View Single Post
  #11  
Old July 4th, 2008, 04:11 PM
sugarcatmom's Avatar
sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 5,357
Quote:
Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
My one male cat doesn't eat wet food and will only eat dry food, but he drinks a normal amount of water so I suppose thats good enough.
Not necessarily. Because cats have a low thirst drive, when they only eat dry food they don't consume enough extra water to compensate:

Quote:
Diet moisture content is related to the observation that cats fed dry food drink six times more water than cats fed canned food but that much of this water contributes to fecal moisture so that urine volume is lower and urine specific gravity higher in cats fed dry food. The urine concentration of all solutes, including potentially calculogenic crystalloids, depends on urine volume. Cats increase voluntary water intake when fed dry food but not in sufficient amounts to fully compensate for the lower moisture content of the food. In a recent study, cats consuming a diet containing 10% moisture with free access to drinking water had an average daily urine volume of 63 milliliters (ml). This volume increased to 112 ml/day when fed a canned diet with a moisture content of 75%. Urine specific gravity was also higher in cats that were fed the low-moisture food. Decreased urine volume may be an important risk factor for the development of urolithiasis in cats. Diets that cause a decrease in total fluid turnover can result in decreased urine volume and increased urine concentration, both of which may contribute to urolithiasis in cats.
There are lots of methods for converting a cat to wet food, you just have to be patient and persistent. I firmly believe ALL cats can make the switch. Have you tried sprinkling pulverized dry food on top of the wet? Or getting some freeze-dried meat treats like Halo Liv-a-Littles or Real Food Toppers and dusting the canned with the powder? Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast can also work. It's important not to leave kibble out during the day when you're trying to switch to canned because the constant snacking means the cat isn't hungry enough when you offer the wet food. But, you CAN leave canned food out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
And while I'm here, is it possible to over dose a cat on Taurine? They get alot of taurine from their food, but almost daily they get CatSip cat milk which has extra taurine added into it.
Not really. There hasn't been an upper limit established for cats regarding taurine amounts, and since it's water soluble, any excess should be eliminated. I can't find an online source for the amount of taurine in Catsip but I doubt it's terribly high. I routinely give my cat about 100mg/day of extra taurine in his food.
__________________
"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb

“We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler
Reply With Quote