Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog food forum > Cat food forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #31  
Old May 8th, 2007, 01:27 PM
clm's Avatar
clm clm is offline
Senior Contributor
Typing Test Champion, Curveball Champion, Mahjong Champion, Zookeeper Champion
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
Posts: 3,333
My cats are also free fed a good quality kibble and they get canned food, also on demand morning, afternoon and evening (they let me know when it's time for breakfast, lunch and dinner), None of them have weight issues, if they did I'd have to control the canned stuff a little better. They all have their likes and dislikes, I agree with chico2, cats prefer variety I think, so changing up the kibbles and variety in the canned foods keeps the kitties nice and picky and me good and broke , especially feeding 4 of my own and the neighbours cat. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cindy
Reply With Quote
  #32  
Old May 9th, 2007, 12:49 PM
Maya's Avatar
Maya Maya is offline
Queen
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 845
Quote:
Originally Posted by scary
I thought the 'jury' was still out on wet food being better than dry... dry is better for teeth I know... can anyone offer anything further? I would like to change up Luna's diet some, and DEFINATELY get her to drop her extra 2 pounds!
Open to suggestions... hope I'm not hijacking here!
This article should be helpful:http://www.catnutrition.org/catkins.html

Also more about obesity:
Quote:
Reducing or eliminating carbohydrates--a good idea for any carnivore, overweight or not--is absolutely essential for safe and lasting weight loss. That is why there is no way to safely reduce an obese cat's weight using a diet that contains any dry food. Ever. Dry food doesn't help a cat safely lose weight and never will.
Rest of atrticle: http://www.catnutrition.org/obesity.html

I am in agreement with most of this. I think it makes a lot of sense.
__________________
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~Voltaire
Reply With Quote
  #33  
Old May 10th, 2007, 01:30 PM
krdahmer's Avatar
krdahmer krdahmer is offline
~Cat Servent~
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario
Posts: 5,229
That video is hilarious! But goes more like this one at my house. I've been trying to train Buddy to get on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg1oszADX04
__________________
Windy~Smoke~Buddy~Palomine~Fagan~Asker~Mickey Blue Eyes Venus

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -Mahatma Gandhi

"We're the renegades, we're the people; With our own philosophies; We change the course of history; Everyday people like you and me"- R A T M
Reply With Quote
  #34  
Old May 10th, 2007, 03:56 PM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
Dahmer, that's exactly what my Vinnie would do
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #35  
Old May 10th, 2007, 07:26 PM
Maya's Avatar
Maya Maya is offline
Queen
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 845
Cats are awsome.
__________________
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~Voltaire
Reply With Quote
  #36  
Old May 11th, 2007, 11:09 AM
Scary's Avatar
Scary Scary is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Oakville, Ontario Canada
Posts: 114
More Help Please!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maya View Post
This article should be helpful:http://www.catnutrition.org/catkins.html
Also more about obesity: Rest of atrticle: http://www.catnutrition.org/obesity.html
I am in agreement with most of this. I think it makes a lot of sense.
Thanks sooooooooooooooooo much for this, it explained quite well some things I didn't know! I want Luna to definately have more wet food in her diet. She only got it as a treat a few times a month - until her food was recalled!

Do you recommend I do with Luna what the second article suggests below? (if she doesn't like the grain-free wet foods, and so far she won't touch them):

"You MUST stop free-feeding dry food. After you've established set meal times for a few days or a week, begin setting out meals of ONLY good canned food. If your cat refuses to touch it, take up the food and try again a few hours later. Yes, it takes some patience to get a cat off of dry food and onto something healthier..."
Thenk lower down it also says:
Ideally, your feline weight loss client should eat at least a little something every 12 hours. It really is okay to let her go 12 hours without food; hopefully a bit of hunger will help as an incentive to get her to eat healthier, non-dry, food.

Does anyone think though that grain-free kibbles are ok for at least part of their diets, that maybe this was written before they were available or known????

