there is if your cat has no teeth anymore, like mine. she has tried
swallowing smaller kibbles whole, but doesn't really go for them for
obvious reasons, so canned food it has to be. Mainly anything which is
in pate form, or 'terrine', but i usually give her whiskas supermeat as
that is soft and mushy enough for her to eat especially if you mush it
up more with a fork. If your cat is just interested in the gravy you
could try giving it this whiskas supermeat stuff well mushed up?

when my previous cat started to just lick the gravy off chunks of food
it was because his teeth were starting to get painful to chew chunks
with and he needed a dental, so have you checked out the level of
scaling on his teeth? that might be why he is ignoring the chunks and
just licking off the gravy from them. Unfortunately this same cat would
not eat dry food either despite having all his own teeth as his
previous owner had never introduced him to it so he had no idea what it
was all about when it was put in front of him. Hence he had to have
regular dentals at the vets as he had no capacity to clean his own
teeth by crunching on dry food (or i had to brush his teeth using
special paste from the vet, which was fun once a week, definitely a 2
man job).

that cat jasper lived to 17 on just a tinned food diet (plus various
extras like ham, prawns, roast chicken, etc in his old age after i got
him) so it cannot have been that bad for him apart from the teeth
issue.

Bookie

This Is a subject very dear to my own heart. because I have a community
cat feeding bar too.

Quite often I am offered new brands of food to try because I take part
in a cat food trial, and breed a select few kittens each year.

The upside to the wet meat Is that It smells more appetising to a
kitten or cat who's sense of smell is ten times magnified to our own.I
think that the reason that the cats lick the gravey off the meat then
leave the chunks is because the gravey has quite a high sodium
content.Rather like a child likes sweets, a cat enjoys the flavour of
salt too.
Humans children &adults do It too.We eat that which we find most
apetising first, then leave the least desirable food till last,& that
Is If we eat It at all.

Unless you are absolutely certain that your feline friends are going to
eat *all of the food* that you put down for them in one sitting, It is
not a good idea to mix the dry & wet food together.The reason for this
is that unless the cats intend to eat all of the wet food put down for
them in one session, It is more hygenic to throw anything that they
don't eat away.
The same rule applies here.We would never consider 1/2 a plateful of
food, then expect to go back to it having left it out on the side for a
few hours, would we?After all, the flies will land on it,lay eggs, and
all sorts of other possibilities.So we wouldn't want to do the same for
our cats either, would we?
The benenfits of dried*complete* food are very helful indeed.This food
you can put down without fear of it spoiling over many hours, & your
cat's can graze at it over time too.It is not nearly so attractive to
flies and suchlike, so It Is safe to leave down for them.
If you wish to feed both tpes, then I would advise that you feed them
both If you wish to, but just don't mix them together. As long as you
remember the rule of*you can always put more out If they want it*, then
I think that you will make a happy medium for your cats.
I personally give my cat's 2wet meals a day, then leave dry complete
down for them to graze @ If they get a seriouse case of the nibbles, or
the munchies in between meals.
Remember, that normally what goes in, will come ourt in the same
consistancy, normally.
S;o)

B-Worthey asked:

Definitely!  The water (70%) in the canned food assures that the cat
will get enough water to keep the urine diluted.  Drinking water doesn't
usually provide enough.  Cats that are fed dry food are more prone to
urinary crystals and blockage than cats that are fed canned food.

                 ---MIKE---

on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 03:13:07 GMT, "B-Worthey"
<worthey42@bellDEEPsouth.net> wrote:

The short answer is yes.  Additionally, there are risks and NO benefits
associated with dry food, other than convenience to the human.

By the way, dry food does absolutely nothing to help clean the teeth of
cats.  That is a widespread fallacy.  Cats slice and do not chew their food
like dogs.  Brushing their teeth and regular dental examinations by a vet
are prudent.

Good to know.  I wanted small cans, you know, one serving.

--
Barb
Of course I don't look busy,
I did it right the first time.