Hi guys, just wanted to start a discussion regarding how and what to feed my cat. We currently give her wet food once a day (in the evenings) as well as unlimited access to dry food and water. I recently was told by someone who was advised by their Vet that wet food is a 'treat' and should only be given twice a week. I also know of someone who feeds their cat wet food 3 times a day! Also, what brand of dry food would you recommend (as I know most expensive is not always the best)?
What and How Do You Feed Your Cat? (Open Discussions Regarding Other Pets Too)
partymix on 24/09/2015 - 10:35
Comments
What you doing is fine except I feed ours the wet food in the morning so they burn off the calories during the day. Whiskas dry food and fancy feast wet daily.
Burn the calories off in the day? What cats do you have? Mine just lay down in my garden all day and sleep!
Did your vet also recommend a premium dry food they happen to stock?
I'm pretty sure they recommended Royal Canin because that's what the person who told what the Vet advised feeds their cat.
I feed my mexican staring frog screamapillars
Where can I buy some cheap?
Springfield
Thank you very much please come again
I fed my cat minced kangaroo daily for 18 years. I bought bulk 5kg bags for about $20-25. One serve (a good fistful, about 200g) in the morning. He also got the occasional sardines, chicken fillet, blue grenadier (fish), chicken necks, and chicken liver, but these were more treats. He also had unlimited kibble and water, and he only ate this when he was feeling peckish later in the day when he finished the meat. I find most cats will self-regulate their intake and not over-eat if they know there is always a plentiful supply of food. If they have to compete with a sibling, they tend to become greedy-guts! The important phase is when they are growing in the first two years or so. If you feed them unlimited food then, they will tend to grow into very large or fat animals. If you regulate it and restrict it a bit you can keep them to a good size and not become obese. My cat was about 8kg of muscle and was extremely healthy most of his life. Be aware that they are carnivores and in the wild eat nothing but protein from their small animal prey. The only vegetable matter they eat is whatever their prey ate and is still in their stomach. All the sales pitch of vegetables and other exotic ingredients sounds healthy (if you eat it) but it does little for the cat. It is really padding and bulking agents for the food so they don't have to supply more expensive meat products. More profit in it for them.
This is the best info on cat nutrition: http://www.catinfo.org/ It is long but worth the read, there is a condensed version linked if you can't read it all.
Yep, cats eat to satiate their nutritional requirements. Therefore if they're fed a poor quality food full of stuff like wheat and wheat flour then they'll eat more to get the nutrients they really need, getting fat and potentially suffering health issues in the long term as a consequence.
I was researching and considering the homemade raw catfood as well. Might explore that down the track when I have more time to put aside to make it for her.
My cat sometimes eats grass and the leaves of indoor plants… not sure why if there's no nutritional benefit for her. Maybe she likes the taste or was a vegetarian in a past life.
Yes… the grass thing. That is actually quite natural. They are not eating it for nutritional or hunger reasons. They do that when they get hairballs (from grooming themselves etc.) in their digestive system. It is a high dose of fibre/roughage to "clear the pipes". You can actually buy pots of "cat grass" from Bunnings etc. to plant so your cat has something to turn to when they have digestive problems. Think of it as Quick-Eze for cats.
Yes, i highly recommend going something grain-free and dry. There are numerous brands which are seemingly quite expensive, but if you buy in the larger bags are actually much more economical than the household brands because:
a) you dont need to feed them as much, and
b) they find them much more satisfyingOf these brands, i have used Innova EVO a fair bit, and highly recommend it, if you can find it that is.
My cat has sensitive stomach so he has to eat Hill Science i/d dry food. He does not like it so he nibbles on it now and then.
I poach chicken for him every evening. I leave some out for him in the morning and after I get home from work.
Your cat eats better than some people i know
I have dry food twice a day - wet food is a treat every now and then.
The salmon dry cat food in the orange bags at Costco is rather nice.
I also get dry fish flakes as a treat.
My human refuses to give me any wet food made my APB as they go for the cheapest and nastiest binding agents possible - he knows this because he works for a company that supplies them.
Miaow!
