Cat - does dry food have to always be available?

LEJC

Perhaps its because we have a very good vet who promotes healthy wellbeing in animals and encourages regular visits very cheaply that we tend to look at a trip to the vets as routine rather than just when there is a problem.our current cat is now 7ish and apart from some illness after we first got her from the rescue centre we have had nothing by way of illness since...but we do have a 6 monthly check up for paece of mind.


On a side line...flea treatment....have something in place now before you suddenly get an infestation...


Sorry to mention if its something you might already have under control...but sometimes its not until they are actually there that you realise there is a problem.


Several good things around and its personal choice which you use...stronghold is very good as is something called program which is injectable at the vets.
Have a google...


Insurance...again personal preference but cheaper if you start it when there are medical issues and can be worth its weight in gold further down the line....our previous cat for the last 2 years of her life was being supported by £120 a months worth of medication...all for the annual premuium of at the time £49.50....although it was something we would have happily paid if necessity dictated,it was welcome that the costs were covered to the end rather than having to make a decision which may have been financially based.

pinkteapot

He's always been treated monthly with Advocate flea treatment. Previous owner did it the day before we took him, so not due for another couple of weeks and we have a few doses left that she had in the box.

She also used Drontal worming tablets. Her vet told her to do it every six months, but the box says every three months. Might ask our vet what they advise on that front.

Mankysteve

As long he's got water if he's happy and not loosing/gaining weight eating a decent quality dry food then give me that it won't do him any harm over wet. My parents old regular vet recommends a dry food diet.

Cats normally pretty good at regulateing there weight by theselfs and don't normally need to have there food intake controlled.

meritaten

hun - you have discovered his eating habits. stick with it. cats are all different and if he will eat all his wet food with only a limited amount of dry available. and this is the diet you prefer for him.............then what was recommended a while ago doesn't really matter. if the cat is happy and you are happy, then you have the balance right.

I find that full size pouches are sometimes not all eaten - the Sheba mini pouches are always eaten. but Barnes has a dog bowl full of dry food. and a dog bowl full of water. the pouches are put on a tea plate for him - and yes, sometimes he does eat a little, graze on dry food, eat a bit more wet food. but, usually the mini pouches are gone well before his next meal. the larger pouches sometimes have about a quarter left.

Shoshannah

Wet only for me.

rising_from_the_ashes

For a neutered male especially I'd be leaning towards a full wet diet

They are more prone to kidney disease

It can be very difficult for them to drink enough to combat dry food (as all the moisture is absorbed breaking down the kibble)

However, a little dry alongside a mainly wet diet should be fine if you feel he needs it

Have you tried giving him more wet?

Does he eat it or is it left?

Archie has a little dry as he just won't eat more than 2 pouches of wet a day - if I put a 3rd out, it's just left

Mia on the other hand is now on a full wet diet (apart from a little RC Calm to help her stress which is given in a treat ball at night) and will happily eat enough of that


If you do have to feed dry, try to choose a good quality, preferably grain free one. Something like Porta 21 is a really good price and seems to be liked by most cats

A lot of the 'branded' foods - often promoted/sold by vets eg Royal Canin, Hills etc - are stuffed full of cereals / fillers which really add nothing to the cats diet

inkie

our cat (indoor neutered male) only had dry food. We give him James Wellbeloved. That was on the advise of vet, as before he came to,is, he had a history of dental carries and gingivitis, and so we want to keep,his teeth tartar free. He is a good drinker.

Idiophreak

Do you know how old he was when they got him from the rescue?

I'm no expert, but based on what I've read, kittens need food more regularly than adults...4 meals a day or so. In practice, if you're working etc it's easier to just give them 2 wet meals and give them access to dry food all the time.

Mine sounds quite similar to yours...he eats a lot of dried food (royal cannin babycat), so isn't particularly hungry come meal time...so he takes 3 or 4 visits to finish off each meal, over a couple of hours (the good news is that he does prefer the wet stuff to the dry if both are down).

Occasionally, if he's not eaten all his breakie, I have to throw a little away, but he normally gets 80% of it in him. He's still only a youngster (5 months), so I'm quite happy with things as they are. When he's a bit older (or he starts having an issues with his weight) we'll look at reducing the amount of dry food he has available, just so he gets through his meals a little faster.

pinkteapot

Ahhh that might explain it. They did get him as a kitten - when he'd just had his jabs. Might explain why they were told to leave food out.

Well, he still seems happy. 5 days now of putting down a wet pouch and a small (weighed) amount of dry twice a day. He's eating almost everything (usually a few flakes of wet left) and quicker than he did before. Doesn't seem hungry in between. Toilet habits are unchanged, though my nose is happier as his no. 2's were much more smelly when he mainly ate dry!

We did weigh him at the weekend and he's 4.7kg (previous owner said 4kg), so we've increased the accompanying dry food a bit, following the instructions based on his weight on the packet. We'll weigh him periodically to check his weight doesn't go down (or up too much!).

TBagpuss

You're fine. If you think about it, cats are hunters, not grazers, so they would naturally have large meals with big gaps between.

Kittens, like babies, need smaller meals, more frequently, and having biscuits down can help with that.

what you are doing sounds great, and you can keep an eye on your cat's weight and body share to make sure he doesn't get over- or underweight, and adjust his meals as needed.

Do you have a cat flap? The other issue with having biscuits down all day is that you may well end up inadvertently feeding other local cats as well...