Changing cat diet from dry food to wet food

[pk1959]

This really is budget related because I am wasting a LOT of cat food!! A couple of weeks ago, our 3 year old inside/outside male cat began showing signs of a urinary tract infection. Was passing urine but also kept trying to use his litterbox and just getting out small amounts. Our vet said it is a mild lower urinary tract infection and he needs to be on a wet food only diet. He didn't think it was a bacterial infection needing antibiotics and he didn't think he needed to be placed on prescription food. Just wet food with maybe a little extra water added, low salt chicken broth, beef broth, or the water from tuna cans, etc.

It has been a STRUGGLE to get Cosmo to eat the wet food!! His symptoms were completely gone after a couple of days, but today I noticed he is doing the same thing again. After his symptoms seemed to go away, I ended up buying Purina One dry food for Urinary Tract Health (which he loves!!) and also pushing as much wet food as he will eat. I have a feeling I am going to have to somehow switch him completely over to the wet food, but how? He just doesn't seem to eat enough of the wet canned food and I have tried tons of different kinds. I also bought a cat fountain which he showed little to no interest in hoping it would encourage him to drink more water. He still prefers the dogs water bowl which I see him use every day.

Does anyone have some words of wisdom/encouragement on making this transition??? It's so sad when our furbaby's are not 100%.

 

[marmalade]

This really is budget related because I am wasting a LOT of cat food!! A couple of weeks ago, our 3 year old inside/outside male cat began showing signs of a urinary tract infection. Was passing urine but also kept trying to use his litterbox and just getting out small amounts. Our vet said it is a mild lower urinary tract infection and he needs to be on a wet food only diet. He didn't think it was a bacterial infection needing antibiotics and he didn't think he needed to be placed on prescription food. Just wet food with maybe a little extra water added, low salt chicken broth, beef broth, or the water from tuna cans, etc.

It has been a STRUGGLE to get Cosmo to eat the wet food!! His symptoms were completely gone after a couple of days, but today I noticed he is doing the same thing again. After his symptoms seemed to go away, I ended up buying Purina One dry food for Urinary Tract Health (which he loves!!) and also pushing as much wet food as he will eat. I have a feeling I am going to have to somehow switch him completely over to the wet food, but how? He just doesn't seem to eat enough of the wet canned food and I have tried tons of different kinds. I also bought a cat fountain which he showed little to no interest in hoping it would encourage him to drink more water. He still prefers the dogs water bowl which I see him use every day.

Does anyone have some words of wisdom/encouragement on making this transition??? It's so sad when our furbaby's are not 100%.

Have you tried mixing the wet with the dry?


ETA: Or just adding the tuna juice/broth to the dry food?

 

[Hannathy]

soak the dry in water. just put some in a dish and fill it with water till the dry absorbs all the water and see if he will eat that.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

My DDIL would tell you to switch to raw food. It has to be a gradual change from cooked to raw.

There is lots of information on the internet if you go searching, also talk to the vet. Some really like the idea and others are against it.

I agree with the mix of wet and dry. Lots of dry and add more wet each day? I'm sorry I don't really know. I'm just sorry your kitty is not well.

 

[ShesAPirate]

I've always heard that male cats shouldn't eat dry food at all because of the UTI potential and kidney issues.

We just recently had to remove dry from our cat's diet because she was not digesting it -- just swallowing it and throwing it up whole She had wet and dry since she was a kitten, so it wasn't that difficult. We just give her an extra meal now to supplement the bowl of dry that used to be out all the time.

I found this article that might help you:
http://www.catinfo.org/#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_

Good luck!

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Male cats definitely should eat dry food as the bulk of their diet (according to my cat's vet) but it's WHICH dry food that's the issue. My understanding is the ingredients make the difference, as some have so much filler or some particular kind of filler...anyway my cat ended up completely blocked with mineral crystal deposits and had to be "snaked". Buzz doesn't like the vet any more. He's on prescription food.

The thing with wet food and why it's not generally recommended as the bulk of a cat's diet (again, according to my cat's vet) is that it's higher in fat and can cause more issues with the cat's teeth as they aren't using muscles to chew and it can cause tartar. The dry food doesn't just stick to the teeth the way wet can.

 

[ShesAPirate]

The dry food doesn't just stick to the teeth the way wet can.

Oh yeah, I did mean to mention this. We give our cat a few crunchy treats daily for her teeth. Not too many, though.

 

[kirstenb1]

I wish I could help. We just adopted a rescue cat. I was trying to give him wet food as a treat. Every day, he's just licked the juice off it, and walked away, grrr!! Our other cat did the same thing.

 

[si-am]

Our male cat has had a urinary blockage in the past and is now diabetic, so he has to eat canned food only ( low carb). I don't remember having much of a problem transitioning him, but he can be picky about certain brands and favors, so you might need to experiment a bit.

I remember he would not touch the expensive prescription cans the vet sold us, but there are plenty of other high- quality brands out there though. Surely he'll like something! Good luck!

 

[pk1959]

Have you tried mixing the wet with the dry?


ETA: Or just adding the tuna juice/broth to the dry food?

This is what I am trying to do now. I am having some success, but he still looks at me like I am ruining his entire life by changing up his food like I am trying to do. Thanks for the suggestion!!

