Advice please: my kitten won't eat wet food

Dimey

I accept that some people feel there is absolutely no problem with a dry-only diet. That may well be right for some cats.

But if in doubt, why not give some wet food in addition to the dry every day too. It can't do any harm. It might extend a life.

My cats didn't display their kidney failure and urinary crystals till they were 12 years old. Before that I'd have said they were fine specimens. My vet has said they became ill, directly due to being on a dry only diet their whole lives. (They had a water bowl in each room.)

This extract from a report explains the concerns: -

Dry cat food is less than 10% moisture. Cats are designed to fulfill most of their water requirements by eating fresh raw food, they naturally have a low thirst drive. When all sources of fluid intake are added together, what’s in their food and what they drink, cats eating a dry food diet consume less than half the water of a cat on a canned, wet pouches or raw diet.

This chronic dehydration can cause their urine to become overly concentrated, which can lead to urinary tract problems.

Carbohydrates are usually thought of as energy foods, but felines utilise protein and fat for energy, and have a limited ability to digest carbohydrates. A cat’s natural diet - rodents, rabbits, insects and birds - is less than 2% carbohydrate. The excess carbohydrate in dry food promotes obesity in cats, and is also implicated in feline diabetes.

Complete proteins contain ample amounts of essential amino acids and are found in foods such as meat, poultry, fish and eggs. Incomplete proteins found in legumes, grains and vegetables don’t provide the essential amino acids that a cat needs - such as taurine - which come from animal sources.

Cats have a unique system of satiety signals from the food they eat. Because the cat evolved in an environment rich in protein and fat, but deficient in carbohydrate, consumption of fat and protein evolved as the signal to the cat that it could stop eating. Consumption of carbohydrate doesn’t have this effect, and the end result is cats that overeat and become obese. Overeating carb-laden foods causes repeated surges of insulin in the cat’s body. For many cats, this unremitting stress on their metabolic system results in diabetes.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1244595/Is-food-youre-feeding-pet-killing--making-vet-rich.html

his_missus

Thanks all for your opinions.

I'm now trying hiding wet food and biscuits around the house (my Hubby thinks I'm barmy) on small plates hoping to encourage his hunter instinct as he has a toy he carries about like it's prey he's caught.

Regarding feeding them raw food, would this increase the likelihood of worms? I know they'd eat raw food in the wild and I'm sure most of mine catch/eat birds/mice etc when they're outside but that is a concern of mine.

Dimey

his_missus wrote: »

Thanks all for your opinions.

I'm now trying hiding wet food and biscuits around the house (my Hubby thinks I'm barmy) on small plates hoping to encourage his hunter instinct as he has a toy he carries about like it's prey he's caught.

Regarding feeding them raw food, would this increase the likelihood of worms? I know they'd eat raw food in the wild and I'm sure most of mine catch/eat birds/mice etc when they're outside but that is a concern of mine.

My previous cat would eat raw chicken, liver or fish bought from the butcher or supermarket. And he'd eat scraps from our family cooked food (nothing processed, only fresh cooked meats). I don't know if that's a real "Raw food" diet. There are pages about real "Raw food" balanced nutrition diets on the internet.

I didn't worry about worms as I bought meat & fish that was for human consumption. I never left it down after he'd eaten. I either threw away any he didn't want or kept it in the fridge for later the same day.

If you're only worried about the moisture content then the sachet and tinned food will increase the hydration in your kitten. You needn't go the extra mile to raw meat.

My current cat won't eat raw or cooked meat so he has the dry/sachet mix.

Maybe ask your vets advice about the raw meat worm risk next time you visit.

Good idea hiding the wet food. Maybe hide his toy next to a different dish each time so he associates it with more prey.

his_missus

Dimey wrote: »

If you're only worried about the moisture content then the sachet and tinned food will increase the hydration in your kitten. You needn't go the extra mile to raw meat.

I see him drinking lots of water so it's not so much hydration that worries me, more that he's not getting a natural, balanced diet

My current cat won't eat raw or cooked meat so he has the dry/sachet mix.

Maybe ask your vets advice about the raw meat worm risk next time you visit.

Good idea hiding the wet food. Maybe hide his toy next to a different dish each time so he associates it with more prey.
Ooh, I shall try this

I just don't understand how a cat could prefer the taste/texture of cheap biscuits to other foods.

Dimey

his_missus wrote: »

I just don't understand how a cat could prefer the taste/texture of cheap biscuits to other foods.

Ah yes. I guess there must be flavours like salt in the cheap stuff that tempts them. Rather like us preferring junk food to home cooked.

You'd think cats would know better!

his_missus

Dimey wrote: »

Ah yes. I guess there must be flavours like salt in the cheap stuff that tempts them. Rather like us preferring junk food to home cooked.

You'd think cats would know better!

Maybe he has "inherited" my love of salty, fatty snacks :rotfl:

Also how will I ever sneak him a tablet if he continues with his biscuit only diet?;)

I will perservere!

Dimey

his_missus wrote: »

Maybe he has "inherited" my love of salty, fatty snacks :rotfl:

Also how will I ever sneak him a tablet if he continues with his biscuit only diet?;)

I will perservere!

Ahh - the tablet.
I make a cute fuss of a tablet like I'm holding a treat. We sit on the bed, then I hold his head from behind and open his mouth and pop the tablet in towards the back of the tongue.

In the beginning we had a bit of wailing and struggle and I had to hold his mouth shut and massage so he didn't spit it out later. Now we have it down to a fine art. He just sits and leans his head back ready!

Gold_Dust_2

his_missus wrote: »

I just don't understand how a cat could prefer the taste/texture of cheap biscuits to other foods.

Once the dry stuff has been made, it is then sprayed wih chemicals, vitamins, minerals and other 'rendered fats' etc. that make it appealing to a cat's sensitive nose. As for those who prefer the dry to the wet stuff, they're either not used to the good stuff, or they're too addicted to the dry food to even want to try the other stuff. I consider dry food to be 'junk food' because of this. (I even consider commercial wet foods to be junk food as well but to a lesser extent, purely because I noticed that when I run out of raw and give them wet, they eat more wet food than raw, but are hungry again a lot sooner than they are when they have the raw).

This is a good link to reading up on feline nutrition, if anyone is interested: http://www.catinfo.org/

Dimey

Thanks Gold Dust I hope lots of Posters read your link.
http://www.catinfo.org/