Dry cat food made one of my cats ill

by Carmen
(Newcastle)

Kibble

Kibble

Look at the ingredients on dry food for your cat...most of the time the top ingredient is cereal, so if cereal is first stay away!.

Think..cats are carnivores they don't want greens just meat so why is there cereal in dry food?

Cereal stops the cats body from producing insulin causing diabetes, this has been found with many cats on dry food.

Also some dry food is sprayed with a special spray so the cat can't resist so that's why you may find your cat is hooked on dry food.

The vets won't tell you this as it's promotion for the company and really the vets! My cat, Precious, she's ate nothing but dry food since she was about 6 months she's been ill before (we are now getting her on to wet food), whereas my other cat Princess has had wet food and there's been nothing wrong with her. So for your cat's health and their own good get them on to wet food!!

Carmen


Hi Carmen.... thanks for visiting and reminding us of the hazards of just feeding dry cat food and it unnaturalness.

A well known veterinarain, Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins uses a good part of her book, Your Cat, to explain why dry cat food can cause health problems the most outstanding being urinary tract infections and kidney disease and indeed diabetes as I recall. I built a page on that called Cat Food Recipe.

My cat developed a urinary tract infection when on dry cat food. She has been fine since feeding on wet commercial cat food, some fish (with water added) and a bit of dry food for nightime grazing. One issue with dry food is the question whether cats substitute the lack of water by drinking more water and I don't think they always do. This promotes the formation of crystals in the urinary tract that in turn promotes bacterial infections. As you say, dry cat food is cereal based mixed with meat or dairy products.

Drs Gifffin and Carlson (Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook) say that a "theoretical" disadvantage of dry cat food is that it may predispose a cat to FUS - feline urological syndrome (Feline kidney disease and FLUTD). This disease affects 1% of adult cats they say (I think it is more these days as dry cat food is used more (their book was first published in 1995, things have changed).

The cause may be due, they say, of its low water and high magnesium content. Magnesium content should be less than 0.1% on a dry weight basis (
for cats who have had a bout of FUS). Special low magnesium cat food is available for these cats.

But it is generally considered by those in the know that the best cat food is homemade provided it is made properly. This is basically whole raw chicken and supplements ground up.

Michael Avatar

Dry cat food made one of my cats ill to Best Cat Food

Comments for
Dry cat food made one of my cats ill

Click here to add your own comments

Mar 16, 2012 Cat food?? No thank you! NEW
by: Mou

I have three cats in my house. Two 15 months old, and a 9 year old that belongs to my roommate. I used to feed them wet food twice a day (about 5oz to each cat a day), and had dry cat food for them to snack on during the night and during the day while we were at work.
My youngest male, Arthur, all of a sudden developed a urethral blockage due to crystals and had to be taken to the vet to be unblocked. His sister, another year old had digestive problems since she was little, stinking the place at least twice a week and showing signs of stomach problems.
My roommate's cat, 9 year old, vomited at least twice a month and although he was taken to the vet once every three months for check ups, the vet never found anything unusual and blamed it on him eating too much food.

After my 1 year old male came back from surgery, I decided to feed them just wet food. To my surprise, the 1 year old female has not had any digestive problems and is urinating clearer and more often, and the nine year old has not vomited at all after he lived his life with that torture. They are all much more active, much more playful, and they look healthier.

THUMBS DOWN to DRY cat food of ANY KIND. Your cats deserve a healthy life.


Sep 19, 2011 I've changed dry food brands
by: Gail (Boston, USA)

Since my last post, I've changed dry cat food brands, due, in part, to now having a Maine Coon mix cat. (My former furkid, Sadie, passed over the Rainbow Bridge.)

On advice from a Maine Coon breeder, she said she only feeds her Maine Coons the dry food brand, Orijen - see website references:


I've definitely seen the difference - her hair is absolutely gorgeous, her poops are smaller and less stinky, she's got more pep (if THAT'S possible, LOL!) and, added with a bit of wet in the morning, she's just as happy as can be!


Mar 16, 2010 Thank you!
by: Carmen

I just wanted to pop by and say thank you for taking the time to comment on my post, for the advice and for the stories relating to this subject!.

Good news Precious is eating more wet then dry food now!, I'm so happy about that!.

You and your kitties take care!. x


Mar 05, 2010 Nutritional Dry Cat Food
by: Gail (Boston, MA USA)

http://web.archive.org/web/20080703230352/http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_dry_complete_health_chicken.html

The above link will direct you to Wellness brand cat food, the flavor that my Sadie absolutely loves!!!

Since she has hypothyroidism, I've got to be extra careful of what she eats. She's given wet & dry; a small bit of wet in the morning with more dry (I'm gone all day & cannot monitor her eating habits). She nibbles at the wet & returns to it during the day; however, it dries out & I also don't want it to sit to accumulate bacteria (like any food will). In the evening, it's reversed; primary food is wet with a bit of dry on the side. This seems to be working wonderfully. She's happy; I'm not picking up puke on the linens, she's happy & her weight is stable.

Here in the USA, we had a horrific pet food scare when named brands & generic brands were killing pets. It was in the cereals/grains that were being shipped in from China & other areas including the USA without proper quality control. Pesticides were found in the cereals, feces, dead animal parts. I could go on but you get the picture. Lots of heads rolled over that one.

I've included some links for the forum to peruse about pet food recalls. It's pretty serious & more reason for us to pay attention.

http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/11/pet_food_recalls104.html

http://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/safetyhealth/recallswithdrawals/ucm129575.htm

I cannot list all of them, but if you google the phrase "pet food recalls" you will be amazed at the number of junk that's out there purporting to be safe when it truly isn't.


Mar 05, 2010 Grainfree food
by: Jackie

Hi Carmen,
I too feed my cats, which are 2 very picky Burmese and 1 Oriental, on dry food as well as wet food. I have always been very wary of too much dry food, having read rather frightening reports on a specific one. However, living in Spain, I found an American food which is grain free and has a wealth of goodies in it. Too much to mention, but blueberries and raspberries too! It's called: Taste of the wild. Rocky Mountain Feline Formula with roasted venison and smoked salmon.It's slightly cheaper than Royal Canin. I started drooling when I read what was in it, but a fact is that my cats absolutely adore it and my Oriental has started (almost visibly) growing. They still get their wet treats and home cooked stuff as well. They are probably the most spoilt, but healthy, cats in Spain, but hey, they're worth it.
Jax


Mar 04, 2010 My vet was stupid when it came to dry food!
by: Maggie Sharp

When my Chilli was sick I was talking to vet about general cat health. I told her how shocked I was when I found out that dry food had grains, wheat, cereals etc in it, and she told me that I was wrong, and despite all those ingredients, dry food is good for your cat!!

And, my grandma's cat Cherry, was sick and dying, so her vet advised that she stopped eating dry food. So she did... She's been prefectly fine ever since.

Dry food is bad in my opinion, and that's why I only give my cat a small amount once a day, the rest is all wet food...


Leave a Comment

follow it link and logo