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Old March 8th, 2004, 04:08 PM
sanketg sanketg is offline
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Dry food vs. Canned food

We have 2 kittens , 5 months each . We feed them Royal Canin kitten food - dry. We just leave the food out, and let them eat, whenever they want. But the male is already over 9 lb, and the female is over 6 lb. Our vet had the following suggestions:

1) Feed them 1/3rd cup twice a day, instead of leaving it open.
Reasoning: if they don't eat, whenever they fall sick, we can find that out right away. So we can get them checked sooner.

2) Use canned food instead of dry.
Reasoning: a) Cats do not drink enough water, which strains their kidneys long term. They are likely to get kidney problems when they become older ( 9 to 10 yrs ).
b) less irritating to digestive tract
c) no difference in dental health . Infact can food creates softer tartar, that is easier to remove.

We have always kept them on dry food thinking it is better for their teeth. Also it doesnt make them smell as bad .

Do you guys recommend us making the switch? If so what is a good premium quality can food? We want to make sure we feed them good food, even if it costs more.

Thanks in advance .... SG
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  #2  
Old March 8th, 2004, 04:25 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Unless your kittens are Maine Coon cats, those are darn BIG 5 month old kittens!

I agree with feeding meals each day, rather than leaving food out all time. Indoor kitties don't need to eat all day long.

Some cats can regulate themselves and will not overeat, while others are pigs and will eat themselves into obesity!

You have them on very good quality food now, so you might want to just follow the directions on the bag as to how much to feed per day.

I prefer canned food for neutered males - a lot of dry food seems to increase the chances of urinary and kidney problems. I also agree that dry food is not better for teeth. I never fed my cats anything but canned, and they lived very long lives, with no urinary or dental problems.

Really, it's a personal preference on feeding dry or canned, or you could alternate and feed dry in the morning and canned at night. This is what I do!

Got a picture of the two butterballs?
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Old March 8th, 2004, 05:00 PM
sanketg sanketg is offline
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Thanks LuckyRescue.

Do you know a good brand of premium can food? They are still kittens, so if there is any food esp. for kittens, that would be nice.
I am attaching a pic of Spencer. I adopted him after our first kitty, pari, on your advice. It has worked out wonderfully . Thanks again.... About Spencer , the vet said he is a very rare calico, because he has 3 colors, and they are extremely rare. They said we shouldn't have fixed him .......... too late
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Old March 8th, 2004, 05:01 PM
sanketg sanketg is offline
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This is my original kitty, Pari. Thanks ..
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Old March 8th, 2004, 05:28 PM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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Awwww,they are adorable..
2 cats are always better than one,you did the right thing
I actually feed my cats both good quality dry and canned food,they are not little piggys,so I can safely keep dry food out all day.Canned they get morning and late afternoon..I feel,if I was a cat,I would not want to eat the same old dry food all the time
I was told canned food is very fattening,so my 3 split a small can twice a day and sometimes they don't even finish that..finicky little buggars
My cats will only eat Fancy Feast canned,nothing else I've tried..but even the cat-expert Lucky says it's ok
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Old March 8th, 2004, 08:04 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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OH - I remember you now!! So glad you got a second kitten and it's working out so well.

You have a male calico? Yes, that is very rare, but the thing is male calicos are usually sterile. Glad you didn't listen to that stupid advice you got, particularly when you think that there are purebred cats sitting in shelters.

There are lots of good cat food out there - go to a pet food store and check them out. Whatever they like and do well on should be fine. Just stay away from tuna flavored food.

The kitties are adorable!!!!
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Old March 8th, 2004, 09:29 PM
Karin Karin is offline
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dry food vs Canned food

Please also remember an obese cat is more prone to diabetes.
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