When I got Mr kane from cpl 7yrs ago, aged 2 he was being fed Felix in jelly.
I was advised to switch him to dry food due to him having gingivitus and having just had his teeth descaled. for the first few years he was on iams but I stopped that as I read it wasn't that good for the price. he's been on wiskas dry food for ages now. he seems healthy but does regurgitate a lot. the vet says its cos he eats too fast. he advises dry food too. I try and feed him little often as he is prone to weight gain.

Over the past couple of months I've been adding trays of sheba and sheba domes to his diet as having read stuff about the high cereal content in his diet on this forum has got me worried. I was shocked that the main ingrediant in dry food is carbs. he does enjoy the the meat but he has had a few runny poos since on and off.

I was told the kittens are on adult meat in jelly (Felix or whiskas)) cos the kitten varieties upset their tummy and dry kitten food. so I've got in cans of whiskas and the whiskas kitten dry food to start off.

I was wondering if I should feed all the cats on either wet food or a mixture of wet and dry.
I'm not happy about feeding them whiskas because its considered junk food but looking on zooplus the high quality brands seem a lot more expensive and my hubby would nnevere agree to paying that much. he can't understand why all the cats can't be fed exclusively dry.

Any advice welcome about what to feed!

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Also mum to Mr Kane, a 9yr old ginger boy

Dry food is not a good idea as the sole food for cats. cats generally get their water from food and are not good drinkers. This can lead to kidney problems. The idea that dry cat food is good for dental hygene is not true and I believe that vets promote dry food diets because they get support from the companies.
A high quality wet food need not be any more expensive than the cheaper brands as you would need to feed less of it. If you look at readily available foods like Hi-Life or Nature's Menu they would work out around the same sort of price as the 'better' end Whiskas or Felix. Pets at Home also have their own brand.
Canned foods rather than pouches work out cheaper and Butcher's Choice Classic, although cheap, is a good brand.
For teeth a raw chicken wing once a week is far better than any dry food.

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How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven. - Robert A. Heinlein
http://www.lambchopsiamese.webs.com

I am surprised at your vet recommending you feed all dry food, because of the known potential for it causing kidney problems. My vet recommends a mix of dry and wet food.

Personally I have always found mostly wet food has been better in the long run for my cats health and weight, with just a few kibble (dry food) a day.

The cheaper wet foods (Whiskas, Felix etc) are not good value as my cats were so hungry on them they had to eat every few hours to keep weight on.
The cheap wet foods are full of carbs and fats, not protein, which is what cats need to stay healthy and strong. However I have found Felix Marinades pouches do seem better quality,, and one of my cats loves them.

It is true most better quality wet cat foods (e.g. Animonda, James WellBeloved, Vom Feinsten, Smilla, Applaws, etc) are more expensive but they are so full of good meat protein that I use far less, as my cats eat less. So I do not find it works out more expensive, particularly if you shop around online, and buy in bulk. (Free P & P on orders over a certain amount).

I also regularly give my cats a little freshly cooked meat. I ask the butcher for odds and ends of stewing beef, pork or lamb, costing a few ££s, which I then casserole in the oven until it is tender. I serve my cats a little of the meat in a bowl with plenty of the meat juice and they lap it up with great enjoyment. This way I know I am keeping them hydrated, (as they are not good drinkers of water) and so it is OK to give them a bit of kibble.

You could mention to your husband that to continue feeding your cats nothing but dry food may result in them eventually developing health problems as they age (e.g. renal), which could turn out to be a lot more expensive for you --- with vet's bills, prescription diets etc.

Thanks for the replies. I will shop around. want something reasonably priced without being rubbish.
It doesn't help that my husband heard the vet say dry only. he keeps telling me off for giving cans. when I got kanes booster done a few weeks ago and mentioned getting kittens the vet gave me 2 trial packs of hills science kitten. I have since read that is rubbish too.

I remember when I first got kane looking on line for info on food and everyone was raving about how good hills science and rice based dry foods were. the consensus was wet food rotted teeth and made cats fat. I was a bit shocked when I found this forum and saw wet only was recommended. it does make sense though when you think about it logically

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Also mum to Mr Kane, a 9yr old ginger boy

Top Life is a high meat/high quality wet food that is reasonably priced - at the moment it's £1 for a 375g carton, which compares favourably with a lot of 85g/100g sachets, and it's far better than whiskas/Felix etc.

Hi Life is another cheap/good food - at the moment it's 4 x 85g cans for £1 at Asda and Wilkos have different varieties at a good price.

If you look at online ordering carefully there are some foods that actually aren't any more expensive than Whiskas et al. Bozita, for example, comes in 370g cartons which work out at very slightly over £1 each (less if you bulk order), again not bad compared to Whiskas.

You may find you can feed less of the high quality stuff as well - your cats will be filling up on what they actually need rather than the empty calories the fillers in the bad quality foods give them. If your cats like dry you could try feeding small amounts in conjunction with the wet - that will likely be cheaper and is especially good if you can feed a high meat/low ceral dry like Orijen.

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Harry: Ginger & White b. September 2002
Oscar: Black b. 7th May 2011
Kitty: Grey Tabby b. 7th May 2011

Our lovely cat family

Katkins, I guess you will need to persuade your OH if your wet only diet plan is to succeed long-term. So, I suggest a little demonstration. Give your cat a bowl of dry food and make your OH watch him eat it. Chances are that just like any other cat Mr Kane will either just swallow the kibble whole or crack it in two. Then ask your OH where he thinks the dental benefits are in that; you can also put that question to the vet.

