Average Time For A Cat To Transition From Dry To Wet..

xenathecrazy

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Is there an average time frame in which a dry food kitten can be transitioned to wet food? I have a 4 month old kitten that has been on dry food (Royal Canin kitten) since about 5 weeks olds. I have only had him about 3 weeks now. He is still on the RC kitten dry but I have been introducing various wet foods. The good news is that he loves wet food and prefers it to dry so he's not a kibble addict yet. He still grazes on the kibble throughout the day. The bad news is that it has softened his poop. Not to the point of diarrhea but soft enough to keep his bum a little dirty. I understand that it will take time for his body to adjust because wet and dry are very different, but about how long do you give a food to see if it will work? Since he's on RC dry, I decided to get some RC babycat soft mousse and some of the kitten loaf canned foods to see how he does on those. I know they aren't the best ingredients but it's the same company as the dry he is used to. I wouldn't keep him on something that clearly isn't sitting well but I understand about transitional digestive issues.
 

Daisy6

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These are good questions. Thne RC wet idea makes sense, but it does not have to be that simple. Cats often do switch brands at the same time they switch textures without any problems. If you want to feed him a higher quailty wet food (which is highly recommended), now is the ideal time to do that.

Are you sure the softer poop is from the fact his new food is wet? Ingredients in it could cause that because wet and dry versions of foods with the same name have very different recipes. I figured this out after noticing Daisy, who prefers wet food to kibbles, likes dry Blue Wilderness Chicken but not wet Blue Wilderness chicken. So it is not as simple as the higher water intake.

BTW what is your new kitten's name? Is she black like Xena?
 
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xenathecrazy

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My new kitten is the one in the picture. He’s a pure Maine Coon and his name is Oliver. We call him Ollie for short.

The only changes I have made to his diet since I brought him home was adding wet food and that’s when the poop changed. Some flavors such as turkey were worse but also some types of Friskies or Fancy Feast. I’m trying to find which brands he eats quickly when served and likes. I’ve tried a few brands, textures, and flavors. I’ve read that most cats can switch wet foods easily vs dry being more troublesome and require a transition. He doesn’t appear to be too picky on texture and he’s only really not liked the 4Health brand. He ate but very reluctantly and it took him awhile to finish, if he even finished. The others he finished quickly when served.
 
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xenathecrazy

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Yesterday his food was the new RC wet babycat mousse and he didn’t have poopybutt issues with that one for once. So I’m going to feed him that and their other kitten canned formula for another day or two and see how it goes. I’ve been trying to feed the same flavor for at least 2 days to see how he reacts to them.
 

Daisy6

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The problem with transitioning from dry to wet is cats need to learn to wet food is cat food. This is why I hate it when cats become kibble addicts. So Oliver is better than many other cats by being willing to eat almost any kind of wet food.
 

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Glad you found something that is working better! I’ll include my 2 cents in case it’s useful, but it’s always great to find a food they like and that is agreeing with them!

I’m not sure if there is an average time, but he should stable out when feeding the same wet food for a week or two? Some cats have finicky stomachs and may not transition between brands or proteins, and some do great.

Trin, who is 10 years old and always had a sensitive stomach, had terrible chronic diarrhea after feeding him chicken wet food from dry. We switched him back when it didn’t stabilize but he didn’t improve. That led us to the vet and an IBD diagnosis. So I say use your judgement in whether it could be the food change, he might not digest certain proteins as well as others (like you already mentioned with the turkey). But if you are worried that it’s not quite relating to the food, a quick Vet visit would make sure there is no underlying issue.
 

maggiedemi

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When you added the canned food, did you cut back on the dry food a little bit? Do you measure the dry food?
 
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xenathecrazy

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When you added the canned food, did you cut back on the dry food a little bit? Do you measure the dry food?
He gets about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of dry food that sits out all day for whenever he wants and he gets about 3 wet meals daily which is usually a 5oz can split into 3 meals. He doesn't overeat dry food though so I didn't really cut back.
 

Daisy6

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I have found 1/2 cup sitting out all day is too much because it gets stale if the cat pigs out on wet food. Someday I will go back to only serving 1/4 cup at a time.
 
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xenathecrazy

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I count myself lucky that he's taken to wet food so easily. All cats need good hydration but him being male and their tendencies to get UTI, I really want to make sure that he gets water and wet food. I add extra water to all his wet meals.
 

Daisy6

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You are on the right track Xena. Yes, tomcats do have a higher risk of UTIs, but if fed only kibbles, it can also happen to queens. Actually, the problem is not gender specific for just getting bacteria and peeing outside the litterbox. It leans to males when crystals form in a long urethra that was narrowed during neutering.
 
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