Cat is not wanting to eat his dry food after I started feeding him a good wet food

Forry

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I have had my cat for 3 three weeks,he is approximately one or two years old. For the first couple of weeks I feed him only Purina Beyond white meat chicken and egg dry food and he loved it.So for the about the last seven days I've been adding some wet food to his diet.I've been giving him Wellness Chicken Entree a few times a week and Purina Beyond wet food the rest of the time.In the morning and afternoon he gets the dry food and for dinner he gets the wet food and a snack of dry food before bed.Now he's not really that interested in his dry food.since I started adding the wet food to his diet, its like he's just waiting for that.im trying to work on a regular eating schedule, but it seems to be difficult with him.can anyone give me advice on this?thank you very much.
 
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Forry

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Thank you for your reply. I realize that dry food is not the easiest thing for him to digest,but if I cut out the dry food,I probably would not be able to feed him a decent quality wet food everyday such as Wellness. Could you recommend a decent quality wet food that's not really expensive. It's really only because of the dry food being cheap that I can afford to give him Wellness and better quality wet foods.if I were to switch to a completely wet food diet, I would have to settle for cheaper wet food.
 

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F Forry , as I don't feed a commercial diet, I'm not the right person to offer advice on the best high-value and high-quality canned food, but I'm sure there are forum members who can offer suggestions for you.

At a price of over $7.60 per pound, Wellness canned food in not inexpensive. I understand.

I don't spend even half that amount on a per pound basis on a fresh or fresh/frozen balanced diet, so there are alternatives out there.

I do think it is important to factor in the high cost of veterinary care for issues such as UTIs, kidney disease, crystal formations, and urinary blockages that are strongly linked with feeding dry food as a potential future cost. In addition to considering the health issues that are linked to obesity that often come along with feeding high-carbohydrate diets to obligate carnivores.

Vet bills can get very expensive, very quickly.

Bill
 
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Forry

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Thank you, that's a really good point about the problems that can arise from feeding dry food.I'm still researching the options, thank you again.
 

Box of Rain

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Thank you, that's a really good point about the problems that can arise from feeding dry food.I'm still researching the options, thank you again.
If you dare (as it can be disconcerting) read through the back sections of this forum that relate to Cat Health, and the excellent articles here on Cat Nutrition, plus articles that abound elsewhere on the links between dehydration and high-carb diets and common cat illnesses and I think the risks (to both your cat's health and your pocketbook) might make a strong counter-argument to the economics of feeding dry food.

Having a cat that prefers eating moisture rich-food to eating dry food puts you in a good place to start.

Best wishes to you as you sort your options!

Bill
 

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Agreed with all of the above that it's best to cut out dry food altogether - it's great that your cat prefers wet food as the struggle for some people can be that their cats are hooked on the texture of kibble.

I've heard that even cheap wet food is better than expensive dry food because getting moisture from food is so essential for cats and many cats are chronically dehydrated. They do not drink enough water outside of their food to properly hydrate themselves.

Fancy Feast pates are a less expensive option of wet food that is still decent in terms of nutrition and quality. If you're willing to consider going raw, a homemade, complete raw diet will also be less expensive than canned wet food.
 

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There was a recent thread on affordable canned foods: What are some good affordable foods?

There's nothing wrong with feeding Fancy Feast or Friskies or store equivalent brand. Many cats will eat those brands and stores often have food sales that include those brands. Petsmart and Petco have their own store brand(s) that are similar to Fancy Feast.

The 3 oz cans of Fancy Feast and other brands are maybe 1 meal for a cat so you'd need to feed at least two, maybe more, to meet the cat's calorie needs for a day. Buying 5.5 oz cans or larger is better since each can is almost a whole day's worth of calories for a cat.

Pate foods give you the most food for your money. Cats love gravy / sauce based foods but they pretty much just the liquid with very little actual food. Add water to pate food to make "gravy". The occasional gravy / sauce based food is ok.
 
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Forry

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Agreed with all of the above that it's best to cut out dry food altogether - it's great that your cat prefers wet food as the struggle for some people can be that their cats are hooked on the texture of kibble.

I've heard that even cheap wet food is better than expensive dry food because getting moisture from food is so essential for cats and many cats are chronically dehydrated. They do not drink enough water outside of their food to properly hydrate themselves.

Fancy Feast pates are a less expensive option of wet food that is still decent in terms of nutrition and quality. If you're willing to consider going raw, a homemade, complete raw diet will also be less expensive than canned wet food.
Thanks! That's good to know about Fancy Feast. I'm not really sure what a raw cat diet is, but I will check it out.Thank you very much!
 

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I'm not really sure what a raw cat diet is, but I will check it out.Thank you very much!

It's feeding a cat raw meat which is what a cat would eat in the wild :) There are commercial brands of raw cat food one can buy at pet stores. Some people prefer to make their own food using raw meat of their choice and supplements. There's a forum here on TCS with more info on raw and home cooked diets.
 

Astragal14

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A technician at our vet's office always says, "the worst wet food is better than the best dry food". It's great that your cat loves wet food so much! One of my cats was addicted to dry food when we adopted her and it's still an occasional struggle to get her to eat wet food.

Here is a small list of foods that are a good balance between affordable and healthy, but there are many, many more!

Petco's own brand is Whole Hearted and it's a good value for the money. This chicken in gravy is $0.22/oz.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...d---grain-free-chicken-recipe-flaked-in-gravy

Fancy Feast also has some pretty decent foods, just be sure to read the ingredient list. Their Gourmet Naturals line is a good option, it's $0.31/oz.
FANCY FEAST Gourmet Naturals White Meat Chicken Recipe Pate Canned Cat Food, 3-oz, case of 12 - Chewy.com

One option is to look for brands that offer larger cans, you can find 10 oz and 12.5 oz cans, but you need to be sure your cat likes them first! They offer significant cost savings over 3 oz and 5.5 oz cans.

