Yes.

JMHO, but yes, I think so.  Fancy Feast has really upgraded their product -
just check out the first three ingredients listed on the label is now.  My
vet thinks that it is *very* important, especially in older cats who may
start having problems with their kidneys, to have canned food as the major
part of their diet.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Very few of my cats have much cared for wet food, some wouldn't eat it at
all.  And they have lived long and healthy lives.

Jo

Persia has to eat dry kibble - prescription Science Diet x/d since her
surgery for bladder stones.  At first I bought her the canned stuff - the
vet said either would be okay - but she didn't like the wet food as well as
she likes the dry.  She really chows down on the crunchies!  The vet says it
doesn't matter if she eats wet or dry, as long as she eats.  Now she's on a
diet... she loves the dry stuff so much she got to be 18 lbs!  Now she's 14
lbs and on a twice a day feeding schedule.

Jill

The worse canned food is better than the best dry food. Or so goes the
message from Phil P.
Have you tried Innova Evo? It's dry food but it has no grains
whatsoever. Also, for canned food, Basho will only eat one or two
varieties, he's very picky. I've found that almost always he will eat
Nutro Gourmet California Chicken Supreme.
Now if only I could get Fez to eat *any* canned food...

If your leaving dry food out all the time that's the reason why you have
such trouble getting them to eat wet. Why should they when they've been
snacking all day, don't have much of an appetite, and there is another
option?

It would be much better for your cats to feed them measured amounts on a
12 hour schedule. That way they'll have time inbetween to build up an
appetite and will be much more likely to accept new foods. You'll also
know exactly what each cats intake is and will know immediately that
there is a problem if they don't show up for a meal.

I have transitioned many cats I've worked with from a dry diet and have
succeeded with even the most hard core dry food eaters. You can't be a
weenie about it and have to stick with it for however long it takes. One
of my own rescues took three months, but now she runs for the wet food
and eats whatever I put in front of her.

Almost all cats that are diagnosed with fatty liver disease are free fed
and they develop it because the owner had no way of monitoring what the
cat was eating.

Every diabetic cat I've ever worked with was on a dry food diet all
their lives and there is plenty of evidence that shows dry food causes
and exacerbates diabetes.

We shouldn't be feeding a true carnivore what amounts to a constant diet
of cereal with a little meat thrown in. It totally goes against what
nature intended and our cats are paying the price with obesity, urinary
tract problems, kidney failure, diabetes, etc.

You can read these links for excellent info about why canned food is a
much better diet (with tips in the first article for transitioning to
wet food):

http://catsincanada.com/articles/feeding.html

This one is long but is well worth the read:
http://www.catnutrition.org/diabetes.htm

Also check out the full site and other articles incuding the open letter
to vets about feline nutrition:
http://www.catnutrition.org

Megan

                                   

I don't have the answer for you ... and every cat is different ... but
there may be a ray of hope.

Oscar ate Nutro kibble all of her life until I tried to switch her to
canned.  It was tough, but eventually she agreed, grudgingly, to eat
enough Wellness Turkey & Salmon to at least not starve to death.  She
lost a lot of weight -- from fluffy to healthy, but then kept losing
to the point where I was worried and supplemented with treats, freeze
dried chicken bits, etc.

But when I let her eat kibble again, she was clearly in discomfort,
her stomach made unhappy noises, and she would lay there like a lump
on a log, clearly not feeling well.  In contrast, when she eats canned
she gets the zoomies and is much more lively.

So, she was eating the canned food, barely, but it was stressful.

It's been almost a year ... maybe 10 months ... and all of a sudden
...

She's eating!  She eats the food almost as soon as I put it on her
plate (she used to let it sit there for hours, literally).  She eats
it all and meows for more.  She's gone from worryingly scrawny back to
healthy, maybe even a bit fluffier than healthy ...

She's also expressed a willingness to eat one other food, Eagle Pack
chicken & lamb.  The owner of my local pet store said a vet had
encouraged her to stock this food.

I don't know what happened.  Maybe it got colder and she needs to eat
to keep warm.  Maybe she finally caved.  I just don't know, but we're
all happier for it.