How many cat owners only feed their cats dried food?
purplepeace59 asked:
I’ve got 6 cats, am unemployed and am finding it expensive feeding both meat and dried food. I’ve been advised in a pet store that feeding them dried food is perfectly alright. I just feel guilty about doing it.
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I’ve got 6 cats, am unemployed and am finding it expensive feeding both meat and dried food. I’ve been advised in a pet store that feeding them dried food is perfectly alright. I just feel guilty about doing it.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
i only feed my cat dry food. its much better for their digestive system and although it may not taste as good they will be fine.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I have 3 cats… they all eat dry food… I give them Iams dry & they are big healthy male cats… I do buy the Walmart treats.. and give them occasionaly..but they are extremely healthy .
Its also good for their teeth & their poop is more compact…
February 6th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
i have kittens so i was told they need more nutrition.
so i usually mix it.
February 7th, 2009 at 8:15 am
If canned and raw are out of your budget, then it’s best to stick with a high quality dry food. Even though it’s not the best diet for your cat, it’s much better than feeding something of low quality which in turn might lead to more vet expenses. And since the vet is pretty costly, in the long run, you probably would have saved money purchasing high quality dry food. It is more expensive but not nearly expensive as monthly costs of canned and/or raw. Mine averages about $50, more or less, for one cat on canned/raw. I’m about to adopt another cat so now I’ll have to double that amount.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I only feed my kitty dried food. It’s just too expensive and messy to go to canned. And they tend to get overweight with it too. He’s perfectly happy with just dry and is healthy too.
Don’t feel guilty, as long as you’re feeding them you’re fine. But you would have to ween them off of the canned by mixing canned with dry for a while. Then start giving them more dry than canned until it’s all dry food after a while. In a months time you should have them used to the dry food.
~Good Luck~
February 13th, 2009 at 9:26 am
i only feed my cat dry food. the wet kind is too fatty
February 16th, 2009 at 4:09 am
I am trying to feed my cat both but he just wont eat it! I have tried different brands and flavours but he still wont eat it. So I am going to just feed him dry food. My vet said that he will be fine and its probably better to feed them both but its not going to harm them if they just eat dried food.
February 17th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
My family has fed our cats both, we usually only fed them dry cat food when they were not pregnant, but once they were pregnant we added canned cat food.
I believe its better for their teeth as well ( dried cat food)
February 20th, 2009 at 8:08 am
I only feed my cat dry food. This is the cheapest way, most convenient, and it keeps my cats from getting an form of allergies.
My cats are completely satisfied just the same. Every now and then I will give them a small treat if they’re good.
February 21st, 2009 at 4:47 pm
The biggest issue people have with dry-only diets is moisture. Cats aren’t fantastic about getting as much hydration as they need.
To counter this, I would suggest buying them a fountain ($15-60, depending on the brand and type). The constantly flowing water encourages hydration; my cats will sometimes sit and stare at their Petmate Fresh Flow and drink from it repeatedly. It’s not as costly as wet food, and I’ve had mine for almost a year now with no troubles. I feed my cats both wet and dry food, but during the times when I had run out of the canned kind, they drank more to compensate.
At least make sure you’re sticking to a quality brand… there’s no replacing that. Never buy the grocery store kinds, they’ll land you expensive trips to the vet later down the line. Look into Wellness Core or Evo by Innova.
(Edit: The two brands I recommended are grain-free. This means they are extremely low in carbs and give your kitties the nutrients they need, not fillers. They will be good for weight maintenance. Since they are of high quality, you will also need to feed less… making the bag last much longer. Another good quality brand that is considered the most economic is Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul.)
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I have 6 and 2 just like to eat dried food, the important thing is is if they really drink a lot of water, I mean a lot like they go to the bowl 4 or 5 times a day, actually I have a fountain for mine and they really drink a lot.
I have also a 14 year old cat and he would only eat the cheap dry food, no wet food, he ended up with a blockage and had kidney failure, twice.
The vet told me I could feed him any kind of wet food but only the Purina UT dry food. So actually I only keep the UT food in the house, but my 14 yr old only eats wet food now. In my opinion it is really not good to feed cats a diet of all dry food, they will get kidney problems, unless they drink huge amount of water. Wet food gives them a lot of water.
February 23rd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
if that’s all you can afford, then i don’t know why it’s bothering you. i feed my cat meow mix, and she is extremely healthy.
February 26th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Why would you feel guilty about it? There’s nothing wrong with dry cat food as long as its of good quality. A lot of the best quality cat foods are dry. In fact…my cats refuse to eat anything but dry food…
Feeding them dry food IS perfectly fine. All you have to do is make sure they have enough water too.
February 27th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
dry food is better for their teeth, but some cats need canned food to maintain a healthy weight. a lot of the dry food is mostly carbohydrates and can lead to weight gain and obesity. depends on the cat and it’s metabolism, activity level, etc. generally speaking, the canned food is a more natural diet for carnivorous felines and better for them. however, many domestic cats do fine on all dry food. i feed my two an indoor formula dry food. if they start getting chubby, i substitute some of the dry with canned.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
You can get some soft food (5oz can)and mix it with water and it will go a long way.6 cats might require a little more though. You do not ween a cat off dry food. They eat both. I keep a full bowl of hard food out at all times and then fix soft food at night(alot, I will skip a couple of nights). All of my cats are vet checked and vet told at normal weights.
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I do. Nothing wrong with it.
March 6th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I feed my cat tuna, wet pouches, fish sometimes, and little bits of cheese and white chocolate. Well, no… actually that is all he will eat. Very fussy cat.
Just like humans, cats have a sense of taste and I would hate to force-feed him dried food all the time. Don’t think I should be giving him cheese though, anyone know?
March 8th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I give my cats dry food all the time, they have never had any wet food, or treats. They have all been healthy.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:54 am
My male cat will be 3 on April first. He gets Iams dry food for hairballs and weight control. Once a week he gets one package of wiskas soft food. I used to give it to him everyday and he was getting fat. Now every saturday morning he is waiting for it. I also give treats occasionally.
March 15th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Yes, it is fine. I feed mine dried.
March 18th, 2009 at 3:03 am
It’s okay if the moisture content they get overall is decent. Some dry foods encourage drinking (I have a special food for it vs. using wet food). Just be careful about brand and content but don’t feel bad. They can live just fine on dry food.
March 20th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
i feed my cat dry food all the time
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:49 am
Your cats would be perfectly ok just on a dried food diet but just make sure they have fresh water down at all times.
I have 2 cats and they have dried food down all the time to go to as they please but before they go out at night they have a sachet each of Whiskas or a shared tin of Felix……..they are their preferences at the moment & will probably change again in a month or so lol.
Don’t feel guilty. I’m sure your kitties are more than happy with the food you are giving them. But if you are unsure just give your vet a ring and ask them for advice on it. I’m sure they’d be pleased to advise you.
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I feed my cat a mixture of both. I would feel guilty feeding them dry food only. The way I look at it is that I wouldn’t like to have to eat dry food all the time, so why should I make them. I know it’s better for their teeth etc, but my two get a small portion of high quality wet food in the morning each and again in the evening. During the day and night they get to eat as much high quality dry food as they like. That way they get the best of both worlds.