For food to have any dental effect it needs to be torn, which is why neither dry nor wet food have such an effect. You could feed some raw food a few times a week and / or you can start brushing his teeth. Same goes for your kitties.

In case you need more ammo for a wet only diet here is some more (perhaps get your OH to have a read too!)


However, there are a two really good arguments as to why a dry food diet isn’t a good idea for cats:

1) unlike dogs, cats are not naturally good drinkers, which goes back to the time when they would have satisfied most of their moisture needs from the prey that they catch - meat contains a lot of water but they also drink the blood of their prey. So, for example, raw food contains about 65-75ish% of water, and wet food contains about that too; perhaps even a little more. Now compare this to the 7-12% of moisture content typically found in dry food.

Indeed, studies have shown that cats who are fed a diet consisting of wet food that contains about 70ish% of moisture don't tend to (and don't need to either) take in any more water from external sources (61% moisture seems to be the tipping point). Also, cats who previously were fed dry food and were drinking a lot stopped drinking from external sources when fed a food high in moisture content.


Fair dos you might think; I feed dry food therefore I shall make water available to them and either get a water fountain or put down an additional bowl of water. Although great ideas, and fresh water should always be available to cats no matter what you feed just in case, here is the important snag: studies have also shown that although dry-fed cats drink a lot more than wet-fed cats (as much as 6 times as much), they still don't take in as much moisture as cats take in from their wet food! This leads to more concentrated urine (and a cat’s urine is already concentrated a fair bit to start off with), which CAN lead to urinary and other issues. For more info, see here: Dry/wet cat food moisture content


So, that is one of arguments against. The other is

2) the carb content of dry food, which tends to contain an excessive amount of grains (because grains are cheaper than meat). Don't get me wrong, there are some wet foods that I rate very highly that also contain grains but they only contain a small proportion; nothing compared to the 30-40% + often seen in dry food.

Cats aren't very good at utilising that amount of grain (protein) metabolically and it can have all sorts of unwanted side-effects, from smelly to frequent poops, to obesity (cats don’t readily convert carbs into energy ), to urinary issues (because the high grain content alters the urine ph and makes it more alkaline than it should be). Carbs have been linked to feline obesity, diabetes, kidney disease and others. Although the relationship might not be directly causal (see this for a review of dry food on health, particularly diabetes:http://www.crpf.org.uk/upload/docume...cvjarticle.pdf), why chance it when you can easily avoid it?


Also get your OH to read this, written by a vet: Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health



And no, good food doesn't need to be expensive but it means that you will need to buy online.

That's an excellent article, thanks very much for that. It has totally convinced me. Will definately show it to the hubby (not right now as he's in the middle of watching a film so won't be very receptive.)

I was thinking I might get them on Butchers choice for now, having googled it, it does seem better than Whiskas and is cheaper!! I never even knew Butchers did a cat food. Probably have to order online though as I live in a very small town with 2 very small supermarkets and one extremely overpriced petshop, and I can't drive. Not much choice locally!

Will look at getting them something better in the long term. Its been very expensive getting the actual kittens themselves and buying equipment for them.

The kittens are on kitten dry food as well as the felix/whiskas at the moment...should I wean them off the dry gradually?

And if I feed them Butchers is it ok to give the cats something better occassionally or would it upset their tummys?

Another question...what are the Sheba Domes like nutritionally? I give them to Kane as a treat and he loves them. They do have a higher than normal meat content, but are they junk too?

ETA: I have a feeling my local supermarket sell hi-life, could I feed that in conjunction with the butchers?
I know I must seem mad getting kittens when I can't afford to feed them quality food, but until I reserved them and started researching I had no idea the dry was so bad.

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Also mum to Mr Kane, a 9yr old ginger boy

Butchers Classic cat food (tins or pouches) is quite good quality as it contains no artificial additives or preservatives and no grains, but there is a not a great deal of substance to it (there's a lot of jelly) and I'm not sure how nourishing it would be for growing kitties.

I had some Butchers Classic pouches in my store cupboard from feeding my older cat. I tried it on my 2 young ones, but they were hungry again only an hour after being fed, and seemed constantly hungry all day long,
However, it is cheap to buy, so that is a plus point.

Butchers Cat food can be ordered through any branch of NISA or Wilkinson's, if you have either of those shops near you..... Also it may be possible to order it through other supermarkets. If you email Butchers Petcare Ltd on

consumerservice@butcherspetcare.com

or phone them on 01788 825872

they will tell you which supermarkets you can order Classic catfood from, and will give you the Order Code you need to give the store.

Otherwise you can buy it online.....

I've found butchers classic in my local supermarket so that saves a lot of hassle. will try that first off and see how they get on. The kittens have been eating whiskas or Felix in jelly at the shelter. will give the kittens dry food too to start with as that's what they're used to. will gradually wean them off.

I think I have managed to convince hubby of the benefits of wet food. will work on pushing for better quality meat once he's got over the initial outlay on getting the kittens. like the look of animonda carny on zooplus.

Kane seems to really enjoy the wet food. he doesn't regurgitate like he does the dry. must have been caused by the dry expanding in his tummy. poor cat. feel awful for giving him dry for so long and hope it hasn't done any damage. I'm hoping he's still got another 5 to 10 years left in him.

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Also mum to Mr Kane, a 9yr old ginger boy

TBH, I don't think Butchers Classic is any better (or any worse for that matter) than Felix and Whiskas.