When Crumb was little, I (without knowing much about cat food) was giving him what I thought was good food, simply because it had natural colors on the front -- I thought it was Purina Beneful for Cats, but I can't even find it existing! -- and it was the most expensive cat food they carried at the wholesale club. In retrospect... there was a big ole picture of a corncob on it. Bad idea. After a night of constipation leading to a bloody stool (and me running around the apartment crying with Crumb wrapped in a blanket like a cat burrito), I went to PetSmart and asked for help. The lady switched me to Authority Kitten, and then eventually I switched to Authority Sensitive Solutions, which is what I was on... until I came here.
I recently made the switch to Before Grain Chicken to try and give my boys a grain free diet. But I've been hesitant about adding wet food -- my experiences growing up with wet food were of my family's rather obese cat begging for food all hours of the day, puking wet food up, and being generally a smellycat. I loved her, but I didn't want the same fate for my boys. Our second cat only ate kibble -- but I've realized since then he was indoor/outdoor, and he was supplementing his diet with wild game constantly.
The fear of dehydration and crystals has literally been bugging me for weeks now... and so I did it. I don't think I'm switching to all wet anytime soon, but I think a mixed diet will definitely help, as well as the 2nd water dish I put on the other side of the apartment -- they drink out of it all the time! I like the Before Grain brand and have heard positive things about Merrick, so I got 1 of their Chicken, 1 Beef, 1 Chicken and Quail, and 1 Turkey to see what the boys like. Harvey will eat anything, but Crumb is picky. I gave them each 1/4 of a can, which seemed to be too much. And of course... I videotaped it. Forgiveness for still having grungy work clothes on, but I couldn't wait to see how it would go.
So you can kind of see how much I gave... Crumb probably ate a third, and the kitten about 2/3 before he started losing interest. The kitten will eat anything, though. Does a couple of spoonfuls seem like a reasonable portion? How much do your cats eat, if they are both wet/dry?
I recently made the switch to Before Grain Chicken to try and give my boys a grain free diet. But I've been hesitant about adding wet food -- my experiences growing up with wet food were of my family's rather obese cat begging for food all hours of the day, puking wet food up, and being generally a smellycat. I loved her, but I didn't want the same fate for my boys. Our second cat only ate kibble -- but I've realized since then he was indoor/outdoor, and he was supplementing his diet with wild game constantly.
The fear of dehydration and crystals has literally been bugging me for weeks now... and so I did it. I don't think I'm switching to all wet anytime soon, but I think a mixed diet will definitely help, as well as the 2nd water dish I put on the other side of the apartment -- they drink out of it all the time! I like the Before Grain brand and have heard positive things about Merrick, so I got 1 of their Chicken, 1 Beef, 1 Chicken and Quail, and 1 Turkey to see what the boys like. Harvey will eat anything, but Crumb is picky. I gave them each 1/4 of a can, which seemed to be too much. And of course... I videotaped it. Forgiveness for still having grungy work clothes on, but I couldn't wait to see how it would go.
So you can kind of see how much I gave... Crumb probably ate a third, and the kitten about 2/3 before he started losing interest. The kitten will eat anything, though. Does a couple of spoonfuls seem like a reasonable portion? How much do your cats eat, if they are both wet/dry?