Help with My Cat Question!

[3113]

Yo, cat lovers. My vet has told me that it's time to start giving my 16 year old cat some wet food (her digestion is become delicate and she needs more liquid in the diet).

Said vet didn't tell me how much wet food to give her or when. Should I switch her entirely to wet? Wet/dry? Should I give her a little in the morning and a little at night? Only in the morning?

Any thoughts? The cat is in great shape in all other respects. In fact, she thinks she's still a kitten, running around like crazy, umping up and down, purring, grooming, playing. Thoughts? She's the sort of cat that likes to nibble through out the day, not the kind who chows down all at one sitting.

 

[JackLuis]

Yo, cat lovers. My vet has told me that it's time to start giving my 16 year old cat some wet food (her digestion is become delicate and she needs more liquid in the diet).

Said vet didn't tell me how much wet food to give her or when. Should I switch her entirely to wet? Wet/dry? Should I give her a little in the morning and a little at night? Only in the morning?

Any thoughts? The cat is in great shape in all other respects. In fact, she thinks she's still a kitten, running around like crazy, umping up and down, purring, grooming, playing. Thoughts? She's the sort of cat that likes to nibble through out the day, not the kind who chows down all at one sitting.

split the ration day/night and watch for reactions. Most dry food cats love wet but may purfer a specific type. Check the web site for oz/Lb. My six pounder only gets wet occasionally and half a small can at a time.

 

[_Lynn_]

Yo, cat lovers. My vet has told me that it's time to start giving my 16 year old cat some wet food (her digestion is become delicate and she needs more liquid in the diet).

Said vet didn't tell me how much wet food to give her or when. Should I switch her entirely to wet? Wet/dry? Should I give her a little in the morning and a little at night? Only in the morning?

Any thoughts? The cat is in great shape in all other respects. In fact, she thinks she's still a kitten, running around like crazy, umping up and down, purring, grooming, playing. Thoughts? She's the sort of cat that likes to nibble through out the day, not the kind who chows down all at one sitting.

I would start her out with a small amount in the morning and see how she handles it. With the cat I have now, I use disposable spoons to take it from the cans/pouches and put it into his dish. He gets a spoonful at a time off and on throughout the day. He does fine that way.

 

[Katyusha]

Yo, cat lovers. My vet has told me that it's time to start giving my 16 year old cat some wet food (her digestion is become delicate and she needs more liquid in the diet).

Said vet didn't tell me how much wet food to give her or when. Should I switch her entirely to wet? Wet/dry? Should I give her a little in the morning and a little at night? Only in the morning?

Any thoughts? The cat is in great shape in all other respects. In fact, she thinks she's still a kitten, running around like crazy, umping up and down, purring, grooming, playing. Thoughts? She's the sort of cat that likes to nibble through out the day, not the kind who chows down all at one sitting.

Not much to add, except make sure you check out the ingredients of the wet foods you choose. A lot of them have some ash in them as a filler...one of my cats has a sensitive stomach and the ash makes her vomit. If her digestive system is getting delicate, you should pick a food that doesn't have ash or has very little.

 

[sr71plt]

We have two (mature) cats. They get half a can (the little ones) of wet food in the morning (between them) and a quarter of the can in the evening. One scoop of dry mix in the morning (between them). Don't know how big the scoop is, though--it comes with the dry mix. Ours don't like variety. They want only a chicken and tuna mix in wet food.

 

[Dragonlipz]

Cat - one hell of a nice animal, frequently mistaken for a meatloaf.......B. Kliban

 

[mynameisben]

Should I switch her entirely to wet? Wet/dry? Should I give her a little in the morning and a little at night? Only in the morning?

Any thoughts? The cat is in great shape in all other respects. In fact, she thinks she's still a kitten, running around like crazy, umping up and down, purring, grooming, playing. Thoughts? She's the sort of cat that likes to nibble through out the day, not the kind who chows down all at one sitting.

You're secretly talking about your pussy, right?

 

[3113]

Thanks to all for your help. Kitty seems to be doing better. We'll see how she does with her new food this coming week.

And "ben"...wet/dry isn't just for pussies

 

[Boxlicker101]

I'm glad this furry member of your family is still healthy and active at that age.

