Transitioning kittens from wet to dry food

[keschumann]

Hi all! My fiancé and I recently adopted two brother kittens (Pickles and Nibbles). They are about 5 months old, and their bowel movements are sometimes very loose. They also have congenital neurological issues that do not impact their lives, but they are somewhat unsteady on their feet. So when they are in the litter box, they often come out covered in feces. My point: I know if we can transition them to dry food, this will help with forming their bowel movements. We have tried a few different brands, we tried adding some warm water to make a "gravy", we mix one packet of wet food with mostly dry food...and they seem to eat the wet food and leave the dry behind. Any suggestions on how to get them to eat strictly dry food with wet food once a week as a treat?

Thank you all!!!

Kristen and Brian

 

[vball91]

A wet diet is actually much better for all cats. I'm not sure why you think a dry diet will give them more formed bowel movements, but it's not true. Their bowel movements are probably very loose due to all the food changes. Dry food needs to be transitioned slowly for that reason. I would keep them on just wet food (one kind for now) to let their systems stabilize.

If you are interested in learning more about cat nutrition, please visit www.catinfo.org. Written by a vet, it has a lot of great info on cat nutrition and related health issues.