Changing a kitty's diet

**Samantha Puppy** · 04-23-2005, 04:10 PM

My two new baby girls have only ever had dry food so I'd like to keep it that way. They have healthy appetites with it so I don't feel as though they want for more, or different. Sushi and Kirin, however, have had both - dry food available at all times, wet food given to them at meal times. I'd like to know if it would be healthy to switch THEM to an all dry food diet now (they're 8-9 months old) and if so, how does one go about doing it? Just stop with the wet food and let them realize that when they get hungry they can eat the dry? Or do I wean them off the wet little by little? Or do is it too dangerous to tamper with what they're used to and keep on giving them wet food? (In that case, I'd probably want to start the girls on scheduled wet food feedings as well, 'cause I don't want to be unfair...)

Any advice greatly appreciated!

**Laura's Babies** · 04-23-2005, 04:22 PM

I have only started mine on dry and never given them anything else so I can not advise you on this one.

**catnapper** · 04-23-2005, 04:41 PM

I would think that as long as the food is a high-quality food, it shouldn't matter if it was all dry or wet. If they drink plenty of water on their own, why spend the extra money on wet food?

My boys only get wet food as a treat (and I can always tell afterwards -- p-u in the litterbox!)

**Samantha Puppy** · 04-23-2005, 05:02 PM

It'd be Purina One, most likely. At least that's what it is right now. Unless once the girls are bigger and the bowls are centralized and I get a huge bag of something "better". Right now, the girls eat upstairs in their room and the boys eat downstairs.

The girls definitely seem to be drinking enough water. I don't see the boys drink all that often but I know they do.

**kittycats_delight** · 04-23-2005, 05:35 PM

don't believe it would be any problem at all. I also feed my girls purina one. They enjoy it and I know it's not a great cat food but it is good and it has none of the nasty stuff that can cause problems for them. Maybe the best and easiest way to take them of the wet would be like a "12 step" thing. Not literally of course you get my meaning. Basically just wean them bit by bit and they should notice that they are getting less and less. I know that dry food is much better for them than the wet so it is probably a very good idea to do this.

Good Luck.

**Shady** · 04-23-2005, 06:31 PM

I dont think it would be a problem, the ones used to it, just might kick up a fuss for awhile, but in time they'd be fine. As long as no one has tendencies towards UTI's, my vet told me that one of mine that had a UTI should have some wet food as well as free available dry. She gets one pouch of wet food a day and the others are not even interested in it.

I feed mine two varieties of Royal Canin. They're all persians so they get that specific food. I had been giving them Temptations and Whiska Lickin's for treats but noticed after a few months a big tartar buildup. I fooled them, I put Royal Canin Oral Care in the Whiska Lickin's containers and lo and behold, no more tartar.

That stuff works.