Cat Chat 2

[Sixx O'Clock]

So lately i've been encountering lots of crazy people who claim kibble based food is poison, so I have a cat with thyroid issue and he has medicine that he takes but people are repeatedly telling me I should put him and my other two cats on raw diet because I'm poisoning my pets with get this kibble. Like I'm so fed up with people labeling me a bad owner for feeding kibble food I mean it doesn't even have to be a brand they just tell me I should stop because my pets will die early. my grandfather had a cat who lived to be 20 on kibble food so I'm not sure where this trend of switch to raw diet cause kibble is poison came from. I mean a raw diet has benefits but not all kibble is poison sheesh.

Those people are a minority, albeit a very vocal one. Yes, kibble food isn't the best food you can feed an animal, but unless you can afford to shell out hundreds of dollars a year for top-of-the-line pet food, or have the time to dedicate to researching raw diets and then spend even more time trying to find a trustworthy place to buy said raw food (which isn't always easy, especially if you live in a small town), kibble food is the best alternative. Not all kibble foods are bad, obviously you get what you pay for, but there's affordable brands that provide all the nutrition a cat needs.

[veggie]

So lately i've been encountering lots of crazy people who claim kibble based food is poison, so I have a cat with thyroid issue and he has medicine that he takes but people are repeatedly telling me I should put him and my other two cats on raw diet because I'm poisoning my pets with get this kibble. Like I'm so fed up with people labeling me a bad owner for feeding kibble food I mean it doesn't even have to be a brand they just tell me I should stop because my pets will die early. my grandfather had a cat who lived to be 20 on kibble food so I'm not sure where this trend of switch to raw diet cause kibble is poison came from. I mean a raw diet has benefits but not all kibble is poison sheesh.

Those people are a minority, albeit a very vocal one. Yes, kibble food isn't the best food you can feed an animal, but unless you can afford to shell out hundreds of dollars a year for top-of-the-line pet food, or have the time to dedicate to researching raw diets and then spend even more time trying to find a trustworthy place to buy said raw food (which isn't always easy, especially if you live in a small town), kibble food is the best alternative. Not all kibble foods are bad, obviously you get what you pay for, but there's affordable brands that provide all the nutrition a cat needs.

^This

Personally, I think the only thing wrong with a kibble based diet is the lack of moisture. Cats would naturally get the majority of their moisture from their prey, so they aren't naturally inclined to drink from standing water. For me personally, two of my babies drink plenty, but one of them drinks very little. I combat this by putting a little water over their kibble and sometimes substituting canned food.

[Crossflare]

We actually solved the whole standing water issue by getting a pet fountain one of our cats had trouble seeing if there was water in it and they were refusing to drink water that was standing so instead we bought a pet fountain and now all our pets drink from it we fill it up with filtered water.

We also give them a bit of wet food as a snack cause my oldest cat takes thyroid meds so we crush the medication and put it in the wet food with some of the juice he won't take it if we don't cause he's to smart for us to use pill pockets or cheese he's eat around the pill. XD

[Rainbow Dash]

So lately i've been encountering lots of crazy people who claim kibble based food is poison, so I have a cat with thyroid issue and he has medicine that he takes but people are repeatedly telling me I should put him and my other two cats on raw diet because I'm poisoning my pets with get this kibble. Like I'm so fed up with people labeling me a bad owner for feeding kibble food I mean it doesn't even have to be a brand they just tell me I should stop because my pets will die early. my grandfather had a cat who lived to be 20 on kibble food so I'm not sure where this trend of switch to raw diet cause kibble is poison came from. I mean a raw diet has benefits but not all kibble is poison sheesh.

Raw diet actually has no proven benefits and more risk than kibble. It's a trend based on the "back to nature" fallacy which just doesn't apply to domesticated animals. Health claims made by raw food advocates are based 100% on anecdotal evidence.

