Quote:
Originally Posted by Mia101
I just think there are a few fanatics who seem to prefer she just eat crappy dry until I get her onto canned, in their quest to convince me of something I already know.
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Holy, relax. At no point did anyone say just to feed her crap. I've already said the CORE is a fine transition food. Orijen, as others have mentioned, would also be a good choice. I'm not sure what else it is you want to know about then. Maybe if you actually had a specific question, we could help.
Innova EVO has also been suggested. It's another grain-free kibble (the first) that lots of cats like, but in your case, given your cat's age, I think it's too high in phosphorus for the long-term. However,
as a transition food, and in small amounts (it's also very high in calories), it would absolutely be better than most other dry options. As would any of the grain-free ones. If it's just a matter of finding something your cat likes, ask for lots of sample bags when you go to the store.
Some others to look for: Nature's Variety Raw Instinct (don't let the name fool you, it's actually kibble). But it's even higher in phosphorus than EVO (but lower in calories). There are a few newer ones like Solid Gold Indigo Moon and Merrick just came out with their B.G. grain-free line. I don't know what the specs are on those.
As for getting your kitty to eat more canned, have you tried pulverizing her favourite dry and sprinkling it on top? Love4himies already brought up the tip of powdered freeze-dried treats like
Real Food Toppers or
Halo Liv-a-Littles. Parmesan cheese works for some cats. Maybe tuna or sardine juice. You might also need to rotate flavours and/or brands of canned more, if you aren't already (for some reason, cats get bored of the same wet flavour much faster than they do dry).
What I used to do with my guy was feed him a little less than 1/4 cup of dry (EVO) twice a day at the same time. I would also put some wet down beside it. Usually he'd finish the dry first, and maybe have a few nibbles of wet in between. But I would leave the wet out all day until the next meal. Yes, I threw out a lot. Ever so slowly, I gave him less and less dry. And ever so slowly, he was eating more and more canned. At one point, I was seriously down to 1 teaspoon of dry twice a day. It was a bribe to get him excited about meals, cause boy did he love his kibble. Once he finished those few measly pieces and realized he was still hungry, he'd move on to the wet. It took me a long time to eventually wean him off even those 2 teaspoons, but we've been dry-free for 2 years now (I feel like I'm at an AA meeting). He currently free-feeds on a large variety of canned and raw.
Anyway, it was not my intention for this discussion to turn adversarial. I do want to help. It's just that when someone says they
must feed their cat kibble (joking aside), I feel compelled to explain why they shouldn't. Good for you for working towards more wet food, that's more than most people even consider. Peace?