Is Dry Food Necessary?

hleeeex3

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Hi everyone!

Just had a quick question... Is dry food really necessary? My cat has been coughing up hairballs once a week and I'm thinking about just eliminating dry food and giving her wet. I give her a full can of wet food everyday (3 oz) and a little under a 1/4 scoop of dry. The vet was saying she could possibly have a food allergy, but doesn't really show the symptoms (we give her mainly chicken). I've ordered laxatone and I'm hoping it helps with hairballs, but was wondering if an all wet food diet would help as well. Also, is it a myth that dry food helps with cats teeth? :lol:
 

Furballsmom

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It's a myth regarding dry food and their teeth, and no, dry food isn't necessary. You could, along with increasing the wet food amount and using an adult cat body chart so you know if she's at her correct weight, try different proteins including the novel ones like rabbit etc, and see if the hairballs slow down. You're brushing her a lot?
 

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The vet I had for years, who is now retired, used to tell me the worst canned food is better than the best dry food. In other words, he was not an advocate of dry food an didn't feel it was good no matter what the brand.

If your cat is throwing up hairballs perhaps you need to brush him or her out. I usually brush mine out several times a week. Throwing up hair really doesn't have any thing to do with the food you are giving. Particularly this time of year they are starting to shed.
 
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hleeeex3

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It's a myth regarding dry food and their teeth, and no, dry food isn't necessary. You could, along with increasing the wet food amount and using an adult cat body chart so you know if she's at her correct weight, try different proteins including the novel ones like rabbit etc, and see if the hairballs slow down. You're brushing her a lot?
Hi there! Thanks for the reply. I bought some rabbit and duck wet food yesterday! I want to brush her so bad, but she hatesss getting brushed. She always swats at the comb!
 

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Good for you! What about one of those shedding mitts? She might tolerate that better, and as time goes on sneak in the comb or brush. If your air is dry, maybe use a damp paper towel to keep her fur a little bit damp to try and avoid static shocks.
 
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hleeeex3

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The vet I had for years, who is now retired, used to tell me the worst canned food is better than the best dry food. In other words, he was not an advocate of dry food an didn't feel it was good no matter what the brand.

If your cat is throwing up hairballs perhaps you need to brush him or her out. I usually brush mine out several times a week. Throwing up hair really doesn't have any thing to do with the food you are giving. Particularly this time of year they are starting to shed.
Thank you for the reply! I'm definitely going to just try putting her on an all wet diet and see if that helps. I thought she would shed more during the winter because she definitely didn't throw up this much during the summer. I'm going to see if I can start brushing her, but she hates it so much :(
 
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hleeeex3

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Good for you! What about one of those shedding mitts? She might tolerate that better, and as time goes on sneak in the comb or brush. If your air is dry, maybe use a damp paper towel to keep her fur a little bit damp to try and avoid static shocks.
I have the shedding mitt and a furminator! She's so sassy that I only get to brush her a little when she's sleeping :lol: But, I'll definitely try brushing her more often!
 

MissMolly08

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Nope, dry food is not necessary.
I recently switched my cat to an all wet diet and her hair is SO much healthier! She used to shed like crazy and cough up some pretty gross hairballs at least a few times a month! Since making the switch to all wet, her shedding is down to almost nothing and I haven't seen a hairball in at least 10 weeks.
 

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I know, I've had cats who didn't like being brushed much but I usually told them "too bad! It's for your own good" HA! I used a flea comb and still do because I think it gets out more hair.
Maybe offer her some treats when you groom and she might associate it with a pleasant experience.
 

Furballsmom

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I only get to brush her a little when she's sleeping :lol:
That's how I had to start things with my Big Guy - apparently his former owner never did and I'll admit he looked pretty rough when he came home to this house. It took a while but he's now to the point he actually seems to like it. Hang in there, it sounds like you're an awesome cat person!!
 

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It took me about 2 months to get my cat to like brushing, now he wants to be brushed all the time :kneading: I took it slowly, brushed him when he was relaxed and calm, limiting sessions to only few minutes at a time at first, bribed him with treats. Alternating brush strokes with pets also seemed to work. I really like Kong Zoom Groom brush, it gets a TON of hair out.
 
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hleeeex3

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It took me about 2 months to get my cat to like brushing, now he wants to be brushed all the time :kneading: I took it slowly, brushed him when he was relaxed and calm, limiting sessions to only few minutes at a time at first, bribed him with treats. Alternating brush strokes with pets also seemed to work. I really like Kong Zoom Groom brush, it gets a TON of hair out.
I'll have to try that :) Oooo I'll look into the Kong Zoom Groom! Thanks!
 

xcourtney3

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I know you feed mostly chicken, but look at hidden common ingredients. My cat was vomiting hairballs frequently, even on canned food, and it turned out he can't tolerate unnamed fish (fish meal, fish, ocean fish, etc) or carrots
 

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Whether dry food is required in a cat's diet or not depends on how much work you want to put into their food prep. Dry food is mostly a convenience for the owner. It has the risk of containing mold or bacteria if it sits too long ESPECIALLY today's dry foods that contain so much more fat. The foods are very much different than they were 20 years ago. I used to keep track of the diets of all the cats all over the world who reached 28 and over (yes there used to be 30 year old plus cats). Nearly all had one diet in common - cooked sausage and a small amount of Purina Cat Chow. None became overweight, all were quite healthy right up to the last few months. None were show cats.

Why did this work? No idea, I'm not a cat nutritionist. I was just always amazed as a kid and young adult because our cats didn't seem to live past 7 years old. Of course, later on we found out it was because of feline leukemia and in fact, they lived much longer than most cats with the disease, probably because of their good care.
 
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