Feeding my new kitten ...

I have definitely heard that with regard to males. Our vet told us to switch our two female cats to wet food exclusively, because they were not drinking enough water (which is a common problem) and were getting dehydrated/constipated/bloated.

I specifically asked my vet about this when we got out most recent male cat. I was told as long as he drinks water regularly it really isn't necessary to feed them wet food. She also said, "ask 20 other vets and half will agree with me!"

Our 5 cats always have dry food available and every night they get some wet food, which I add water too to make it more gravy like. We have ample water out at all times too and have one water fountain for them too. Only 3 use the fountain. So far, so good, knock on wood.
I think there are benefits to both dry and wet food which is why we do both.

Isn't there dry food for uterine issues as well? That is what dd's dog is on for her diet.

Keep an eye on how much water he drinks. If he is drinking and peeing, he should be okay. Our farm cats are on Whiskas and the occasional side of mouse, with available water at all times. The last one lived to 17 years old. (The last year, HE got raw hamburger on--very LOUD--demand! Guess he knew he was a carnivore and if he couldn't hunt he still needed meat!

I always feed cats a mixture of wet and dry food, always grain free. An all wet diet is more expensive and not as good for their teeth and gums, although it can help prevent urinary blockages. Always provide plenty of fresh water and as high quality dry food as you can.

What uterine issues would a cat or dog have? Do you mean urinary? Normal cats fed plenty of water and wet food hopefully won't be as prone to kidney or urinary problems or diabetes.

Ok, just wanted to clarify!

2 years ago we got two new kittens, both male, and my vet said the best way to prevent crystals was feeding a good quality of food regardless of wet or dry. We feed them dry food. We've always had male cats, never any issues and have always used high quality pet food sold at vet.

I had two male kittens and was advised by the vet to feed them a mix of both. I generally fed them wet food in the am and left out dry food through the day.

We have had two male cats in the family who developed cystitis from eating only dried food. My son's cat was hospitalized from it and eventually had to have surgery -- $5,000 altogether to save this rescue cat. My cat also had a problem but responded to the wet food, so we now give him lots of wet food. 

Cats don't drink water like dogs. They get a lot of their fluid from their food. Also, the male ureter (?) narrows at the tip of the penis so the least bit of swelling from crystals or irritation causes it to become swollen and the cat is unable to urinate-a potentially deadly situation. That's why wet food is preferable for male cats -- it keeps them hydrated and less likely to have crystals. 

     Thanks for the condolences on Biru's passing. He passed away in December of 2014, so it's been awhile, but I still miss him.  Having Jesse (our new kitten) is really helping. He brings a lot of joy and happiness back into the house. 

When I make the raw food with the powder from feline instincts I mix up a batch at a time. The usual recipe for cats calls for using 2 lbs of meat at a time. Right now that is what I am using for my new kitten. We fill up pint sized mason jars half way and put them in the freezer. He is 4 months old so he is supposed to eat 1/2 cup 3 times a day according to a chart printed on the brochure that comes with the food. It goes up according the the cat's age. We are only filling the jars half full at this point because you can keep a jar of food in the fridge for two days only. It takes me 15-20 minutes to make up a batch of food-not long at all. It would be much more of a bother to make it every day. This way we are only making it about once a week. 

Debbie in MD.

Thanks so much!!SaveSave

     First of all PaperaddictedPea I am not picking on you. I am just trying to educate all Peas. This is the thing. It doesn't matter how conscious we are, or what methods of water we provide for our cats, we simply cannot make them drink enough water for their daily needs. Their bodies are designed by nature to get some of their daily fluid needs from their food. Mice are nice and juicy, think of all of the blood within them. Of course cats out in the wild didn't eat only mice, they ate whatever they could find. Then we came along, and give them dry kibble. We've only been doing this for the past, what 80 years? But cats have been with us for centuries. And surviving quite well.

This is also the thinking behind the raw food diets. Cats didn't stop and build a small campfire after they caught their mice and cook them did they? Nope, they ate them raw and consumed those juices (blood) just like they were. Cats (and dogs) have special bacteria in their mouths that counteract the bacteria in raw meat, so they don't get sick like we would. 

The point is current thinking now is the cats don't have to end up with kidney disease when they get older. Or urinary infections. The these are caused by a dry food diet because all of the dry food stresses the kidneys-which are stressed because of the lack of daily fluid intake the cat isn't getting. 

I never knew any of this until Biru came down with kidney disease at the age of 15. My vet told me to feed him prescription Royal Canin and hope for the best. He had stage 3 kidney disease. Biru got much worse-he was down to skin and bones on that food. By the way he said dry food or canned was fine but to do the fluid therapy which was hanging a pouch of saline solution up and inserting a needle under Biru's skin for a few minutes while the fluid drained into him. He hated it and I hated putting him through that.  I hit the internet and did a ton of research for 3 solid weeks. That's when I learned about cat's needing wet food (why on earth would a vet say dry food was fine for a kidney diseased cat? Some of them just don't know) and that Royal Canin is rated one of the worst foods by dogfoodadvisor.com That is a great site by the way. It rates a ton of different pet foods and most importantly tells you why it got the rating it did. I learned a ton on that site. 

Now you don't have to feed your cat a raw food diet unless you want to-it is the healthiest but a lot of folks don't have the time. Canned cat food works almost as well and is far superior to dry food as far as wetness and fluid needs are concerned. I hope that helps. As far as choosing a canned food, a lot of the same brands of canned cat food have a canned or dry dog food, so you can look up the brand on the dogfoodadvisor list. It will at least tell you how the company rates as a pet food. 

Debbie in MD.