Can I change wet cat food for dry?

KittyBoo_2

When I got my cat from his previous owner they had been giving him a bit of wet cat meat and also some dry.
They also gave him diluted evaporated milk. I tried him on cat milk and he doesn't like it and I never see him drinking water.
Is it too late for me to just offer him dry, complete cat food?
What should I do about the evaporated milk? He really likes it but I can't imagine it's good for cats. I'm not sure what to do? Thanks

arbroath_lass

On my vet's advice I have completely removed dry food from my cats' diets. It can cause urinary tract problems and kidney failure. Cats get most of their water from their food. If you don't see your cat drinking now dry food will make problems more likely.


I'd feed wet food and cut out the evaporated milk now. What were they thinking?

roxy13

I totally agree with abroath lass. Dry food is not ideal for cats especially if they have been used to wet food. I would never feed a cat on dry food alone.

inkie

And yet we have been advised by our vet and also the RSPCA where we adopted him from to feed our cat just on a good quality dry food, and so we feed him on James Wellbeloved, and add in the occasional tuna, and chicken. We were advised to do this due to that fact that Bob had several rotten teeth and gingivitis whilst he was straying before the RSPCA took him and and had to have several extractions. Dry food reduces plaque build up, we've been told.

paulineb_2

My cats eat dry food with occasional tuna with no problems, been about two years since they ate wet cat food.

paddypaws101

I am afraid it is a fallacy that dry food offers any real benefit for teeth. Dr Addie specialises in Gingivo-stomatitis and advises a wet diet with as few additives as possible, or raw.
http://www.dr-addie.com/stomatitis.html
I have always given my cats diluted evaporated milk as a treat, or to encourage them to drink more fluid. It is far cheaper than 'cat milk' and is lactose free so wont cause tummy upsets.

McKneff

My vet told us never to give a cat milk there are other things in that damage their kidneys. It will show up in their old age.


Water is quite sufficient and if they need it/are thirsty, they will drink it.


We also feed ours on a mixture of wet and dry food.

Arlandria606

Exactly what's best for each cat will vary, just like it does for humans - so the best advice will come from a vet that's examined your cat directly.

Ours (2-year-old Maine Coon) is happy on mostly dry food (breed-specific kibble that she's had since kittenhood) but does appreciate 2/3 of a gravy-laden wet food (Whiskas Oh So Meaty) once a day and the occasional table treat. She doesn't like too much wet food though - I suspect because the breeder took her litter off wet food when one of the boys had an upset tummy. Sometimes she specifically asks for wet or dry food (by jumping in the cupboard and nuzzling the relevant packet).

She won't drink from a bowl, but will from her fountain (so long as it's full and clean) or a slow-running tap. Her favourite water source is puddles in the garden, though!

She has zero interest in cat milk of any kind - literally turns her nose up at it.

In your cat's case, I'd be more concerned about how much he's drinking than specifically what he's eating, as how much water he needs from his food will depend on how much he's getting elsewhere.

If he doesn't have a fountain, he might enjoy one of those - we've had 3 different ones if you want some opinions. You could test him with a slow-running tap to see if he seems keen. You could also follow his outside explorations (presuming he goes out) to see if he's got a water source out there (pond? watering can? dome-shaped chair? puddle?) that he's drinking from on the sly.

Regarding the milk, evaporated milk is still cow's milk and still contains lactose*, so it's not great for cats. Diluting it and keeping it as an occasional treat is okay, but the older he gets, the less tolerant he'll be of it, so the price is keeping an eye on his leavings. Maybe start off by using a higher water:milk ratio, then reduce the quantity and frequency to wean him off or get down to a sparse-but-regular treat.

Whenever you want to change a cat's diet, you should do it gradually - so if you want to feed him mostly dry food, start off by introducing it occasionally, and slowly increase dry and decrease wet offerings. Personally I wouldn't do this at the same time as the milk, for two reasons: 1, it'll be less stressful for him; 2, any tummy upsets will have a clear cause. I'd also keep a close eye on his water intake while you do this - it may well be that the change itself prompts an increase in drinking.

*The heating process breaks down some of the lactose into glucose and galactose, but not all of it, so although it's lower lactose than normal milk, it's still not lactose free.

KittyBoo_2

Thanks very much for your replies.
He's quite a big cat but doesn't seem to eat that much each meal. He has got his dried food out all he time and fresh water though. I will start to wean him off the milk gradually and maybe just give it him as a treat until then.
He's due to go to the vets for his booster injection soon, so I'll ask the vet his opinion on diet. I am interested in the water fountain and would appreciate your opinions on them Arlandria606.
Thanks again for all your replies. They have been very informative.

McKneff

Wean him off the milk by watering it down more each day till he is just drinking water lol

Arlandria606

Water Fountain Opinions

Our cat didn't have a preference between any of the 3 fountains we've had (she was happy to use each of them) - but we did.

The first one we tried: Drinkwell 360

Visually it wasn't offensive, but wasn't particularly appealing either. Cleaning the fountain itself was fine and we had no difficulty getting replacement filters. The knob to change the flow wasn't particularly effective but we found a flow that worked for us. We found the pump got clogged very, very easily, which meant we were cleaning it every day or so. Eventually the pump gave up and we had to replace it, but then that one got too clogged to clean too, so we thought a different design was the way to go.

Second One: Pioneer Big Max

This one appealed because of the design and we thought that stainless steel would be easy to keep clean. We went for the Big Max because ours is a big cat (Maine Coon). Again, no problems getting replacement filters. It's pretty big though, and probably better suited to dogs or multiple-cat households. Eventually the bowl became very limescale-y and both the pump and the filters got clogged easily, so we looked for something better with the emphasis on it staying clean and being filterless.

Third (and final!): Lucky Kitty Ceramic Fountain

This has been the best fountain for us. The ceramic bowl doesn't retain limescale build-up and is very easy to clean. The design means there's a small pool at the bottom for her to lap from but not a big bowl area, which is fantastic as ours ignores that bit anyway except to throw in food and toys, which I'm sure is what caused so many cleaning issues with the other models! No filter means no ongoing running costs, and the pump so far has stayed exceptionally un-clogged. It's also quite stylish (it suits my country-cottage kitchen very well) and is pretty small, it fits on a normal-sized cat foot mat with room for 2 small bowls next to it.

That's just my opinion on them - I'm sure the first 2 models are fine for cats who don't drop fur and food into them as much as ours did! That was our only real problem.