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.
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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.
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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 😸
Until she develops kidney problems, dry food is harmful for cats in the long run, ask a vet.
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?
The standard alternative is readymade wet food from cans. There is also barfing (preping the food yourself, which is not that easy because cats need much more than just meat)
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.
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.
Dry food shortens your cat´s life, just saying
exclusive dry food seems to check out, but mixed seems to be fine according to google
The veterinarians I asked all said the same, the least dry food the better and at best no dry food at all. Dry food promotes the development of kidney problems, which is one of the most common causes of death for cats. Evolution has optimized cats for living in desert/savanna environments, so they take in moisture through eating, not drinking and therefore a cat will never drink enough to balance out the loss of body moisture that is caused by digesting dry food.
Is there any issue with soaking dry food that you are aware of?
No, the problem with dry food is it’s lack of moisture only.
I’ve had multiple cats live into their 20s on dry kibble. They’ll be fine.
Sure, do as you please. I’ll keep passing on what several vets taught me though.
