Since I spent some time over my lunch hour talking to a lady about feline nutrition, I thought I’d post an easy one:
Six reasons not to feed dry cat food:
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Diabetes: High carbohydrate diets can lead to diabetes mellitus. Dry food, even “low-carb” dry food, is naturally higher in carbohydrates than most canned foods, as it requires a starch to create “kibble”. Dry food is also more processed by heat, and thus more glycemic than wet food – raising blood sugar levels.
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Kidney disease (CRF): Lack of moisture in dry foods leaves cats subclinically chronically dehydrated, compromising kidney health.
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Obesity: As noted above, dry food is high in carbohydrates. Low-carbohydrate diets have been shown more effective at weight loss while maintaining lean muscle mass than high-fiber foods. “Low-carbohydrate” dry foods have been shown ineffective at weight loss, as they are very high in calories.
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Urinary tract disease (FLUTD): Lack of moisture in dry foods increases urine’s specific gravity, leading to cystitis (urinary tract inflammation). Regular non-prescription canned food has been shown more effective at preventing recurrence of urinary tract stones/crystals than prescription dry foods.
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Gastro-intestinal disorders (IBD): Grains are not tolerated by many cats, causing diarrhea and vomiting. Excessive fiber may stretch and inflame the GI tract, leading to constipation and megacolon. Carbohydrate malabsorption has been linked to gastro-intestinal problems.
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Cancer: Heat processing of grains and potatoes creates acrylamide, which has been shown to cause cancer in animals. Many dry foods also contain preservatives such as BHA and BHT, shown to cause cancer. A low-carbohydrate food has been shown beneficial in slowing cancer growth as cancer cells seem to “feed” more easily on simple carbohydrates (and again, wet foods are lower in carbohydrates and less glycemic than dry foods).
FelineOutreach.org, CatInfo.org and CatNutrition.org are all great sources of information. Visit PetFoodCrusade.com for information on pet food safety.
Note: I neglected to mention hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease), asthma/allergic respiratory disease, dental disease, and heart disease… that would have made ten reasons – not that I personally needed more.
References include:
For more information, visit Feline Outreach.
To read more of my posts on feline nutrition and health, click on the “feline nutrition and health” category on the home page.
[...] strongly related to diet. (On that, by the way, have a look at Lynette’s recent wonderful blog entry listing reasons on why not to feed dry [...]
Wow! I am going to have to reconsider dry food. I was not aware that heating the grains a potatoes in the food caused carcinogens! Thanks for the great information.
Julie
Cat Health Symptoms
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Thanks for this excellent information. I knew about the diabetes and IBD incidence in dry food fed cats but it took my male getting completely blocked to finally make me toss every last bag of dry! Even though I keep hearing about how feeding CD would be my cats best chance to avoid recurrences, I am hoping strictly canned or raw food will do the trick.Then it happened to two friends cats and I hope they too will dump the dry.I am hoping that even a lower quality wet food is better protection against this dreaded FLUTD than the most expensive dry. I am still trying to switch to raw but at least we have dumped the dry so slow progress but progress never the less.
AJ,
Unfortunately, you’re not alone! I’ve talked to many people about feline nutrition and you’re not the first one to be reluctant to change until their cat is blocked with urinary tract stones.
An all-wet diet is your best defense against recurrence, as indicated by recent studies:
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=Cystitis
(See, in particular, the “managing FLUTD” link – the first link under “for more information…”)
Hi,
I am switching to an all wet diet for my cats…I have one that had developed struvite crystals last year. She was put on a prescription diet..and hated it. The vet suggests keeping her on it (although the dry formula is the only one she will eat (it is the royal canin)
Anyway, he says I can try to get her to eat a canned of a high quality such as Wellness or science diet. (she won’t eat these either.
Do you have any suggestions? I am looking for something with a low ash and magnesium level…but wet food .
Thanks so much.
Hi Rhonda!
I feel *any* wet food is more likely to prevent future stone formations better than a dry (even prescription dry) food. Personally, I’m not overly concerrned with ash/magnesium, as if they’re fed a wet diet their urine will be more dilute, washing out sediment. For more information on struvite crystals and other urinary tract ailments in cats, visit:
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=Cystitis
Take a look at foods like:
* Friskies special diet (comes in a variety of flavors)
* Nature’s Variety Instinct (not the Prairie)
* Evo 95% meat (chicken/turkey, duck, etc)
There are food charts out on the internet that may be helpful as you evaluate your options.
