Cat Problem

Kapidolo Farms

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Using only dry food is better for him. Forces him to chew which slows down his eating and he'll get full with less food. The hard crunchies clean his teeth also.

Isn't this also part of chronic dehydration in cats leading to all those kidney/bladder issues?
 

WithLisa

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That's crazy. A good quality dry food won't make a fat cat. However, an animal fed on soft food will have rotten teeth in no time.

Things that clean teeth(I'm not saying a spot shine)....Your tongue, your crunchy foods, your tooth pick, your fingernails (ew), your toothbrush, ECT.
Have you ever seen a cat with rotten teeth because of wet food? I haven't. :confused:
Well, I have seen lots (and owned a few) of cats with rotten teeth. Most of them were fed on dry food, but that doesn't really matter since the cause was always FORL.

My first cats (dry food) were most prone to calculus, gum infections, obesity and kidney failure. I had much less problems when I started feeding wet food and so far no problems at all with barf.
That's my experience, but I've heard exactly the same from my vets, other cat keepers and read it in articles about cat health. If you havn't had any problems with dry food I'm happy for you. :)

And I really envy you for not knowing about kidney failure! Every other cat I've ever known died from it. :(
 

Patty P

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I may be a tortoise novice but I practically speak CAT. My first cat slept with me in the crib when I was a newborn and I have had so many cats since then. (I have also spent an OBSCENE amount of money of them too.) I had two cats that became diabetic from dry food. My soulmate, TomCat, was hooked on dry (and he got the expensive kinds) and still ended up having ALL of his teeth removed from chronic stomatitis. I have visited with so many vets through the years including a feline dentist from NJ, a feline cardiologist from NY, and a feline cancer clinic in Conn.
It really comes down to genetics. Some cats have really good genes and others do not, just like people. Some can eat dry without issue while others cannot.
Here is picture of my tortoiseshell, Elsa (had cancer, is in remission) and my orange guy called Pumpkin Pie. Both rescues!
 

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Patty P

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Have you ever seen a cat with rotten teeth because of wet food? I haven't. :confused:
Well, I have seen lots (and owned a few) of cats with rotten teeth. Most of them were fed on dry food, but that doesn't really matter since the cause was always FORL.

My first cats (dry food) were most prone to calculus, gum infections, obesity and kidney failure. I had much less problems when I started feeding wet food and so far no problems at all with barf.
That's my experience, but I've heard exactly the same from my vets, other cat keepers and read it in articles about cat health. If you havn't had any problems with dry food I'm happy for you. :)

And I really envy you for not knowing about kidney failure! Every other cat I've ever known died from it. :(
Kidney failure is one of the most common killers in cats and now in the US, cancer is on the rise in cats and dogs according to my cat's vet.
 

WithLisa

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Kidney failure is one of the most common killers in cats and now in the US, cancer is on the rise in cats and dogs according to my cat's vet.
Yes, cancer and kidney failure... :(
I have no experience with diabetes in cats, but you are right, that is also a common consequece of all those carbohydrates in dry food, but some wet foods are also high in carbohydrates, one must read the ingedients carefully.
 

Yvonne G

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I had an out of town guest over the week-end and he and Charlie got along famously. The cat never once scratched my guest and was very loving. Charlie still sat by the kitchen door yowing for food in the a.m., but once fed, just sat quietly in close proximity to where my guest was working. I guess I'm going to have to give him more attention. But see? The rules for cats here are - you just live here. You'll be fed, watered and cleaned up after, and maybe loved on occasionally, but you leave the keeper alone. I have a cat who lives indoors. This is the cat that gets all the attention. The cats who live outside were strays that I've allowed to stay here. I really have no great love for them other than I think they're awfully pretty and sometimes very silly. Hard hearted, I know.
 

Patty P

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I had an out of town guest over the week-end and he and Charlie got along famously. The cat never once scratched my guest and was very loving. Charlie still sat by the kitchen door yowing for food in the a.m., but once fed, just sat quietly in close proximity to where my guest was working. I guess I'm going to have to give him more attention. But see? The rules for cats here are - you just live here. You'll be fed, watered and cleaned up after, and maybe loved on occasionally, but you leave the keeper alone. I have a cat who lives indoors. This is the cat that gets all the attention. The cats who live outside were strays that I've allowed to stay here. I really have no great love for them other than I think they're awfully pretty and sometimes very silly. Hard hearted, I know.
Too bad your out of town guest couldn't adopt Charlie! They sound like a perfect match! Orange cats are usually overly friendly. I got my orange guy because he was abandoned by his previous owner. It took a bit of adjusting but now Pumpkin is 100% indoors and living the good life.
 

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Kapidolo Farms

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Charlie is a really wonderful cat. Makes eye contact, accepts lavish head scratching and pets. Enjoys close proximity even when you'd rather not have it, and talks the talk of a well educated tortoise pen cat. He keeps a distant watchful eye on those moving mounds of cool tortoises. Staying away just in case they might like to eat a cat. But a watchful eye on the tortoise pen none-the-less. No mouse or rat will ever take up home in the enclosure.
 

Crzt4torts

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I forgot to mention that Mrs. Johnson, the widow lady two doors down from me, died in November. Charlie started showing up in January. It's not too far a stretch to think Charlie used to belong to Mrs. Johnson and it took him a couple months to figure out to come here for my cat's dry food. He's neutered.
That is so sad! Poor thing is looking for a new inside home. No relations of Mrs Johnson would take Charlie?
 

Yvonne G

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That is so sad! Poor thing is looking for a new inside home. No relations of Mrs Johnson would take Charlie?

I think they probably just kicked him out of the house to fend for himself. The son sold the house right away and it was vacant for a couple months.
 
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