I Want To Stop Giving Dry Food

GGG

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Hello,
I'm trying to stop giving Skye dry food or at least during the day and just leave out a little kibble at night time because the older she gets the more she likes it. She's 9 months old now and very healthy.
I am having trouble accomplishing that, many times she won't touch the wet food and meaws for dry... and I really really feel bad. Vet says it's okay to give wet food once or twice during the week as a treat, she drinking water.
Can you please give me some advice?
Thank you
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Maybe try mixing a little bit of wet with the dry? If she will eat it that way, you could little by little add more wet food over time. And, as you said, leave the dry for night, when it would not be good to have wet sitting out for that many hours.
 
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GGG

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Hi. Maybe try mixing a little bit of wet with the dry? If she will eat it that way, you could little by little add more wet food over time. And, as you said, leave the dry for night, when it would not be good to have wet sitting out for that many hours.
Thank you for your reply.
I've been doing that for a couple of weeks and now she works eat the dry if mix with the wet and I know it's not good to leave wet out for a long time.
I decide to stop the dry because I'm afraid she'll stop eating wet food completely.... because she loves dry so much
 

verna davies

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One of mine prefers dry so I put small amount of wet (about a tablespoon) next to a bowl of dry. He dips into the wet, then dry, then wet etc. All the time I talk to him and tap the wet bowl. Once he has had enough I remove bith bowls. This is the only way it works. Time consuming but after a period of time I dont need to coax him. Dont give up, yours will eat wet if she is hungry enough and no dry is available.
 
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GGG

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One of mine prefers dry so I put small amount of wet (about a tablespoon) next to a bowl of dry. He dips into the wet, then dry, then wet etc. All the time I talk to him and tap the wet bowl. Once he has had enough I remove bith bowls. This is the only way it works. Time consuming but after a period of time I dont need to coax him. Dont give up, yours will eat wet if she is hungry enough and no dry is available.
I set beside her to eat and she likes to be pet while eating, I don't mind doing that as long as she eats . I can get her to eat once or twice wet food a day ( use to eat more) but I'm really hoping to make wet most of her meals.
Thank you
 

lisahe

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We tapered our cats off dry food when they were about eleven months old. The first thing we did was cut back on their bowls of dry food. Then we left out only a little at night. Then we just used a little on top of their wet food. And then we all forgot about dry food!

During that process, the cats initially held out for the dry food but eventually they realized no more dry food was coming. Maybe Skye will understand that, too? In our case, I'm very glad we took our cats completely off dry food: we have one who would certainly overeat on it and gain weight! Plus the cats really don't need the carbs, particularly since they have glitchy digestive systems to begin with.
 

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Hi! At 9 months she still needs to be eating as much as she will consume, so you don't want to withhold food.

As a quick note, I've been seeing that some people are using nutritional yeast but I've read that too much of it can increase the uric acid/cause kidney problems, so I'm a bit wary of that one.

Try making one of these - double-check with your vet regarding any of these things just to be sure (some vets have strong feelings against fish, for example);

These can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave. Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.
  • Chicken, beef or ham flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients
  • Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch
  • Salmon, mackerel
  • Sardines (make sure there are no bones)
  • boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings
  • canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top
  • Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought
  • Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)
  • Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food
  • kitten glop could be mixed in, there are recipes on the internet
  • Bonito flakes
  • fortiflora
  • fish oil
  • green beans, asparagus mushed up
  • goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
  • whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
  • broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
  • There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  • Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables
  • There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
  • shredded cheddar cheese
 
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GGG

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Hi! At 9 months she still needs to be eating as much as she will consume, so you don't want to withhold food.

As a quick note, I've been seeing that some people are using nutritional yeast but I've read that too much of it can increase the uric acid/cause kidney problems, so I'm a bit wary of that one.

Try making one of these - double-check with your vet regarding any of these things just to be sure (some vets have strong feelings against fish, for example);

These can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave. Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A small glass works to stir it all up.
  • Chicken, beef or ham flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients
  • Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch
  • Salmon, mackerel
  • Sardines (make sure there are no bones)
  • boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings
  • canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top
  • Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought
  • Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)
  • Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food
  • kitten glop could be mixed in, there are recipes on the internet
  • Bonito flakes
  • fortiflora
  • fish oil
  • green beans, asparagus mushed up
  • goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
  • whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
  • broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
  • There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  • Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables
  • There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
  • shredded cheddar cheese
Thank you so much!
I'll try those.
I don't want her to withhold for food... she's still young and needs to eat as much as she can.
 
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GGG

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She had a little wet food for dinner and went back to sleep. Sometimes I feel like given in and give her more dry food just so she gets the amount of food needed.
Just to double check... at her age how many calories should she eat a day? And how many spoons or cups of wet and dry food should I give her a day? ( if this make sense) or how much of each should she have a day?
Sorry if I sounded confusing.
Thanks
 

Furballsmom

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I beleive at her kitten age/stage there is no counting calories, she needs to eat as much as she will consume. At 9 months she might be going through a slower growth stage, and there might be a growth spurt after this.
 
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RajaNMizu

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:hithere: When my Mizu was a little younger than your cat, I began to notice the same thing. She was holding out for the dry food and stopped eating her wet food. At that time, I had been free feeding both my cats as much as they wanted. Raja paced her appetite but Mizu didn't. So I started by giving them a half cup (shared) to graze on during the day. I gave it at hours that were as far away from their wet feedings as possible in hopes that Mizu would be hungry by the time meal time was. When it was successful, I dropped the half cup to a third of a cup. Once she was consistently eating 2 wet meals a day, I switched from the Purina Kitten food she had been eating to Tiki Born Carnivore. She likes this food but doesn't need/want to eat large amounts to feel satisfied. At 14 months now, I put a little kibble in the bowl while I'm at work and overnight.
 

maggiedemi

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I give my cats their canned food, then an hour later they get their dry food. I do this twice a day. If they absolutely refuse to eat their canned food, then I sprinkle a pinch of catnip on it.
 
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GGG

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I'm sorry if I keep posting and taking you time, I'm just worry ( I need to talk it out)because I have a feeling she's giving up wet food... I don't want to bother asking the vet again because I've been told by 2 vets, vet technicians... that she doesn't have to have wet food if she doesn't want it.
 
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GGG

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I give my cats their canned food, then an hour later they get their dry food. I do this twice a day. If they absolutely refuse to eat their canned food, then I sprinkle a pinch of catnip on it.
 

Furballsmom

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There have been cats that have done fine on dry food, this is true, but the concern nowadays, in addition to the possible kidney issues from lack of hydration, is the additives being used that aren't in the best interest of the pets' health.
Vets aren't necessarily nutritionists, so that can make things challenging.
 
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GGG

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I give my cats their canned food, then an hour later they get their dry food. I do this twice a day. If they absolutely refuse to eat their canned food, then I sprinkle a pinch of catnip on it.
However much wet and dry food do you give them?
 
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