Need An Opinion Please!

[Mike89]

For a two year old, she shouldn't be eating much. Since this is your first cat, it's best to observe her eating habits, amounts and timing.

Some members here feed wet mostly and only dry for treats and some all wet, like me and some both.

If your kitty is on 100% wet, she'll be getting most of her water from the food as wet good is very high in moisture content around 75% as compared to dry which is like just about 10%. So if she's on just wet, she might not even drink water as she gets it from her wet food. But if you are afraid that she is not hydrated enough, you still can add some water to her wet food.
Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake
How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?

You can get her to get used to scheduled feeds if you are taking free feeding off her. Like I mentioned earlier, observe her for a few days and you'll roughly know how much and how many times she needs to eat in a day.

Brushing of teeth is the best way to clean
How To Brush Your Cat's Teeth
Does Dry Food Actually Clean Your Cat's Teeth?

Well to be honest she really doesn't eat that much in one sitting. Even if I were to put 1/2 3 oz can of wet food, she might not even eat that much in one sitting. As for the dry food, she just nibbles on that throughout the day. So if I were to move her to a wet food diet, what kind of wet food would you recommend? She's currently eating the Fancy Feast wet food, and seems to really like it. I also feed her Purina Friskies 7 dry cat food.

 

[tabbytom]

Well, she's not eating much in one sitting because she her nibbles dry food throughout the day.

There are many brands of good wet food in the market and also it depends on which area or country you are from and whether those are available to you or not. If not, you can always shop online.

Best to look out for is meat mentioned as the first ingredient and followed by grain free.

It all depends on your cat's liking. Some cats rejects good stuffs. Best dosen't mean your cat will like it. So listen to your cat.

Top 5 Brands Of Wet Cat Food Our Members Love The Most
Best Cat Food Of 2015: Tcs Member Choices

 

[Mike89]

Well, she's not eating much in one sitting because she her nibbles dry food throughout the day.

There are many brands of good wet food in the market and also it depends on which area or country you are from and whether those are available to you or not. If not, you can always shop online.

Best to look out for is meat mentioned as the first ingredient and followed by grain free.

It all depends on your cat's liking. Some cats rejects good stuffs. Best dosen't mean your cat will like it. So listen to your cat.

Top 5 Brands Of Wet Cat Food Our Members Love The Most
Best Cat Food Of 2015: Tcs Member Choices

So would you recommend me switching my cat over to primarily eating wet food, with some dry food as a snack before bedtime?

 

[tabbytom]

So would you recommend me switching my cat over to primarily eating wet food, with some dry food as a snack before bedtime?

I personally would go for wet food. If your cat consume more dry than wet and dosen't drink water, it may pose some health issues like Urinary Tract Infections, just like stones/crystals and your kitty will have a hard time peeing. BUT having said that, many cats are fed only dry food but have less or no issues with UTI. Maybe they drink lots of water. Prevention is better than cure.

Here are some good reads:-
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

6 Reasons why dry food does not clean your cat’s teeth

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

If your cat is getting adequate water from its food source (and wet food has a higher water content), then it normally should not be drinking a ton of water from a water dish. Cats who seem to be drinking a LOT during the day and night usually are dehydrated, in my experience -- and it usually indicates a possible health or metabolic problem (like diabetes or other).

 

[Mike89]

I personally would go for wet food. If your cat consume more dry than wet and dosen't drink water, it may pose some health issues like Urinary Tract Infections, just like stones/crystals and your kitty will have a hard time peeing. BUT having said that, many cats are fed only dry food but have less or no issues with UTI. Maybe they drink lots of water. Prevention is better than cure.

Here are some good reads:-
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

6 Reasons why dry food does not clean your cat’s teeth

Thanks for your advice! Starting today I am gonna get into the routine of having scheduled meals for my cat, and only feeding her wet food for said meals. I'll try only giving her dry food as a treat/snack before bedtime. I think that will work best for her and I, in my opinion. Also, what I've started today doing with leaving the wet food out is create a one-hour timer. So at the end of the timer, if there's still some wet food left in her dish then I put it in the fridge. She seemed to eat it all today, so that's good news! Do you think an hour is long enough to leave her wet food out or should it be shorter duration?

