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All those preachylittle links are lovely, but they don't address the thread topic: The OP's cats won't touch wet food. Plopping down a hunk of Fancy Feast and saying "This is better for you, Cleo" isn't going to cut it.
We got tired of trying to convince our cats to eat wet food. They wouldn't do it. So instead, we now buy them the best dry food we can afford (Blue Buffalo Wilderness and their new favorite, Halo Spot's Stew), and station water bowls in multiple locations throughout the house. When the water bowl needs refreshing, we hear about it.
Would I prefer they eat wet food? Sure. But they don't.
All those preachylittle links are lovely, but they don't address the thread topic: The OP's cats won't touch wet food. Plopping down a hunk of Fancy Feast and saying "This is better for you, Cleo" isn't going to cut it.
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Um the thread topic happens to be "Is ONLY dry food ok?"
The "preachylittle" links (Veterinarian sites) happen to ANSWER that question.
Quote:
We got tired of trying to convince our cats to eat wet food.
Would I prefer they eat wet food? Sure. But they don't
If the OP wants answer to their question, I suggest they take the time to read the linked information or pick up a book about felines as it's the SAME information which the (linked) veterinarians provide.
Sorry that you got tired of trying, but there is nothing "preachy" about stating facts such as
-Obligate carnivore
-Natural low thirst drive
-Jaws don't rotate
-NO teeth which grind , ect.
Jasper eats Royal Canin dry food, it is very high in protien, he is not fat. His problem is that he loves to drink out of the toilet bowl, he has fresh water...oh well...no kisses for him. At least he is not dehydrated. He has a large fresh bowl of water, nope, off to the potty bowl...go figure it.
Our one cat won't eat wet food unless it's mixed with dry food. However, he prefers to eat just regular dry food. He just *tolerates* the wet food in his dry mix. Our other cat...well...let's just say he eats everything. He finds random crumbs behind the fridge that God wouldn't be able to figure were ever there. He eats the dog's food when the dog is not looking or is taking a drink of water. He got in trouble last night when we came back from dinner, found him inside our cupboard (NO clue how he opened it), with his head inside a bag of Milkbone dog treats.
So this morning I fed them both wet food (wet & dry for the little cat) and now Des (the eater) is sitting here like "where is more?" Guess I'll buy more wet for him so he stays out of the dog's biscuits!
Jasper is also a dry food only addict. I try to feed him wet, but he does not like it, he only licks the gravy. So, I add water to it, and he licks it all off, leaves the chunks behind. He always has fresh water.
Blackjack does the same thing. Licks the gravy but prefers dry food. He does like to drink water though.
Some of the info suggest most cats will be more interested in the cheaper, lower-quality cans. Mine was never like that; she never liked Fancy Feast at all for example. Also, she wouldn't touch anything that was in the pate sort of form, all ground up and smooth. I did find that she would eat some chunkier stuff. So you might test that if you haven't before. And my cat is not a fan of gravy-based cans, which is the reverse of normal from what I can tell. Those are some variables you might test if you haven't looked at it that precisely before.
The only canned food we now buy for our three cats is Purina Friskie's. It's not the cheapest but it's the only one with no waste. They clean their bowls. We tried more expensive brands and end up feeding it to the coons and possums. They only nibble it, then try and bury it or it dries up in the bowls. One cost over $1 a can and they left all the veggies and what looked like cooked potatoes or globs of fat. They wont eat the Pate either, only the shreds or chunked or "bits" food. All three hate tuna or mixes with tuna.
Odd.. it's like all three have one mind where it comes to food. All go crazy over their dry kibble bedtime snack.
Oh, they will no longer eat any raw food or baked chicken or scrambled eggs. So far their teeth still look white and clean and gums healthy.
Blackjack does the same thing. Licks the gravy but prefers dry food. He does like to drink water though.
I think drinking water is the crux of the matter. I keep a huge bowl of water out for Willy, changed often. I can tell he drinks a lot of it by the contents of his litter box.
Jasper eats Royal Canin dry food, it is very high in protien, he is not fat. His problem is that he loves to drink out of the toilet bowl, he has fresh water...oh well...no kisses for him. At least he is not dehydrated. He has a large fresh bowl of water, nope, off to the potty bowl...go figure it.
Mine is that way, too. We have to leave the lid to the toilet bowl down, otherwise he will drink out of it.
I used to keep the lid down, but I figure this way he will always drink water, and not get dehydrated. He gets cranky if he can't drink from his "giant bowl". Whatever.
My 16+ year old cat is in good health, has eaten dry food all his life and absolutely refuses to eat wet food. I can put Starkist tuna down next to dry food and he'll go for the dry food. It is Hill's Prescription Diet dry food from the vet, and he just loves it. He may be an "obligate carnivore", but he doesn't know it. I don't want to get into an argument with anyone here.
There are always exceptions. Everyone in my family who smoked died with some kind of serious lung disease that ruined their quality of life in time... yet my mother, a chain smoker, lived to the age of 90 with only mild emphysema. 100 cats may suffer from an all-dry diet but there is always that 101st cat who somehow adapts to the unnatural diet and lives a long disease free life.
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So far their teeth still look white and clean and gums healthy.
