Is this a bad habit that needs to be broken? Otherwise she won’t eat.
According to my vet cats that eat wet food need to be seen more often for teeth cleaning. And, it’s proportional to the amount of wet food they consume. Apparently the dry kibbles help to clean their teeth.
So if your cat prefers dry food, be thankful that it’ll cost you less to upkeep your pet’s dental health.
I was advised recently by my vet that male cats should be fed wet food once a day if possible. They are more prone to urinary obstruction which is common if they don’t get enough liquid in their diet. Bladder surgery for a cat is not fun for anyone involved.
Thanks for the tip on dental issues, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for it.
I was also told by my vet that wet food (even in small amounts) is huge in helping prevent kidney disease in cats as they stay better hydrated. I think a good mix is healthy, and of course, we should be paying attention to the ingredients of any food we give them.
Regular dental checks are really important for cats, I"ve learned. They can stop eating completely due to deteriorating teeth and once the problem has reached that stage it’s quite difficult to reverse.
You should ask your vet to show your how to check your cat’s hydration level. It’s pretty easy to do, and give your a good idea on your cat’s overall health. You essentially just pull up on all the loose skin on your cat’s back and ensure it returns to normal relatively quickly. If it slows down they are dehydrated.
Yeah, my male cat formed a full urinary blockage after a few months of a kibble-only diet. He had developed calcium oxalate bladder stones in his urinary tract. It cost me like $1200 to treat him and he nearly died. If it had progressed any further, he would have required surgery and a week-long stay in the animal hospital, which would have been around $5000.
Both of my male cats now eat a 100% wet food diet supplemented by the occasional kibble or lickable treat. I am going to start brushing their teeth soon for this reason, but I would rather give them wet food and brush their teeth than give them kibble and cross my fingers, hoping that they drink enough water. If I give them a mix of wet and dry food, they will only eat the wet food, like this post mentioned is happening with their cat.
Of course, every cat is different and bladder stones can still form on a wet food diet or still not form on a dry food diet. But managing risk has been really important for me since rates of bladder stone recurrence are high in male cats.
My cat ended up needing the surgery and had to stay for a week with a catheter. One of the concerns was that he wouldn’t regain control of his bladder and we would have to assist for him to urinate. Luckily, he made a full recovery. We were fortunate that our primary vet was equipped to handle it because they charged us around $750 USD for the whole ordeal and I have no doubt the animal hospital would have been thousands.
We switched to a prescription dry food afterwards with the occasional wet food. 3 years later and he had stones forming again and intestinal lymphoma. That’s when he started on daily steroids and a primarily wet food diet based on the vets advice. We had to say goodbye a few months ago when it progressed too far. All that to say, do anything and everything to spoil them and keep them healthy.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that your little boy has passed. I’m sure you did everything you could to keep him happy and comfortable.
Yeah, all my old cats developed kidney issues. We fed them all dry food. Now they have expensive kidney care prescription canned food.
With my new cats, I feed them dry food for breakfast, and a can of wet for dinner.
We feed our girl a half scoop of dry in the morning and evening and a 3rd of a can of wet food every other evening and it seems to be going really well for her 😸
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I mean, I’m aware that it’s not the best food for pets. What do you suggest as an alternative? Do you home-make your pet food?
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It’s about the 𝓉ℯ𝓍𝓉𝓊𝓇ℯ
I wouldn’t say it’s a bad habit necessarily, but I can see why you’d consider it an inconvenience. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your kitty. Cleo just be a lil’ picky (as cats tend to be about food) is all.
Cats tend to thrive when they eat their moisture. Most wet food is about 70% moisture which is about the same as the kind of prey cats would eat whole, like mice.
Your standard kibble is full of carbohydrates that cat saliva doesnt break down, so unless the cat is scraping their teeth effectively they’ll need some dental work eventually.
Turkey necks are great treats that help with teeth cleaning, since the cartilage can help scrape.
Huh. I’ll try the turkey necks out. I feel bad for the turkey’s (we have some wild ones around where we live) but I love my cats more
Don’t worry, the turkeys were going to be killed anyway. The necks are scrap. If a cat doesn’t eat it, it’s probably just waste.
Wet food is good for cats though. Is there a particular reason you’re trying to avoid it?
Cats are pretty bad about drinking enough water. Supposedly in the wild, being from arid climates, they’d get their moisture from consuming raw meat from their kill, including the blood. Giving them wet food helps them get enough water in their diets along with less carbs and more protein over dry food.
I usually give my cats dry in the morning and wet in the evening. Mostly to save on money, because wet is expensive.
I just sprinkle some dry food on the wet food when mine is being picky.
Sometimes cats just like crunch.
I don’t think it’s a bad habit - they just have a preference for how they like their dinner, and probably not a hard one to satisfy.
I deliberately give mine a meat/biscuit mix, both from dietary recommendation and also it slows them down a bit - there’s three of them, and if given meat only, the quickest eater will scoff his in 5 seconds, then try and muscle in on his brother’s dinners. If mixed up, they’re all at their own bowls for a few minutes at least, before the inevitable swapping.
Maybe cut down on the treats, and save them for special bribery i.e. flea treatment, going to the vets, training etc.
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exclusive dry food seems to check out, but mixed seems to be fine according to google
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Is there any issue with soaking dry food that you are aware of?
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I’ve had multiple cats live into their 20s on dry kibble. They’ll be fine.
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I would say maybe test putting the wet food in a plate. I did that with my cat and he had no issues
Maybe also dry kibble and wet on separated plates, kitty may just prefer kibble.