Janet & Binky’s charts:
http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/CanFoodNew.html
KatKarma’s charts:
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm
By the way, I personally disagree with referring to Science Diet as a “high quality food”. Science Diet (and Prescription Diet, both by Hills) generally have high grain content, particularly most of their foods contain a lot of corn. They also contain poor quality meats (byproducts and organ meat, little high-quality muscle meat). However, they do a great job at marketing their product including providing free food for vet students and animal shelters, and funding veterinary courses – particularly the one(s) on animal nutrition… so their reputation is excellent (even if their food isn’t, in my opinion)!
Best of luck!!!
Sophia loves her raw chicken medallion from Nature’s Variety, her chicken Wellness and her occasional crunchie treats which are Nature’s Variety Instinct Chicken.
I have four cats. Two – one boy and one girl have recently been diagnosed with FUS- urniaary disease. Boy had blood in his urine and wasnt peeing much, my little girl also two years old, isnt peeing much. they gave goy (the vet) antibiotics and antiinflamatory) they gave nothing to my little girl. I live on disability and they insist my cats have to eat these prescription diets, hills prescription diet – boy will eat the dry but not the wet, and purina ur prescription diet, I have to mix it with fancy feast and finger feed them to get them to eat it. Please anyone tell me if there are other foods I can give them. I dont like the hills food, it has pok in it, and even I wont eat pork. Are there any other foods I can give them that arent these prescription foods that they will eat? I am concerned because boy only eats the dry hills presscription. The girls do too but not very much any of them. I dont want to buy foods that will make them ill again, lord knows I cannot afford the vets again, literally. But why waste money on these prescription foods they dont like. Any other alternatives? I have tons of cat food Purina canned (fish flavored) not good for cats now that I know I wont give it to them but they love tuna. Please help.
Hi Diana,
I’m sorry to hear your kitties are ill.
For any cat with urinary tract difficulties, I would recommend NO DRY FOOD. There was a recent study, sponsored by Hill’s, which showed regular non-prescription canned foods are more effective at preventing recurrence of urinary tract stones than prescription dry foods! Cats evolved from a desert species and have a low thirst drive. If fed dry food, they dont’ drink enough water to compensate and the urine is too concentrated and can cause urinary tract problems.
So, eliminate ALL dry food.
For canned, I don’t feel the prescription is necessary – and it certainly doesn’t help if they don’t eat it! I would feed regular canned, food and limit the fish flavors as fish sometimes aggravates urinary tract conditions.
One brand that might interest you is the Friskies special diet.
For more information, visit:
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=Cystitis
Best of luck!
Lynette
Dear Lynette,
Thank you for your wonderful site and the time you must take to make it so remarkable.
We have three indoor cats and three outdoor cats (cats that have been dropped off by uncaring people, to fend for themselves in the forest) that adopted our family and who live very happily in our garage. Two of the cats are feral, but one, Dougal, we can pick up, pet, brush, and we sometimes bring him into the house, although he is much happier outside with other members of his Felinetroop.
We buy Wellness wet/dry food, Evo wet/dry, Merrick wet, Orijen dry, etc. Our problem is with two of the indoor cats. First Lily, who is diabetic, has converted twice, and is now again on 1 unit of insulin, b.i.d. She is 14 y.o. Secondly, our blind cat (juvenile cataracts), Hamish (we did have him operated on and lenses put in place, but because he has no vision centre in the brain, he still has problems with his sight in general) who was just diagnosed with urolithiasis. We feed our inside cats mostly wet food, but do give our three outside cats some wet, but mostly dry food and they do supplement with small creatures they catch in the surrounding woods. After reading about the dry food, it is being taken completely out of their diets.
My question is about Homeopathic and holistic therapies. I was informed that a company called “Apawthecary” has a product called “Tinkle Tonic” and that it is supposed to help control the formation of crystals in the bladder, do you have any information on the company and their treatments?Any thoughts on this would be most appreciated.