If your cat is doing great with the fountain, awesome! Veggie is correct about canned food bridging the gap in not drinking enough water and getting enough moisture. Tambora gets a can of wet food in the morning and a little handful of dry food at night with plenty of fresh water available which is drinks out of a bowl with no problem. Even with my awesome discount working at a pet food store canned food costs add up and I get more bang for my buck with dry food.

ETA: Oops linked to the abstract and not the full paper. Added that in. It's worth a read.

[gold]

-snip-
If your cat is doing great with the fountain, awesome! Veggie is correct about canned food bridging the gap in not drinking enough water and getting enough moisture. Tambora gets a can of wet food in the morning and a little handful of dry food at night with plenty of fresh water available which is drinks out of a bowl with no problem. Even with my awesome discount working at a pet food store canned food costs add up and I get more bang for my buck with dry food.

ETA: Oops linked to the abstract and not the full paper. Added that in. It's worth a read.

I like to feed my cat a mix of canned and dry food with extra water mixed into it! She loves it! I'll soak the dry food in water like cereal for a few seconds, drain most of the kibble water, and then mix in her wet food. It's just a little way of forcing some more hydration on her. Another benefit for my cat in particular is that she can't eat hard food as easily since she's lost a few teeth to FIV.

[pizzas and scream]

Personally, I think the only thing wrong with a kibble based diet is the lack of moisture. Cats would naturally get the majority of their moisture from their prey, so they aren't naturally inclined to drink from standing water. For me personally, two of my babies drink plenty, but one of them drinks very little. I combat this by putting a little water over their kibble and sometimes substituting canned food.

untill it's an inaproperate beverage like tea, or christmas tree water.


so, is there any true food for cats with IBS? or something like it? or is it all a sham, and "prescription diet brand" will kill Gary? i asked about it on my own accord I am sure my family won't like me feeding him raw diet and i can't feed him things he wants to eat like oatmeal and what ever inappropriate "people food"

[Thalassic]

so, is there any true food for cats with IBS? or something like it? or is it all a sham, and "prescription diet brand" will kill Gary? i asked about it on my own accord I am sure my family won't like me feeding him raw diet and i can't feed him things he wants to eat like oatmeal and what ever inappropriate "people food"

you should talk to your vet about that.

[pizzas and scream]

so, is there any true food for cats with IBS? or something like it? or is it all a sham, and "prescription diet brand" will kill Gary? i asked about it on my own accord I am sure my family won't like me feeding him raw diet and i can't feed him things he wants to eat like oatmeal and what ever inappropriate "people food"

you should talk to your vet about that.

i asked the vet about the IBS and if there is a "special food" for that. but "unfortunatly" it seems only easy avalible food is the Hill's brand.

[Bitters]

i asked the vet about the IBS and if there is a "special food" for that. but "unfortunatly" it seems only easy avalible food is the Hill's brand.

I'm in the same boat. My roommate's kitty has severe IBS. She's always had noisy and very runny movements. We recently switched her over to Merrick BackCountry food and one wet meal a day. It's not for IBS but she's happy with it so far and we just deal with the godawful smell. If you find anything good let me know.

[Rainbow Dash]

so, is there any true food for cats with IBS? or something like it? or is it all a sham, and "prescription diet brand" will kill Gary? i asked about it on my own accord I am sure my family won't like me feeding him raw diet and i can't feed him things he wants to eat like oatmeal and what ever inappropriate "people food"

you should talk to your vet about that.

i asked the vet about the IBS and if there is a "special food" for that. but "unfortunatly" it seems only easy avalible food is the Hill's brand.

I checked my main resource for pet nutrition info (Petfoodlogy which is run by Tuft's University) and nada on IBS. Just the first page of Google is an absolute misinformation madhouse though. If it comes from Mercola or anything with "Natural" in the URL it's very likely nonsense.

Next time I'm on my computer I'll ask the chat group I am in for STEM students and professionals about IBS cat diets.