Wet vs Dry Food

[John Popp]

Chongo is now 7 months old. Dale definitely knows his stuff about animal nutrition, and I wouldn't discount anything he said. The canned EVO recommended was what Chongo had an issue with. Loose stools that ended as soon as I got him off of it. I also tried the EVO dry Chicken and Turkey which he wouldn't eat, as I wasn't able to get the Royal Canin Kitten 36 on a Sunday. The other cats ate it up so it wasn't as if it went to waste.

Through that minor ordeal, I really got locked in on providing a raw diet. I still do some on demand kibble, but the majority of all my cats food is now raw. For Chongo there wasn't any transition period as I had been going the other direction trying to introduce the recommended canned food. With the other cats one took a week and the other took three.

5 months into the raw diet and I have freelanced a bit from the original recipe I had used. Just trying to figure out who likes what while making sure I had the necessary supplements added. I am currently pretty dialed in and can offer them some variety outside of the whole chicken recipe I started with. It's still primarily chicken, but also rabbit and duck. None of them will eat turkey and even disguising just a little bit of turkey mixed with chicken is a chore.

Hydrating dry food seems like an interim step more so than a long term solution. They need to add something to make it stick together and also heat which destroys some nutrients. No question that Chongo likes his kibble, just that I know the later in life issues that poses as a result. I have one cat with some renal issues at 15 years of age, and he was the one really partial to eating kibble. He is now on a low protein raw diet and while his issues aren't gone his lab tests are dramatically improved and he's not knocking on deaths door.

If you have the opportunity, I would certainly ask Dale about a raw diet and the recipe they use at their cattery. I'm sure some of their big cats are exclusively on a raw diet and know they have a couple cats/kittens on a duck and pea diet for sensitive stomachs. It's a conversation that I never had with him and from his background and knowledge I'd place a great deal of trust in whatever he recommends.

 

[Louie'sDad]

Yep, that's correct, that's a good link above. As long as the kibble is low Mg, it's good. With my previous male cat (non SV) I fed him something like normal Friskies, which come to find out, was rather high in Mg and not good kibble. --dj

My mother adopted a near adult kitten from a shelter in 2003. This kitten was so sweet and friendly that she converted me fro a cat hater to a cat lover. Never heard a cat purr before, and her purring was so emphatic that it had some other vocalizations mixed in with it. Licks and headbutts galore. Anyway, she was fed Science Diet kibble..............don't know how much water. Neither me nor my mom knew about Mg, or about the importance of a good amount of moisture in the feline diet.

In any event, LuLu's kidneys failed after she was only 6 yo. I don't know whether she ingested a toxin before she was found by the shelter, was predisposed genetically, or was because of her diet/water intake. We'll never know, for sure. I had to have her put down, and she died in my arms. I cried like a baby. Haven't done that in many years.

RIP LuLu.

 

[Louie'sDad]

Chongo is now 7 months old. Dale definitely knows his stuff about animal nutrition, and I wouldn't discount anything he said. The canned EVO recommended was what Chongo had an issue with. Loose stools that ended as soon as I got him off of it. I also tried the EVO dry Chicken and Turkey which he wouldn't eat, as I wasn't able to get the Royal Canin Kitten 36 on a Sunday. The other cats ate it up so it wasn't as if it went to waste.

Through that minor ordeal, I really got locked in on providing a raw diet. I still do some on demand kibble, but the majority of all my cats food is now raw. For Chongo there wasn't any transition period as I had been going the other direction trying to introduce the recommended canned food. With the other cats one took a week and the other took three.

5 months into the raw diet and I have freelanced a bit from the original recipe I had used. Just trying to figure out who likes what while making sure I had the necessary supplements added. I am currently pretty dialed in and can offer them some variety outside of the whole chicken recipe I started with. It's still primarily chicken, but also rabbit and duck. None of them will eat turkey and even disguising just a little bit of turkey mixed with chicken is a chore.

Hydrating dry food seems like an interim step more so than a long term solution. They need to add something to make it stick together and also heat which destroys some nutrients. No question that Chongo likes his kibble, just that I know the later in life issues that poses as a result. I have one cat with some renal issues at 15 years of age, and he was the one really partial to eating kibble. He is now on a low protein raw diet and while his issues aren't gone his lab tests are dramatically improved and he's not knocking on deaths door.

If you have the opportunity, I would certainly ask Dale about a raw diet and the recipe they use at their cattery. I'm sure some of their big cats are exclusively on a raw diet and know they have a couple cats/kittens on a duck and pea diet for sensitive stomachs. It's a conversation that I never had with him and from his background and knowledge I'd place a great deal of trust in whatever he recommends.

He recommended the Royal Canin kibble. He said that raw is fine, and rotating it in is good but not necessary. Raw and canned costs a LOT more than even the best kibble, from what I have seen so far. I don't remember asking him what he feeds his adult cats.

The contents and percentages in the EVO dry are proportioned to mimic what a wild cat eats....................including vegetable matter in the stomachs of their kill. I'm satisfied, so far, that as long as Lou is taking plenty of water, urinates regularly, that a very high quality kibble is not only healthy, but very economical as well. I looked very hard at EVO, and found that it's not sprayed with the animal digest stuff, but instead is coated with freeze dried raw meat.

