Do you think it is okay?

Question

to give your cats canned food about twice a month as a treat? I have 3 cats and i divide one can between the 3 like every two weeks or more.. other than that they eat dry food every day... thanks!

Answer 1

Canned food should not be a treat -- it should be a staple of a cat's diet. It is a misnomer that hard food is healthier. Hard food is too dry and causes diabetes or kidney failure in cats. Think about it -- which seems like real food, and what looks more like play dough. The important thing is you feed your cat a healthy brand, like Wellness or Innova -- foods that have REAL meats and not "chickenmeal" made of beaks and intestines, foods iwth no cancer causing byproducts. If you feed grocery store food, or even Science diet or Innova in my opinion, you can feed either kind and expect health problems. Keep in mind that cats are desert animals, they will not drink enough since in the wild they get a ton of water in their food -- THEY NEED SOFT FOOD. Soft food is HEALTHY if you feed a good brand like Wellness or Innova. And it is TOTALLY FALSE that hard food prevents tooth problems. My cat ate only hard for a long time and still had horrible tooth problems, and now I feed both hard and soft -- and its the hard food I am brushing from being stuck in her teeth, it doesnt clean her teeth it sticks there and causes cavities. I hope that helps! good luck!! I feed half a can of wet food to my cat each day.

AND STAY AWAY FROM TUNA and hotdogs -- both VERY BAD for cats. And soft food does not cause diahrea unless its a cruddy grocery store brand.

Answer 2

My two cats get a scoop of canned food every evening, and they're both very healthy, and not overweight because of it. My mother had a cat that ate canned food every night, and she lived to 17.

My cats just get one cereal spoon full of the canned food every evening, and their dry cat food is out all the time.

Answer 3

I keep dry food out for my cats all day and feed them 1 tsp each of the canned food 2x daily. The problem I have with the canned food is keeping the refrigerator from smelling like tuna.

Answer 4

I agree with boncarle. Canned food is a healthy part of a cat's diet. It helps to increase their water intake, and if your cat is overweight, which most of our pampered pets are, canned food is a great way for them to slim down.

Just read your labels. The first ingredient should be a meat. If it's a chicken flavor, the first ingredient needs to be "chicken." Not chicken-byproduct, not chicken-meal. Iams, Innova, Wellness, even some Fancy Feast flavors are all good (though Fancy Feast tends to be high in salt). Science Diet is OK too, though I personally am not crazy about it. Try to stay away from flavors and brands with lots of gravy.

Answer 5

I have known cats that lived to be 20 years old with good health on exactly this type of feeding regimen. I currently have a 16 year old female with no health problems who has been fed this way all of her life. Be sure to feed good quality food whether it is wet or dry and provide plenty of fresh water.

Answer 6

I think that would be fine. I'm sure the cats will like it. Some people feed their cats just canned food, and their cats are fine.

Answer 7

Sure, some people give their cats canned food every day.... though dry food is better. A treat every 2 weeks is more than okay.

Answer 8

Me thinks 2 to 3 times of canned food if you really love your cats! Canned food is not really a treat, it is part of their staple too. Kibbles good but imagine in a reverse role, you eating dry biscuits everyday ...........

Answer 9

yes thats perfectly fine. Soft food is more fatty then dry food but once or twice a month is nice. Tuna is good as a treat also.

Answer 10

That is fine. Cats do need wet food sometimes. If you really want to treat them, they do have kitty treats now. Or chop up a hot dog, or some nice safe tuna. My kitten loved that before she passed away.