Most cats have sense enough to eat what they need, rather than stuffing themselves. You should be able to put out a day's rations and, if it doesn't become too dry, she will eat what she needs. Kitty may prefer horsemeat, or she may prefer tuna, or she may insist on chicken. She will let you know.

Keep in mind that a half cup of wet food is a lot less than the same volume of dry food, because so much of it is water. The ingredients should be listed on the can. To determine how much ash a can contains, use just the dry portion in your calculations. I believe it is usually less than is contained in dry food, but that might vary by brand.

I hope the two of you have many more happy days together.

 

[Prettygreeneyedkitty]

3113...

I don't have much to add except that my vet has always recommended switching them over gradually, like perhaps a 90/10 mixture of dry to wet first, and then gradually till you're at 100% wet food. Also, depending on how bad her digestion is, I know Science Diet does make specialty foods for differing issues, and now PetSmart is carrying the cans that one could only buy at Vet's offices in the past.

I hope your kitty continues to do well. I have three cats and a dog, and think CATS RULE!!! They're just so cool.

Good luck.

 

[3113]

Most cats have sense enough to eat what they need, rather than stuffing themselves.

My cat certainly has that sort of sense. It's funny because my brother always seems to get cats that don't and has to be told to put them on diets as he over feeds them and they get chubby. So I suspect a dollop of the wet in the morning rather than giving her a whole can (or even half a can) is a good one, as she's not only a small cat but likes to nibble through the day.

I suspect I'm going to be picking out the smallest canned food I can find.

I hope the two of you have many more happy days together.

I hope so, too! You can imagine how relieved we were when her blood work came back all normal. We know she can't live forever, but we're still hoping that maybe she's the exception to that rule

I don't have much to add except that my vet has always recommended switching them over gradually, like perhaps a 90/10 mixture of dry to wet first, and then gradually till you're at 100% wet food. Also, depending on how bad her digestion is, I know Science Diet does make specialty foods for differing issues, and now PetSmart is carrying the cans that one could only buy at Vet's offices in the past.

Thanks for that advice! We'll probably switch kitty over very gradually--meaning not get her onto 100% wet until it's clear that her age and tummy and such need that. My one worry, actually, is that she might like the wet so much that she starts walking away from the dry and demanding more wet With this cat, that's altogether possible.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

On wet cat food, a lot of the processed stuff is not very good for the pussies - full of nasty chemicals and advised by vets because they get financial support from the big producers.

Some poached fish or,even better, poached chicken livers (boil some water, add livers, turn off heat and leave to cook/cool) is much more vitamin filled. All that iron and sodium - and not expensive.

My two, 13 and 4, do cartwheels for a plate of warm, pink chicken livers and it's cheaper than tinned cat food.

 

[SeaCat]

One additional warning about canned/wet food. Their litter box will smell much stronger than with just dry food.

I feed all of my cats on dry food but I do add to it with things like fresh fish. (Both raw and cooked.)

I'm currently looking at starting to make my own wet food for them. I'll let you know when I find a good recipe for it.

Cat

 

[3113]

One additional warning about canned/wet food. Their litter box will smell much stronger than with just dry food.

Oh! That is a good point. Maybe we'll make the switch to wet verrry gradual...

 

[3113]

Update!

We settled on "Wellness" wet food as that was one consistently recommended on line as having very good ingredients for kitty (no ash, all natural, etc.). We purchased four tiny cans to test out.

*Sigh* My worst fears were realized. From the moment I popped open the can the cat went crazy. Completely nuts. She paced atop her perch, meowed, and couldn't get down to the bowl fast enough. Following the advice to "gradually" wean her off dry to wet, I divvied up the food in the can into three parts. I only gave her a third. One heaping spoonful.

The cat inhaled it. I mean she licked the plate clean and licked it clean again. Then she peered into the bowl of dry food and, finding no more, licked the plate again. Then she drank, and has since been licking her chops and cleaning her face as if to relive the joy and rapture of that meal. I suspect she's going to be bothering me for the rest of the night begging for another spoonful of ambrosia.

