Feeding My Girl Luna Orijen And Wet Food?

[wildtrax22]

Hi all,

I'm new here and I just adopted a wonderful cat yesterday. I haven't had a cat in over 8 years, but we have two other boys here and they belong to my roommates, still getting used to each other in the house. Anyway I really want to feed Luna the best of the best, so I bought Orijen from work, I work at this pet food place at a cat adoption center so I get a discount, and it's super helpful in keeping the costs down because orijen is pricey.

Now my question is, I've been doing research on nutrition and found out that cats really need to have wet food in their diets due to hydration issues. It appears that a lot of dogs and cats have "kidney and liver issues" due to inadequate hydration so I bought blue buffalo wet food to mix or give to her. Should I mix it with her food, or give it to her in the evening, since Orijen is packed with "High Protein" wouldn't that be even more protein in her diet with the wet food? and then I also saw the whole thing on carageenan, and how it should be avoided altogether. I haven't tried giving Luna any wet food yet but I'm sure she had some in the shelter.

Anyway she's around 2 or 3 and she loves Orijen, she's such a small little thing. 8 lbs.

thanks guys!

~Kendall

 

[duckpond]

Pretty little girl!

I feed both wet and dry, i do not mix them as dry food that is wet will grow a lot of bacteria, very quickly.

I feed a variety of wet foods, and Dr. Elseys dry. I have used Orijen, my guys like it but one over ate with it and got to heavy, the reason for the change.

Try different wet foods, different proteins, different brands and different textures, find a few she likes and feed those. I feed two wet meals per day, and leave out dry. some only feed wet, some of us do both. You can feed meals if you prefer, with wet and or dry, i just dont recommend mixing them together in the same bowl. I do think its better for cats to get the majority of their calories from wet food. Then use dry to fill in.

I try not to feed foods with carageenan, but some dont see it as a problem. I think its still kind of unknown. If you have the food i would feed it, but maybe try to look for some wet that is carageenan free. I feed a lot of Tiki cat, some Almo nature, some of the Nulo minced only as it does not have carageenan. I think Wellness has also taken the Carageenan out of their foods. And a lot of cats love fancey feast classics.

I have some that like pate, some that prefer minced, and some that like shreds.

Enjoy your girl. and i have put up a few links that i like to look up cat food at.

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!
What a darling doll baby!!
I don't know the scientific points of whether doubling up on high protein foods is a problem. If you haven't, you might try a consult with Dr Lisa Pierson catinfo . org or with a nutritionist through the American veterinary medical association.

duckpond is right, as always. Having multiple brands on the rotational menu, in my opinion, helps the feline system to better deal with bad additives and bad ingredients. It can be challenging to avoid all of the problems in commercial foods, even some commercial raw has issues.
Here's one more database if you haven't seen it
Pet Food Guide

 

[mizzely]

Well if you feed 50% of a food with 42% protein and 50% with 35% protein, your cat will still only be eating about 38.5% protein. It doesn't "double up", it adjusts based on the amounts you feed.

Plus, as obligate carnivores, cats do need a lot of protein, some fat, and little carbs. Orijen is about 20% carbs which is better than many of the dry foods on the market.

I currently feed mostly canned food and then a little dry before bedtime.

She's gorgeous

 

[2BSH]

In my opinion and based on how cats eat in the wild, wet food is definitely a more species appropriate diet. A cat is an obligate carnivore and its whole body is designed to obtain its nutrients and MOISTURE from meat, organs etc and not from DRY carbohydrate heavy processed kibble. Most though not all dry food is too rich in carbs and lacks much needed moisture for a cat and can lead to multiple health problems. Check out www.catinfo.org. It explains feline nutrition quite well. Just my 2 cents.

 

[2BSH]

Oh and your kitty is adorable. And hello,thank you for being a caring cat owner!

 

[Azazel]

Everyone already gave you great advice. Just wanted to add that Orijen is actually not that high in protein. The values on the label are on a wet matter basis and appear to be higher than they are. It is only high in protein and low in carbs compared to other dry foods, but that’s not saying much since most dry foods are low in protein. I feed all wet (raw mostly) and personally recommend a no dry diet.

 

[wildtrax22]

ah wow guys! Thank you so much for your great responses. I'll try feeding her wet food along with Orijen but not mixed together. This cat is really not a picky eater, she can be picked up just fine without struggle, she loves her belly rubbed and she doesn't mind my face in her face, we snuggle a lot. <3

 

[psychomama]

ah wow guys! Thank you so much for your great responses. I'll try feeding her wet food along with Orijen but not mixed together. This cat is really not a picky eater, she can be picked up just fine without struggle, she loves her belly rubbed and she doesn't mind my face in her face, we snuggle a lot. <3

I fed Orijen fir 3 years until they changed the formula which did not agree with Psycho. I feed 2 wet meals a day morning and evening and 3 T of Young Again kibble which is 1 % carbs. My Vet told me to feed him the highest amount of protein possible. Dr Lisa Pierson is ok with this kibble if you have to feed it.