Hi Catherine,
If you are not already home-testing Lily’s blood sugar levels, I would urge you to do so. Eliminating dry food from her diet will likely reduce her blood glucose, and it’s likely she will no longer need insulin once the dry food has been removed. For more information, visit:
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=Diabetes
The single best thing you can do to prevent future recurrence of urinary tract crystals is to also feed wet food only. More information at:
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=Cystitis
As for “Tinkle Tonic” by Animal Apawthecary, I have used it for one of my cats, Afer. Afer tends to get cystitis (urinary tract inflammation), seemingly triggered by stress. She’ll often have a mild bout of cystitis after trips to the vet. So, I’ve begun giving her tinkle tonic prior to and after vet visits, and thought it’s only been one or two visits now that I’ve done so, she didn’t have cystitis after those trips.
Best of luck!
Lynette
Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM has said on her website that feeding Hills c/d can cause calcium oxalate stones in the kidneys of cats. My own cat blocked and as Dr. Lisa Pierson DVM says at http://www.catinfo.org it is amazing how so many Vets leave cats with this illness on dry pet food. However Hills c/d is not good for cats. I know how difficult it is to change a cat’s food when it is already ill but if you could change your cat to raw food then raw food is a natural acidifier of the urine and your cat would not get cystitis, struvite crystals or calcium oxalate stones if fed raw food. Hills c/d did not cure my cat. Martin Goldstein DVM says in his book “The Nature of Animal Healing” that when a cat cannot pass urine always give it some Vitamin C/ascorbic acid ie one eighth of a teaspoon mixed in with some butter to get it over the initial blockage and then take it off dry food forever but even tinned food is very poor quality food and so if you can manage to change your cat to raw food that would be the best thing for it. Veterinary research I have blames the carbohydrate in dry food for bladder problems in cats and the lack of protein in pet food and says that a high protein diet actually dissolves struvite crystals and also blames the lack of water since as Dr. Lisa says cats fed dry food are chronically dehydrated. Having been through this terrible illness with my own cat I am very sorry to hear you too are going through it. I wish I had known what I know now and then my fabulous cat would still be alive but I had to search out loads of information and send for books to America since my Vet was at a total loss about how to cure my cat and wrongly told me dry food is not the cause.
[...] this isn’t news to me. I’ve written in the past about the dangers of dry food. I discovered most of the issues with dry food back in 2004, when I was struggling with cats that [...]
Hi – I wish I had found this site six years ago! I have one female cat who is 14.5 pounds and has been on weight control dry food since last November! It has been amazing how the vets (at least none we’ve ever taken cats to) have never ever mentioned that dry food is not good for the cats. I was purposefully feeding ONLY dry because I thought it would be better for the teeth! A longtime cat lover on a pets forum clued me in to Dr. Lisa and Catinfo.org, so we are transitioning from dry to wet now. Both of my cats are 6 and female and no problems yet other than the fat, fat tabby.
Hi Bellah!
Well, I didn’t have this blog six years ago, but thank you!
I’m glad you found the information here and on CatInfo.org before one of your kitties became diabetic!
Hi Lynette I just stumbled upon this site, I totally agree with you on all the things you have said. I have been educating myself on this matter for a year now. I have been at this site called Catster.com there are forums in there on feline nutrition, but do you think that we can convince some people in there about dry food? It is very sad to say the least. I sure wish you would chime in at this site. Some people just dont understand, even though we give them great links to read. Some only believe in Science and their vet. I only believe that our cats are carnivores period!
3 Cheers to you for writing this blog
Thanks for stumbling upon my blog, Tina!
I can try posting a bit to Catster, but I’ll admit I get tired of bashing my head against a wall.
There is PLENTY of science and PLENTY of veterinarians that recognize cats fare better on a wet diet, but a lot of people do not want to hear that.
Oh, and Tina, if you’re still out there – friend us!
http://www.catster.com/family/461043
[...] Let’s talk about canned food. First, if it isn’t already abundantly clear – I think dry cat food is a very bad idea. I don’t think anyone thinks the semi-moist foods (those little pieces that aren’t [...]
Hi there,
If you could please read my story and take a few minutes to post your thoughts with regard to my adult cat and the current situation, that would be most appreciated.