One thing's certain. She hooked on the wet now. There's no going back. I only hope she doesn't drive me crazy as I "slowly" get her onto mostly wet. One website recommended the process take 10 day or more! They don't know my cat. She could get confessions from terrorists if she thought they had the food she wanted. 10 days? I predict a ransom note from the cat on this website within four. "Open the cans or the erotica writer gets it!"

So my new question: once we switch kitty over...how much wet food does one little kitty eat? Or should eat? We got little "one-serving" cans. Do we give her two of those (morning/night), or do we get a big can and split it (morning/night)? The one thing I don't want is left-over food uneaten on the plate and attracting ants all day long

 

[Verdad]

*Sigh* My worst fears were realized. From the moment I popped open the can the cat went crazy. Completely nuts.

That's odd! Unless my cat was odd. He was a dry food addict; he'd sniff out the canned food then look at me like, "yes, very funny, now get me something edible."

We never got past some half-hearted tasting. I did as Elfin, though, and that worked. He liked poached fish especially.

(Sorry I can't help with dosage!)

 

[Boxlicker101]

We settled on "Wellness" wet food as that was one consistently recommended on line as having very good ingredients for kitty (no ash, all natural, etc.). We purchased four tiny cans to test out.

*Sigh* My worst fears were realized. From the moment I popped open the can the cat went crazy. Completely nuts. She paced atop her perch, meowed, and couldn't get down to the bowl fast enough. Following the advice to "gradually" wean her off dry to wet, I divvied up the food in the can into three parts. I only gave her a third. One heaping spoonful.

The cat inhaled it. I mean she licked the plate clean and licked it clean again. Then she peered into the bowl of dry food and, finding no more, licked the plate again. Then she drank, and has since been licking her chops and cleaning her face as if to relive the joy and rapture of that meal. I suspect she's going to be bothering me for the rest of the night begging for another spoonful of ambrosia.

One thing's certain. She hooked on the wet now. There's no going back. I only hope she doesn't drive me crazy as I "slowly" get her onto mostly wet. One website recommended the process take 10 day or more! They don't know my cat. She could get confessions from terrorists if she thought they had the food she wanted. 10 days? I predict a ransom note from the cat on this website within four. "Open the cans or the erotica writer gets it!"

So my new question: once we switch kitty over...how much wet food does one little kitty eat? Or should eat? We got little "one-serving" cans. Do we give her two of those (morning/night), or do we get a big can and split it (morning/night)? The one thing I don't want is left-over food uneaten on the plate and attracting ants all day long

What do you mean by large aand small cans? To me, a large can was fifteen ounces and a small can was about eight. There were also smaller cans of premium type food, such as Fancy Feast, but we rarely got those.

 

[OneLustyWench]

We settled on "Wellness" wet food as that was one consistently recommended on line as having very good ingredients for kitty (no ash, all natural, etc.). We purchased four tiny cans to test out.

*Sigh* My worst fears were realized. From the moment I popped open the can the cat went crazy. Completely nuts. She paced atop her perch, meowed, and couldn't get down to the bowl fast enough. Following the advice to "gradually" wean her off dry to wet, I divvied up the food in the can into three parts. I only gave her a third. One heaping spoonful.

The cat inhaled it. I mean she licked the plate clean and licked it clean again. Then she peered into the bowl of dry food and, finding no more, licked the plate again. Then she drank, and has since been licking her chops and cleaning her face as if to relive the joy and rapture of that meal. I suspect she's going to be bothering me for the rest of the night begging for another spoonful of ambrosia.

One thing's certain. She hooked on the wet now. There's no going back. I only hope she doesn't drive me crazy as I "slowly" get her onto mostly wet. One website recommended the process take 10 day or more! They don't know my cat. She could get confessions from terrorists if she thought they had the food she wanted. 10 days? I predict a ransom note from the cat on this website within four. "Open the cans or the erotica writer gets it!"

So my new question: once we switch kitty over...how much wet food does one little kitty eat? Or should eat? We got little "one-serving" cans. Do we give her two of those (morning/night), or do we get a big can and split it (morning/night)? The one thing I don't want is left-over food uneaten on the plate and attracting ants all day long

Our cat has both wet and dry. She loves the wet but it doesn't fill her as much. Keep the dry out as an option for her otherwise yes, she will be following you and meowing to distraction begging for more. Ours gets one small can before bed and has dry during the day. Seems to keep her full and relatively meow free. But your cat will vary and check on the manufacturer's or vet websites online for feeding guidelines.

