Alright, so I'm gonna try really hard to include all the information I have at the moment. I wanna state that I'm making this post because I want to do the best for my cats as possible, so I'm completely prepared to hear what I don't necessarily want to hear. Be honest so I can do better!
So first thing is first! We have a 4 cat household, and all 4 cats are of varied ages. Betsy is our senior, guestimating her at around 13-14 years. Child is next in line at 7 years old. Oop is 4. Darwin is a kitten under 6 months.
Right now, we keep out dry food for the adults; Diamond Maintenance Cat. We fill the bowl twice a day, with limited food in separated areas of the house, along with fresh water kept near each spot. (We have two places now, but intend to add 4-5 places in our permanent residence, which we will be moving to soon. Living in limbo is rough..!)
Darwin eats Fancy Feast Classic Pate for kittens, once a day; used to do it twice a day, but since we no longer medicate him and have to make sure he eats first, we've been letting him get into the dry food.
What I'm really wondering is if I should cut out the dry food entirely, or start feeding a can of wet to each adult once a day? Here's the main reason I'm asking: Betsy.
Both my adult males have rejected most wet foods besides Friskies and Fancy Feast. (I tried 4Health and similar multiple times, and they wouldn't even taste it.)
I don't know that Betsy would be as picky. She is older, very fat, and is in pain as a result of her fatness. She has apparently always been fat, and while I have seen her narrow down since coming into my life, I feel she has hit a sort of plateau. She is not losing the weight she needs, and she shows it by waddling around in the rear, refusing to jump up or down if avoidable. She is also declawed (by previous owners), and has a hard time defending her space and I think this causes her to gorge herself periodically - although that is something else I have watched her get a lot better at, since she wasn't used to multiple eating spaces being available, prior. I have never had to manage a cat's weight before in this way, as I made a point to ensure my boys were both active and not eating too much. So while they are 15 and 18 lbs, it isn't from obesity. They're just big. Betsy is probably almost as much as Oop (15lbs) and should be half that, easily.
I looked thru several posts in this forum and I see Fancy Feast Classic Pate mentioned a lot. I assume this is a good option to follow for Betsy. Should I also adopt this for both my boys, to be safer long term? Would it be better as well, for a cat who may be at risk for UTI issues as he gets older? (Oop was neutered at 4 weeks by previous owners; Child was neutered at 1 yr.)
As for my dry food: Is sticking with what I'm using worth it, or should I switch to a different dry food? I have fed 4health before, but switched because this Diamond dry food was very similar, for a few dollars less.
Thank you in advance!!
So first thing is first! We have a 4 cat household, and all 4 cats are of varied ages. Betsy is our senior, guestimating her at around 13-14 years. Child is next in line at 7 years old. Oop is 4. Darwin is a kitten under 6 months.
Right now, we keep out dry food for the adults; Diamond Maintenance Cat. We fill the bowl twice a day, with limited food in separated areas of the house, along with fresh water kept near each spot. (We have two places now, but intend to add 4-5 places in our permanent residence, which we will be moving to soon. Living in limbo is rough..!)
Darwin eats Fancy Feast Classic Pate for kittens, once a day; used to do it twice a day, but since we no longer medicate him and have to make sure he eats first, we've been letting him get into the dry food.
What I'm really wondering is if I should cut out the dry food entirely, or start feeding a can of wet to each adult once a day? Here's the main reason I'm asking: Betsy.
Both my adult males have rejected most wet foods besides Friskies and Fancy Feast. (I tried 4Health and similar multiple times, and they wouldn't even taste it.)
I don't know that Betsy would be as picky. She is older, very fat, and is in pain as a result of her fatness. She has apparently always been fat, and while I have seen her narrow down since coming into my life, I feel she has hit a sort of plateau. She is not losing the weight she needs, and she shows it by waddling around in the rear, refusing to jump up or down if avoidable. She is also declawed (by previous owners), and has a hard time defending her space and I think this causes her to gorge herself periodically - although that is something else I have watched her get a lot better at, since she wasn't used to multiple eating spaces being available, prior. I have never had to manage a cat's weight before in this way, as I made a point to ensure my boys were both active and not eating too much. So while they are 15 and 18 lbs, it isn't from obesity. They're just big. Betsy is probably almost as much as Oop (15lbs) and should be half that, easily.
I looked thru several posts in this forum and I see Fancy Feast Classic Pate mentioned a lot. I assume this is a good option to follow for Betsy. Should I also adopt this for both my boys, to be safer long term? Would it be better as well, for a cat who may be at risk for UTI issues as he gets older? (Oop was neutered at 4 weeks by previous owners; Child was neutered at 1 yr.)
As for my dry food: Is sticking with what I'm using worth it, or should I switch to a different dry food? I have fed 4health before, but switched because this Diamond dry food was very similar, for a few dollars less.
Thank you in advance!!