Approx. 2.5 mths ago we bought a new kitten so our adult cat (9 yrs old) would have a friend again (had to put our other cat down about 5 yrs ago due to cancer). Anyway, the kitten is now 4.5 mths and comes from a litter of two pure breds cats, both free of feline aids/luek./etc., and she has also had her vaccinations and does not have worms. Of course being the kitten is a kitten, she eats kitten kibble, which our adult cat took quite a liking to, and it was very difficult to keep her away from the kitten food. For that reason, I changed their food to one called ‘Natural Balance’ I believe, it’s one of the specially formulated foods made from kittens through to adult cats. I thought this was a wonderful thing, not only because it’s supposed to be a healthier diet than what she had been eating, but also for the convenience being that both the kitten and adult cat could now share/eat the same crunchies.
However, I started to notice about 2-3 weeks ago that our adult cat wasn’t looking as shiny and clean as she normally does, and I’m certain now that she’s lost some weight. I think she may even be a little dehydrated now as well, and I don’t think she’s using the litterbox as often as she normally does. I had thought initially that it was stress, a very common thing amongst animals when a new one is brought into the family, but the dehydration and weightloss is really concerning me. If a cat is stressed, would they still not drink the same amount of water, etc?
I don’t understand why it appears as though she’s becoming dehydrated, then again, it could be the weightloss that’s making her look that way as well? I have also noticed over this past weekend that she’s kind of hunched when she’s waking, around the back end/legs area…if that makes any sense?
She isn’t hiding from any of us and still purrs when she’s on your lap and/or being stroked, etc. I had also bought a can of moist cat food, chicken chunks in a gravy or something like that, just to see if she’d eat it, and she did…she ate almost all of it, wasting no time and didn’t want to share it with the kitten (which was fine because it wasn’t for her and would give her the runs anyway).
Tomorrow I’m going to call the Vet about an appt., but thought I’d post here as well for feedback, etc. I’m very concerned about our Pebbles.
Oops, I meant to say that the new food is one that’s formulated “FOR” kittens through to adult cats. That was quite the typo! :S
Hi Lorie!
Do *both* your cat and your kitten a *huge* favor and GET RID OF THE DRY FOOD.
Kittens can eat canned food, they don’t need dry food and don’t benefit from it. The reason most dry foods are marketed for “kittens” or “adults” is the adult-formulated dry foods do not contain sufficient protein to allow a kitten to survive and grow. What does that tell you?
On the other hand, canned foods often don’t note they are for “adults” or “kittens” because they are great for cats of all ages!
Please do get Pebbles to the vet – it’s possible she has developed kidney disease, diabetes, or even hyperthyroidism. Hopefully elimination of the dry food will get her back on track, but she definitely needs veterinary attention!
I’ll be keeping you and Pebbles in my thoughts!
Lynette
Hi i´m a Spanish lady so first of all please forgive any error i surely will have in my writing.
I enjoyed your blog and i agree with you in the badness of dry food.
The problem is, that here in Spain people do not care as much about animals as in other countries, specially with cats (in my opinion) so there’s little to do about getting cat food free of carbohydrates vanned or else.
I even tried finding a Spanish website that spoked against dry food by found none.
other big problem are vets, i have a vet specialized in cats but still recommend dry food, he doesn’t want to hear me mentioning canned food, he recomended a dry food for my castrated cat and how do i go see him and not buy it from him, he will say i do not care for my cat, that’s a big problem because i don’t live in a big city, and he’s the only vet.
the thing i have been doing is feeding my cat dry food in the morning and canned food in the evening.
i had a cat that only ate canned food occasionally and lived 19 years but had various urine infecctions and kidney failure that almost kill her once, but it survived 4 more years in her last days she would only eat canned food,
anyway now i have a year old cat and i want to give her the best, but is not easy.
Your English is excellent – no worries!
I do understand how difficult it can be in some countries. I have a very good friend in Brazil, and she struggles to find decent canned/tinned foods for her cats.
I’m very fortunate that my general practice vets know I feed primarily a raw diet, and they are fine with that. I have met many vets that think I should feed dry food – and I ignore them. I have another blog post “Why I Lie” which talks about how I don’t discuss what I feed my cats with many vets.
http://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/why-i-lie/
Best of luck!