 

[Mike89]

If your cat is getting adequate water from its food source (and wet food has a higher water content), then it normally should not be drinking a ton of water from a water dish. Cats who seem to be drinking a LOT during the day and night usually are dehydrated, in my experience -- and it usually indicates a possible health or metabolic problem (like diabetes or other).

Thanks for your advice! Yeah, ever since moving her water bowl away from her food dish she drinks more of her water than when it was by her food dish.

 

[darkhorse321]

She looks so happy and that she loves you!! I love tabbies!! Waving from Canada! I'm in Ontario!

 

[Mike89]

She looks so happy and that she loves you!! I love tabbies!! Waving from Canada! I'm in Ontario!

Awwwww! You're so sweet! Thanks very much for your kind words! And yeah! She seems very happy living with me! To be honest I didn't know what cat she was exactly, until I picked up her cat health passport earlier today at the local SPCA cat shelter where I adopted her from on June 19th of this year! If you want to stay updated with the photos and videos I add to her photo album on Facebook, then here's the sharable link: My new kitty! | Facebook

I was downtown shopping at Wal-Mart for my cat, and picked up some nice goodies! I bought a bag of ACTR1UM Holistic Adult Cat Food (https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/actr1um-holistic-adult-cat-food-7kg/1455222100276) because I'm switching her over to a wet food diet as scheduled meals throughout the day, and just leaving out 1/4 cup of the dry cat food. I was free feeding her dry food (I first gave her Purina Friskies 7 cat food by the way) and fed her wet food every day. However, after some wonderful tips/advice and help from the members here on the forums, I've 100% decided to give her wet food for her scheduled meals every day and a bit of dry food for her to nibble on. I think that will be much better for my cat in the long run. Also, I researched online that the ACTR1UM Holistic Adult Cat Food is supposed to be very healthy for cats. And because I won't be free feeding her it throughout the day/night, a big bag will definitely last me a long time. So there's no worries about running out anytime soon at least! So I'm quite pleased with the description of the cat food I picked up today!

I also picked up a compressed catnip ball, a good double-sided grooming brush, a cat wand that came with a small polyester fish with catnip inside, a new food dish, two variety 12-pack (3oz each can) of Fancy Feast wet food, her first cat collar, a cat harness with a 10ft tie-on rope (I want her to experience the outside every now and then, the tie-on rope will be hooked onto the bridge of our step so she can't get far anyway), and I bought something called a "Cat's Meow" robotic toy. She really loves it! It's hard to explain what it does, but it's been advertised on TV many times and it's sold a lot of models. Here's the link so you can check it out if you have time:
I didn't think I spent so much, but everything came to about $116 today! Hey, I'm allowed to spoil my cat every once in a while, right? Lol!

 

[maggiedemi]

Let us know how it goes. Are you going to do one can of Fancy Feast in the morning and one can at dinner, with the dry food left out to snack on? I know that's how some people do it, if they have to work.

 

[Mike89]

Let us know how it goes. Are you going to do one can of Fancy Feast in the morning and one can at dinner, with the dry food left out to snack on? I know that's how some people do it, if they have to work.

I'll most definitely let you know how it goes within a week, just to give enough time for her to adjust to the new stuff, you know. Yeah I want to try one can in the morning and one in the afternoon, but I don't think she eats a full 3oz can in one sitting. So what I've done starting this morning was do half a can of wet food, and see how much of that she could eat. Then I put a timer on my iPod Touch for one hour. If after the one hour is up and she hasn't finished what's there for her then I put the rest back into the fridge until later in the day. Maybe after giving my cat enough time to transition from free feeding dry food all day to scheduled wet food meals, hopefully she'll be able to eat one 3oz can in one sitting. Or is that not possible? Oh by the way! I just got her cat information today, and found out that she's 2 years and 8 months old. I also found out that at the time she had her vaccinations done she was 4.52kg (9.9lb.) That's good, right? She was vaccinated on April 18th, 2017.

