Originally Posted by zoeysmom
The poster has stated that he/she wants his/her cat to eat dry. He/she knows that there are benefits of wet food, but would like to feed dry, for whatever reason. I think that should be his/her choice. It's not like the cat is being fed arsenic - or even the lowest quality food possible (no, SD is not the best, as has already been stated). Telling a pet owner what to feed their pet is sort of like telling a parent what to feed their child. You won't go into a McDonalds and tell a parent to order them a salad, would you?
Yes, the OP asked for advice. But, he/she asked for advice on how to switch a cat from wet to dry. I think informing the poster that there are benefits to wet is fine, as is letting them know that SD is not the greatest food in the world. But telling the poster what he/she should be feeding their cat and judging him/her for making an decision that does not agree with your opinion seems unfair.
Sorry, I don't have any advice on weaning a cat off wet food. I can't get mine to eat more than a few nibbles of wet!
I had to go back and re-read each post to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I could not find any post where someone told the OP what to feed his cat. I did, however, see plenty of posts indicating that wet food was a better diet than all dry food. That was given as information and advice which is what this forum is all about.Originally Posted by zoeysmom
Violet, you put that very fairly!
If the cat was switched to wet food on suggestion by a vet, than it seems sensible to me that the vet should be consulted before switching back to dry food! Perhaps the cat will need to stay on wet food to prevent constipation, or perhaps they can find other ways to manage the constipation (laxative, increased water intake, a certain kind of dry food). While I don't think WE have the right to tell someone what food to feed their cat, I do think that the VET does.
For the record, I am trying to feed my cats both wet and dry. Wet because I know there are benefits, but dry because I can't be home to feed them as often as needed. Wet also costs a lot more. Also, I want the cats eating kibble to make it easier to go on vacations (I can leave kibble out for them, but I can't have someone come and feed them wet 2-3 times a day if that's all they are eating). Getting them to eat enough wet is a whole other issue.
My point is that I can see both sides of the "argument." If I was home all day and didn't ever expect to leave them alone for a weekend, I would probably put them on an all wet diet. That said, I can completely understand a person wanting to wean their cat off wet if they refuse to eat dry food. For most people, convenience and cost MUST be a consideration. I know that if cats were cared for only by people who were able/willing to feed the highest quality wet food, at the cost of convenience and financial feasibility, there would be a lot more cats without homes.
You are correct in suggesting a vet needs to be the one to advise this person since the cat has already had medical issues.
I think it is important that we read posts carefully and try not to put our own interpretations on responses.