Lynette
I’m so conflicted about diet–do you not feed any dry food ever? Right now I’m feeding my cats 1/2 can of canned food each, plus dry food left out during the day (though it’s measured out, and not really “unlimited”). I’ve switched to a high-quality dry food (Evo, lately), and I’d like to switch to a different canned food than Friskies, but my cats hate the pate style, which seems to be all I can find in the better brands.
My worry is that, they love the dry food so much I don’t want cut it out completely. But, the big cat is overweight (18 lbs…not as big as it sounds, since he should be around 14-15; he’s a Maine Coon and very tall and long. He’ll never be an 8 lb cat.) and I want to protect his health.
I do not feed any dry food EVER. If I did, I’d have an obese cat, three cats on insulin, one cat with IBD vomiting, and another cat with IBD dying of anemia.
I kid you not, I have watched dry food make dozens of cats ill – and some cats die. It is certainly not worth it to give my cats some dry food, even if they “like it”.
I honestly have no problem with Friskies. Sure there are some “better brands” that use higher-quality meat, but Friskies is fine.
Still conflicted? Read some of my other posts – including the cat food alert by Cornell Vet School, “junk food”, etc.
Still conflicted? Try eliminating the dry food completely for two or three months – watch the changes in your cats, and see if you still feel conflicted then. My guess? You’ll see their fur is nicer, their muscle tone better, and you won’t be conflicted anymore.
Lynette,
I am feeding my 6-year-old male cat only wet food, no dry ever again, for any reason. He gets canned grain-free Wellness and he loves it. Actually, I have had to resort to several very small daily meals (for now) to keep him from eating too much too quickly.
Our vet is totally against wet food. She wants him on Hill’s S/D to dissolve struvite crystals. Not only is she insisting on S/D, but it is the DRY formula. She does not approve of cats on wet food because dry is necessary for dental health. (I know this is not a fact, it is the vet saying it, not me.)
I refuse to feed S/D. I read the label and there is no nutrition there. He gets Wellness canned, and I have just ordered a case of EVO 95% chicken and turkey, to offer him some variety in his diet.
In my area, we have few options for veterinary services. I like our vet for the most part; we just cannot agree on the nutrition part, so I will take care of nutrition on my own. My intent is to feed raw at some point, but I have not researched that enough yet that I am could do it correctly at this point. Plus, the cat is just recovering from urinary blockage (and seems to have picked up a cold virus while he was hospitalized) and I do not want to put him through too many changes for the time being. For now, a canned grain-free diet will suffice.
QUESTION: Do you have any idea how long a time is typical for dissolution of struvite crystals?
The vet was prescribing S/D for three months so am I to assume it typically takes that long? I am concerned the cat could re-block at any time if he might not be free of struvites for that long. If weeks or months is typical, could that be because it is usually treated with a dry Rx diet rather than a wet, high-protein diet? Is it reasonable to think a quality wet food diet might normalize things sooner?
Sorry for all the questions but I have searched for these answers online and have not found them. Either the info is not readily available, or I have looked in all the wrong places. If you have any info re cats with struvite crystals, or if you could direct me to articles re this, I would appreciate it.
Thanks for your site! With it, I have come to realize even though I am only learning, I know more about cat nutrition than my veterinarian. Scary thought, that is.
Barbara,
check out my post on FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disorders).
Studies have shown WET diets prevented recurrence of stones/crystals much better than prescription dry diets.
http://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/08/02/feline-lower-urinary-tract-disease/
Hopefully it will answer your questions.
Lynette
Hi Lynette!
Like quirkyknitgirl, I have an 18-pound cat (Tubbs) as well as a 13-lb cat (Buddy). Buddy is quite long and wears his weight well, ie. he doesn’t look overweight, but Tubbs is, well, pretty darn round. They are currently fed Friskies wet and Hills senior and t/d dry. Tubbs was actually on Hills r/d wet and dry for years and only gained while on the “diet” food. Since switching to Friskies about a month ago she’s actually lost an ounce. Go figure.
I have no problem taking them off dry food completely, but am wondering how much more wet I should be feeding them to replace it? They are currently fed 1/3 of a 156g can plus 1/4 cup of the mixed dry twice per day.