 

[SV Dad]

Louie, fluid intake does not seem to be an issue with my three SV's. They all readily drink from the bowl or from a faucet, and will ask for the faucet to be opened. I feed wet and have the dry available 24/7. They do like either Fancy Feast or the Royal Canin. The Blue Wilderness is the available dry. My F3 boys are rather skinny, but active and healthy. From what I have read, SV's tend to be healthier than average.
Enjoy your SV, it will be your best pal!

 

[Sunny]

Orijen (#1 choice) or PureVita (#2 choice) only as a snack between meals when they need a little crunch from the boring raw and canned. I'm using Weruva canned 100% of the time.

My boys (and future girl) are fed 3x a day, when I leave for work, the second I get home, and then dinner ~2 hours later. Meals are 2.75oz canned, 2-3oz raw, and the portion of the 2nd meal dictates how I'm greeted if they have been particularly active and ready for their late lunch.

The theory behind splitting up the meals is to break the feast-famine routine if you don't let them free feed which typically means dry kibble (moisture issues as pointed out) left out and exposed all day. Like people, keeping your metabolism constantly going with small snacks and small meals works very well.

The 360 stainless Drinkwell is the only fountain I found with sufficient capacity to keep up with their thirst. Every 48 hours I need to refill it an inch. Not surprisingly, there are 3-5 visits to the potty every day and the coloration (and amount of covering) shows me exactly who's been drinking and the times when someone hasn't.

Lastly, when my step brother is actually home and they are simply starving, giving them 1/8 to 1/4th of a cup of dry just enough to coat the bottom of the bowl is a lot easier to manage than cutting and warming up meat or dividing a 5.5oz can out.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Just putting something out there.... when you run a large-scale cattery you might make a different decision on what to feed your cats than if you only have one or two pets to deal with....

Feeding raw likely IS more expensive than feeding kibble, and it is more hassle and takes more preparations etc. But personally, would I like to eat a rehydrated meal or one prepared from fresh ingredients? It's worth the time and hassle for me to prepare my meals than eat a protein bar every meal...

But at the end of the day, we all make different decisions for our pets. Make the one that works for you, as long as it is a high-quality cat food (or balanced raw meal) it is good

 

[John Popp]

When thinking of things in that light, I don't believe it's about cost or convenience. However, I do believe it sets the table to provide a healthy transition for whichever direction their clients go. When I left with Chongo, I was sent home with kibble, canned and raw food. I saw their cats being fed a combination of the three and also some whole prey for a large serval.

They definitely run a first class operation and I never got the feeling they cut corners on anything. Dale is incredibly bright with a ton of background with animals. Holly is as caring with the cats as anyone I've ever seen and extremely personable. It was all just a fantastic experience especially leaving with my little buddy in tow.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I agree with sending kittens out with them eating kibble, canned and raw so that the new owners have a choice in what they decide to feed their kitten. I've only met Dale in person and he's quite personable. Holly has always been a pleasure to interact with when we've had to deal with Rescues from their cattery too, they always are happy to take back their cats and to me that is a gold star in any breeder

 

[Louie'sDad]

I wanted to drive from NJ to pick up Louie, and also see the facility, but Holly talked me out of it saying that the (approx) 1500 mile flight would be less stressful for him than the ride in the car home. I acquiesced! From the looks of the website, and the number of litters they produce, I can tell that it is indeed first class and very well organized and run.

Last week I called Holley to ask about Louie's soft stools (not watery). She immediately mailed me some medicine as well as an intestinal "flora" (enzymes-ProZyme Feline) food additive to energize the digestion. The stools have firmed up again before the package arrived, and it was probably due to a diet modification, so I have not used either. I might try the ProZyme, as it is a supposed aid toward more complete nutrient uptake.

This morning I added EVO kibble to his diet. I began giving him about 50/50 Canin/EVO kibble and still mixing with canned EVO and added water. He eats it all..............definitely not fussy. Yesterday I gave him some of my cooked salmon dinner, which he enjoyed as well. This evening, I gave him the scraps from the raw chicken that I trimmed prior to grilling it. He gobbled that up too.

I'm feeding him about 7 AM and & 7 PM with the wet/dry/water slurry. Whatever he leaves after about 1/2 hour (which is usually next to nothing) I remove, rinse and dry his shallow bowl, and then add a handful of kibble which he nibbles on throughout the day. I'm not measuring anything, since I want him eating his fill until he's full grown.................I want him to grow as big as his genes will allow!

He seems to have no trouble drinking either. He generally goes for the water bowl after eating. Yes, Rascaldad, Louie loves water (like most Savannah's). Whenever I'm using the sink, he jumps up and "asks" me to drip some water for him. He's a rascal alright! If I close the drain, he remains there as the water rises with no fear at all.

How long should I wait before I take him into the shower with me? I know he's dying for me to slide the door open and let him in.

 

[Louie'sDad]

BTW:
Dale and Holly have a new litter of F1's coming available. The prices of kittens from this litter are lower than the prices of kittens from Louie's litter.