Yes I did read the whole article, but your thoughts on trying this would be so helpful everyone... to me that system seems a bit harsh, to make her eat wet food she doesn't like... but I want her to have the best too...
__________________
Pet-parent to my sole charge 'Luna' - a six year old black cat.
Reply With Quote
  #37  
Old May 11th, 2007, 04:16 PM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
Scary,I did not read the article,but a cat can be very stubborn and if he does not like his food can make himself sick from not eating,I do not agree with keeping the food and let him go hungry for 24hours.
I have been free-feeding dry for many years and my cats will take a few bites in between their canned meals,they do not pig out.
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #38  
Old May 11th, 2007, 04:28 PM
Maya's Avatar
Maya Maya is offline
Queen
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 845
Quote:
Originally Posted by scary
Does anyone think though that grain-free kibbles are ok for at least part of their diets, that maybe this was written before they were available or known????
Well i'm not an expert so I won't act like one. However my opinion is that a high protien kibble "free feeding" is okay. I totally must have skimmed over that when I read the article but I think you are right and that they may have wrote that before better quality kibbles were available. When my kitty was on just dry and wouldn't eat the wet I didn't have the heart to take it away and never did get as far as a switch as he was ill etc.. I would have tried harder to switch him though now knowing what I know. He was on Medi-cal which was high in carbohydrates so if you are using a good kibble it is probably not as urgent a situation that you get the wet in right away. I would imagine there has to be a happy medium in the switching stage so they don't make themselves sick like chico2 mentioned. Have you tried many of the wet foods yet? Maybe try to offer different wet foods always before the dry and try to hold out and keep trying the wet. If there is a real hunger strike maybe try a little wet on top of the kibble and slowly adjust to more and more wet. I've found sometimes a compromise will get them eating what they should. Ahh okay they suggest sprinkling the dry food on the wet in the article as well, i'm going back and forth.
__________________
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~Voltaire
Reply With Quote
  #39  
Old May 11th, 2007, 05:15 PM
Scary's Avatar
Scary Scary is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Oakville, Ontario Canada
Posts: 114
Thanks again you two...

Chico2 - just FYI and to be fair, the article does mention that too (thanks though!), and just so everyone knows I would never let it go that long.

Maya - thanks again for so much input! I agree with everything you said (easy answer, but true too!) I may add some unpopular wet food with or near her kibble so she gets used to the smell, maybe the taste...

Luna likes wet food and gets very excited when she knows its coming... but if its not a Nutro one that she's had for years, she sniffs, maybe tastes, and always walks away. I have tried about 4-5 grain free kinds so far with no luck... would love to find one and will try a couple more.

Her 1/2 cup of EVO (grain free) kibble per day - she's been off of the Nutro higher-carby-stuff 2 months only now - will stay on the floor. I may cut it down as I encourage her to try more wet foods. I know cats lose weight slowly so will be patient with that, but at 14 pounds I don't want her gaining! Vet says she's healthy at 12lb.

More chat welcome, I'm back Monday... Sunny weekends to all!
__________________
Pet-parent to my sole charge 'Luna' - a six year old black cat.
Reply With Quote
  #40  
Old May 11th, 2007, 05:21 PM
Scary's Avatar
Scary Scary is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Oakville, Ontario Canada
Posts: 114
Question Last thought...

Forgot this! Like my post wasn't long enough...

I do know - from occassional tastes - that Luna loves real chicken... I do NOT cook at all, but I know you can get pre-made 'meat-only' foods - thoughts? (I'm not interested in exploring/learning/feeding raw at this point.)

OR is it really as easy as buying some chicken pieces and boiling them? Would that help if she won't eat canned wet food?
Given what's fed to chickens though, I don't know if its even safe anymore... I hate industrial farming and myself am going more and more veggie.

Holy run-on posts today!
__________________
Pet-parent to my sole charge 'Luna' - a six year old black cat.
Reply With Quote
  #41  
Old May 11th, 2007, 06:12 PM
Kristin7's Avatar
Kristin7 Kristin7 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: US
Posts: 857
Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately, though I probably can't start feeding 5-6x per day, since I'm not home for a long enough time. And please don't think my cat is starving, she most definitely is not! I do give my cats other brands of kibble mixed in with the Felidae, trying to give them variety. I also have tried giving them wet food and Annie has some type of food sensitivity that I haven't figured out yet. She will, more often than not, puke up all her food if I even give her a bit of the wet stuff. She drinks plenty of water, is active and very healthy with a nice shiny coat. I'm also not sure about experimenting w/ other types of wet food until this recall thing is over. Maya, when I say i don't care how she got to be a 'pig', I mean, it doesn't matter now how it happened. That is how she is and I have to deal with it. You seemed to be saying it was my fault for depriving her of food, when in fact that was not the case. She was free fed for awhile after she came home with me. Micki was also free fed for about 10 years and did slowly gain weight that way. She has not always been eating the same brand and has went through periods during which she got wet food regularly. Now, I feel bad giving it to her and not Annie, because Annie knows when I open a can and gets very demanding. I think the main point to my first post was that I don't think all cats should be free fed... Annie is not the only cat I have had that eats a lot and very fast (which is why i say 'pig'), but the other one was a stray for a short period so I always attributed it to that. For some perspecitive, Annie is not very overweight (12 lbs), nor is Micki (11 lbs). Still, every time I go to the vet, I get scolded.
Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old May 11th, 2007, 06:20 PM
Kristin7's Avatar
Kristin7 Kristin7 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: US
Posts: 857
My cats