BTW: while one larger can split into two feedings is cheaper, two smaller cans will relieve your worries over leftover food attracting ants. If she only eats wet food, probably a can in the day and a can at night. Watch her weight, if she loses weight, she'll need more. Don't go by how hungry she appears.

Also if older, the food issues are as much a digestive issue as well as with teeth. They don't eat as well with the dry kibble. If it is older, soak the kibble in enough hot water to get soft and see if she likes that. It can use up the kibble or make due with what you are already feeding.

 

[3113]

What do you mean by large aand small cans? To me, a large can was fifteen ounces and a small can was about eight.

They have tiny little cans now--about 4 ounces--or three heaping tablespoons.

 

[Boxlicker101]

They have tiny little cans now--about 4 ounces--or three heaping tablespoons.

That's what I referred to as the premium cat food. It might be too rich for her, or be lacking in fiber.

 

[3113]

That's what I referred to as the premium cat food. It might be too rich for her, or be lacking in fiber.

Too rich? http://bestsmileys.com/lol/1.gif I'm going to have to pry this premium cat food from her cold dead paws! This feline is besotted. And her tummy seems to be okay with it. I only gave her a spoonful...we'll see how her digestion does with that before we pile on more.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxlicker101
That's what I referred to as the premium cat food. It might be too rich for her, or be lacking in fiber.

Too rich? http://bestsmileys.com/lol/1.gif I'm going to have to pry this premium cat food from her cold dead paws! This feline is besotted. And her tummy seems to be okay with it. I only gave her a spoonful...we'll see how her digestion does with that before we pile on more.

Welll, Duh, your kids would probably love to live on candy and ice cream, if you let them. At the same time, it might be alright. Her vet can tell you more than I can.

 

[3113]

Welll, Duh, your kids would probably love to live on candy and ice cream, if you let them.

Hey! I resent that! This is the ingredient list in the Chicken:

Chicken, Chicken Liver, Turkey, Chicken Broth, Carrots, Natural Chicken Flavor, Sweet Potatoes, Squash, Zucchini, Cranberries, Blueberries, Guar Gum, Dicalcium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, Iron Proteinate (a source of Chelated Iron), Beta-Carotene, Zinc Proteinate (a source of Chelated Zinc), Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Proteinate (a source of Chelated Cobalt), Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate (a source of Chelated Copper), Folic Acid, Manganese Proteinate (a source of Chelated Manganese), Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Biotin.

 

[SeaCat]

One of the big things when dealing with feeding a cat is the size of the cat. How big is your cat?

If I put out dry food the cats nibble on it all day whenever they get hungry. If I put out canned food, Fish or other tasty nibbels they will gorge. (To the point of making themselves sick.)

How much you feed your cat is determined by their body weight and size. Especially with things like Wet Food that they seem to love.

A nice warning I never received. Never feed them asa much Wet Food as they want. Not only will they barf all over the place but they will shit their body weight in less than a day.

Cat

 

[3113]

A nice warning I never received. Never feed them asa much Wet Food as they want. Not only will they barf all over the place but they will shit their body weight in less than a day.

Ouch! Thanks for that friendly warning. No. I'm not giving her as much as she wants. Right now it's a heaping spoonful (about a tablespoon). My kitty's weight ranges from 8/9 pounds. And believe me, we're watching to see she doesn't toss her little cookies, as this switch in diet is because she was throwing up more than usual.

We don't have a really regular schedule. We're usually home by 6-7, but sometimes we're not. And I don't want to feed her any wet food late at night (kitty barfing at 3am all over the bed is not what you want to wake up to! ). So I think it's going to be wet food just in the morning. For now, I'll keep it at that tablespoon. After about a week, maybe half a can.

I suspect that I won't go up to feeding her a whole 4oz can. If she was a larger cat that would be a neat, full serving. But I'm guessing it's too much for this little one. And she hasn't gone off the dry (whew!), so that stays around for day/night.

She sure is one contented animal.