What does your cat eat when you're away? - Page 2

Texasmouse · ‎09-27-2010

@luvmybeetle wrote:
I was wondering why did they say you shouldn't feed the cat dry food? My 5 cats have been eating dry food all their lives. What is the significance of wet food? Thanks

@luvmybeetle

According to what I've been reading, 1) dry food doesn't contain enough moisture (and cats supposedly aren't very good at drinking enough water) and 2) dry food contains too many carbohydrates, which are apparently not well digested by cats. From what I've read, cats are carnivores and shouldn't be fed any carbs? I'm still learning here and it's becoming more and more evident that there are two clearlyy divided camps on what to feed cats! I just want to take the best care of our Lily.

Texasmouse · ‎09-27-2010

Thanks @Oznell

Texasmouse · ‎09-27-2010

@sandraskates wrote:
If Lily can free-feed without being a pig, you can get one of those feeders that let you load it up with dry food and you place that part into a dispensing bowl. As the bowl food goes down more food from the bin trickles out.
That's what I used to do for a cat that has since passed. She was a petite eater and there would be food left even when I got back.

But if you cat is like our current boys, they'd scarf it all up in a few hours. So we have a neighbor come by and feed them.

Just as important - when you go away for a weekend put up an extra litter box for Lily to use.

What a great thing you and your hubby did. Congrats on your new furry friend!

Thanks @sandraskates

And that's good advice about the extra litter box too. I've been so conscientious about keeping hers clean, I wondered how she'd manage if I wasn't there to clean it as frequently. That's a good idea.

GCR18 · ‎07-03-2013

My cats were little piggies. If I was going to be gone all day, I'd leave breakfast and dinner. Of course, they ate it all for breakfast and still wanted dinner when I got home.

I think the cat will be fine with dry food and a couple bowls of water. The vets office may be able to help with a referral for someone to check in on the cat. The vet techs sometimes do that on the side. That will give you a chance to get know them before you have to take a longer trip.

candys mine · ‎08-20-2012

Make sure your cat likes and is used to the brand of dry food you want to leave for her. I would invest in an automatic dry food feeder to portion her meals while you are away. Get her used to that too. 1) to make sure it works and 2) to make sure it doesn't freak her out when the top springs open or portion falls into the bowl of the device when she is all alone. Better if someone can look in on her. Canned food helps keep the cat hydrated. I feed wet and dry to my cat, wet in the morning and dry overnight. Just remember Cats like to live by a set schedule. the less deviation for her the more she will be okay with things. If she is used to being fed by a feeder it'll be no big deal. just remember to leave out extra water bowls. and a nice fresh litterbox for her when you're ready to go.

cerb · ‎03-09-2010

My daughter is graduating from veterinary school this month. She has always recommended we feed a good quality dry food to our pets. We've had no problem leaving our cats for a weekend with extra food, extra water, and extra littler box. One of our cats is picky about water, so we invested in a circulating waterer for her.

The debate regarding wet food versus dry food isn't as important as getting something decent quality and sticking with it. The quality of food and health care for pets has improved so much over the past two decades that vets are seeing more elderly pets with dementia. They never used to see cats live long enough to get dementia and now they do.

hyacinth003 · ‎03-12-2010

Congratulations on your new baby!

We feed our 8 cats dry food free feeding all day and I give one can of wet food, for those who like it, at night to share. I only have 4 that want it.

I have had cats live to 21, 19, and 15. I wouldn't worry about wet food vs dry food, if you are buying a decent brand!

If you are going away, just be sure Lily likes the dry food ahead of time. My kitties have never been terribly picky! She would need enough food and water to get through a weekend. If you can get someone to look in every day, that would be great. An extra litter box is a great idea too.

Don't worry and just enjoy Lily!

Hyacinth

Texasmouse · ‎09-27-2010

@hyacinth003 Thanks!

Thank you all for your insight and advice. Many of you mentioned feeding good quality dry food. What are some brands you'd recommend? My vet mentioned Royal Canin but, holy cow, it's so expensive! Are there good ones out there that are reasonably priced?

sandraskates · ‎06-26-2014

We have 3 cats and have recently done some switching of our cat foods. We feed both wet and dry.

Dry - we've settled on Halo. It doesn't upset the delicate tummy of Mr. Fabulous and the other cats are also doing well eating it.

Wet - we're giving them small portions of Natural Balance with their dry food.

I have noticed that since switching to these two brands (moderately priced - not the cheapest nor the most expensive) that Crispy's fur has grown back nicely fluffy on his stomach area (suffered from an internal issue for years that made his fur sparse in that area).

As far as the price and quality topic go, I have written this before: I had a neighbor that fed her cat cheapie Meow Mix and the cat lived to be around 19 years old.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

I believe it's the lower-quality supermarket-brand dry foods that are the problem, the ones that contain grain. If you go grain-free and high quality, you should be fine.

I use Taste of the Wild venison (green bag) for my cats as their main dry food and Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Green Pea with Chicken (names approximate) as their extra dry food, and I free feed. I do use Fancy Feast dry food, but only as a night treat, instead of Bonkers (it's much cheaper than real treats). All of my vets have approved these choices, and one told me that he associated the grain-rich dry food with the growing incidence of diabetes in cats. Specialty stores, Amazon, Drs Foster and Smith, Chewy, and tons of other pet supply sources sell both premium brands.

My cats also get a wet food breakfast and dinner, Friskies Buffet, which they all agree on. Premium wet food is very expensive, and I never found a brand or flavor they'd all eat..

If you introduce the cat to kibble as a treat, you may have the best luck in getting her to accept it as her regular food.

I rescued and fostered a ginger girl and named her Lily, too.