I have a cat.. A Ragdoll rescue cat. He is indoor all the time, unless on leash with me walking about. 4 years old now. Happy and playful.
Has eaten wet cat food since the day I got him. Refuses anything else. So When I got my second cat, I soon realized he was not as prissy as my Ragdoll male.
He loves dry cat food ..wet cat food.. any kind of treat.. But my Ragdoll only eats wet cat food Fancy Feast Elegant Meadly.. until my kitten got older and my Ragdoll decided one day every time I tried to feed kitten, he was going to shove him out of his dish and eat up all the dry food first.
I assumed my Ragdoll was feeling a little needy having a new kitty in the home, and just wasn't used to the change quite yet. Plus my Ragdoll would throw up all this dry cat food within 10 minutes because his stomach is just too sensitive.
So as this continued, I noticed my Ragdoll stopped using the bathroom, rushing him to the vet and hundreds of dollars later, on medication and has been on a vet recommended URINARY SO Royal Canin dry food since.
It was hard to get him to eat this food I had to mix his old food and the new at first now he is completely traded over on cat food, on vet food since December, and is doing good.
I guess I wonder if this food is enough nutrition for my male Ragdoll? As he doesn't like it very much, considering he is on such food, what other foods could be mixed?
He has lost pounds and his fur is not as soft and shiny ..I have spoken with my vet about this, all he recommended was switching to another brand c/d/ ?!
I really do not think that is what my cat needs, he eats what I give him, but I think he needs more nutrition as well. He just isn't happy having to eat dry all the time.
I do know there is wet cat food by the same maker, and he has had that as well, but still its not the same. I notice this makes him unhappy and he sleeps a lot more often now?! Seems lazy?! and quiet, no more purring?! We always ask this question, what is the best cat food or number one cat food that can be fed ?
Is there one answer? Is it specific to breed or gender? indoor or outdoor?
Anon
Hi... thanks for visiting. As you know, SO Royal Canin is to help prevent urinary tract health problems.
But some vets say that dry cat food causes urinary tract health problems and also other health problems such as diabetes or it causes a permanent state of mild dehydration because cats do not compensate sufficiently for the low water content by drinking more water. They also say that dry cat food can cause mild hypoglycemia as it has high carbohydrate content.
I don't think just eating dry cat food - no matter how good or suitable it is - is the correct way to proceed.
There should be a mix and wet cat food is a much closer fit to natural prey food.
I would add some high quality wet food and some treats or even some raw food (with caution).
I would love to ask this vet how he justifies a cat just eating dry cat food. He seems to be formulaic in his ideas. Or perhaps he gets a commission on sale of the cat food. Did you buy it at his clinic? If so you know why he recommends it.
By the way, why did you cat suddenly stop going to the toilet. It seems that the vet decided he had a UTI or urinary tract health problem of some sort.
The general consensus has shifted from dry because there is a realisation that it is not that good! Simple as that.
I would certainly make sure he drinks more and you can achieve that by mircrowaving food like frozen fish and adding some water to make a kind of soup. If he likes fish a bit of that would help get water down him if he was only eating dry cat food.
The best cat food is prey food (a mouse) but that is inconvenient. The next best is high quality wet food. That is what I have decided after a considerable amount of reading.
Try buying Your Cat by Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins. She is both a vet and a cat food expert.
Cat food is not specific to a certain cat breed. They all need the same food subject to modification for some specific health reason.
His continued lethargy may indicate a health issue not yet identified that is not associated with the urinary tract. I don't know - just speculating.
Hope this helps.