Nulo offers 12.5 oz cans and has very good ingredients, but several of their flavors have fish in them - even when fish is not mentioned in the name (yes, Turkey & Chicken pâté has tuna). They also have an exclusive line at PetSmart, their Medal Series line, so you can probably find some sales and coupons. These cans are $0.28/oz.
NULO Freestyle Turkey & Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Canned Cat & Kitten Food, 5.5-oz, case of 24 - Chewy.com
Nulo MedalSeries All Life Stages Wet Cat Food - Grain Free, No Corn, Wheat & Soy, 12.5 Oz. | cat Wet Food | PetSmart

Weruva also offers 10 oz cans in some flavors of their Cats in the Kitchen line. But they sometimes use a lot of gums and also hide fish in their flavors, so be sure to read the ingredient lists for these as well. Cats in the Kitchen is $0.31/oz
WERUVA Cats in the Kitchen Chicken Frick 'A Zee Chicken Recipe Au Jus Grain-Free Canned Cat Food, 10-oz, case of 12 - Chewy.com

Petco also has Soulistic, which is made by Weruva exclusively for Petco. They also offer 10 oz cans in many flavors.They use similar recipes to Weruva, so check the ingredients for too many gums and fish. These are $0.35/oz.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...chicken-dinner-adult-canned-cat-food-in-gravy
 
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chelsmarie

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For my cat’s larger (3 oz) morning meal, I cut costs by feeding her more economical wet food brands like Fancy Feast, Tiny Tiger and Purina One. For her evening meal, she eats half a can of next tier wet food, like Merrick or American Journey. I add water to both feedings. While I’m at work, she gets a tablespoon or so of Tiki Cat dry and a touch before bed. The Tiki Cat is expensive outright but high in calories so it lasts a long time. I only feed her the dry because I can’t feed her wet during the day (not interested in auto feeders).
 

Robyn5678

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I feed a mix of high end and less expensive. I use fancy feast classic, Koha, I and love and you, and tiki cat. They also love friskies so I give them a can of that here and there.

I choose to feed all wet food and while that may be more expensive, consider this. My parents paid over $10,000 in vet bills for their male cat, before the age of 2, due to urinary issues and surgery because he only ate dry food.
 
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Forry

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It's feeding a cat raw meat which is what a cat would eat in the wild :) There are commercial brands of raw cat food one can buy at pet stores. Some people prefer to make their own food using raw meat of their choice and supplements. There's a forum here on TCS with more info on raw and home cooked diets.
Thank you,yes a raw diet sounds like it would probably be best for cats.I will look into raw cat food at petsmart, thank you Very much 😊
 
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Forry

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A technician at our vet's office always says, "the worst wet food is better than the best dry food". It's great that your cat loves wet food so much! One of my cats was addicted to dry food when we adopted her and it's still an occasional struggle to get her to eat wet food.

Here is a small list of foods that are a good balance between affordable and healthy, but there are many, many more!

Petco's own brand is Whole Hearted and it's a good value for the money. This chicken in gravy is $0.22/oz.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...d---grain-free-chicken-recipe-flaked-in-gravy

Fancy Feast also has some pretty decent foods, just be sure to read the ingredient list. Their Gourmet Naturals line is a good option, it's $0.31/oz.
FANCY FEAST Gourmet Naturals White Meat Chicken Recipe Pate Canned Cat Food, 3-oz, case of 12 - Chewy.com

One option is to look for brands that offer larger cans, you can find 10 oz and 12.5 oz cans, but you need to be sure your cat likes them first! They offer significant cost savings over 3 oz and 5.5 oz cans.

Nulo offers 12.5 oz cans and has very good ingredients, but several of their flavors have fish in them - even when fish is not mentioned in the name (yes, Turkey & Chicken pâté has tuna). They also have an exclusive line at PetSmart, their Medal Series line, so you can probably find some sales and coupons. These cans are $0.28/oz.
NULO Freestyle Turkey & Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Canned Cat & Kitten Food, 5.5-oz, case of 24 - Chewy.com
Nulo MedalSeries All Life Stages Wet Cat Food - Grain Free, No Corn, Wheat & Soy, 12.5 Oz. | cat Wet Food | PetSmart

Weruva also offers 10 oz cans in some flavors of their Cats in the Kitchen line. But they sometimes use a lot of gums and also hide fish in their flavors, so be sure to read the ingredient lists for these as well. Cats in the Kitchen is $0.31/oz
WERUVA Cats in the Kitchen Chicken Frick 'A Zee Chicken Recipe Au Jus Grain-Free Canned Cat Food, 10-oz, case of 12 - Chewy.com

Petco also has Soulistic, which is made by Weruva exclusively for Petco. They also offer 10 oz cans in many flavors.They use similar recipes to Weruva, so check the ingredients for too many gums and fish. These are $0.35/oz.
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...chicken-dinner-adult-canned-cat-food-in-gravy

Thank you! That's really great information about Fancy Feast Gourmet Naturals and Nulo also. So are you saying that fish being included in the food is a bad thing? I'll check out all of your recommendations. Thanks again!
 
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Forry

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I feed a mix of high end and less expensive. I use fancy feast classic, Koha, I and love and you, and tiki cat. They also love friskies so I give them a can of that here and there.

I choose to feed all wet food and while that may be more expensive, consider this. My parents paid over $10,000 in vet bills for their male cat, before the age of 2, due to urinary issues and surgery because he only ate dry food.
Thank you! Yes, the feeding plan you use sounds like something I could probably do.A mixture of less expensive and higher quality wet foods.Thank you for the reply!
 
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