Can I change wet cat food for dry?

CharlieRabbit01

penny_pincha wrote: »

My vet has told me that the reason why cats drink from puddles is that they like to drink at a distance from their food. As we humans tend to place their water bowl next to their food bowls, they have no option as they see it. I put a couple of water bowls elsewhere in the house or you could put one in the garden if you cats likes to go out, so at least you can ensure they have a choice.

My kitten drinks from a glass tumbler on my bedside table.

~Chameleon~

Haffiana wrote: »

Dry food is not good for cats. The only people who are pro it are the manufacturers, who spend a lot of money persuading vets to sell it... My vet said to me that she thinks that there is going to be a huge scandal about dry cat food because it is causing real health issues.

http://www.catinfo.org/

Rubbish! Try telling that to my 23yr old (now deceased) and 22yr old cats who have lived on a predominantly dry diet all their lives. And I am a vet!




OP, is your cat's water bowl situated next to the food bowl? Many cats don't like to drink where they eat (I place water bowls in separate rooms) so it could be he is seeking alternative sources of water elsewhere, possibly outside? One of my old cats would only drink water from my bedside glass and another demanded I ran the bathroom tap for him :rotfl:

The water fountain suggestion is also good. If you really must, then just add a splash of the milk to a bowl of water to make it semi-opaque but would be far better not to have any at all. If you really would prefer to feed an entirely wet diet then try offering raw chicken wings alongside to help keep teeth and gums healthy.

~Chameleon~

Rev wrote: »

I can tell you now the bet will suggest whatever food is in the waiting room. Vets have 1 day of nutrition training in 4 years giving to them by one of the big corporations. Hills. Royal canin etc. one of which you'll see in the waiting room and the vets practice will get commission for selling it.

Very general sweeping statement if ever I heard one! Do you think a vet's training ends the day they leave vet school? Think again! And no, we don't receive our training from Hills or Royal Canin. Those are reserved for the employees of Pets at Home.

And finally, no vet ever receives commission from any pet food manufacture. Perhaps you should get your facts straight before spouting rubbish!

Haffiana

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

And finally, no vet ever receives commission from any pet food manufacture. Perhaps you should get your facts straight before spouting rubbish!

They most certainly do. My vets practice receive money AND a massive mark up for having Hill's Science Diet on sale in their waiting room. They are perfectly happy to admit that to any customer who asks them why it is there. They do NOT suggest to customers that they buy it, but the fact that it is displayed and on sale in a veterinary practice is worth a fortune to the manufacturers.

arbroath_lass

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Rubbish! Try telling that to my 23yr old (now deceased) and 22yr old cats who have lived on a predominantly dry diet all their lives. And I am a vet!

If you are a vet you'll know that two cats do not prove your case!


My vet's recommendations were based on what he sees too often. Cats who have been fed on dry food with urinary tract/kidney problems.


No-one is saying a cat will definitely have problems but that the likelihood is increased.



My vet has never recommended I buy food from them. Only that we buy good quality wet food.

Rev

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Very general sweeping statement if ever I heard one! Do you think a vet's training ends the day they leave vet school? Think again! And no, we don't receive our training from Hills or Royal Canin. Those are reserved for the employees of Pets at Home.

And finally, no vet ever receives commission from any pet food manufacture. Perhaps you should get your facts straight before spouting rubbish!

My facts are straight. I'm registered at three vets. All get a mark up for selling the food in the practice. How do I know this? They told me. So I suggest you check your facts.

No of course I don't think a vets training end when the leave vet school. In the same way I don't think a doctors training finishes when they leave school. I do however stand by the fact they are not specialists in animal diets. Same as doctors aren't specialists in human diets. Most of them know the basics. Sadly they seem to have passed you by with you saying your a vet and a full dry diet is a-okay. Maybe time for a refresher.

Vets are not the be all and end all of animal health. They are animal doctors. They aren't groomers or nutritional oats or physiotherapists or ophthalmologists. They don't take the blood sample then test them them selves they send them off to somebody who specialises in that. They send animals to dermatologist once their knowledge on a skin issue is exhausted. They don't know everything they will not, by themselves be able to provide 100% care and advice for every aspect of your animals health. Just like a doctor wouldn't be able to do that with a person. So people shouldn't take their vets words as absolute on everything and anything.

Rev

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Rubbish! Try telling that to my 23yr old (now deceased) and 22yr old cats who have lived on a predominantly dry diet all their lives. And I am a vet!

Rubbish? How can this be so? The OP got the info from their vet? You've said yourself vets carry on learning and should be listening too?

Or is it just vets that agree with you we should listen too?

GwylimT

CharlieRabbit01 wrote: »

My kitten drinks from a glass tumbler on my bedside table.

At the minute our cat will only drink from a running tap, at the old house he would happily drink from a plant pot tray outside, he has now decided that isn't good enough. We got him a fountain bowl recently, hes scared of it!

~Chameleon~

Rev wrote: »

My facts are straight. I'm registered at three vets. All get a mark up for selling the food in the practice. How do I know this? They told me. So I suggest you check your facts.

No of course I don't think a vets training end when the leave vet school. In the same way I don't think a doctors training finishes when they leave school. I do however stand by the fact they are not specialists in animal diets. Same as doctors aren't specialists in human diets. Most of them know the basics. Sadly they seem to have passed you by with you saying your a vet and a full dry diet is a-okay. Maybe time for a refresher.

Vets are not the be all and end all of animal health. They are animal doctors. They aren't groomers or nutritional oats or physiotherapists or ophthalmologists. They don't take the blood sample then test them them selves they send them off to somebody who specialises in that. They send animals to dermatologist once their knowledge on a skin issue is exhausted. They don't know everything they will not, by themselves be able to provide 100% care and advice for every aspect of your animals health. Just like a doctor wouldn't be able to do that with a person. So people shouldn't take their vets words as absolute on everything and anything.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I don't even know where to start with this. There must be a little team of elves that do all the testing and treatment behind the scenes then. Obviously the only work a vet ever does is within the confines of the consulting office. Perhaps the in-house clinical diagnostics unit was all a figment of my imagination.

You forgot to mention nurses. They are the ones with the extensive training in diet and nutrition, running the obesity clinics and offering clients dietary advice. But do you seriously think vets don't have a clue about nutrition and the effect certain foods have upon animals? It's one of the primary questions asked and doesn't take very long to notice correlations between certain types of diet, even specific brands, and various conditions and illnesses.

And for the record, I've not used nor recommended Hills Science Diet since the early '90s. Your vets must be extremely outdated if they still do.

~Chameleon~

arbroath_lass wrote: »

If you are a vet you'll know that two cats do not prove your case!

Rev wrote:

Rubbish? How can this be so? The OP got the info from their vet? You've said yourself vets carry on learning and should be listening too?

I was responding to the claim Haffiana made that all dry food is bad for cats. It's not. If it is then why have both mine and many more hundreds, if not thousands, of cats I know and have known lived incredibly long and healthy lives having been fed on dry food. I merely used my own cats as an example.

At no time have I ever stated it is suitable for every cat or that cats should be fed entirely wet food or a mixture of both. People really need to read what is written rather than assuming something completely different.