I am trying to change my cat's diet. i used to feed him half a tin of whiskers (wet food) in the morning, and half a tin in the evening. He isn't extremely over-weight, but is a little big. and am trying to change his food to iams, as i've heard it's better for him, but he only eats a mouthful, or he will refuse it totally. i'm starting to feel really guilty, as i don't want him to be hungry, but want him to eat healthy food!!! what can i do?!
2007-01-26 06:33:34 · 22 answers · asked by Proudnewmummy! 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
PLEASE don't do it. i changed my cat from whiskas to iams dried for the same reason. Within 2 weeks his bladder was so severely erroded he nearly died! £700+ later he is still with me but on pills and a special vet diet for the rest of his life!! No cat should eat dried food only, its mainly cereal-based and not natural to a cats diet. If only Id not listened to bad advice and realised this before I done what u are trying to do now. Take my advice and learn from my mistake. Please, don't do it, get a diet food from vets instead! PLEASE. Hobswort is right, i don't understand all the thumbs down for her....
2007-01-26 08:44:28 · answer #1 · answered by Serry's mum 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I have had to change food for my very fat cat as well. Try adding some of the new food into the old food and make the old food portions smaller and the new food portions larger with each feeding. It will slowly get him used to the new food, and get comfortable with it while the change is taking place. Cats generally do not like change and diet is on acception! Give this a try. Good luck!
2007-01-26 06:47:05 · answer #2 · answered by es_tritt_auf 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mix some in with Whiskers so he is having some of each. My old cat would not eat any sort of dry cat food no matter what we tried.
If mixing doesn't work it may be a case of just cutting down the wet food a bit. 1/3 of can instead of half.
2007-01-26 06:44:21 · answer #3 · answered by paul m 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I feel the best approach to keeping his weight right is to continue with QUALITY canned food. Iam's is not quality food, wet or dry as they use by-product meat in their formulations for both wet and dry.
Natural Balance and Wellness make quality canned foods. They also have quite a variety of "flavors". Buy the small cans at first and try your cat on all the different ones. You will soon know which ones he likes the best. Just don't overuse the "fishy" ones. I only give my three cats fish combinations about twice a week.
Natural Balance has an indoor, ultra, chicken and liver, venison etc. Wellness has turkey, chicken, turkey and salmon, beef. My cats don't like the beef or chicken in that line and they don't like the NB turkey and giblet. Your cat might like those so give a try with as many as you can.
When you establish his preferences then you can go to the larger size cans. A 6 oz can per day is enought for an adult cat.
Maybe a small can of the NB salmon or the Wellness turkey and salmon two to three times a week in addition. I also use Lick Your Chops lamb and chicken varieties. The LYC doesn't have small cans.
2007-01-26 08:49:29 · answer #4 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If he does not like Iams, don't make him eat it. I'm sure there are foods you don't like either. Iams is not actually that healthy, my cat ate that for 2years or so and got huge. You are probably best feeding him the Whiskers as he likes that, but give him a bit less than usual.
If you suspect your cat is getting over-weight, take him to the vets to be weighed and then you'll know. We feed ours a vet recommended food and slowly the weight is coming off.
2007-01-26 07:47:09 · answer #5 · answered by Esquire 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Start by mixing a bit of wet food in the dry food. Then eventually put less and less wet food in there.
We use Purina LIGHT on ours. We already had a cat live 15 years on Purina dry food alone. It's a lot lot expensive than IAMS
2007-01-26 07:28:50 · answer #6 · answered by poutine 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all don't feed him wet food everyday. That really helps with keeping on the wieght. Only give it to him once a week as a treat and not the whole can. And if you give him wet food feed him Fancy Feast. Also stay away from IAMS. Its like McDonald's for cats. My cats are on a special diet. I feed them Hills Prescription Diet RD (reduced diet) You have to get it from your vet. The cost is just the same or even less than IAMS. My cats LOVE these kibbles, and have been on it for the past 2 years. I saw a very noticeable difference in their weight, coat and the smell of their poopie and urine. It isn't as strong.
BTW....one of my cats is 20 lbs, he is huge but not FAT. The food has really helped his energy and he hasn't gain anymore weight. He also lost 5 pounds.
2007-01-26 07:34:06 · answer #7 · answered by Cynthia H 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Only feed your cat wet food! Remember, cats are carnivores. The best diet for a cat is meat with a bit of chopped greens mixed in. Your cat should be eating the highest percentage of calories from protein, then fat and little to no carbohydrates. Carbohydrate-laden dry food (usually full of sugary corn) will eventually cause feline diabetes! Fancy Feast has some of the best options for an appropriate feline diet. If you are feeding your cat dry food at all they will overeat because it doesn't supply the right nutrients for cats, so they don't feel full.
That said, the best way to get your finicky cat to eat a new food is to slowly mix a higher percentage of the new food in with the old food. You can also try mixing in a few of your cat's favorite treats into the new food.
Here is a web page and nutritional chart to read for more information: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diet.htm
http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html
I hope this helps!
2007-01-26 07:37:51 · answer #8 · answered by hobbsworth 3 · 1⤊ 4⤋
dont bother. iams is not worth what you pay for it. it really is not that great of a food. try going with a Hill's product which is much better for him. i dont know about the science diet but i do know that the vet foods are all guaranteed which means if he wont eat it you can take it back and get your money back. if he is healthy except over weight a good one to try is t/d. it is lower and fat and calories than their other foods and is also great for their teeth--the kibble is bigger than normal foods. and he wont eat or should not eat as much of these foods so it will save you money in the long run.
2007-01-26 07:12:36 · answer #9 · answered by cwhl 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
He doesn't like the food. Thats really all. Look for a food w/ no by products and no corn. He might like it better. And if he's accustomed to the wet food you're going to have a hell of a time trying to get him off of that.
look up www.nutroproducts.com they guarantee the cat will like it and they have a lite indoor formula. help him lose weight etc.
Good Luck
2007-01-26 06:41:07 · answer #10 · answered by sillybuttmunky 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