Food. Wet vs Raw vs Dry how often?

[Charley]

I forgot to order kibble for the kitties when I put in my MASSIVE monthly order. This has turned out not so bad as they are acclimating well to a wet only diet and my vet recommends keeping them on raw or wet packets.

I've stopped free feeding because Jengo somehow managed to be a pound over weight and I'm trying to get him back into shape. I used to leave 1 packet wet and a handful of kibble - refill kibble as needed and put down wet 3x's day. My finicky Jengo was giving me issues for YEARS about wet food and generally preferred dry - funny how when it ran out wet was just fine, lol. Still despite his picky eating and picking at his food he got overweight.

Right now I am doing
1 packet each morning
1/2 pack each lunch
1/2 pack each snack
1 packet dinner

Without kibble that doesn't seem like much although Jengo isn't losing much weight so maybe it is enough?

Anyway - they beg for food every couple of hours and this is new to us because we are used to the kitty smorgasbord and only minor begging.

I'll also note that Wiggles will eat Jengo's left overs and he's used to being able to go back and pick and pick.

I'm giving them dehydrated natural turkey treats when they seem hungry or beg too much.

I'm not in love with idea of even introducing kibble back in to the house because it's a drama - Jengo will PIG out on it and not each much wet unless it's mixed together. It seems like wet or raw is healthier.

Lastly - I'm about to go out and get some raw and try it again. Jengo never took to it but maybe his tastes are changing? Maybe it will help him lose that pesky pound? Wiggles will probably take to it as he loves to try to get to raw meat. I have read about raw but from experienced owners - am I running the risk of introducing parasites or worms?

 

[Patti]

I'm just curious how you determined Jengo's ideal weight to know that he is now one pound overweight? I think there is no downside to stopping kibble, so if you can keep them of it that would probably be healthier for them. There are commercial cat foods you can purchase for overweight cats if you feel that strongly about that pesky pound. Raw is not necessarily going to help with weight loss if you are buy commercial, depending on what you get - be sure to read the ingredients and percentage of fat with protein.

 

[Charley]

Personally I feel he's fine the vet says he needs to lose a pound. He's hitting 3 I think he's just maturing but they insist he needs to lose weight.

I'm currently feeding Natural balance which calls for 2x for every 5lbs

Jengo is 17 so would be 7 packets for him and wiggles at 8.5 would be 3. Wiggles and I have been getting him his exercise though

When you say commercial food do you mean pet store food like Wellness or stuff like cat chow from the grocery store? I'd love non commercial brands for both raw and wet.

We rotate between wellness, natural balance, spots stew and soulistic right now. They are one week clean on kibble. It took me years to get here with Jengo.

 

[Patti]

Commercial food is anything that's not homemade, but produced in bulk by a company and sold at the market.

 

[Charley]

Commercial food is anything that's not homemade, but produced in bulk by a company and sold at the market.

Is it recommended to make your own? Where can I find recipes? It's probably cheaper. I thought a second cat would just double food costs but it's probably a bit more than double.

 

[Patti]

There have been multiple threads on this forum about making your own raw diet, you can do a search from the home page... or Google BARF (bones and raw food) recipes online.