I also worry about their teeth. What effect will an all-wet diet have on their dental health? Tubbs had her teeth cleaned about three years ago and so far they still look good. Is it okay to give dry as an occasional treat?
Thank you for having such an informative, eye-opening site!
Ellen
Hi Ellen!
I don’t feed dry food EVER, but many caregivers are less “fanatical” than I am and do use dry food for an occasional treat. If your cat is not diabetic and has no gastro-intestinal disorder, an *occasional* few pieces will probably not hurt. I prefer not to feed it ever as I have diet-controlled diabetics, cats with IBD, and if my cats get *any* dry they tend to get very worked up and start acting out behaviorally. (Dry food can be very addictive.)
As for how much to feed, the easiest answer is to consult the can! Most can labels will state how much to feed the average adult cat. I generally start with 6 ounces (170 grams) of canned food daily – but different countries’ canned foods contain more/less calories than others, so do check out your can label. Adjust based on your cat and whether its weight is desirable.
Whether dry food benefits dental health is debatable. Some feel the crunching of dry food helps eliminate some plaque. Others feel the carbohydrates in dry food do more damage than good – in promoting sugar and plaque build-up. Regardless, I do not use dry food for dental health. Personally, I give bits of meat – small chunks of raw muscle meat or chicken hearts for my cats to chew on.
For more information, please visit FelineOutreach.org. We have a wealth of information there on subjects such as nutrition, dental health, obesity, etc.
http://www.felineoutreach.org/Education.asp
Thanks for the comment!
Lynette
Hi Lynette!
A month ago I adopted two 10-week old tuxedo kittens. An internet friend immediately pointed me to some articles about dry cat “food.” I just now educated myself on the matter and am already switching to canned food (Wellness so far). I want to try raw; do you have any recipes on your site? Some people mention them, but I didn’t find them.
I’m so glad Ive found out about the dietary needs of cats versus the-crap-that-is-put-into-dry-cat-kibbles while my kitties are so young. But in two trips to the vet for kitty vaccinations (which is another story, and I almost regret getting most the vaccinations – I hope they won’t be harmful), not one time did any vet or adoption board or clinic worker ask me what I was feeding my kitties. At least the clinic I go to doesn’t have dry pet food all over the place.
So, I just started the Wellness but am thinking of going ahead and starting with raw also. The younger they are, I think, the faster and easier the transition.
My main question, after looking at a few websites, is where do people buy natural food for cats; I mean fowl or free range chicken with bones. Or raw meat on a bone. Surely not at Safeway?
And I thought the local butcher shop went the way of the local baker and candlesticker maker…
~Alan
Hi Alan!
Kudos to you for starting your babies out right!
For recipes – my preference are the recipes at catnutrition.org, catinfo.org, or blakkatz.com (they are all virtually identical). There are links to catinfo and catnutrition in the right sidebar on my home page.
Personally, I’m lazy and buy a pre-ground meat and bone and organ product called Hare Today, so all I need to do is add a few supplements.
http://mousabilities.com/cats/food/haretoday.html#HareToday_complete
Others buy meat (I recommend poultry or rabbit) at a local butcher, an organic market, a farmer’s market, or even Safeway. I used to buy whole chickens at Trader Joe’s.
Some other homemade ideas:
http://mousabilities.com/nutrition/homemade.html
As for vaccinations – I personally believe in vaccines as kittens, then core vaccines are recommended by the AAFP:
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=Vaccinations
You might want to consider Michelle Bernard’s book (blakkatz.com or I carry it on Mousabilities). She recommends raw feeding, and her book includes the recipe I noted above and goes into great detail on which supplements are included and why.
http://mousabilities.com/cats/books.html
Thanks also – I’ve started a post about “raw done right” and need to finish it. You’ve inspired me.
Lynette
Thanks for all the suggestions. I went to the grocery store and bought some raw, mini-drumsticks. You know, the part of the wing we call “buffalo wings.” I cut most the meat off the bone and then cut the meat into sizes shown in the second photo on this page:
http://www.rawfedcats.org/practicleguide.htm
and placed it in their flat stainless steel bowl. Ty, who had turned his nose up at the Wellness at the previous meal, ate probably 1-2 ounces. It was great! She even played with the bone.