My cat is about 18 months old, I got her about 2 months ago. She cannot or will not self regulate her feeding - I tried just leaving her a pile of food to start with but she gained so much weight so quickly!
Now she gets a 1/4 cup of the Aldi premium biscuits in the morning, inside of a feeding ball so she has to eat slowly. At night I give her two large soup spoon scoops of this homemade recipe, which I pad out with brown rice and vegetables. I try give her her evening meal about 12 hours after her breakfast, because she's a ravenous little demon regardless.I feed my cat mostly wet food (Fancy Feast or Felix), and some dry food too (Pro Plan - what she was getting at the shelter). I don't leave her dry food to graze on all day because she scarfs it all down!
For a moment I thought I was on OzBargain, then I pinched myself.
My cat is currently eating a bit of minced up chicken frames (from the local butcher - $1.00 for a week or more supply) for breakfast, and dry food left out for her during the day. We fluctuate between Purina One, Optimum, Supercoat and currently Blackhawk. It all depends what is on special (and in particular, what dog food is on special and whether I have to make up a certain dollar value in order to get free home delivery!) She also loves whatever the dogs are getting for a treat, and we can't leave bread or any similar kind of baked goods on the bench/with the pantry door open because she WILL tear her way into the packaging and have a field day!
But do investigate Black Hawk - it is about the same price as the ones I mentioned, not a supermarket brand, Australian made and has lots of positive feedback.
we give our cat pro plan since she is sensitive. Try not to leave too much food out, being overweight can cause problems with females in particular with UTI
Never feed the cat a scallop. I made that mistake once, and every day since that she has not had one is marked down in the ledger for later retribution.
I have a friend who fed her cat wet food daily and it ended up with tooth decay and had to have quite a few extracted. The vet said cats don't have to chew much with wet food that's why.
I feed mine a mixture of Optimum dry food and home brands, wet food about twice a week.
I don't think the tooth decay has anything to do with the wet food. Some breeds are genetically susceptible to gingivitis and other dental issues. The issue is with plaque build up. Unless you brush your animals teeth for them, it will happen. If they have rough food to eat, they will scrape their teeth and clean it off. One of the best type for this is chicken necks — not filled with sharp bones that can shatter and lodge in their throat and injure/kill them, but rough enough so they have to give it a thorough chewing. I would mix it up from my cats regular minced roo, and gave him diced roo instead, or chicken necks. That and the occasional kibble did a pretty good job of keeping his teeth clean. He also got a yearly checkup and teeth clean if necessary from the vet — it amounted to breaking off any plaque sheets remaining on the tooth with needle-nose pliers!. My cat lived to 18, and was a breed that was notorious for gum and tooth problems. He didn't have any until 15 and had to eventually have a couple of extractions (the pointy canine tooth). Your vet is right — it is caused by not enough chewing. Not that the diet was wrong or dangerous, it's just that they don't have to work hard chewing their food.
Think about it, you don't see the big cats (lions/tigers etc) chasing down an ear of corn or a carrot in the wild. They tear into an antelope or whatever, and their teeth get a real workout tearing muscle and bones. They seem to do pretty well for themselves. Again, cats are obligate carnivores and need meat, anything else won't give them all their nutrients and are more for the human's convenience. Another thing some people may not be aware of, cats don't drink enough water on their own. They do get their water requirements from their food. Drinking from a water bowl is just a top-up. Meat contains water. Next to nothing in kibble.
We used to give my old cat tinned cat food, he's an out door territorial male cat so fights a lot. We started giving him raw mince pet food, he became much stronger, doesn't get sick easily, wounds heal faster and fur looks more shiny and healthier. I think mince food helps with their dental too, like flossing.
I used to feed my cat the Friskies or Whiskas dry food brand. Never a problem until about 6 months ago when he would often be sick, even vomiting undigested food. Not pleasant for him or me who would have to clean up the mess. Changed to the Optimum brand and no problems since. Costs a bit more to buy but worth it and he doesn't seem to eat as much as he did with the old food, probably because it stays down. Don't buy any wet food but he gets a small treat most nights while the humans are eating dinner.