Preferring dry to wet?

[lucicat]

I decided to feed an all wet food diet to my kittens, they were on both wet and dry at first. Now I offer three wet meals a day and I thought they'd be the happiest cats in the world. BUT now they beg for dry food. phbbbbbbbbt.

It's amusing actually. .. but is this just because I don't offer it much any more? Or is the "junk food" aspect of the dry food that appeals to them? I'm just curious. It's handy to have them like dry food for the times I do need to use it. . .but it's kind of annoying that I'm buying all this top quality (all meat brands) wet food only to have them want dry.

 

[cheesycats]

Kittens are growing at crazy rates so they need tons of food. How much canned do U feed? And what varieties? Canned foods can vary widely in calorie content so check and see if they’re getting enough food depending on the brands or flavors u feed. Typically it’s suggested to allow kittens to have food 24/7 until about a year then slowly ween them to two to three feedings of controlled calories. So they may just be hungry lol.

 

[lucicat]

Kittens are growing at crazy rates so they need tons of food. How much canned do U feed? And what varieties? Canned foods can vary widely in calorie content so check and see if they’re getting enough food depending on the brands or flavors u feed. Typically it’s suggested to allow kittens to have food 24/7 until about a year then slowly ween them to two to three feedings of controlled calories. So they may just be hungry lol.

yeah. . .I know they need a lot of food. I have a 6 month old and a 12 weeks old. I"d prefer to free feed my younger one, but then the older one tends to eat most of the dry food and she's nearly 8lbs at 6 months so I think she doesn't need the extra! My vet recommended moving to timed feedings and not free-feeding by 8-10 months old.

I don't think I'm under feeding though as they often leave wet food in the bowl and refuse certain types of food. But I guess all cats have preferences. I'd just rather the wet food be the main part of their diet. . .and per all my research it is better for them. I buy the good all meat brands that you can only get at pet stores, like Tiki Cat, Kasiks, Pure Vita. . .I give them about 1/4cup 3x a day with usually one dry food feeding in between or when they seem extra hungry.

 

[Azazel]

I think 3 timed meals a day is too few for a kitten. I agree that all wet is better and am not a fan of dry food, but if you're going to do all wet for kittens as young as 12 weeks then you need to give more opportunities for eating. Kittens have tiny stomachs and big appetites with lots of energy to expend. They can't eat a whole lot in one sitting but they will get hungry quickly. So if you want to keep them both on all wet I would recommend giving them more than 3 opportunities to eat per day.

 

[lucicat]

I think 3 timed meals a day is too few for a kitten. I agree that all wet is better and am not a fan of dry food, but if you're going to do all wet for kittens as young as 12 weeks then you need to give more opportunities for eating. Kittens have tiny stomachs and big appetites with lots of energy to expend. They can't eat a whole lot in one sitting but they will get hungry quickly. So if you want to keep them both on all wet I would recommend giving them more than 3 opportunities to eat per day.

okay. . .I'm worried the older one will overeat though? She's nearly at her (possibly expected) adult weight at 6 months. Better to just let them self-regulate for now?

 

[Azazel]

okay. . .I'm worried the older one will overeat though? She's nearly at her (possibly expected) adult weight at 6 months. Better to just let them self-regulate for now?

A 6 month old is still very much a kitten. I was still letting my 6 month olds eat as much as they wanted. They are still growing very much at this time. I wouldn't worry about a 6 month old getting overweight.

 

[She's a witch]

You can free feed wet food as well. Imo it’s safe to leave it in the bowl for several hours. You can cover it with something that they can easily open, like with a paper plate. Or even you can buy bowls that open/close automatically. One of mine has no problem eating such food, but for the other one, any food that’s been out for more than 10 mins is not edible... hopefully that’s not the case for your kittens.
I would be very surprised if your older kitten would end up overweight if fed high quality wet only.

 

[mizzely]

Many of the dry foods have a coating of animal digest or freeze dried food etc that makes them very palatable. My cat Lydia used to cry for crunchies for a long time when we made the switch from dry to canned food (she was like 5 years old at this point) but finally did stop after several months.

 

[lucicat]

Many of the dry foods have a coating of animal digest or freeze dried food etc that makes them very palatable. My cat Lydia used to cry for crunchies for a long time when we made the switch from dry to canned food (she was like 5 years old at this point) but finally did stop after several months.

Yeah, this is what I'm thinking. . .I feel like the dry food is addictive like say potato chips. . .I mean why eat broccoli when you can eat chips?
I just put out the good wet food that they like. . .they ate a little then went back to begging for dry food. It' annoying when I want to do the best thing and just feed high quality wet!

 

[She's a witch]

Do you still keep some dry food at home? Getting rid of it completely so that they won’t smell it could help a lot. Or, if you still occasionally give it to them, you could store it somewhere completely beyond their noses’ reach if that’s possible.. although cats usually know if something they love is in the house.

 

[lucicat]

Do you still keep some dry food at home? Getting rid of it completely so that they won’t smell it could help a lot. Or, if you still occasionally give it to them, you could store it somewhere completely beyond their noses’ reach if that’s possible.. although cats usually know if something they love is in the house.

YEah I keep it around as a) I already bought it and b) sometimes if I'm gone for longer then usual I want to leave some out. But Sati, the 6 month old knows where I keep it and if the pantry door gets opened she dashes in their. . .I have one of those containers I keep dry food in with a spout. . .well, she can get the spout open. But she still can't get to the food just sits there sniffing it. haha. But you're right they know its there. . .I thought maybe I'd do one dry food meal a day since I have it. . .but maybe that's not going to work.

 

[She's a witch]

YEah I keep it around as a) I already bought it and b) sometimes if I'm gone for longer then usual I want to leave some out. But Sati, the 6 month old knows where I keep it and if the pantry door gets opened she dashes in their. . .I have one of those containers I keep dry food in with a spout. . .well, she can get the spout open. But she still can't get to the food just sits there sniffing it. haha. But you're right they know its there. . .I thought maybe I'd do one dry food meal a day since I have it. . .but maybe that's not going to work.

That will work if you keep the regular schedule. One of my cats is the raw food enthusiast and he refused to eat anything else when I first started feeding it, but since I have to feed some canned because of my second cat, I gave him no choice and after a while he accepted it as long as nothing was changed in the routine (raw in the morning, canned in the evening). So if you want to give them some meals of dry (because you have it it’s very valid point imo), just make sure it’s everyday at the same time. After a while they should stop begging for it as they’ll know when to expect it.

 

[maggie101]

Since my cat was 5 weeks old,now 7, she only ate canned food. Always fed 3 meals a day. She will eat whatever, but my cat Maggie does not like left overs. She will only eat it if the food has a scent so toppers like freeze dried chicken,shredded chicken,bonito flakes. New can of food, canned food that has fish oil like purina bbeyond Turkey quail. Vital essentials freeze dried raw now sells toppers