bones included (crunches right through – great for the teeth!), all the tasty organs (liver, heart lungs, kidneys, etc.) plus some beef heart occasionally, fish, eggs, and sometimes or a bit of the yogurt we make at home (or just the whey). She is health and happy. Actually, there was one day she seemed strangely lethargic and looked visibly bloated. The neighbor came by later to tell us proudly that she had fed the kittie some kibbles earlier. It was a very graphic demonstration for us that raw is the way to go.
Also, you can always keep some wet, meaty food around just for backup when you don’t have the raw on hand. That’s what we do – we keep a bunch of Friskies wet kitten food, which at least in Mexico where we are is just fish and vitamin supplements.
SOME GREAT COMMENTS HERE ON FEEDING A CAT A RAW DIET WITH SOME GOOD COMMENTS ON THE ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES EXPLORED.
We converted to a 100% raw diet (with occasional cans of Wellness or Instinct as treats) several years ago after we lost the old man to complications from diabetes. For the most part, everyone’s at their ideal weight. The girls were grossly obese on kibble, but after 6 months of raw they were 90% of the way to their ideal weight. It is possible for a cat to get a little overweight on a raw diet; couple a slow metabolism with a touch of food aggression and you’ll get a fluffy cat.
Advantages of a raw diet:
1. Everyone poops less, and the poop is much less stinky;
2. Skin and coat problems have gone away;
3. Everyone’s energy level went up a notch; the 10-year-old still tears through the house gurgling periodically;
4. Weight issues went away;
5. Haven’t had urinary tract issues;
6. Teeth have stayed in fairly good shape;
Disadvantages of a raw diet:
1. Food safety does come into play—you are dealing with raw meat; you have to keep it frozen until you serve it, you can’t just leave it out all day, and whatever isn’t eaten needs to be disposed of promptly;
2. If you prepare your own (as we do), you have to pay attention to nutritional issues like calcium/phosphorous ratios, amino acid content (taurine especially);
3. You can’t just buy a chicken from the supermarket and throw it at the cat; meat should be bought fresh from a known, trusted supplier;
4. It’s expensive compared to dry food, although the cost is comparable to high-quality canned food;
We’ve heard too many horror stories about peritonitis, so we grind the bone through the medium die (raw chicken bone is no safer than cooked chicken bone). We’ll leave chunks of meat in the mix (half-inch cubes or so) which helps keep the teeth clean. If you don’t want to go through all that, there are several suppliers of premade raw food, though you may have to go to smaller, independent pet stores to get it.
It’s a lot of work, but I think it’s been absolutely worth it; our kids are healthy, they’re at the right weight (mostly; Milo and Gracie remain on the fluffy side), and are very active for their respective ages.
RAW FOOD DIET FAN.
I don’t fuss with a grinder. That helps with the food safety factor a lot, too. I just put pieces like half the size of my palm on the plate and the little kitten attacks it! A wing, for instance, I’d chop into buffalo wings pieces – done.
She has no problem with taurine because in addition to the chicken heart she always gets with each chicken, she gets occasional beef heart (gracias, carniceria!) and we just follow the general rule of thinking about their prey in the wild for ratios, like Moe said: mostly meat, then ~5-10% small meaty bones, ~10% organs, about half of that being liver. easy peasy.
We just move some raw down to the fridge from the freezer the day before we need it. our kittie will eat it cold from the fridge. of course, it’s also extremely hot where I live, so maybe that’s why.
THE PROBLEMS OF DEHYDRATION
After my big cat got those urinary crystals and one nasty expensive UTI, I bought a table-top running water fountain (brand name Drinkwell) made for cats to drink from, and switched both my cats to mostly wet food with special Science Diet crunchies thrown in. Both cats have lost weight, and they both drink a lot more at the fountain then they ever did from a bowl. I recommend the water fountain strongly.
THE NATURAL FOOD FOR CATS - RAW
What Ella in NM and Moe Gamble said.
Cats are supposed to eat meat. All meat, all the time. Raw best. But canned for convenience. (Though people make their own and store in portions in freezer.)
Dry food is a treat. It’s basically junk food for cats. For dogs, it’s healthy. That’s how people—and some misinformed vets—get confused.
The better the food, the less you have to feed.
A CAT’S MOOD AND DIET
My vets recommend wet food due to help avoid kidney problems and control weight. The extra moisture in wet food helps keep them hydrated and they feel fuller too. We switched over to grain-free wet food and the personality changes in our cats were amazing. One kitty that was in constant “bitch-mode” and thin became much more friendly. The other kitty that has a little weight problem has also become more friendly. The one kitty may be allergic to grains and that impacted her mood so I highly recommend any “grain-free” food (we used Wellness and then switched to Blue Buffalo because it was less expensive).
You can give Tunch “Greenies” to help with his teeth. Our kitties get their treats every morning and they go nuts for them.
I bet you will see a marked improvement in Tunch’s overall disposition if you switch him to wet food.
Jeez, John, I thought you switched him months ago after another of these interminable IS TUNCH FAT threads.
ANOTHER RAW FOOD FAN.
Cats eat meat, as has been pointed out repeatedly. Kibble is the equivalent of Doritos and Ruffles. I feed my cats, no kidding, ground up chickens. Bones and all. That’s the closest I can get to their normal diet in my house. My cats are all svelte and healthy with shiny coats and tons of energy.
DRY FOOD AND DIABETES
I’m a little late to this discussion, but wet food basically saved my cat’s life.
My cat was 18 years old, obese and newly diagnosed with diabetes. We had our insulin for a while, but we also switched her to wet food, and after a couple months, she lost all of her weight and now she no longer requires insulin to maintain her blood sugar levels. I had fed her dry food all her life, and this one switch made all the difference.
We feed her half a can of wet food in the AM and one half can in the PM. During the day, we give her a very small amount of dry kibble to help her with any munchies and to help her maintain dental health. It’s a very small amount, though. She doesn’t have too many teeth left.
WEIGHT LOSS AND DIET.
If you really want him to lose weight, you need to get him a little girl kitten to pal around with. The kitten will want to play a lot & since it’s a girl, Tunch should tolerate her much more than he would a young male cat. That way he’ll get more exercise than just holding the couch down all day.
Also, you need to find out what his minimal diet needs would be (for his age, etc.) & just put that out each day. If he eats it all in 3 mins, then it’ll be a long wait until next meal. Wet or dry or a combo, but only so much & no more. Make sure he has plenty of water (which I’m sure you do).
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