 

[danteshuman]

If I was doing it again my cats would only get healthy wet food (fancy feast with it's chicken meal doesn't count.) However I have dry food junkies and health issues. So I feed them healthy dry food (which if I didn't live in a house with a garage food stealing kitty, my guy's dry food would be limited. They are a little chunky.) They get healthy wet food every other day and the less healthy fancy feast pouches the other day. At the end of the day follow your heart and do the best you can

 

[danteshuman]

I would add that a daily routine of play then feed would help your cat (they learn our schedules.) Also your cat might like a water fountain (or a bowl you refill multiple times a day in the bathroom.)

 

[Mike89]

If I was doing it again my cats would only get healthy wet food (fancy feast with it's chicken meal doesn't count.) However I have dry food junkies and health issues. So I feed them healthy dry food (which if I didn't live in a house with a garage food stealing kitty, my guy's dry food would be limited. They are a little chunky.) They get healthy wet food every other day and the less healthy fancy feast pouches the other day. At the end of the day follow your heart and do the best you can

Thank you! To be honest, people have been telling me that Fancy Feast is good enough and healthy for cats. So I've been feeding my cat Fancy Feast the day I adopted her from the local SPCA cat shelter on June 19th. She doesn't mind it at all. Also, what would you consider "healthy wet food" by the way? What brand? Maybe I can find it at Wal-Mart?

 

[Mike89]

I would add that a daily routine of play then feed would help your cat (they learn our schedules.) Also your cat might like a water fountain (or a bowl you refill multiple times a day in the bathroom.)

This is the only cat water fountain at my local Wal-Mart store. Could you tell me if it's any good? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/catit-fresh-and-clear-stainless-steel-top-fountain/6000196222710

 

[maggiedemi]

Yes 10 pounds is good for a female cat. My cat is 9 pounds but she could stand to gain a little weight. Some people do one can in the morning and one can at dinner with dry food left out. But you can experiment with different ways, depending on how much she'll eat at once. You could even split it into 3 meals a day if you are home all day.

 

[Mike89]

Yes 10 pounds is good for a female cat. My cat is 9 pounds but she could stand to gain a little weight. Some people do one can in the morning and one can at dinner with dry food left out. But you can experiment with different ways, depending how much she'll eat at once. You could even split it into 3 meals a day if you are home all day.

Yeah that's very true, thanks so much! It's wonderful people like yourself here on the forums that have made it so much easier to draw a conclusion and make a decision on what to do and what to get for my cat. That means so much to me and my cat! Also, I was told that getting a water fountain would be a good investment for my cat. This is the only model at Wal-Mart currently, but it's like $50. Could you take a look and tell me as best as you can if it would be a good model to get? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/catit-fresh-and-clear-stainless-steel-top-fountain/6000196222710

 

[danteshuman]

Where there is the super healthy stuff from the vet or science diet (which my guys wouldn't touch.) One of my cats currently has a chicken allergy so he gets
Taste of the Wild Canyon River Grain-Free Dry Cat Food,
Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Venison & Green Pea Formula Grain-Free Canned Cat Food ,
Instinct by Nature's Variety Grain-Free Beef Formula Canned Cat Food

I would add that my choices are limited by excluding chicken. They put chicken meal in everything! Try reading your cat's labels on their wet food. The pouches tend to be what they say they are but many of fancy feast's wet food includes chicken/chicken meal (even their beef/tuna flavors.) Before my cat's allergies they got Science Diet, then Eukanuba followed by Purina for a year because I couldn't find Ekanuba in my PetCo. Personally I would say Science Diet or ask your vet what they recommend. I order their food off Chewy now but my vet's office also sells Taste of the Wild (in a few flavors.)

 

[maggiedemi]

Do they have any reviews of the fountain on Amazon? Just make sure it is easy to clean, that is the number one complaint with fountains, that they have little crevices that are hard to clean and get bacteria in them.

 

[Mike89]

Do they have any reviews of the fountain on Amazon? Just make sure it is easy to clean, that is the number one complaint with fountains, that they have little crevices that are hard to clean and get bacteria in them.

I'm not sure about reviews on Amazon. I'll check it out. It was my first time seeing the mentioned water fountain in Wal-Mart today. So I just figured I'd ask someone here what they thought of it, that's all. And about cleaning it, I'm VERY diligent about cleaning, being today, and being organized throughout my daily life. Lol! So if I clean it, you can be sure that it will be VERY clean afterwards.