So while Persia was at her Foster home, they had her on the most inexpensive wet food (not sure the brand?). Anyway, in order to slowly ween her off and to dry, we bought Whiskas wet food and slowly put let and less of it in her Science Diet dry food. The Whiskas gave her VERYVERY stinky and a somewhat runny poop.

Well, everytime I go to the kitchen, she jumps on the counter and goes to her bowl. She's wondering when I am going to give her more wet food but Davin said not to. We bought 2 different types of "cat treats" (since Darla LOVESLOVESLOVES her dog treats) but Persia could care less about them and hasn't eaten even 1! I feel bad that she isn't getting the wet food anymore, so do any of you have suggestions of another brand to try to put a TINY bit in with her dry food as a treat?

Thanks!

Frankly, I would follow little Persia's inclinations and go toward a wet diet. Dry food can bring problems due to allergic reactions to grain (especially corn and wheat) and dehydration. Some cats thrive on it, but many do not. If you want a good cat food, look for one with little or no grain component and lots of animal protein. Cats need that to thrive.

Because my two had soft, discoloured poops from their prescription dry food (designed to give them fibre!) which I fed them along with prescription wet food, I switched them to a raw diet. No more kibble, although I give them hypoallergenic treats that are crunchy. I can buy good, human-suitable muscle meat ground up with heart and liver and bone at a shop not far from home. I am lucky, but others have found different ways to give them the best quality animal protein those carnivores require. Incidentally, since they started have they have not had soft poops -- that is, of course, if Bogart is on minimal medication for his colitis. Raw diets give cats solid, even brittle, pale-coloured, odorless poops of minimal volume. That is because there is no waste. Bogart gained two pounds of muscle and grew to equal his littermate in size after 5 months on the raw diet.

My guys split a can of Fancy Feast every morning.
They enjoy it like a treat. I mix Wellness indoor and
Evolve dry food which is out at all times for picking.
The Boyz are healthy and happy.

Arlene

Why are you trying to wean her off wet and onto dry?

As Barbara said, wet food is better for most cats than dry food. Dry food has lots of grain fillers, which can lead to diabetes, etc. The dryness may contribute to kidney and urinary problems. Dry food does not clean teeth. Constant feeding (which is what most people do with dry) can cause teeth, pancretic, and/or general digestive problems. Most people with kibble-eating cats would love to switch them TO wet food because of the health issues. So, why the desire to feed dry food???

As for Whiskas per se giving her stinky runny poop, with some cats, anytime you switch food, you get that reaction for 1-2 weeks as the digestive system develops the bacteria to digest the new food.

What can I say....Dolly "grew" up on dry food...
it's only now in her 17th year that she wants wet,
so we mix some wet Whiskas with dry (she's been on numerous dry brands, right
now it's all natural "Go" which is a Canadian brand I believe), several times a day.
and the dry is left down all day...for her to graze on if she wishes.
She did get runny poos in her very early years if offered wet..which is why I never
bothered with it..
I had to give her an antibiotic last year, and it was easier to hide it in the wet
that risking my fingers shoving it down her throat...which is why she is getting it daily
now..kind of became an addiction...and lo and behold...she no longer gets runny poos from it.
I never give it to her plain however, there is always dry mixed in there...

I don't feed dry because I think it's going to clean thier teeth however..
I feed dry because of the convenience of it...I like to know, if I am gone overnight on
a short trip...Dolly is going to eat...and you cant do that with wet..you would need a cat
sitter coming in to feed during the day..

Yes, Joan -- Dolly is one of those annoying exceptions to rules. She's like the guy I heard of who could only eat Oscar Meyer bolgona, and did so in fine health for 60+ years. Not what I'd recommend to anyone!

But I'm still curious why someone would switch a cat to dry, since most people want to switch a cat to wet from dry.

I'm of a mind that there are very good quality dry foods
out there, Linda...certainly a much better diet than a human eating
bolgona daily....
All three persians in my life were fed dry....and all three got runny poos when
I introduced wet when they were in thier younger years....which is why I steered clear
of them...

I know a raw diet would be desirable..if done correctly...but not everyone is so inclined
to feed raw...it can be very inconveniet in today's busy lives....
I know, I know...you do it...full time teaching job, travelling to work, etc....but for some
people that would send them off the stress meter...

If you can feed a dry, that is all natural and good quality...and your cat thrives on it..it's
just makes life a little easier...

Hi all!
The reason we weened her to dry was because the rescue we got her from said to. So in all honesty, I have NO idea what the reason is. I think it was because they feed them all very cheap wet food and it was giving Persia really really bad diarrhea so they suggested I change her to dry.

I tried contacting them (waiting for a response) to get a clarification. She is on Science Diet right now and seems fine, but I don't want to mess her up changing her diet

Oh yes, also thank you for those who recommended EYE ENVY. I bought a pack yesterday and used it on Darla & Persia. Their stains are TOO bad (darlas worse than Persia's) - But Persias is much more noticeable against her pearly white angora-like fur!

Part of my problem with dry food is I hear dry food and I think of the 20lb bags for $8.95. Wow, what quality, especially since the first 2 ingredients are grains and #3 is meat by-products. I should be more open minded. I know some foods like ToTW or Wellness are great and I have used them for several months with various cats.

The other part of my problem is the exact opposite of your experience. I have had and do have cats that if feed 1 tablespoon of kibble will get diarrhea for 1-2 days. It can be the highest quality kibble around or the cheapest -- doesn't matter -- it all produces diarrhea. Their systems can't handle it.

As for the raw and convenience, I'll be the first to admit that it's not for everyone and that I'm insane. And just for the record, my stress meter broke about 4 months ago and I haven't had time to fix it lately.

I can't wait to hear their reason....

Diarrhea from cheap wet food is usually from the grains in the food or from the protein sources. And if it is totally the reason why to switch to dry food, then you might want to try a premium canned food first (such as Weruva or BG) and see how she does. Actually, I'm rather surprised that a rescue group would let a cat go that was having diarrhea. Most groups will stabalize the cat and their food before adopting.

In any case, if she's doing well on the Science Diet (honestly, there are better dry foods), let her settle in for a month before you change foods. If she is having problems from the SciD, then try to find something that doesn't cause problems, but start with grain-free food.

And don't mind me -- I'm a bit grumpy today (and tomorrow and the day after and...). It's from getting up at 4:30am to make the raw food.