Should I Add Wet Food?

Issy86

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My kitten has been on a complete dry food only diet. Do you think it's best for them to add some wet as well?
 

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Yes! Cats are serious carnivores who need lots of meat and don't process carbs well. Our vet recommends lots of meat protein for all cats but especially kittens, who are growing and developing. The more you can avoid carby vegetable ingredients -- like grains, potato, peas, etc. -- in cat foods, the better. Supermarket choices include Fancy Feast Classics and Sheba pates.

I'd strongly suggest introducing just small amounts of wet food at a time since some cats can be very sensitive to changes in their food. I'll leave questions about how much is too much to others who have more experience with kittens. :yummy:
 
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Issy86

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Yes! Cats are serious carnivores who need lots of meat and don't process carbs well. Our vet recommends lots of meat protein for all cats but especially kittens, who are growing and developing. The more you can avoid carby vegetable ingredients -- like grains, potato, peas, etc. -- in cat foods, the better. Supermarket choices include Fancy Feast Classics and Sheba pates.

I'd strongly suggest introducing just small amounts of wet food at a time since some cats can be very sensitive to changes in their food. I'll leave questions about how much is too much to others who have more experience with kittens. :yummy:
Thanks Lisahe. I think I will add some slowly. I got a free sample of the AVA pouches so will try her with a little later x
 

lisahe

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Thanks Lisahe. I think I will add some slowly. I got a free sample of the AVA pouches so will try her with a little later x
Good luck! If she doesn't think she wants it, try crumbling a little of her dry food on it. That works for lots of cats.
 

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We have an 8 year old cat that has been on kibble his whole life. Perfect weight (maybe slightly under), good coat quality, no health issues. We switched him over to wet food and he’s put on some healthy muscle and his coat is radiant - it looks softer from across the room even though it was pretty good before the wet food.

So beyond the listed health benefits, we saw some pretty great changes with an already healthy cat.
 
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Issy86

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So does some wet food morning and evening with her dry food down at all times sound fine? X
 
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Issy86

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By the way, I'm so glad I found this site. It's a lovely forum x
 

KarenKat

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We are glad you are here!

For us we found it was hard to add in wet food if our guy Gohan wasn’t a little hungry, so we switched to set mealtimes. There are many people here that feed a mix, and sometimes they leave the dry out overnight or out all the time as a snack throughout the day. You can start with leaving the kibble out and see if your kitty takes to the wet food. If she doesn’t doesn’t eat it then you can adjust and see if set mealtimes works better.
 

lisahe

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So does some wet food morning and evening with her dry food down at all times sound fine? X
How old is your kitten, Issy86? Kittens should generally be fed as much as they'll eat and they generally don't get overweight, but you do have to start watching a little them as they get older.

As to your question, yes, that's fine. Personally, I'd suggest feeding as much wet food as possible, for health reasons that KarenKat KarenKat mentioned, plus making it easier to control your cat's weight. Of course the weight issues are more likely to come in a little later, so introducing cats to wet food earlier in life is a huge plus -- it's great that you're doing it now!

Just as I was about to post, I saw KarenKat's new post about set mealtimes. This is also great advice! We feed our (adult) cats in mealtimes and it works out really well for them.
 
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Issy86

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How old is your kitten, Issy86? Kittens should generally be fed as much as they'll eat and they generally don't get overweight, but you do have to start watching a little them as they get older.

As to your question, yes, that's fine. Personally, I'd suggest feeding as much wet food as possible, for health reasons that KarenKat KarenKat mentioned, plus making it easier to control your cat's weight. Of course the weight issues are more likely to come in a little later, so introducing cats to wet food earlier in life is a huge plus -- it's great that you're doing it now!

Just as I was about to post, I saw KarenKat's new post about set mealtimes. This is also great advice! We feed our (adult) cats in mealtimes and it works out really well for them.
Shes 12 weeks :)

Thanks so much everyone for the useful replies x
 
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Issy86

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She ate the small amount I started her off with, with absolutely no encouragement needed so I'm pretty sure she is a fan. I only gave her a little so hopefully it wont give her a dodgy tum xx
 

lisahe

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She ate the small amount I started her off with, with absolutely no encouragement needed so I'm pretty sure she is a fan. I only gave her a little so hopefully it wont give her a dodgy tum xx
That's great that she ate it without encouragement. And agreed that it's a good idea to avoid a dodgy turn!! Fingers crossed on that!
 
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Issy86

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When I've put some more in her bowl from an opened refrigerated pack, should I wait for it to come up to room temp a bit before serving?
 

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When I've put some more in her bowl from an opened refrigerated pack, should I wait for it to come up to room temp a bit before serving?
You can, but if she'll eat it cold there's nothing that says you have to.
 
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Issy86

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You can, but if she'll eat it cold there's nothing that says you have to.
I ended up putting a teaspoon of boiled water mixed in to it to take the chill out a bit. She seemed happy with that x
 

Talien

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I ended up putting a teaspoon of boiled water mixed in to it to take the chill out a bit. She seemed happy with that x
That is a good way to warm food, it can also make it easier to eat since it thins it. Floating the bowl of food in a larger bowl that is filled with hot water is also good since the food can only ever get as warm as the water is and won't overheat.
 
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Issy86

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That is a good way to warm food, it can also make it easier to eat since it thins it. Floating the bowl of food in a larger bowl that is filled with hot water is also good since the food can only ever get as warm as the water is and won't overheat.
Thanks Talien, I will try that method too x
 
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Issy86

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Still no tummy troubles after her second lot of it. My only niggle about this food is that it was produced in Thailand. Not sure if I should be bothered about that or not, would just have preferred it to be locally produced x
 

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I pop my cat's evening serving of wet food in the microwave for 15 seconds to warm it. I just make sure to check the temperature before giving it to her.
 

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We have an 8 year old cat that has been on kibble his whole life. Perfect weight (maybe slightly under), good coat quality, no health issues. We switched him over to wet food and he’s put on some healthy muscle and his coat is radiant - it looks softer from across the room even though it was pretty good before the wet food.

So beyond the listed health benefits, we saw some pretty great changes with an already healthy cat.
Can I ask what wet food you feed him? I’m looking to transition to a bit, thanks
 
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