Cy, her sister, didn’t like the chicken. So I gave her a pretty normal helping of the canned cat food. Halfway through I put some of the raw chicken bits on top of the canned food – then she went straight for the chicken, but mostly chewed on it a bit and then let it fall out her mouth.
Ty came back and started licking up the remaining canned food; I put more morsels of raw chicken on top of the wet meat for her, and bingo, she masticated and swallowed another four five pieces. It was certainly interesting watch her chew on that suff! They were both full by then, so after ten minutes I cleaned up.
I’m still not a total believer in an all raw meat diet (and until they learn to eat bone and organs, they can continue on some of the canned food), but I’m ready to be convinced. I also checked out at the library “Your Cat” by Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins.
~Alan
Dr. Hodgkins’ book “Your Cat” is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! (and really, I’m not just saying that because she was gracious enough to mention me in the acknowledgments.)
Lynette
Hi all,
this is a very nice post, thank you.
I live in the Netherlands, and my vet strongly advised me to ONLY give dry food to my 3 months old kitten. The problem is that he doesn’t like any dry food. He eats it, because I do not feed him that much canned food, but every time he makes a scene. The vet said it is bad for the teeth to eat canned food, bad for the gums in particular. But if it brings all those other diseases along, I think a gingivitis isn’t that bad after all.
What do you think?
Does any of your cat also hates dry food?
Thanks all, wishing you a nice purry day
Val
Hi Val!
My cats don’t hate dry food – but it certainly hates them! As noted above, dry food is linked to MANY ailments and diseases. Two of my cats were diabetic, but don’t require insulin now that they get no dry food. Three had severe gastro-intestinal disorders, but are symptom free on an all-wet diet.
There is little-to-no evidence that dry food is better for cats’ teeth. In fact, many feel the high carbohydrate content of dry food leads to tooth decay. Do people clean their teeth by eating pretzels? No, when you eat pretzels or other starchy snacks, they leave a nasty coating on your teeth! Your cats would be better off given snacks of meat to chew if you want to give them something to chew on.
What I DO know, for certain, is that more than two-thirds of cats in the US have dental disease by age 3, despite most of them eating dry food. If dry food was so good for their teeth, why is that?
I disagree with your vet, and if I were you I might give him a copy of Dr. Zoran’s article “The Carnivore Connection to Nutrition in Cats”. I link to it above in my post.
Lynette
I recently learned THE TRUTH , through a medical emergency with one of my furkids, about the dangers/myths/MISinformation of dry free feeding. Wow, what a mistake I was making!!
All our cats are now happy AND healthy since being changed to an all wet food diet. (Thank you Wellness!)
I can’t believe the changes in our cats that we thought were healthy and happy! Our fatty is slowly getting down to a healthy weight. No one has that dandruff look. No throwing up. No furballs. No greasy look. All our cats are more playful. Amazing!
Thank YOU for taking the time to put together this blog. Hopefully, we can all save one cat at a time.
[...] you’ve read anything on my blog, you probably know I do NOT think feeding dry pet food is a good idea. I also DETEST Hills’ pet foods – they use horrible quality ingredients [...]
Crazy Cat Lady,
If you aren’t already a member, I sure hope you will join this chat forum:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/cats/
The members there could DEFINITELY use your help.
Crazy Cat Lady: I love your site. My Samwise was DX’d with diabetes in Feb of 09. I found the site felinediabetes.com and changed his food almost immediately. I didn’t want my boy to be on insulin and good thing as he was so sensitive that any amount no matter how small sent him into hypo. After one month on canned food he was off the “juice.” He still wants his dry as all my indoor cats are crunch addicts. I am feeding Evo Innova Cat and Kitten as a dry food but wonder if I should stop all dry. It says only 7% carbs on the bag and has no corn/wheat in it. Sam and the others eat either Fancy Feast pate or Friskies pate. Only Ghost is still eating huge amounts of dry and his rotund belly is getting a bit obscene. They all love the canned. I am thinking of switching to Wellness grain free for canned though the Fancy Feast is as good it seems.
I tell everyone with a cat to switch to canned and throw out that sh*t that comes in a bag! Not all believe me however. Thanks for the great site.
Yes, stop all dry, Sue!
Not just for the diabetes -but for all the other reasons I’ve listed above.
Will do, it will be gradual but I’m going to do it.