Someone told me male cats shouldn't be given dry food?

Question

She said it can cause crystals to orm in their kidneys. Someone else once told me though that adult cats can't have too much soft food because they won't drink enough water if they do. My male is currently eating dry Royal Canin Siamese formula, should I change his food or is the other person wrong? My cat is a neutered 3 1/2 year old male Siamese who weighs 25 lbs, but he is a big cat and it's not all fat on him. I love my cat and wants what is best for him.

The person that told me this is a breeder of Bengals. It worries me. Mew's vet says he's heathy, but I only want what is best for him. I think I read the thing about canned food either online or in Cat Fancy.

Answer 1

Holy cow, are you sure he's a cat & not a toyota? I thought mine was huge.

Male cats are prone to getting urinary tract infections, and other problems so this is probably why there are sites on the net saying to not feed your male dry food. You need to feed your male dry food because wet will rot his teeth. I feed a combination of both & mix extra water in with the wet to make sure my little guy is getting enough water.

I'd also suggest getting him used to your brushing his teeth because I didn't when mine was younger & it's insane how much it costs to have the vet do it. --> & it's a catch 22, I need to feed him soft food for other issues he has... but it rots his teeth & turns them brown with tartar & plaque. So be wary of an all soft food diet.

Answer 2

Yes, human tuna is bad for cats. I've heard that they can get sort of addicted to it and may turn up their noses at anything else, which can be a problem. It can also lead to a disease - I think it's yellow fat or something like that. Whatever, it's not good. And of course it doesn't provide the right nutrition that cats need. If you're feeding canned tuna for cats, that's better but still not good. Fishy foods shouldn't be served more than 2-3 times per week. How about this - get some other canned foods for him to eat? Canned food is healthier for them. You might want to reconsider the Meow Mix too - that's one of the very worst brands of dry food out there. Just about anything would be an improvement.

Answer 3

Dry cat food will not harm a cat at all. Where I work we actually recomend dry food over wet food. A national name brand is just fine for your pets, although I would advise you put your siamese on a weight loss diet. 25lbs is way too much for a cat to weigh. Even though it's not all fat, I'm sure some of it is. You may want to visit your Veterinarian, they have prescription diets that they can put your cat on. Where I work we use Science diet, and we see great results with that product.

Answer 4

Crystals don't generally form in kidneys in animals. They form in the bladder in animals. Crystals are cause by various things, and can occur in both acidic and alkaline environments. So that being said, if your cat ever gets a crystal or stone in his bladder, your vet will tell you what kind, and what diet to change him to. Canned food not only causes them to drink less water, which is bad for kidneys, but causes more plaque and tartar to build up on their teeth. Dry food builds up less, and can help reduce some tartar caused by wet food, but will eventually cause tartar and plaque build up on its own too. Feeding your cat any high quality cat kibble is fine until a problem occurs. There are several over the counter and prescription urinary diets for cats. You shouldn't feed these until you know what your cat's urinary system is prone to doing. If you are seriously concered with this, have a yearly urinalysis added to your yearly vet checkup. Females are just as likely to get crystals, but since their urethra are larger, they pass them more easily. That means females don't have as many clinical symptons as males, and are often undiagnosed. The owners never know there is a problem because the females can pee them out easier.

Answer 5

I have three cat at home and I never give can food to my babies. Dry food is the best for your cats teeth, gums and digestive system. Royal Canine is a very high quality cat food and if you check the amount of ash compare to other brands you know that you are doing him a favor buying that kind of food.
He is a bit overweight, but stop all can and give him treats low in fat or for seniors. Keep the good work and stop listening to everybody's advice, use your common sense..

Answer 6

I've heard that too about the crystals. Just make sure he has fresh water available all the time. I vary my cats diet, it's mostly dry food, every few days I give him some canned food mixed in with it.

Answer 7

My cat was terribly sick and dehydrated (and received an enema because of it ) and my vet told me to begin him on wet science diet formula once a day and maintain the dry food avaliable at all times. He said the moist kinds will help with constipation as well as kidney problems that most male cats will eventually die from.

Answer 8

I was always told by my vets to buy low ash and magnesium dry food for my boys to avoid kidney and other urinary tract problems. I have followed this advice and never had a problem with a male cat in 30 years of cat ownership.

All my cats eat Iams.

Answer 9

She is right. Dry food is too dehydrating and cats simply do not drink enough water to compensate for that lack of moisture.

I have prepared an afternoon's reading for you. At www.littlebigcat. com Dr. Jean Hovfe has many articles on cat nutrition:

"Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food"
"Urinary Tract Disorders in Cats"
"Water Water Everywhere, but What's a Cat to Drink?"
"What Cats Should Eat"
"Why Cats Need Canned Food"
"Why Fish is Dangerous for Cats"
"Easy Homemade Diets for Cats and Dogs"
"Switching Foods"

Answer 10

If you buy a good brand of cat food he will be ok. I feed my male IAMS hair ball formula. He is 11 and has never been sick a day in his life. My cat is a purebred Birman and weighs 16 lbs. He also is a big cat and has very little fat on him.