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sacramento
Nov 5, 2008, 01:18 PM
I have five cats ranging in age from 14 months to 11 1/2 years. I used to feed them 5 to 6 cans of cat food with small dry food feeder filled at all times. Due to economic conditions, I cut back the canned food to 2 to 3 cans per day and left large bowls of dry food for them. Lately, they have mostly stopped eating the canned food and are devouring the dry food. Is this good for them or should they be eating more canned food?
Also, what recommendations do you have for the most nutritious dry cat food? Money problems have eased and I am ready to get them the best foods available. Thanks for the input.:):confused::p

charl89
Nov 5, 2008, 04:30 PM
No its actually really good. Canned food is something like 80% water if you look on the label. So you are payign all that money for water! Pointless if you ask me. My kitten loves her dry food plus there is more choice. All you have to do is make sure that there is always water available for them.I feed mine iams and science plan. She loves them! Hope that helps

sacramento
Nov 5, 2008, 04:44 PM
Is there a big difference in the contents of dry food? I have been giving mine Meow Mix and they are crazy about it. What do you think?

charl89
Nov 6, 2008, 11:42 AM
I am not to sure but they have the right stuff in them for a health balance diet a cat needs. I live in the UK, and I use, whiskers, go cat, science plan, iams and some others. She loves them all. Hope that helps

Fiona2003
Nov 6, 2008, 07:04 PM
Dry food is just as nutritious as canned. Some brands are even better!

The most important thing is to have multiple bowls with fresh water around. Since dry food doesn't have the moisture that canned does, your cats will need to drink twice as much!

Fiona2003
Nov 6, 2008, 07:07 PM
Opps, forgot to add I like Royal Canin because of its high protein and low "odor" in the litterbox later - if you buy it in those huge 40 pound bags you can feed your cats for about 50cents a day each.

sacramento
Nov 6, 2008, 07:39 PM
I'm going to assume that you are not from the US (either UK or Australia, I'm guessing) but I never heard of that brand. I am just loving the reassurance that I am not hurting my beloved cats in any way by feeding them dry food!

Fiona2003
Nov 6, 2008, 07:46 PM
I am from the US but first used RC food while living in Germany. I've seen it at PetSmart.

sacramento
Nov 7, 2008, 05:17 AM
Oh, sorry! However, since I am 66 years old, I also cannot see myself carrying 40 lbs of food. I do, however, buy the 20 lb sizes and they seem to last a couple of weeks. Thank you all for your help on this subject. Have a good day!!

Fiona2003
Nov 7, 2008, 06:44 AM
Yeah, it would be a problem for me too now! (back surgery) I thankfully lived not too far from the store, so I used to bring it home in a red wagon (that got some looks!)

Dry food is great, just don't forget the extra water bowls. :)

linnealand
Nov 12, 2008, 09:45 AM
Beware of feeding only dry food to cats. In nature, cats get their liquids from the foods they eat. They actually drink very little. If your cats are not drinking, but they're only eating dry food, they can become more susceptible to kidney problems.

We had a friend who lost her cat at age 7 for this reason. Her kidneys failed completely, and the vet gave her this warning. I suggest you ask your vet the next time you go.