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Old June 5th, 2013, 08:39 PM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kingston, ON, Canada
Posts: 134
Do I give in to the Dry Kibble addict?

I'll try and make this brief. I've decided to take the plunge and switch my cats from dry to wet and then to homemade raw...that's the plan, unfortunately it's not going according to "the Plan"

My concern - 2 of my elderly cats are losing too much weight, close to a pound in less than a month. They are healthy cats as far as elderly go, some arthritis, no other illnesses that I am aware of. They all have been vet checked and are up to date with shots. They are indoor/outdoor cats in an enclosure. Only 2 of 8 cat still get outside the fence, working on that.

What I did was decreased the dry food and increased the wet food and this went well for awhile, then I took the dry food up and just gave them wet food whenever they wanted it as they are not big eaters being free fed for most of their lives. This is when I noticed the wet not being eaten and cats snubbing food, so I got "many" different types of wet food to see which ones they liked. Perhaps this was a mistake...too many options.

Out of 8 I have just the 2 that are losing weight, the rest are holding their own and ounce here or there is not a concern, at least they are eating the food. The 2 that are losing weight, I've been giving dry and then mixed wet and dry, but they are still not eating anywhere near what they need. I've tried all the tricks I've read about, expect baby food that's next. I do have 1 of the 2 that actually ate a frozen mouse (thawed), it was like Christmas to him, but when I presented a raw patty he snubbed it.

I'm at my wits end on what to do, I don't want to give up but I can't afford to have sick kitties either. ...Oh don't move the boy is licking some canned food. Ten licks later and he walks away. It's like he eats just enough to take the hunger away and no more.

So what do I do? Go back to all you can eat dry and start over when their weight is back to normal? Give them the dry and wet food? Try and get them on feedings only? Instead of whenever they want to eat? Lock them into separate rooms, leave them with food and hope they eat it? How longer before the fatty liver becomes an issue?

I don't want to give up so I need some help to get me and them over this hurdle.

Thanks
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