My cats

Annie
Name:  Annie1.jpg
Views: 106
Size:  60.8 KB
Micki
Name:  smPICT0189.jpg
Views: 107
Size:  55.7 KB
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old May 12th, 2007, 07:37 AM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
Kristin,your cats look beautiful and healthy,if the vet is scolding you,because of their weight,just let it in one ear and out the other
Often,at least my vet,will say the cat is overweight and then try to sell you their Hills or Medi-Cal food,luckily many people are now better informed.
My vet wants ALL cats to weigh 12lbs but cats are different,just like people,some are bigboned some are dainty.
My Rocky used to weigh 16lbs and was never fat,his paws are twice the size of my other cats,now he is down to 12lb's because of Hyperthyroidism and definetly looks and feels skinny.:sad:
As for free-feeding,it's the same,some cats will pig out,others,like mine won't.
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old May 12th, 2007, 08:16 AM
Kristin7's Avatar
Kristin7 Kristin7 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: US
Posts: 857
Yeah, she makes me feel bad, and because I want them to be as healthy as possible I feel guilty. However, they are not starving. And no way am I going to feed some Rx diet food! Micki is rather inactive and only picks away at her food, so she gets multiple chances to eat it all while I'm home. Annie is the trouble. Honestly, I have been trying to mix in grain-free high protein kibble and before the recall was experimenting with different wet foods. It is just hard with her because of her puking problem. I am very interested in learning more about raw feeding and trying that out, however, I fully expect Annie to puke some of that up too. It is really not fun to watch or clean up after. I think part of it is because of her fast eating, and part is that she has some food sensitivities.
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old May 12th, 2007, 04:35 PM
Maya's Avatar
Maya Maya is offline
Queen
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 845
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kristen7
Annie eats everything in sight and fast, she would eat so fast she would throw up sometimes.
This sounds to me like a "starving" binging cycle. I didn't say you were actually starving your cats, I was explaining how binging and slowed metabolism are usually caused by food restrictions either past or present. Annie does look healthy and I wouldn't be concerned about a little extra weight. Looks can be deceiving though becaused my kitty looked quite well till he was about 15 and he was mostley eating Medi-cal dry. The fast eating could also have to do with the food intolerance, that can cause less absorbtion of nutrients in the gut leading to excessive hunger.
__________________
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~Voltaire

Last edited by Maya; May 12th, 2007 at 04:39 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #46  
Old May 12th, 2007, 04:47 PM
Rottielover Rottielover is offline
Rottie owner and lover
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,799
My 15 lbs cat gets only 1/2 a cup a food a day with natural balance, He eats in the morning, and by lunch it is gone.
Works well for him. But the only activity this lazy bum gets, is, playing with the dog, LOL
He is not overweight at all, just a huge cat, LOL
Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old May 14th, 2007, 08:57 AM
Scary's Avatar
Scary Scary is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Oakville, Ontario Canada
Posts: 114
Thumbs up Hooray!!!

I posted this last week:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scary View Post
Luna likes wet food and gets very excited when she knows its coming... but if its not a Nutro one that she's had for years, she sniffs, maybe tastes, and always walks away. I have tried about 4-5 grain free kinds so far with no luck... would love to find one and will try a couple more.
On Friday night we had a breakthrough - Luna will eat Wellness's grain-free chicken flavor pate! She ate all of the offered 1/2 a small can Friday night, and gobbled the second 1/2 can last night - licked the bowl clean! I'm so relieved... now I just need to determine how often to feed it.
The very informed store rep where I shop feels kibble alone is just fine, especially when feeding EVO or Origen (feeds his own cats EVO dry only). So I'm still unsure about how much wet to give her - but at least the 'what' is answered, if not the 'when' part.

I have two other wet foods to try too, so maybe we'll luck out on a second flavor and she'll get some variety yet! Thanks to all that helped.
__________________
Pet-parent to my sole charge 'Luna' - a six year old black cat.
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old May 14th, 2007, 11:26 AM
Kristin7's Avatar
Kristin7 Kristin7 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: US
Posts: 857
Hmmm... a few posts here, not just yours, do mention at 1/2c per day, my cat is probably starving and that this is not enough for an active cat. Looking at what some others are feeding theirs, I'm not sure mine are any more deprived than other's cats. Several do feed theirs 1/2c per day. And now you say it sounds to you like she is on a starving/binging cycle. fyi - she has always eaten fast, including when she was free fed. That is just how she is. She is a very enthusiastic and loving cat, and does everything with gusto. Likewise, Micki eats really slow and is overall a more slow moving, low-key cat. I believe the puking had more to do with her food sensitivities, because when she is on a brand that is right for her, she still eats fast, but does not puke. She doesn't seem to be hungry other than at mealtimes, but of course, if I were to give her several 1/2c meals per day, no doubt she could easily polish more than her usual rations off. Though she would not eat and eat until she explodes, she would gain weight. I think her weight is ok now, but I worry about her gaining more. Her food sensitivity issue has made it more difficult for me to incorporate wet and raw food into her diet, though I plan to keep trying. Unfortunately, I can't remember the one brand of wet food we tried that she seemed tolerant of...

One thing I do like about having feeding times, is that when one of them is not feeling well and is 'off' their food a bit, I can easily tell. Like last summer, I realized Annie was not feeling well because she actually left a few pieces of food in her bowl...
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:55 AM.