 

[pk1959]

My DDIL would tell you to switch to raw food. It has to be a gradual change from cooked to raw.

There is lots of information on the internet if you go searching, also talk to the vet. Some really like the idea and others are against it.

I agree with the mix of wet and dry. Lots of dry and add more wet each day? I'm sorry I don't really know. I'm just sorry your kitty is not well.

I have done some reading on this. Like you said, some think it's great and others not so much so.

 

[pk1959]

Male cats definitely should eat dry food as the bulk of their diet (according to my cat's vet) but it's WHICH dry food that's the issue. My understanding is the ingredients make the difference, as some have so much filler or some particular kind of filler...anyway my cat ended up completely blocked with mineral crystal deposits and had to be "snaked". Buzz doesn't like the vet any more. He's on prescription food.

The thing with wet food and why it's not generally recommended as the bulk of a cat's diet (again, according to my cat's vet) is that it's higher in fat and can cause more issues with the cat's teeth as they aren't using muscles to chew and it can cause tartar. The dry food doesn't just stick to the teeth the way wet can.

My vet says the exact opposite. He says wet only. How confusing!! I've also read alot about how cats teeth need dry food to keep them clean, then lots of articles about how cats DON'T need dry food to keep their teeth clean! The more I read, the more confusing it gets.

 

[pk1959]

I wish I could help. We just adopted a rescue cat. I was trying to give him wet food as a treat. Every day, he's just licked the juice off it, and walked away, grrr!! Our other cat did the same thing.

THIS EXACTLY!!!! He likes the gravy that comes on the food, but that's it. I have had a bit more success by buying the pate style of wet food, but we are still wasting a lot of cat food.

 

[swandiverpatt]

This is what I am trying to do now. I am having some success, but he still looks at me like I am ruining his entire life by changing up his food like I am trying to do. Thanks for the suggestion!!

One of our older cats developed diabetes and the blame was placed squarely on the high amount of carbs & fillers in dry cat food. Thankfully, he also ate wet food, so we took him (and his brother) off the dry and only give them a pate-type wet food. He still wants the hard food, so I give him a few niblets now and then.

Amazingly, after 2 weeks on an all wet diet his blood sugar levels came within normal levels.

Now ... I have 2 younger brothers who only eat dry, which is a PITA having to separate all the cats at feeding time. I have bought a very expensive dry food that has no or little carbs/fillers and mix that in with Iams.

I dread the day I have to put these two on wet food because they won't touch it (They won't eat "human" food either!)

 

[pk1959]

I've always heard that male cats shouldn't eat dry food at all because of the UTI potential and kidney issues.

We just recently had to remove dry from our cat's diet because she was not digesting it -- just swallowing it and throwing it up whole She had wet and dry since she was a kitten, so it wasn't that difficult. We just give her an extra meal now to supplement the bowl of dry that used to be out all the time.

I found this article that might help you:
http://www.catinfo.org/#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_

Good luck!

That is a great article with lots to read!! Thank you for posting that. It looks like it is just going to take some time and patience to get him transitioned over. I just hope he gets enough nutrition during the whole process. Going from a free fed dry diet to a completely wet diet is quite an undertaking. Some of the wet foods that I have bought and tried smell so bad, I don't blame him for resisting! I want to run out of the room right along with him!!

 

[fakereadhed]

No advice, but I read your title and thought "good luck". Our cat will eat the dog food over wet food. They can be SO picky! Ours only likes tuna in moderation- like two tiny bites and he's done. Lucklily he's 16 and no urinary problems. He'd die of starvation before he'd eat anything wet.

 

[Princess Dolly]

I've read so much about what I should feed my cat it makes my head spin. For now she has a diet that is about 1/2 wet and 1/2 dry with some raw mixed in now and then.

I'm not sure about how to transition since it seems my little 7.5 pound cat is a food vaccuum and we haven't had any issues.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

My vet says the exact opposite. He says wet only. How confusing!! I've also read alot about how cats teeth need dry food to keep them clean, then lots of articles about how cats DON'T need dry food to keep their teeth clean! The more I read, the more confusing it gets.

Well to be clear here, you cat has issues (sorry that just strikes me as really funny written out) My info was based on a typical healthy cat. If a vet is recommending wet food for a specific reason that absolutely follow those instructions. I meant more if you have a new normal healthy cat, wet food only is not the way to go.

 

[pigletto]

They are creatures of habit and can and will turn up their nose at anything that is out of routine. I would slooowwwllllyyy change the routine until you get the desired results.
Try mixing. A little bit of wet with the dry. Then gradually increase the ratio of wet to dry. If you do it over a month you might have more success. It is unlikely they will starve themselves. I know with my son (yes human) if I try something new when he is already hungry it goes waaayyyy better than when he could take it or leave it. Same with the cats.

 

[Princess Dolly]

They are creatures of habit and can and will turn up their nose at anything that is out of routine. I would slooowwwllllyyy change the routine until you get the desired results.
Try mixing. A little bit of wet with the dry. Then gradually increase the ratio of wet to dry. If you do it over a month you might have more success. It is unlikely they will starve themselves. I know with my son (yes human) if I try something new when he is already hungry it goes waaayyyy better than when he could take it or leave it. Same with the cats.

Just be careful and make sure the cat is eating at least a little something. Not eating can affect a cat's liver.