Quote:
Originally Posted by Carmela
I dont think telling her not to listen to her vet is a good idea. Whilst I dont agree with you about dry food as it develops their teeth I also agree that maybe it isnt AS healthy as it should be. But NEVER advice someone to go against their vets direction, as the kitten may need this for a reason.
I strongly advise maybe giving your a vet a telephone call and explaining the situation and more professional help can be give 
Coraline may I ask why dry is bad for them im intrigued!!! My Alfie loves it! |
What Coraline said was don't listen to the vet if they start to recommend dry cat food. And the original post said that they were in China, getting to a vets may be difficult as pets are not that common.
What is wrong with dry food for cats?
Firstly cats are desert creatures and have evolved to get most of their water requirements from the prey that they eat. Dry food goes against this evolutionary development and forces cats to dry lots of water. This places too much load on most cats kidneys and results in kidney and urinary tract issues in later life. Dry food manufacturers put chemicals in the food to reduce the impact of this, chemicals that are banned from human foodstuffs due to health concerns.
But cats are not wild animals? - Whilst this is true their digestive system is no different from wild cats and you don't see many zoos feeding the wild cats dry food!
Most dry foods are loaded with carbohydrates in the form of grains / rice etc. which cats, being carnivores, are not designed to eat. Cats need meat and meat protein to survive. Carbohydrates in carnivores cause obeisity.
But my cat lived to 18 and was fed junk food - A friend of mine's grandma lived to 93, smoked cigarettes and drank whisky everyday.
Vets are not nutrionists, they are generalists. They go to vet school for 7 years and study a wide range of animals, diseases etc. but only spend a very short time studying nutrition and an even shorter time studying cat and dog nutrition. The cat and dog nutrition semninars is usually provided or sponsored by the large dry food manufacturers.
Dry food does not keep teeth clean as the manufacturers would like you to believe. It is just a marketing gimmick to pursuad you to choose dry over wet. Dry food does compact between the teeth and is difficult for a cat to remove, unlike wet food. This is why there is an increase in dental trips to the vets and the rise of dental brushes, toothpaste and chews for dogs and cats.
Remember pet food is manufacturerd for profit and most of the large manufacturers started out because they had human food processing plants and they wanted a way of getting rid of their waste. Whilst there are good laws in the UK and EU around what meat can go into pet food anything else is fair game. A lot of the addatives that still goes into pet food have been banned for human food. Quality still suffers over making a fast buck.
Vets are on commision to sell you the food that they stock. They make at least 30% profit on each bag.